“As time moves forward, and somebody else takes the responsibility of becoming the head football coach at Notre Dame, this game will be long remembered. Twenty, thirty years from now, they will talk about the Sugar Bowl Game where Notre Dame in its first competition against Alabama, won the ball game in The South, coming from behind to do it by one point.” ~ Ara Parseghian
I suppose the answer is because I cared so very much about “The Game” of Dec. 31, 1973. If you’re old like me and have been a Bama fan, or you know your college football history, you know it was a great game. Bear Bryant and Ara Parseghian lead their two undefeated and storied teams into a 60-minute battle that lived up to its hype as the game of the century. From Al.com, read more
The first meeting was in the 1973 Sugar Bowl at Tulane Stadium. Alabama came in undefeated and ranked No.1 in the Associated Press and United Press International polls. Notre Dame was undefeated and ranked in the top four.
In what was dubbed the “Game of the Century” before the time when we seemingly have one every few years, Notre Dame outlasted Alabama 24-23. Notre Dame’s victory would push the Irish to No.1 in the AP poll. Alabama would claim a share of the title because UPI determined its champion after the regular season, a practice it would discontinue the following year. From USA Today, read more
Thirty-nine years ago, there was a college football national championship game arranged not by computer rankings or a rubric of poll results like this season’s Alabama-Notre Dame matchup for the Bowl Championship Series title, but by the kind of primitive challenge heard in a sandlot.
From the NY Times, read more