Countdown to kickoff: Notre Dame at Ohio State is 29 days away
To preview one of the most anticipated games for Notre Dame this century and the official start of the Marcus Freeman era, BlueandGold.com is counting down the days to the matchup against Ohio State on Sept. 3.
This daily series of 99 stories celebrates by the numbers some of the most notable names, dates, moments and memories related to the past and present of Notre Dame football.
The Irish and Buckeyes kick off in 29 days. It brings to mind the 1929 season, one where Notre Dame won a national title despite being homeless all season.
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The season before Notre Dame moved into The House That Rockne Built, it didn’t have a house at all.
The Irish’s 29-year home, Cartier Field, was demolished after the 1928 season, a full year before Notre Dame Stadium was ready. They were looking for someone – heck, anyone – to take them in.
Their solution was hardly a “home” stadium. It wasn’t even in their home state. Notre Dame played its three home games at Soldier Field in Chicago, located 90 miles west of campus. Not terribly far, all told. These days, plenty of Notre Dame fans drive in from Chicago for home games and can get back there for dinner. But this was before the Indiana Toll Road and cars that could drive 75 mph without combusting.
The temporarily homelessness was more manageable with just three home games out of nine contests that year. Notre Dame’s first Soldier Field game was against Wisconsin, a 19-0 win. It followed road games at Indiana and Navy. Yes, Notre Dame really played more road games than home games in its own state in 1929.
The Irish played on the road at Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon) and Georgia Tech before returning “home” to host Drake. They beat the Bulldogs 19-7 and hosted USC the following week, a 13-12 win. (One wonders if they stayed in Chicago between games). The latter drew 112,912 fans, the largest crowd to watch a Notre Dame game until the 2011 contest at Michigan.
Road games against Northwestern and Army wrapped up the season. Notre Dame won both, ending with a 9-0 record. Turns out, the nomadic lifestyle hardly hindered them on the field.
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That 9-0 record included four shutouts and 38 points allowed all season. Yes, that’s 4.2 points per game. No defense would do that now. Then again, no one would be forced to play home games 90 miles away these days.
A different era, it was.
But in that era and in that season, Notre Dame was unrivaled. At least according to the old Dickinson System, the rating algorithm that pre-dated the AP poll. It awarded the Irish the national title over Purdue that season, giving Knute Rockne the second of his three championships.
The Irish moved into Notre Dame Stadium the following year and have never left it. They have returned to Soldier Field seven times since, most recently last season. The opponent was, ironically, Wisconsin. The Irish beat the Badgers 41-13, pushing their record at Soldier Field to 11-0-2 all time.
An unblemished record will make any place feel like home.
