2-5
SEPTEMBER 23, 2023
at
Notre Dame Stadium
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
v.
The Ohio State University Buckeyes
“Four score and seven years ago, . . . .” Elmer Layden’s Irish lads brought forth on the Notre Dame Stadium, a new win conceived in preparation and dedicated to the proposition that the “Irish will win over all.”
Unfortunately, that has not proven to be the case. In fact, the Irish are looking for their first win over the Buckeyes since that win, 87 years ago in 1936, by the score of 7-2, as the Irish swept the two-year home & home series between the Irish and the Buckeyes.
The Irish had prevailed in the 1935 tilt in The Horseshoe on the Buckeyes’ campus. This was the first game ever billed as “The Game of the Century”. Where or where have we heard that before? 1966 Irish-Spartans? Yes, of course. And many more!!
Both the 1935 and 1966 games make multiple “Game of the Century” lists but those two plus these five probably deserve the appellation.
1945 Army/Navy,
1969 Texas/Arkansas,
1971 Nebraska/Oklahoma, 1987 Miami/Penn State, and 1993 Notre Dame/Florida State.
Gee, only one team appears more than once. The Irish!
With the 1935 game being the first “Game of the Century”, does your collection include the game program?
Well, anyway, the Irish came from a 13-point deficit to win 18-13 in the first ever meeting between these two football bluebloods. The winning score was a pass from William “Bill” V. (for Valentine) Shakespeare to whom the ball was lateraled before he passed it to Wayne Millner.
Billy (as I will refer to him) Shakespeare knew what he was doing because his TD pass authored an ending epitomizing for 1935 Irish fans “All’s Well that Ends Well.”
Shakespeare must have envisioned this result as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” as he prepared for the 1935 season beginning with the Irish August practice sessions.
The Buckeyes are riding a 5- game winning streak over the Irish as they travel the 250 miles from Columbus to South Bend.
That 5-game losing streak, with so few scheduled games between the Irish and Buckeyes creates “The Tempest” for urgency by the Irish.
The Ohio State QB is Kyle McCord, (#6) a 5-star recruit in the 2021 class who selected the Buckeyes over offers from 12 other prominent football schools.
Kyle has led the Buckeyes to 2023 wins over the Hoosiers of the University of Indiana, the Youngstown State Penguins, and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.
The Irish counter at QB with a 3-star recruit from the 2018 class whose three offers were from the less than elite Wake Forest Wolfpack (which he accepted), Charlotte (where we might have wondered ‘Oh what a tangled web we weave.’), and Elon (where one might wonder, ‘Does Elon Tweet on Elon’s Twitter’).
That 18-year-old 3-star is a now a 24-year-old experienced and skilled QB. Sam the Man he is!!
Hi, Hi, Hi, Hi. Hi, Hi, Hi!!
Might Kyle and Sam be in Billy’s own words (the other Billy Shakespeare) “The Two Gentlemen of Verona?”
The Buckeyes are loaded with offensive weapons many of whom are superstars. How about the WRs, being Pre-Season First Team All American, Marvin Harrison, Jr (#18),
Another Pre-Season First Team All American, Emeke Egbuka (#2)
(Note: The Irish D had better not see just Ekbuga’s back.), and
Julian Fleming (#4)?
The Irish would love any of them and backing them up is true Freshman Carnell Tate (#17), a 5-star recruit the Irish sought. But, it says here that the Irish’s own (#17), Rico Flores. Jr. who, while unquestionably a “Jr.” is also a true Freshman, and albeit not a 5-Star, is pretty darn good and I would say he is a “keeper”, Rico Flores, Jr!
Like Sam, You the Man!!
Meanwhile, the Buckeyes’ D is headlined by Tommy Eichenberg (#35) placing his big bro, Liam Eichenberg, in the unenviable position of rooting for his Alma Mater or rooting for his bro.
And by the way, ANOTHER PRE-SEASON FIRST TEAM ALL AMERICAN!!
To those who say this game and the buildup is “Much Ado About Nothing”, we say, just look at the O and D lines for both teams where this game will be won or lost as the teams take “Measure for Measure”.
