Nebraska Football: Throwback Thursday – South Bend Invasion
By Sean Martin
September 9, 2000 -The top-ranked Nebraska football team visited South Bend for the first time since 1947, outlined across a sunny September sky.
Husker fans rode, some flew (like me, from New York), into Notre Dame Stadium and the Irish faithful learned a painful lesson well-known among the circles of annual Husker opponents.
The Husker Nation travels well and no walls are impenetrable when Nebraska fans want to see their team play football.
On October 18, 1924, famed sportswriter Grantland Rice penned the following legendary tribute to Notre Dame football following in win over Army in New York City.
"“Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as Famine, Pestilence, Destruction and Death. These are only aliases. Their real names are Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden.They formed the crest of the South Bend cyclone before which another fighting Army football team was swept over the precipice at the Polo Grounds yesterday afternoon as 55,000 spectators peered down on the bewildering panorama spread on the green plain below.”"
Rice’s words have lived on for nearly a century now and love ’em or loathe ’em, the Notre Dame football team is big a part of college football as any other and South Bend, Ind. is home to the hallowed grounds of Notre Dame Stadium.
This day, approximately one-third of the 80,000-plus seat venue was decorated in Red and Irish faithful were aghast at the sellout of its fans.
As I strode the stairwell decked out in my Tommie Frazier No. 15 jersey for the first time to get a look at the field about 30 minutes prior to kickoff, I thought I was in Lincoln, Neb. given the Sea of Red already in the stands.
Prior to entering the stadium, my host, a Notre Dame alum, took me and two others on a sightseeing trip around campus where we encountered the Irish band gathering. I believe it was on the steps of the library.
It was there that my first dose of Notre Dame mystique hit when the band leader addressed the throng of fans and boasted, “Remember, nobody leaves Notre Dame ranked number one!”
As the crowd cheered, I suddenly had a queasy, uneasy feeling come over me given the conviction in which he spoke his words.
Being a big fan of tradition, it only made sense to join in the mile-long march into Notre Dame Stadium, a trek led by the Irish marching band.
Though I was one of the few red-clad marchers, the Irish faithful welcomed me into the tradition and had a moment to snap a photo with the first female member of the famed Irish Guard, Molly Kinder, though she did not seem impressed.
Was I confident? Absolutely. I’d spent the car ride from Chicago telling my buddies of the Husker quarterback, a junior named Eric Crouch. I told the group that if the Irish defense allowed Crouch to get the corner, it would be a long day for Notre Dame.
Sure enough, I looked like a visionary when early on, Crouch got loose on the right side of the Husker line before cutting upfield, on his way for a 62-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 Nebraska lead late in the first quarter.
Another Crouch touchdown in the second quarter gave Nebraska a 14-7 halftime lead that grew to 21-7 in the third quarter when running back Dan Alexander got loose and scored on a 28-yard touchdown run.
Then, things got a little dicey for Big Red.
On the ensuing kickoff, Notre Dame’s Julius Jones returned the ball 100 yards for an Irish touchdown and two-thirds of the South Bend crowd was rocking.
In the fourth, Joey Getherall did all he could to ruin my weekend by returning a punt 83 yards to tie the game at 21.
The Huskers who had outgained Notre Dame 377-224 in total offense were suddenly staring at overtime as the band leader’s words from pre-game continued to rattle in my head.
The Irish took a 24-21 lead in OT on a 29-yard field goal by Nick Setta.
Needing a field goal to extend overtime or a touchdown to win the game, Crouch cut left from the seven-yard line for the game-winning touchdown and a help notch a 27-24 Husker win.
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When it was over, my gracious host and I sat on the bleachers, separated by a few feet.
A sense of disappointment from the Golden Domer seeking a magical South Bend upset, a wave feeling of joy and relief from yours truly on a day and an experience never to be forgotten.