The Notre Dame Rivalry and Opponent Index (Part Two of Three)

In Part One of the Notre Dame Rivalry and Opponent Index, we only scratched the surface of the teams involved in this collection.

Hopefully, we all learned something.

Who knew Carnegie Tech was such a thorn in Knute Rockne’s side and gave the Notre Dame legend nearly 17 percent of his career losses?

Out of today’s modern teams, Texas A&M, Colorado, BYU, Tulane, and LSU all came in with under 10 appearances apiece.

Due to the nature of some of the games in the past, Texas A&M, Colorado, and LSU would all be welcome additions to future Irish schedules.

In the middle of the pack, SMU and North Carolina both won the award for “I can’t believe we’ve played those teams that many times.”

At the next level came The U and Air Force, both with respectable numbers of games played. Although no one is clamoring for more rumbles with the Falcons, there is almost a unanimous agreement that Miami needs to be put back on the schedule again.

Can you believe it has been 20 years since Notre Dame last played Miami?

That makes me feel really old.

Let’s hope the rumored three-game series comes to fruition in the near future.

At the top of Part One came two Notre Dame rivals who probably couldn’t be more different: Michigan and Pittsburgh.

Michigan is the flashier rival with copious amounts of tradition and is disliked by more Irish fans than perhaps any other team.

However, Pitt has played Notre Dame nearly twice as much as Michigan and has had its fair share of legendary matchups against the Irish to go along with a very strong and respectable school tradition themselves.

Both programs will be featured on the 2010 schedule and will be very important games for Notre Dame this fall.

Now, let’s take a look at Part Two.

32. Minnesota: Five games

Series Lead: 4-0-1 ND

*Teams have not played since 1938.

*In 1937, the unranked Irish upset No. 4 Minnesota 7-6.

28. Syracuse: Six games

Series Lead: 3-3-0 Tie 

*The teams first met in 1914, a 20-0 Irish victory, but did not play until two meetings in 1961 and 1963 respectively. 

*Both teams have only been ranked once apiece in separate games. The No. 10-ranked Syracuse team lost to unranked Notre Dame 17-15 in 1961. The No. 6-ranked Irish beat unranked Syracuse 34-10 in 2005.

28. Alabama: Six games

Series Lead: 5-1-0 ND 

*Teams met for the first time in the 1973 Sugar Bowl, pitting the No. 3 Irish versus the No. 1 Crimson Tide. In a battle of Ara Parseghian against Bear Bryant, Notre Dame held on to a one-point victory while bringing a national title to South Bend. Notre Dame beat No. 2 Alabama the next season in the Orange Bowl as well. 

*Alabama’s only victory in the series came in 1986 in Lou Holtz’ first year at Notre Dame. The Irish were unranked, making it the only game in the series in which both teams were not in the polls.

25. Tennessee: Eight games

Series Lead: 4-4-0 Tie 

*Unranked Tennessee’s 40-18 victory over No. 13 Notre Dame in 1979 was the worst loss for the Irish under Dan Devine. 

*No. 1-ranked Irish defeated No. 9-ranked Tennessee 34-29 in Knoxville in 1990. Notre Dame lost by a point the next season at home while ranked No. 5 and with Tennessee at No. 13. 

*Notre Dame lost in 1999 and 2001 but have won the last two meetings in 2004 and 2005.

22. Texas: 10 games

Series Lead: 8-2-0 ND 

*The No. 1 Longhorns defeated the Irish in the 1970 Cotton Bowl to secure a national championship. The next season, the teams met again in the Cotton Bowl with Notre Dame defeating the No. 1-ranked Longhorns and snapping Texas’ 30-game winning streak. 

*Both teams have been ranked in the last seven meetings.

18. Wisconsin: 16 games

First Game: 1900 (54-0 UW Win) 

Series Lead: 8-6-2 ND 

Since 1950: 2-1-0 UW 

Since 1975: Last Game in 1964 

Since 2000: Last Game in 1964 

Home: 3-1-0 ND 

Away: 4-3-2 ND 

Neutral: 2-1-0 UW 

When ND Ranked: 2-0-0 ND 

When UW Ranked: 1-0-0 UW 

When Both Ranked: N/A 

When ND Top 10: 2-0-0 ND 

When UW Top 10: 1-0-0 UW 

Most Points Scored: 50 (1943) 

Most Points Given Up: 58 (1904) 

Biggest Win: 50-0 (1943) 

Biggest Defeat: 58-0 (1904) 

*Irish lost first three meetings in the early parts of the 20th century by a combined score of 133-0. 

*Rockne lost to Wisconsin 22-6 in the injury-plagued 1928 season but rebounded the next season to shut out the Badgers 19-0 at Soldier Field. 

