Buckeyes, Irish all tied in overall series 2-2

By ROB TODOR
VINDICATOR SPORTS EDITOR
"Fighting Irish Present Heroic Drive in Last Half" is how The Vindicator recapped the epic first battle between college football powers Notre Dame and Ohio State on Nov. 3, 1935.
"In a melodramatic finish that has had few parallels in college football history," the story began, recapping the Fighting Irish's 18-13 victory in the "Game of the Century" played before more than 81,000 fans at Ohio Stadium.
"... the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame roared back to the heights today with an aerial attack that simultaneously snatched victory from apparent defeat and shattered the national championship dreams of Ohio State's famed 'Scarlet Scourge.' "
OSU built 13-0 lead
The Buckeyes, unbeaten in five games to that point in the season under the coaching of Francis A. Schmidt, built a 13-0 lead at halftime. Ohio State's Frank Antenucci intercepted a pass and lateraled to teammate Frank Boucher, who ran 72 yards for the first score.
Then, "Jumping Joe" Williams scored on a 4-yard run early in the second quarter, set up by another interception, this time by Ohio State's Stan Pincura.
Neither team scored in the third period, but the Notre Dame defense stiffened. The Buckeyes picked up only one first down in the second half, while the Fighting Irish improved their passing efficiency.
In the first half, Notre Dame completed just 2-of-9 passes, but went 8-for-12 after the intermission, finishing 10-of-21 overall for 140 yards.
Notre Dame halfback Andy Pilney set up his team's first score with a 26-yard punt return, then a 12-yard pass to Francis Gaul, which put the ball at the Buckeyes' 1-yard line. From there, Steve Miller plunged in for the Fighting Irish's first touchdown.
Notre Dame's next drive ended in the shadows of the goal line, as Miller fumbled at the 1.
But the Fighting Irish got the ball back quickly and drove 79 yards for the their second touchdown. Pilney caught one pass for 37 yards, then threw a 15-yard scoring toss to Mike Layden.
The try for point failed, however, leaving the Buckeyes ahead, 13-12, but one last Ohio State mistake gave Notre Dame the break it needed.
Costly fumble
Ohio State halfback Dick Beltz fumbled near midfield and the ball was recovered by Henry Pojman of the Fighting Irish.
On the ensuing play, Pilney ran for 32 yards to the Buckeyes' 19. Pilney was injured on the play and replaced by Bill Shakespeare.
With less than a minute remaining Shakespeare on first down dropped back to pass but was rushed heavily. From about the OSU 30, Shakespeare threw a long pass into the end zone, where Notre Dame's Wayne Millner caught it in heavy traffic for the winning score.
Fighting Irish coach Elmer Layden, one of the famed "Four Horsemen" attributed the victory to "Notre Dame's fighting spirit."
"There were a lot of breaks," Layden said, "but they were pretty well divided. Our forward passes were clicking and when they are clicking they are hard for any team to stop. But it was the fighting spirit of our boys that won that game."
Ohio State's Schmidt gave credit to the Fighting Irish.
"I would like to play that game over again," said Schmidt. "It was just one of those things. I don't know how to account for it. Don't blame any of my boys, they did the best they could. Notre Dame made one of the greatest finishes I ever saw."
Notre Dame went on to finish the season with a 7-1-1 record, losing the following week to Northwestern, 14-7, then tying Army, 6-6.
Ohio State won its last two games, finishing 7-1 and winning the Big Ten championship with a 5-0 mark.
The rematch in 1936
The following season the teams had their rematch on Oct. 31 in South Bend, Ind. The game wasn't nearly as dramatic -- or as well-covered -- which ended with the Fighting Irish winning, 7-2, in front over just over 50,000 fans.
"Notre Dame became the raging, fighting Irish of tradition for two minutes -- just long enough to fashion one touchdown that upset Ohio State's favored Buckeyes."
Half of the game was played a driving rain, in which all the scoring took place in the second period.
Ohio State made the first scoring threat, driving to the Fighting Irish's 3-yard line, but an interception by Notre Dame's Jack Gleason thwarted the drive. Shortly thereafter, though, Jack MacCarthy's punt was blocked by the Buckeyes' Charley Hamrick for a safety.
Game's only touchdown
Notre Dame scored the only touchdown in the final two minutes of the half, on a 3-yard run by Nevin "Bunny" McCormick.
