Notre Dame vs Nebraska
November 15, 1924
Ever since the 1924 schedule was released, Knute Rockne’s players were intensely focused on November 15 and the chance for revenge against their prime nemesis of the past two years – the Nebraska Cornhuskers. It was said that in the Irish dressing room, lockers were adorned with all manner of signs such as:
“Remember the last two defeats.”
“This year, we ought to beat ’em, got to beat ’em, WILL beat ’em.”
In less than a decade, the Nebraska-Notre Dame rivalry had become as fierce as any the two schools played. It started in 1915 and saw the Huskers go 2-1-1 against the Irish in the first four games. Then Notre Dame dominated, taking hard-fought victories with George Gipp-led teams in 1919 (14-9) and 1920 (16-7) and a 7-0 triumph in Nebraska’s first visit to Cartier Field for Homecoming in 1921.
In 1922, sophomores Harry Stuhldreher, Jim Crowley, Elmer Layden and Don Miller combined in the Irish backfield for their first start November 25 against Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh, winning 19-0. With almost no preparation time, the Irish had to turn around and travel to Lincoln for their season-ending clash with the Huskers on Thanksgiving Day, November 30.
In the final game ever played at Nebraska Field, a crowd estimated at 16,000 crammed the old park to see the classic battle. Notre Dame was 8-0-1, having played a scoreless tie at Army on Armistice Day. Going into Lincoln, the Irish had allowed only 13 points the entire season. On this day, the Huskers put up 14, and a final Irish drive was thwarted inside the Cornhusker 10-yard-line, the game ending 14-6, Nebraska.
In 1923, everything was setting up for a Notre Dame squad second to none, and the chances to retake command of the Nebraska series were strong. The Irish plowed through their first six opponents by a combined score of 195-16. This time the venue was the new Memorial Stadium, with the support of 30,000 full-throated backers. But the Huskers’ 1-1-2 squad didn’t appear to be a strong contender to upset the Fighting Irish. Yet somehow the Cornhuskers rose up to form a defensive front that frustrated the Irish on the ground and in the air all day.
The Huskers took a 14-0 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Irish battled back and scored a late touchdown on a pass from Stuhldreher to backup Bill Cerney but could come no closer, losing 14-7. The Huskers left the field in delirious triumph, the Irish in bitter defeat.
Nobody was more disappointed than Harry Stuhldreher. He had played his heart out, completing several passes and intercepting three Husker aerials. He swore to himself that day, and to his teammates, that “we would beat Nebraska in 1924, even if we lost every other game” of the season.
Two-thirds of the way through the 1924 season, it was clear the Irish didn’t have to sacrifice any other games in an attempt to beat the Huskers and stay unbeaten. Now, finally, it was time for Nebraska.
Preparations began to take on the air of a “second homecoming,” just two weeks after Georgia Tech’s historic visit, as thousands were expected to pour into South Bend on special trains and by automobile. Football games at Notre Dame were becoming “an event.” Local groups made plans to handle the overflow of guests, arranging private homes that could accommodate visitors unable to find hotel rooms. Information booths and greeters would again welcome visitors at the train stations and hotels. The attention of the middle west, and indeed the nation, would fall on South Bend and Notre Dame this Saturday. Both wanted to show their best side.
The clamor for tickets to an Irish home game had never been greater. Everywhere one went, there was someone looking for another pair of pasteboards. The Tuesday before the Nebraska game, Rockne announced that all tickets, reserved and general admission, were completely sold out. “Never before in the history of Cartier field has there been such a demand for tickets,” a local newspaper declared. According to reports, the few ticket-holders willing to part with their passes were asking $7.50 to $15 apiece; in Chicago, choice seats were changing hands for as much as $32.50 each, more than 10 times face value.
The Cornhuskers entrained Thursday night, serenaded at the Lincoln station by several of their undergraduate classmates chanting the school cry, “Go, gang, go.” Coach Fred Dawson and company traveled through the night to Chicago, where they held a light signal drill Friday afternoon at Stagg Field. They continued on to South Bend and could not have imagined what awaited them.
Pulling into the New York Central station a little after 7 p.m., the Nebraska contingent noticed the lineup of automobiles decked out in the colors of both schools. To the cheers of onlookers, the Huskers were escorted to the vehicles. The caravan, with horns blaring, wound through downtown and brought the Huskers to the Notre Dame campus, where a huge pep fest was waiting to honor the visitors. The News-Times described the scene:
“Eddie Luther, Notre Dame cheer leader, introduced the Nebraska coach and players amid a greeting of the wildest cheering that ever resounded in the Notre Dame gymnasium.” Nebraska Coach Dawson was greeted with a full three minutes of din and noise that brought forth unstinted praise for the Notre Dame team and its enviable record. A spirit of sportsmanship and respect permeated the scene.
But when the whistle blew Saturday, the battle was as fierce as ever. Rockne started his Shock Troops as usual, and Nebraska pinned the Irish deep in their own territory. A botched punt left the ball at Notre Dame’s 5-yard line, and the Huskers bulled their way to a 6-0 lead.
A Nebraska punt opened the second quarter. Notre Dame started from its 46, and Crowley got loose on an end run for 21 yards to the Husker 33. Minutes later, Crowley gathered in a Stuhldreher pass and raced 25 yards to the Nebraska 3-yard-line. Crowley and Layden got the ball to the one-foot mark, and Stuhldreher followed a solid wall of blockers into the end zone for a touchdown. Crowley’s kick made it 7-6 Irish. Fans of the Blue and Gold cheered crazily – for the first time since 1921, the Irish led Nebraska.
The Irish defense was holding the Huskers, and the offense started moving again. Crowley passed to Stuhldreher for 13 yards and a first down. Miller smashed off tackle for 15 yards to the 25. Layden made eight yards on a crossbuck. Crowley blasted for six more. The Huskers called time to try to regroup but to no avail. From the 10, Don Miller got the ball, slid off tackle and dodged Nebraska tacklers for a touchdown. Crowley converted for a 14-6 lead.
The Irish never looked back. On an afternoon when all four of the Horsemen scored touchdowns – including a pair by Don Miller – the game was never seriously in doubt. Two years of pent-up frustration were being loosed upon the outgunned Huskers. The “wonder team” was at its best and was virtually unstoppable. Final score: Notre Dame 34, Nebraska 6.
Tired. Relieved. Vindicated. The greatest team in Irish history trotted happily to their dressing room. There, an eerie silence prevailed. “When the fellows entered the dressing room,” one of the star backs explained, “they couldn’t talk, they were so happy over the victory.”
Notre Dame fans went about the campus and city in splendid celebration. The Nebraska jinx had been vanquished.
Excerpted from Loyal Sons: The Story of The Four Horsemen and Notre Dame Football’s 1924 Champions. Order an inscribed, autographed copy of the Special Centennial Commemorative Edition HERE.