What we see is a veritable plethora of penalties on the Buckeyes. While the Buckeyes Head Coach Ryan Day, who brings a 48-6 Won/Loss record into the game as the Buckeyes Head Coach, might think otherwise, this will certainly be “A Comedy of Errors”!
Fans attending the matchup in Notre Dame Stadium are encouraged to create a “Greenout” by wearing green. Irish ticket holders have shown a tendency to “cash in” for some “green” on these big-time games by selling their tickets to folks who just might be rooting for the opposition. Remember Nebraska? Remember Georgia?
I, fortunately, have my ducat for admission on Saturday which I intend to use while wearing Green. And if I see too much red, I will be “seeing red” for sure!
And for those traditionalists who pine for the Blue and Gold Uniforms with the Gold Flecked Helmets, this game you get the Gold Helmets but otherwise it is all Green and Green.
.
Just an afterthought, but if this image included either G‘Bryan Payne (#3) or Jaylen Sneed (#3, too) rather than Estime (#7), or if the Irish were headed to the Grand Canyon State to take on the Sun Devils or Wildcats, you might have been entertained with excerpts from the 2007 movie “3:10 to Yuma” with Marcus serving as the colon!!
Also planned for the game is the gift of an LED wristband to be placed at every seat. The wristbands are purportedly programed to “wow” the Stadium at various times during the game.
Might these become a real collector’s item? All 77,622, more or less, of them?
We will see how they work and each of us will decide whether “good” or “bad” or “As You Like It.”
While on the twelfth day of Christmas your true love gave to you 12 drummers drumming, Billy (the other one) apparently worked the second shift and gave us “The Twelfth Night”. But just like the designer of the LED wristband and Gino Guidugli as the ND QB designer and the Under Armour ND uniform designer, Billy’s product was the result of “Love’s Labors Lost”.
Who will shine for the Irish just like Shakespeare’s 1935 “Taming of the Buckeyes in the ‘Shoe’”, look for big games from Jaden Greathouse (#19),
Mitchell Evans (#88),
Benjamin Morrison (#20)
Xaviar Watts (#0)
and, of course “Sam the Man” (#10)
Bye bye Buckeyes!!
It says here that for Irish fans it will be absolutely true, “All’s Well that Ends Well’’.
The Score?
Notre Dame 31
Buckeyes 24
GO IRISH!!
Here are the answers to your Irish Trivia Questions from last week.
1. When Spencer Shrader kicked the 54-yard field goal against North Carolina State he broke the record for the longest field goal in Irish history. What was the previous record and who held it? Hint: It was not Blake Grupe!! The previous record of 53 yards was set by Dave Reeves in 1976 and tied by Kyle Brindza in 2013.
2. Which of these QBs led their team to victory over the Irish?
Roger Staubach
Len Dawson
Jim Plunkett NO
Tom Brady
Otto Graham NO
Bob Griese
Joe Namath NO
Mike Phipps
Drew Brees
Carson Palmer
Matt Leinert
Bernie Kosar
John Elway NO
Andrew Luck
Kirk Cousins
3. Can you name the three teams that have won the most games against the Irish? The total wins against the Irish for the three teams are 38, 28, and 25. USC- 38, Michigan State-28 and Purdue -25
4. There are three opponents who have played the Irish at least 10 times and have a better than .500 W/L record against the Irish? Can you name the three teams? Michigan 17-20-1, Florida State 5-6 and Nebraska 7-8-1
Here are your Irish Trivia Questions for this week.
1. Paul Brown, Woody Hayes, Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer have all coached the Buckeyes to a National Championship. Can you name the Irish Coaches who have led the Irish to a National Championship?
2. 1995 saw the Irish lose big to the Buckeyes. In that game an Ohio State RB ran for over 200 yards and 2 TDS. He won the Heisman Trophy that year. This player has or will lead his team against the Irish this year as Head Coach. Here he is in that 1995 game. Can you name him?
3. Can you name the five Notre Dame Head Coaches who coached the Irish for more than 10 years?
4. What do these 12 men have in common? James L. Morrison, H.G. Hadden, Frank E. Herring, James McWeeney, Pat O’Dea, James Farragher, Red Salmon, Henry J. McGlew, Thomas A. Barry, Victor M. Place, Frank Longman, and John L. Marky?
And, of course, our hearts forever . . .
. . . Love, thee Notre Dame!