Notre Dame football trivia for Week 10
No. 15 Notre Dame (7-2) hits the road to take on struggling Clemson (4-4) at noon Saturday on ABC. It will be eighth meeting between the two schools and the third at Memorial Stadium, otherwise known as Death Valley. The Fighting Irish have won two of the last three — both at Notre Dame Stadium — but the Tigers still lead the all-time series 4-3.
Notre Dame and Clemson split the first two meetings at Memorial Stadium, where the Tigers have won 76 percent of their games all time and are 94-9 (.913 winning percentage) under head coach Dabo Swinney.
Who is the only quarterback to guide the Fighting Irish to a win in at Clemson’s Death Valley?
A. Rusty Lisch
B. Steve Beuerlein
C. DeShone Kizer
D. Joe Montana
Answer: D. In 1977, Montana rallied the No. 5 Fighting Irish from a 10-point second-half deficit with a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter for a 21-17 win over No. 15 Clemson.
The Tigers led the game 17-7 in the third quarter and had a pair of drives into Irish territory that were thwarted by lost fumbles, the second of which was recovered at the Irish 14-yard line. Notre Dame responded with an 86-yard march that culminated with Montana’s first TD run. After another Tiger fumble near midfield, the Irish cashed in with Montana’s go-ahead touchdown with 7:11 remaining in the game. Clemson was held to -4 yards total on its last two possessions while the Irish ran out the clock to pick up a huge victory en route to winning the 1977 national championship.
In 2015, sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer nearly rallied the Irish from a 21-3 third-quarter deficit amid a torrential downpour from the remnants of Hurricane Joaquin. However, the No. 12 Tigers held on to defeat No. 6 Notre Dame 24-22 when the Irish’s two-point conversion attempt with seven seconds remaining was stopped.
