Return to Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND-----The setting was perfect for a beautiful October afternoon. Arch-rival University of Southern California was coming to town. The Irish had defeated UCLA for its first victory 0f the season. The Men of Troy were trying to move back into the national championship season after being stunned by Stanford. The National Champion 1977 Irish team was celebrating its 30th reunion. Irish Coach Charlie Weis borrowed a trick from Dan Devine and dressed the 2007 ND team in bright green jerseys.
The Irish won the toss of the coin and elected to defer giving the South Benders first possession first possession of the ball. The the bottom dropped out and Pete Carroll's warriors gave Notre Dame a 38-0 shellacking before over 80,000 fans, one of the worst losses ever for the team that used to administer shellackings.
Notre Dame Coach Charlie Weis,with a 10-year contract promised better days ahead. With an open date looming Weis chose to plan to attend a musical stage show in Chicago the following evening. Navy is the next opponent and the Sailors owe the Irish big time, dating back to the Roger Staubach days when the Midshipmen won the game.
The 1977 Irish, defeated only by Ole Miss in Jackson, switched quarterbacks after the defeat in Jackson on a hot summer-like afternoon decided to change quarterbacks. Rusty Lisch was benched and Dan Devine called on his replacement, Joe Montana, who guided the Green to victories the rest of the way and a Cotton Bowl victory over the University of Texas.
As Executive Director of the National Football Foundation I was in attendance in Dallas that afternoon, then polled our General Douglas MacArthur Bowl Committee and reported the results to Chairman Vincent DePaul Draddy,. The Irish shaded Bear Bryant's Alabama Crimson Tide for the coveted trophy, which displeased the Bear slightly more than somewhat .
In a pre-game picnic I joined members of the Frank Leahy family for refreshments. John Leahy, the secreetary-treasurer of the Leahy Lads, was on hand as were Ryan Leahy, who was a standout Notre Dame player, and the lovely Regan Leahy, who went to North Carolina and participated in athletics.
The Leahy Lads did not have their annual meeting this fall because of President Jerry Groom;s serious illness. John reported that Jerry was recovering from successful surgery. Groom was an All-America center at Notre Dame and later a pro standdout with the football Cardinals, who left Chicago to move to St. Louis.
Digger Phelps, the retired Notre Dame basketball coach, addressed the Pep Rally on Friday night. I have known Digger since his Rider College days in Trenton, N.J. when I was the Executive Sports Editor-Columnist of the Trenton Times and longtime Secretary-Treasurer of the Football Writers Association of New York.
I took my youngest son Patrick to South Bend when he was 12. We saw Digger at the Morris Inn after breakfast. I told him that Pat had hit 91 out of 100 free throws in the backyard the previous week. I thought that Digger would say: " Nice going, Pat. Keep this up and one day perhaps you can play for me at Notre Dame." Digger did not say this. He said: "Nice going, Pat. I bet you take a lot of money off the kids in the neighborhood."
Patrick is now a longtime lawyer in Jackson. His children, Jamey and Claire, play soccer in Jackson.
Southern Cal still hopes to play in a major bowl game and play for the national title with tough opposition remaining. Notre Dame has been eliminated from the bowl picture and concludes the season with Stanford, the team that beat USC. The Irish have some solid early commitments, and some were in attendance at the USC game. February signing date is a long way away.
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In Mississippi, only Southern Miss of the Big Three prevailed. Ole Miss was pitiful against Arkansas in Oxford after solid but losing showings against Florida and Alabama. West Virginia's national ranked Mountaineers were too strong for Mississippi State. The Egg Bowl battle in Starkville Turkey Friday probably favors the Maroons. . Both coaches, Sylvester Croom and Ed Orgeron needs to finish the season on a winning note for morale and recruiting purposes.
November could be cruel for both programs. Southern Miss tries to finish strong and bid for the Conference USA title. Jackson State lost go Grambling and needs to get back in the win column.
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