And Into the Mouth of Hell
Welcome, fellow football enthusiasts, to another edition of my Notre Dame Football Throwback Thursday series! Today, I’m delving into the archives to revisit a classic showdown: the 1965 clash between the University of Notre Dame and the University of Southern California. Grab your favorite jersey, settle into your seat, and let’s rewind the clock to witness a battle for the ages!
The following excerpt is from Vol. 107, No. 10 of the Notre Dame Scholastic, featuring the 1965 Notre Dame Football Review.
And Into the Mouth of Hell
by Jim Murray
After last year’s victory, the Trojans could expect little more than the specially concocted reception, described in the Los Angeles Times, that resulted in a 28-7 victory for the revenge-minded Irish.
OUTLINED AGAINST the blue-grey October sky, Notre Dame kicked the bejabers out of USC on a leaky Saturday afternoon. The Fighting Croats did it again. The Eleven Horsemen rode again. And again.
The Trojans spent the day on their haircuts. Notre Dame spent it in the end zone.
For the benefit of the Trojans, the football Saturday was a Spalding J2V oblong in shape, seamed in the corners and usually found in the arms of a Notre Dame halfback. The only thing USC won all day was the toss. They got a lot of practice Saturday running back kickoffs. Also, they got to work on their reverse plays. Once, they got the ball on the Notre Dame 9-yard line and, by adroit maneuvering, they had reversed all the way back to the 38-yard line in only three plays. It was the most they moved the ball all day. Against Notre Dame, you take any direction you can get.
Mike Garrett, who was going for the Heisman Trophy, couldn’t even get to the line of scrimmage most of the afternoon. . . .
Mike usually carries the ball 30 to 40 times a game. To do that Saturday, he would have had to intercept Notre Dame passes back from center. The Trojan attack crashed into the Notre Dame line with all the shattering force of a soap bubble. Garrett’s total of 43 yards was about what he ordinarily gets in the first two carries. It was only 130 yards below his per-game average of 170. He couldn’t gain 170 yards against Notre Dame by airplane. As a matter of fact, neither could the whole team.
The Trojans took the field with all the elan of a guy who was being asked to cut barbed wire in front of a machine-gun emplacement in the dark. . . .
It was a great day for the Belgrade division of the Fighting Irish, the Croatian lodge of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. Lawrence Wayne Conjar has not been trying to make the Heisman Trophy, he’s been trying to make the first team. He only made four touchdowns this wet afternoon and 116 yards, which was only 73 more than Garrett made and 122 more than Rod Sherman did. It was also 42 yards more than USC made.
Of course, he only had the USC line to run through. You have heard of the “Seven Blocks of Granite”? Well, this day, we had the seven chips of potato. I have seen bass drums that would fight back harder. . . .
I wouldn’t say this place was emotional. Not any more than the second act of an Italian opera. There must not be a bed sheet left in the whole joint. They threw more linen than a tenement house on washday. They had signs on them like “Irish kill” “Trojans welcome into the jaws of death and the mouth of hell!” I think the rally director was Charles Addams. Or Count Dracula. A coffin with “No. 20” (Mike Garrett) on it was dragged around the field. And a bed sheet with a picture of Garrett being hanged by a Notre Dame linebacker infelicitously named “Lynch” (Jim) was also waved before the TV cameras. It was about as funny as Nuremberg. . . .
The rain might have proved the efficacy of prayer since a flood was popularly supposed, before the game, to be the only surefire defense against Garrett. But Ara Parseghian, as if telling Divine Providence, “look, if you don’t mind, I’d rather do it myself,” kept the tarpaulin on the field until just before the game. . . .
USC made several mistakes at the outset, not the least of which was scheduling the game in the first place. They should have seen if Yale was available. “There is no question the mind, the emotions, the spirit, play a very important part in this game of football,” announced Parseghian at the end of the game. But I noticed he teaches blocking all the same. And keeps his scouts going down in the Pennsylvania coal mines with a canary and a letter of intent.
As I bid adieu to my journey through the annals of Notre Dame football history looking back at this epic 1965 clash against USC, I can’t help but revel in the timeless intensity of this storied rivalry. The passion between these two titans of college football burns bright, igniting fervor and excitement every time Notre Dame graces the field.
But fear not, dear readers, for my Throwback Thursday adventures are far from over! Do you have a favorite matchup, a historic showdown, or an unforgettable moment in Notre Dame football lore that you’re dying to revisit? I want to hear from you!
So, don your thinking caps, scour your memory banks, and drop me a line with your suggestions. Whether it’s a classic clash against a longtime rival or a lesser-known gem hidden in the depths of history, I’m ready to dive in and uncover the tales that make Notre Dame football the stuff of legends. Until next time, stay tuned, stay passionate, and keep the spirit of the Fighting Irish alive!
Cheers & GO IRISH!