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 2^nd ranked, defending National Champions.  Purdue scored 24 points in the 1^st 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 1^st quarter scoring barrage for the Boilermakers.  Notre Dame finally got things going in the 2^nd 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 3^rd 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 2^nd 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 6^th 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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