Category: Notre Dame Almanac

Watch: Brady Quinn Shares Memories of Loudest Stadium, Toughest Foes at Notre Dame

Quinn discusses some of the best environments he played in and shares a story of just how loud Neyland Stadium in Tennessee was when the Irish pulled the upset of the Vols in 2004.

It’s been the way of the sports media world since live events shut down just over a month ago – old games and story time of sports from yesteryear.  Former Notre Dame quarterback and now rising star in the media, Brady Quinn joined Barton Simmons on “Social Distance” a new show 247Sports is putting on.

Quinn discusses some of the best environments he played in and shares a story of just how loud Neyland Stadium in Tennessee was when the Irish pulled the upset of the Vols in 2004.  He also takes you down memory lane a bit with stories of the “Bush Push” game and the satisfaction of earning a BCS berth in 2005 after the struggles Notre Dame had early in his career.

Take a watch below and remember some of the happy and some of the more painful memories in semi-recent Notre Dame history through the eyes of one of all the all-time Fighting Irish greats.

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The 38’s in regards to the Michigan game in ’04 was fun but Derrelle Revis baiting Quinn back in 2005 was probably my favorite story shared.  I always enjoy hearing stories of stars before they were seen nationally as stars and also enjoyed his openness about being out-matched in terms of physical ability against Ohio State and LSU during his college years.

Notre Dame all-time vs. Big 12 football teams

Do you wish Big 12 teams would appear on Notre Dame’s schedule more often?

For each Power Five college football conference there is, Notre Dame’s history is significantly different.  Despite not being all that far away in terms of mileage, Notre Dame hasn’t played game against the Big 12 all that often considering the Irish have been playing football for over 130 years.

They most recently did in their heartbreaking Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma State that capped the 2021 season.

While we’ve seen Notre Dame struggle to under-.500 marks against some powerhouses like Ohio State, Florida State, Michigan, Georgia so far, you may be surprised to see just how well the Irish have fared against the Big 12’s football blue-bloods.

Check it all out here:

Related:

Notre Dame all-time vs. the Big Ten

Notre Dame all-time vs. the SEC

Notre Dame all-time vs. each SEC football team

Which SEC team has the best stadium?

Notre Dame doesn’t have the deepest track record playing football against the SEC but they have played 10 of the 14 teams in the conference, but the Irish do have a good amount of games coming up against SEC teams in the next decade with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Texas A&M all on the schedule in coming years.

So which teams have Notre Dame played from the SEC all-time?

Who is the one the Irish are winless against all-time?

And which powerhouses does Notre Dame hold the all-time series advantages against?

See Notre Dame’s all-time records against all 14 SEC football teams below, updated following the Irish victory over South Carolina in the Gator Bowl:

Related:  Notre Dame’s all-time record against all Big Ten teams

Notre Dame quarterbacks through the years

Not the best but who is your favorite ND quarterback of all-time?

In the long history of Notre Dame football its difficult to come up with a favorite all-time quarterback.  Sure, the likes of [autotag]Paul Hornung[/autotag], [autotag]Joe Montana[/autotag], [autotag]Joe Theismann[/autotag], and [autotag]Brady Quinn[/autotag] all achieved great things in blue and gold but so many others reached great heights as well.

Then there were others that didn’t go on to get drafted into the NFL but led successful Notre Dame squads in their own right like [autotag]Kevin McDougal[/autotag], [autotag]Tony Rice[/autotag], and [autotag]Everett Golson[/autotag].

Who is your favorite quarterback in the history of Notre Dame football?

Who do you think was the best?

And who is your favorite one-hit-wonder?

A day after [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] announced he was entering the transfer portal, here is a look back at photos of several Notre Dame quarterbacks over the years.

Watch: Top Ten defensive ending plays in Notre Dame football history

I’m not going to argue that the top two on this wound up sealing wins for Notre Dame over top-ranked teams in the nation. However, you can’t convince me there is a more impressive play on the list than the two goal line tackles made on the east coast to seal victories. 

Notre Dame released another NDTop10 over the weekend with the greatest defensive plays to seal victories being counted down.  In looking at this list it’s important to go realize they’re still thinking biggest wins and not so much actual toughest or most-amazing play to win the games.

Before I share my thought after and what I would have put number one, take a watch for yourself.  Some great memories in this one, almost all I could tell you where I was watching the moments unfold.

Well, except for the couple I wasn’t born yet for…

I’m not going to argue that the top two on this wound up sealing wins for Notre Dame over top-ranked teams in the nation. However, you can’t convince me there is a more impressive play on the list than the two goal line tackles made on the east coast to seal victories.  Stanford in 2012 resulting in a 12-0 regular season I think makes it more impressive than any one of the tackles on that stand, as great as it was.