The Fighting Irish finished the season with a 6-2-1 record, losing to Pittsburgh (26-0) and Navy (3-0) and tying USC (13-13). They finished No. 8 in the first year of The Associated Press poll. Ohio State was 5-3, losing also to Pittsburgh (6-0) and Northwestern (14-13), and finished unranked.
Buckeyes get revenge
Ohio State gained its revenge in the 1995-96 seasons, defeating the Fighting Irish 45-26 at Ohio Stadium and 29-16 in South Bend, Ind.
"The 60-year wait is over. With a classic display of power and grace, the Ohio State Buckeyes exorcised their Notre Dame demons before a record crowd," the story read in The Vindicator on Oct. 1, 1995.
The Fighting Irish led 20-14 early in the third period, but the Buckeyes dominated thereafter. Ohio State scored on four consecutive possessions, the defense forced three turnovers and the offense found the end zone following all three.
Notre Dame scored to make it 35-26 with 12:55 remaining in the game, but the Buckeyes recovered quickly. Tailback Eddie George, who would go on to win the Heisman Trophy, scored just four plays later and left little doubt as to the outcome.
"The name of the game is turnovers," said Ohio State coach John Cooper, who was 5-18-1 against Michigan and in bowl games with the Buckeyes, but 2-0 against the Fighting Irish, "and we got some good breaks today."
Holtz suffers loss
Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz, a native of East Liverpool who had guided the Fighting Irish to the national championship in 1988, lamented his team's inability to stop the Buckeyes' big play offense.
"I thought we could keep up with them as long as we could mix the run and the pass," said Holtz. "Their big plays were disastrous."
Ohio State finished the game with 533 total yards to Notre Dame's 447. George rushed for 207 yards, quarterback Bobby Hoying completed 14-of-22 passes for 272 yards and Terry Glenn caught four passes for 128 yards.
For Notre Dame, Randy Kinder rushed for 143 yards and Ron Powlus was 13-of-26 for 243 yards. But he threw an interception and the Fighting Irish lost two fumbles.
Ohio State, 4-0 after the win, ran off seven more victories before losing to Michigan, 31-23, and Tennessee, 20-14, in the Florida Citrus Bowl. The Buckeyes ended the season ranked No. 6 in The Associated Press poll.
Notre Dame would not lose another regular season game, finishing 9-2 before losing to Florida State, 31-26, in the Orange Bowl. The Fighting Irish were ranked No. 11 in the final AP poll.
Buckeyes even series
On Sept. 28, 1996, Ohio State entered Notre Dame Stadium ranked No. 4 in the country after victories over Rice and Pittsburgh by a combined 142-7. The Fighting Irish were ranked fifth after wins over Vanderbilt (14-7), Purdue (35-0) and Texas (27-24).
Running back Pepe Pearson, who took over for George, rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns, and quarterback Stanley Jackson completed only 9-of-15 passes, but accounted for 154 passing yards and two more touchdowns.
Dimitrious Stanley of Ohio State returned the opening kickoff 85 yards to the Notre Dame 13, and four plays later Pearson scored from the 3.
The Buckeyes led 22-7 at halftime and 29-16 when Marc Edwards of the Fighting Irish scored with just under eight minutes remaining.
Ohio State's biggest break came with about 31/2 minutes to play. Autry Denson ran back a punt 90 yards for an apparent touchdown, but the Fighting Irish were called for a penalty.
The Buckeyes held a 391-290 edge in total yards. Denson led Notre Dame with just 55 rushing yards and Powlus was only 13-for-30 for 154 yards and he threw two interceptions.
Turnovers again hurt
Just as a year earlier, the Fighting Irish were hurt by turnovers -- two interceptions and a fumble -- while Ohio State had two turnovers.
"It doesn't get much better," said Cooper. "I don't know where we rank nationally but today we were a pretty good football team."
The Buckeyes went on to win a share of the Big Ten championship with an 11-1 record. Ohio State's only loss came to Michigan, 13-9, but Cooper was redeemed on New Year's Day when the Buckeyes defeated Arizona State, 20-17, and finished ranked No. 2 by the Associated Press.
Notre Dame would lose three weeks later to Air Force, 20-17 in overtime, and in the season finale at USC, 27-20, also in overtime. It marked Holtz's only loss to the Trojans in 11 years and was his final game as coach of the Fighting Irish, who were ranked No. 19 in the final AP poll.
todor@vindy.com