*In three meetings from 1934 to 1936, Notre Dame defeated Wisconsin by a combined score of 73-0. 

*Notre Dame won the 1943 and 1944 matchups while ranked No. 1 in the country in each contest. 

*The Irish won the series’ last meeting 31-7 on the road in Madison in Parseghian’s magical first season in South Bend.

15. Penn State: 19 games

First Game: 1913 (14-7 ND Win) 

Series Lead: 9-9-1 Tie 

Since 1950: 9-6-0 PSU 

Since 1975: 9-6-0 PSU 

Since 2000: 1-1-0 Tie 

Home: 5-3-0 ND 

Away: 6-2-1 PSU 

Neutral: 2-0-0 ND 

When ND Ranked: 5-4-0 ND 

When PSU Ranked: 7-4-0 PSU 

When Both Ranked: 4-3-0 ND 

When ND Top 10: 4-2-0 ND 

When PSU Top 10: 4-0-0 PSU 

Most Points Scored: 44 (1984) 

Most Points Given Up: 36 (1985) 

Biggest Win: 44-7 (1984) 

Biggest Defeat: 36-6 (1985) 

*Rockne 2-0-1 against Penn State without giving up a single point. 

*Teams did not meet for nearly 50 years from 1928 to 1976. Irish won the 1976 Gator Bowl 20-9. 

*Gerry Faust 1-4 against Nittany Lions, including a 36-6 loss to No. 1 Penn State in his last season. 

*Holtz 3-5 against Penn State. All three meetings from 1988 to 1990 had the Irish ranked No. 1 coming into the game. Notre Dame won the first two and lost the 1990 matchup. 

*Penn State has been ranked in last six contests and also eight of the last 10 meetings. Notre Dame was not ranked in the last meeting in 2007 but had been in the previous seven contests.

12. Stanford: 24 games

First Game: 1925 (27-10 ND Win) 

Series Lead: 17-7-0 ND 

Since 1950: 15-7-0 ND 

Since 1975: 14-6-0 ND 

Since 2000: 8-2-0 ND 

Home: 10-2-0 ND 

Away: 6-5-0 ND 

Neutral: 1-0-0 ND 

When ND Ranked: 11-2-0 ND 

When SU Ranked: 3-0-0 SU 

When Both Ranked: 1-0-0 SU 

When ND Top 10: 8-2-0 ND 

When SU Top 10: N/A 

Most Points Scored: 57 (2003) 

Most Points Given Up: 45 (2009) 

Biggest Win: 57-7 (2003) 

Biggest Defeat: 33-15 (1997) 

*The 1925 Rose Bowl Irish victory was the first meeting between the teams, the last bowl game Notre Dame would play for over 40 years, the last game played by the Four Horsemen, and was a key component to Rockne creating a national following from coast to coast. 

*The teams played once in 1925, 1942, 1963, and 1964. Since 1988, they have met 20 times. 

*The 1990 and 1992 losses to Stanford were among the worst during the Holtz era. The former came at home to an unranked Cardinal team while the Irish were No. 1 in the country. The latter, an absolutely devastating 17-point loss inside Notre Dame Stadium, was the only defeat on the season for the Irish. 

*Ty Willingham and Charlie Weis combined to go 7-1 against Stanford, with the lone loss coming in 2009’s season finale, the last game the Irish have played to date.

10. Indiana: 29 games

First Game: 1898 

Series Lead: 23-5-1 ND 

Since 1950: 6-1-0 ND 

Since 1975: 1-0-0 ND 

Since 2000: Last Game in 1991 

Home: 13-1-0 ND 

Away: 6-3-0 ND 

Neutral: 4-1-0 ND 

When ND Ranked: 7-1-0 ND 

When IU Ranked: N/A 

When Both Ranked: N/A 

When ND Top 10: 4-0-0 ND 

When IU Top 10: N/A 

Most Points Scored: 49 (1949 and 1991) 

Most Points Given Up: 27 (1991) 

Biggest Win: 49-6 (1949) 

Biggest Defeat: 22-5 (1905) 

*The Hoosiers have never been ranked coming into a game against Notre Dame. 

*Four of Indiana’s five victories in the series came before World War I. 

*Rockne was a perfect 8-0 against Indiana.

*Four of Frank Leahy’s 11 career losses at Notre Dame came in the 1950 season, where the Irish lost to Indiana 20-7, that being the last Irish defeat in the series. 

*The most recent game in 1991 tied the record for most points scored in the series by Notre Dame but also set the mark for most points given up by the Irish to the Hoosiers.

