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This Date in College Football Belt History – September 28
The 0-1-1 Purdue Boilermakers of coach Alex Agase seemed unlikely to threaten the Belt reign of the 2-0 Notre Dame Fighting Irish of coach Ara Parseghian. Coming off a loss to Wisconsin & a tie with Miami (OH), the Boilermakers were 28-point underdogs to the 2nd ranked, defending National Champions. Purdue scored 24 points in the 1st quarter, including a 52-yard touchdown run by RB Pete Gross, on their way to a stunning 31-20 win ending the 7-game Belt reign of Notre Dame while claiming both The Belt & the Shillelagh Trophy. The Boilermakers recovered a fumble by Irish’s RB Al Samuel on the second play of the game & Purdue’s QB Mike Terrizzi scored on a 1-yard touchdown run seven plays later. After a Notre Dame punt, Gross broke loose for his touchdown run to push the lead to 14-0. Things got worse for the Fighting Irish when Purdue’s LB Bob Mannella intercepted Notre Dame’s QB Tom Clements’ first pass attempt. Mannella returned the interception 21 yards for a touchdown giving Purdue a 21-0 lead. A 47-yard field goal by PK Steve Schmidt finished the 1st quarter scoring barrage for the Boilermakers. Notre Dame finally got things going in the 2nd quarter with RB Wayne Bullock scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run to finish a 12-play, 80-yard drive. Bullock scored on another 1-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter as Notre Dame closed to 24-14. Purdue’s LB Jim Wood intercepted Clements at the Notre Dame 31-yard line leading to a 6-yard touchdown run by RB Mike Northington with 9:23 to play for a 31-14 Boilermaker edge. Clements connected with All-American WR Pete Demmerle on a 29-yard touchdown pass for the final Fighting Irish score. Purdue’s Terrizzi was knocked out in the 2nd quarter & back-up QB Mark Vitali finished completing 6 of 7 passes for 79 yards. Clements finished with 264 yards passing with a touchdown but 3 interceptions while Demmerle added 8 catches for 121 yards with his score. Notre Dame finished 10-2; ranked 6th nationally in Parseghian’s final season while the Boilermakers finished the season 4-6-1. Notre Dame would play for The Belt again in 1977.
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