USC and Notre Dame's rivalry reaches enormous heights with an incredible finish to this 1978 game. Be sure to watch this classic with Joe Montana quarterbacking Notre Dame.
Used to get the Notre Dame playbacks of each saturdays' games in the late 60s/early 1970s. Fond memories. Back when Ara Persighian was coach. They'd always have huge games with USC. Even in college, Montana was a miracle worker.
@@markgardner9460 Many reasons have been offered up as to why Montana wasn't selected until the 3rd round. Most believe it was because Montana was undersized being under 200 lbs. However, The best explanation I ever heard, was that Montana fled the pocket way too early in College, which is not what NFL scouts are looking for in an NFL Quarterback. But there were reasons for that. One, Montana could throw just as well on the run as he could in the pocket. And two, if he would've forced himself to be exclusively a pocket passer his career would've ended a whole lot quicker, because Montana got Killed in the pocket occasionally. 😅
I was at the game, rooting for USC. Montana was impressive ... a relentless competitor. I took notice of Montana at that game. Was not surprised at his later success in the NFL
John Robinson said he had nightmares about this game for years afterwards. Would have been nice if ND could have pulled it out. For the first three quarters, SC was unstoppable. But with Montana, you were never out of it. Believe it or not, Montana was not named an All-American while at ND. So while he breezed into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he is ineligible for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame the way the rules stand now.
The best game I saw, that Montana had in the NFL that he DIDN'T win, was against the Redskins in the NFC championship game. The best game that Montana had in COLLEGE that he DIDN'T win, was against the Trojans in this game here.
Uncharacteristically , JM was 5/ 21 for 89 yards midway thru the third quarter, and then fumbled away a TD on the goal line! And USC still couldn't put the game away. It's fair to say that both teams snatched defeat from the jaws of victory multiple times on this day, and you had to figure the winner would probably be the last one to have the ball. What a classic!
@@markgardner9460 I loved this Era, and being a bills fan, I knew who exactly they should draft, haha and wanted Montana, and simply angry when that didn't happen. They had Knox as a coach, Jerry Butler, Frank Lewis and Joe Cribs. Joe Ferguson posted really good numbers with that cast.
Bobby Leopold started 15 games as a rookie drafted in the 8th round - that's pretty dang good. Thanks for bringing him up - hadn't heard that name in a long time.
I never liked notre dumb or the 40whiners but I always was a Joe cool fan imo the best ever @ qb....there's actually a great doc series on peacock about Montana it's really good.
To me, in order to converse about the greatest QB of all-time, the conversation must start with QB's who could win a game with their arm or legs...and Montana could certainly do that. John Madden called him the greatest of all-time.
I was glued to the tv on Saturdays - loved college football back then. Like you alluded to, times change and now teams combine to score close to 100 points or more per game on a regular basis.
I can think of McDonald, Leinart and Marinovich off the top of my head, but can't come up with even 2 from any other school, so it seems that you're correct. Anybody else have any info?
Paul McDonald was drafted by the Cleveland Browns and was their starting QB in 1984. He had some good games as a pro, but overall, he had more success leading the Trojans.
@@markgardner9460 True. And Cleveland actually drafted Charles White first ((1980 draft). He was with the Browns for a few years. Also, Bob Golic had some very good years in Cleveland, as well, tho he came via New England.
@@markgardner9460 Yes, excellent picks by Cleveland - helped them become a power team in the 80’s. A lot of NFL pros came from these two squads in ‘78; Ronnie Lott was in this game, Dave Waymer (Saints), Dennis Smith (Broncos), and, of course Joe Montana. And probably many more.