7. Northwestern: 47 games

First Game: 1889 (9-0 ND Win) 

Series Lead: 37-8-2 ND 

Since 1950: 14-5-0 ND 

Since 1975: 5-1-0 ND 

Since 2000: Last Game in 1995 

Home: 16-4-0 ND 

Away: 18-4-1 ND 

Neutral: 3-0-1 ND 

When ND Ranked: 25-3-0 ND 

When NW Ranked: 5-3-0 ND 

When Both Ranked: 5-1-0 ND 

When ND Top 10: 20-2-0 ND 

When NW Top 10: 4-3-0 ND 

Most Points Scored: 50 (1971) 

Most Points Given Up: 35 (1962) 

Biggest Win: 48-0 (1976) 

Biggest Defeat: 35-6 (1962) 

*Rockne was a perfect 6-0 against Northwestern, with only one victory coming at home. 

*1936: No. 11 Notre Dame upsets No. 1 Wildcats in South Bend 26-6. 

*Nearly 60 percent of this series’ games were played before 1949. 

*Half of Northwestern’s victories in the series came in four straight seasons (1959-62) thanks to future Irish coach Ara Parseghian, who led the Wildcats for eight seasons. As a result, Joe Kuharich was 0-4 against Northwestern. 

*Parseghian ended up a perfect 9-0 against his former employer. 

*As heavy favorites, No. 9 Notre Dame lost the last meeting to open the 1995 season. However, Northwestern would go on to a 10-2 record, win the Big Ten, and earn a trip to the Rose Bowl.

4. Michigan State: 73 games

First Game: 1897 (34-6 ND Win) 

Series Lead: 45-27-1 ND 

Since 1950: 30-25-1 ND 

Since 1975: 21-12-0 ND 

Since 2000: 6-4-0 MSU 

Home: 27-13-0 ND 

Away: 18-14-1 ND 

When ND Ranked: 24-15-1 ND 

When MSU Ranked: 12-5-1 MSU 

When Both Ranked: 7-4-1 MSU 

When ND Top 10: 17-9-1 ND 

When MSU Top 10: 7-2-1 MSU 

Most Points Scored: 53 (1898) 

Most Points Given Up: 47 (1956) 

Biggest Win: 53-0 (1898) 

Biggest Defeat: 35-0 (1951) 

*Notre Dame won first eight meetings. 

*1918 loss to MSU was Rockne’s first as Notre Dame head coach. 

*Three of Leahy’s 11 losses at Notre Dame came at the hands of Michigan State (1950-52). Leahy did not lose to any other opponent more than once. 

*Spartans won eight straight contests from 1955 to 1963, tied for the most consecutive victories for an Irish opponent. 

*1966: No. 1 Notre Dame ties No. 2 Michigan State 10-10 in “Game of the Century.” 

*Holtz 8-1 against Michigan State. His successor Bob Davie was 0-5. 

*2009 victory against MSU was first inside Notre Dame Stadium since 1993 (1-6 overall).

2. USC: 81 games

First Game: 1926 (13-12 ND Win) 

Series Lead: 42-34-5 ND 

Since 1950: 29-28-3 ND 

Since 1975: 18-16-1 USC 

Since 2000: 8-2-0 USC 

Home: 23-13-1 ND 

Away: 21-17-4 USC 

Neutral: 2-0-0 ND 

When ND Ranked: 25-20-4 ND 

When USC Ranked: 22-21-3 USC 

When Both Ranked: 16-14-2 ND 

When ND Top 10: 20-17-3 ND 

When USC Top 10: 18-11-2 USC 

Most Points Scored: 51 (1966) 

Most Points Given Up: 55 (1974) 

Biggest Win: 51-0 (1966) 

Biggest Defeat: 38-0 (2007) 

*Hunk Anderson 0-3 against USC. 

*Notre Dame 5-2 against USC when Irish ranked No. 1 in the nation. First loss came in 1938 to the eighth-ranked Trojans and the second in 1964’s heartbreaking loss to unranked USC. 

*USC 5-0 against Notre Dame when Trojans ranked No. 1 in the nation. Most recent victories came in 2004 and 2005. 

*Notre Dame’s 7-6 victory in 1927 at Chicago’s Soldier Field attracted an NCAA-record 120,000 spectators. The Irish's 38-7 victory in 1947 drew a still Coliseum record 104,953 fans. 

*Leahy 8-1-1 against USC, while Parseghian a rather shocking 3-6-1 against the Men of Troy. 

*USC’s current eight-game winning streak against Notre Dame is tied for the longest streak for an Irish opponent. Notre Dame beat USC a series-record 11 straight times from 1983 to 1993.

Part Three coming soon...

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This article was originally published at One Foot Down.

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