1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football game
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The 1966 Michigan State vs. Notre Dame football game ("the game of the century") remains one of the greatest, and most controversial, games in college football history[1]. The game was played in Michigan State's Spartan Stadium on November 19th, 1966. Michigan State entered the contest 9-0 and ranked #2, while Notre Dame entered the contest 8-0 but ranked #1. Notre Dame elected not to try for the endzone on the final series, thus the game ended in a 10-10 tie with both schools recording national championships.[2][3]
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[edit] Introduction
Interestingly enough, the game was not shown live on national TV. It was the first time in 20 years that a football game had been given the title of "game of the century" by the media. Each team was alloted one national television appearance and two regional television appearances each season. Notre Dame had used their national TV slot in the season opening game against Purdue. ABC executives did not even want to show the game anywhere but the regional area, but pressure from the West Coast and the South (to the tune of 50,000 letters) made ABC air the game on tape delay. The official attendance was announced at 80,011 (111% capacity) and remains as the most attended game in Michigan State football history (with MSU averaging over 70,000 each of the last 20 seasons).
[edit] Scoring
Irish quarterback Terry Hanratty was knocked out after getting sacked in the first quarter by Spartan defensive lineman Bubba Smith. Starting Notre Dame running back Nick Eddy was out entirely after hurting his shoulder getting off the train in East Lansing. Michigan State jumped out to an early 7-0 lead behind a 5-yard touchdown run by Regis Cavender. Later in the half, MSU added a field goal (by barefooted Hawaiian Dick Kenney). But the Irish came back, quickly scoring a touchdown on a pass thrown by Coley O'Brien over the outstretched hand of MSU safety Jesse Phillips. MSU took a 10-7 lead into the locker room.
Notre Dame then tied the game at the start of the fourth quarter. Perhaps the best second-half scoring opportunity for MSU occurred during a pass thrown from Jimmy Raye to Gene Washington. The speedy wide receiver had seriously outrun Raye's deep pass and Notre Dame's defensive backfield. Washington was forced to double back, and in so doing was caught by the defense. Later in the game, Notre Dame had the ball on its own 30-yard line with 1:10 to go. They needed about 40 yards for a game-winning field goal. But coach Ara Parseghian chose to run the clock out, preserving the tie and Notre Dame's Number 1 ranking. The game ended in a 10-10 tie.
[edit] Controversy
For nearly 40 years, Parseghian has defended his end-of-the-game strategy, which left many fans feeling disappointed at the game not having some sort of resolution, Michigan State fans and other Notre Dame haters calling him a coward, and college football expert Dan Jenkins leading off his article for Sports Illustrated by saying Parseghian chose to "Tie one for the Gipper." In addition to holding the Number 2 team in the country, the defending National Champions, to a standstill on their own field, without his own starting quarterback and one of his starting running backs, Parseghian's backup quarterback, Coley O'Brien, was a diabetic, and exhausted to the point where he couldn't throw. At that point, a tie fit Notre Dame's hopes just as well as a win would have.
[edit] Fallout
Notre Dame beat USC 51-0 the next week, completing an undefeated (but not untied) regular season and solidifying their Number 1 claim. The Irish did not accept bowl bids until 1969 (see below), and Michigan State was the victim of two Big Ten rules that would be rescinded a few years later: The same school could not represent the league in the Rose Bowl in back-to-back seasons, and no Big Ten school could play in a bowl game other than the Rose Bowl. So despite being Big Ten Champions and undefeated in the regular season, the Spartans could not play in the Rose Bowl, or indeed any bowl game.
Players for both schools earned tremendous accolades for the season including All American honor. In the 1967 NFL draft, Michigan State had 4 players drafted with the first 8 picks of the first round[4]
[edit] 40th Anniversary
On September 23, 2006 Michigan State and Notre Dame played each other once again to commorate the 40th anniversary of the game. Both teams wore "throwback" jerseys and helmets from the 1960's era. 45 members from the original '66 squad returned. In addition, 1965 and 1966 All American Bubba Smith had his number 95 jersey retired at halftime[5], becoming only the 3rd person in Michigan State history with such honor.
[edit] References
- ^ Mike Celzic. The Biggest Game of Them All: Notre Dame, Michigan State and the Fall of 1966. ISBN 0-671-75817-9.
- ^ Notre Dame's Championship Record
- ^ Michigan State's Championship Record
- ^ 1967 NFL draft
- ^ Bubba plans to see his MSU jersey retired
