From Football of Yesteryear: Be careful when you talk trash (Notre Dame vs. Georgia Tech, 1977)

I’ve been a bit nostalgic this week; I remembered some of the college football season from my first year in college (1977)
As a fan: ok, Navy was only 5-6 and lost to Army. But Texas went 11-0 during the regular season and my parents sent me articles about every game. On the other hand Notre Dame (my other team at the time) went 10-1 and met Texas in the Cotton Bowl; the winner would probably be national champion. Sure Notre Dame played Navy and won easily 43-10.

But one game was a bit interesting: it was Notre Dame vs. Georgia Tech. Tech was not a good team (I saw them lose to Navy 20-17 in Annapolis). But they had upset Notre Dame 23-14 the year before and had called Notre Dame a “fat slow team”:

Notre Dame players, still smarting from last year’s loss to Georgia Tech and comments that they were “fat and slow,” squashed the Yellow Jackets 69-14. Irish Quarterback Joe Montana hit on 15 of 25 passes for 273 yards and three TDs. Altogether, the Irish gained 667 yards, Vagas Ferguson rushing for 116 of them in 11 carries during a 10-minute span.

It wasn’t just the final score though:

As every Tech follower well remembered, Notre Dame had demolished the Ramblin Wreck 69-14 last year at South Bend. Worse, it seemed that Notre Dame Coach Dan Devine, trying to impress the pollsters, had unmercifully rolled up the score. With the Irish clinging to a 62-7 fourth-quarter lead, they ran for a first down on fourth-and-one at midfield—and made it. It’s one thing to end up in the ditch, Tech fans felt; it’s quite another to have your hub caps stolen while you’re waiting for a tow.

Note: Pepper Rodgers coached Kansas in the Big Eight when Dan Devine coached Missouri; they did NOT care for one another.

So here are Notre Dame highlights from the game. Yes, it goes on awhile; the referees got quite a workout from signaling “touchdown”.

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