To me the most impressive plays on the list come in 1995 against Army and in 1998, especially the third down tackle against Boston College.  Both tackles are like running into brick walls, just entirely stopped dead in their tracks, even if bigger opponents and games were won by balls being batted away.

Notre Dame football all-time vs. service acadamies

How long until Notre Dame finally has the guts to schedule Space Force?

Notre Dame football has a long history with the United States service academies as some of the biggest games in the early days of the game were between Knute Rockne’s Fighting Irish and the Army.

Notre Dame has also played Navy each year since 1927 before the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to that run in 2020.

The Irish have also taken on Air Force more than a handful of times with some thrillers coming against the Falcons over the years.

So how has Notre Dame fared all-time against the service academies?

Notre Dame all-time results versus:

ACC

Big Ten

Big 12

Pac-12

SEC

Listen: ’93 Notre Dame Star Shares Lou Holtz Motivational Stories

In this time of there being no games to react to we checked in on Pete and discussed what it’s like have teenage kids at a time like this and got a couple of Lou Holtz stories out of him (those come towards the end of the interview).

If you’re at all familiar with the 1993 Notre Dame football team, the name Pete Bercich means something to you. He returned an interception for a touchdown on the first play of that season, and, well, didn’t intercept a Glen Foley pass late in the Boston College game later that year.

Pete played in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings and now does their radio broadcasts each fall. The radio show, I work on as a producer each weekday, “The McNeil and Parkins Show” on 670 The Score in Chicago, has established a pretty good relationship with Pete over the years. In this time of having no games to react to, we checked in on Pete and discussed what it’s like have teenage kids at a time like this and also drew a couple of Lou Holtz stories out of him (those come toward the end of the interview).

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Lou knew how to put on a happy face for the camera, but he’s also clearly not a guy you’d want to tick off. Fun stuff from a fun guest and a helluva football mind.

Watch: Notre Dame’s 10 Toughest Touchdown Runs Ever

Notre Dame has had plenty of memorable running backs who made plenty of classic runs. Did your personal favorite make this top 10 list?

In its continuing series of top-10 lists, Notre Dame released its “Top 10 Toughest Touchdown Runs” on Monday afternoon. I will not spoil the ending, but I will say it was as memorable as touchdown run as there was during my formative years.

No real knocks on the rankings in this one. My one thought would be a debate between what is “tough” versus “shifty,” but I’m not in the mood to debate that right now.

Here they are – watch them and enjoy!

One and two are both beyond debate for me, so save it in regards to those to especially. What run was too high or too low besides those two, though?

Notre Dame-USC rivalry through the years

What is your favorite moment ever from the Notre Dame-USC rivalry? @trojanswire

On paper there might not be a better rivalry in college football than how Notre Dame and USC are supposed to be.

Notre Dame is located in the midwest, home to brutal winters, and a lifestyle that could be described as just about anything other than glamorous.

USC on the other hand is about as extravagant as college football living gets in the city of Los Angeles, even if they’re no longer the only football show in town after the NFL made its return there (sorry UCLA).

The two have met for nearly the entire last century with epic battles, 14 Heisman Trophy winners, over 20 national championships, countless legends and Hall of Famers, and history as deep as the New York City phone book.

It’s been since the late seventies though that this rivalry has featured both teams competing for national championships on a regular basis.  Perhaps with new coaching hires at both this off-season, that narrative will soon change.

It’s often described as “the best intersectional rivalry in college football” but if both could get their business in order simultaneously as was the case in the seventies, it’d be the best rivalry in college football.

Related: Notre Dame-USC and the best of the worst

Notre Dame-USC: fun facts about epic rivalry

In the meantime, take a look back at some of the best photos of one of college football’s greatest rivalries through the years.

Notre Dame-Ohio State all-time series history

Would you like to see Notre Dame and Ohio State played more regularly?

According to Google Maps, it’s a 270.8-mile drive from Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend to Ohio Stadium in Columbus. A drive that takes four hours and 19 minutes, which isn’t just down the street but it is nothing when it comes to a road trip for a college football team or its fans.

Especially when you consider those two college football squads are among the most historic in the game and have two of the most passionate fan bases in all of sports, not just college football.

But Notre Dame and Ohio State have met on the football field just seven times. Of those seven, two have been played at Notre Dame Stadium, three have been played at Ohio Stadium and two have taken place in the Fiesta Bowl.

Unless you live under a rock, you’re aware Notre Dame opened the 2022 season at Ohio State and the Buckeyes make the return trip to South Bend late this September.

Before this underplayed series resumes late this fall, here is a look back at the brief history Notre Dame and Ohio State have shared on the football field.