This week in Notre Dame history, trivia, and much more

In an effort to keep alive the mission and spirit of Lou Somogyi, this every-Monday piece looks at the upcoming week in Fighting Irish history. This one covers Jan. 23-29. 

Know your Domers trivia 

(answers below)

1) What bowl game has Notre Dame appeared in the most? 

2) What Irish quarterback led No. 2 Notre Dame to the epic 31-24 win over No. 1 Florida State in 1993?

3) Which Notre Dame linebacker recorded a pick-six to lead the Irish to a 17-13 victory at No. 9 Tennessee in 2004?

Fighting Irish Birthdays 

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Jeff Samardzija (1/23/1985)

Samardzija, who turned 38 today, was a standout Irish wide receiver and baseball pitcher from 2003-06. The “Shark” chose to play professional baseball after college and enjoyed a 13-year MLB career with four teams. 

Allen Pinkett (1/25/1964)

Pinkett, who turns 59 on Wednesday, was a standout Irish running back from 1982-85 and a two-time All-American. Pinkett’s 4,131 career rushing yards still rank second all-time at Notre Dame. A third-round draft pick, Pinkett played six seasons with the Houston Oilers. 

Manti Te’o (1/26/1991)

Te’o, who turns 32 on Thursday, played linebacker from 2009-12 and became a unanimous Irish All-American linebacker and a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2012. A second-round draft pick, Te’o played in eight NFL seasons. 

Bryant Young (1/27/1972)

Young, who turns 51 on Friday, was a three-year Irish starter and an All-American defensive tackle. A first-round draft pick (No. 7 overall) of the 49ers, Young played 14 seasons in San Francisco, where he won a Super Bowl in 1995 and made four Pro Bowls.

Derrick Mayes (1/28/1974)

Mayes, who turns 49 on Saturday, was a standout Irish wide receiver from 1992-95. A second-round draft pick of the Packers in 1996, Mayes played five seasons in the NFL and won a Super Bowl with Green Bay in 1996. 

Notable deaths

Ralph Guglielmi (1/23/2017)

Born June 26, 1933, Guglielmi died six years ago on Wednesday at age 83.

Guglielmi played quarterback for Notre Dame from 1951-54 where he became an All-American and a College Football Hall of Fame inductee. 

A first-round draft pick (No. 4 overall) of the Redskins in 1955, Guglielmi played parts of seven seasons in the NFL. 

Joe Kuharich (1/25/1981)

Born April 14, 1917, the former Irish player and coach died 42 years ago on Friday at age 63. Kuharich was an Irish offensive guard from 1935-37. 

A 12th-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1938, Kuharich spent parts of three seasons with the Chicago Cardinals. 

Kuharich became the Notre Dame head coach from 1959-62 and struggled, going 17-23 overall during four non-winning seasons. 

Memory Lane

Jan 23, 1971

For the first time in collegiate athletics, a school’s football and basketball teams defeated a No. 1-ranked opponent in the same month.

In a span of barely three weeks, the Fighting Irish football team defeated No. 1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl (24-11). Twenty-two days later on Jan. 23, it stunned No. 1 UCLA (89-82) in basketball to move to No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time in Irish program history.

And as a side note, the Irish hockey team the day before the UCLA basketball upset whipped No. 1 Michigan Tech, 7-1. 

Jan. 21 & 24, 2001

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team claimed two blowout road wins 22 years ago this week — at Seton Hall and at West Virginia — that kept it undefeated (19-0) and on track to the program’s first-ever national championship. 

The winning streak ran to 23 games before Notre Dame suffered its first of two losses that season. The first to Rutgers, 54-53, in the Big East regular season, the second to Connecticut, 78-76, in the Big East Championship game. 

The Irish finished the season 34-2 and beat Purdue, 68-66, in the national title game. 

Jan. 24, 2011

Looking for a way to pull a key road win at No. 2 Pittsburgh, Notre Dame men’s basketball coach Mike Brey called on his “burn” offense and came away with a 56-51 upset win over the Panthers for only its second victory over a top-5 team in six seasons.

The snail’s-pace, limit-possession, trodding style of offense was executed to perfection and helped Notre Dame snap Pitt’s 20-game home winning streak. The Panthers had actually won 51 of their previous 52 games at the Petersen Events Center before the Irish pulled the upset. 

Know your Domers answers:

1) Cotton Bowl (8)

2) Kevin McDougal

3) Our own Mike Goolsby

— Blue & Gold Illustrated Managing Editor Steve Downey, and the late-great Lou Somogyi contributed to this report