Game of the Year of the Day, 1931: USC 16, Notre Dame 14

The date: November 21, 1931

The matchup: USC (6-1) at Notre Dame (6-0-1)

My second book, The 50 Best* College Football Teams of All Time, came out in March. The title is a misdirection — it’s not about the best teams; it’s about college football at its best and most interesting.

Over the coming weeks, we’re going to take a look at some of the biggest games from these 50 best* teams.

Rose Bowl breakthroughs

1924 Notre Dame, 1925 Alabama, 1931 USC, 1993 Wisconsin, 2004 Texas

Offensive innovation

1906 Chicago, 1943 Iowa Pre-Flight, 1968 Texas, 1991 Florida, 2007 Oregon

Dramatic seasons

1960 Iowa, 1965 UCLA, 1978 Missouri, 1982 Pitt, 2013 Auburn

Star power

1923 Illinois, 1938 TCU, 1980 Georgia, 1984 Boston College, 1999 Virginia Tech

On the rise

1951 Michigan State, 1962 Nebraska, 1970 Alabama, 1981 Florida State, 2002 USC

Mid-majors

1930 Utah, 1970 Dartmouth, 1972 Tampa, 1974 Miami (Ohio), 2010 Boise State

Greatness denied

1941 Northwestern, 1968 Purdue, 1973 Michigan, 1988 Miami, 1990 Virginia, 1998 Ohio State

Incredible defense

1938 Tennessee, 1957 Auburn, 1959 Ole Miss, 1985 Oklahoma, 1993 Texas A&M, 2011 LSU

Perfection

1917 Georgia Tech, 1940 Minnesota, 1945 Army, 1947 Notre Dame, 1955 Oklahoma, 1959 Syracuse, 1991 Washington

The stakes: Notre Dame hadn’t lost in nearly three years, and USC had never won in South Bend.

The back story: Taking down the Fighting Irish away from home was the final step toward national prominence for the Trojans. Notre Dame had only grown larger in stature in the years following its mid-1920s breakthrough, and after Knute Rockne’s plane crash death in March 1931, the Irish still had yet to lose.

USC, meanwhile, had high expectations for ‘31 but stumbled out of the gates, beginning the season with a 13-7 loss to St. Mary’s. Since then, though, the Trojans had won six games in a row by a combined 215-6. This was the heavyweight battle of 1931.

The game: From the Chicago Daily Tribune.

Newspapers.com

Notre Dame led 14-0 heading into the fourth quarter. The Trojans were finding success offensively but were coming up short of the end zone; still, thanks to long drives, the Irish were tiring, and substitution rules meant that they would be playing the fourth quarter without a few of their starters.

USC star Gus Shaver scored on a one-yard plunge, but the PAT was blocked. Notre Dame went three-and-out, and USC quickly drove 57 yards to score again. 14-13.

The Irish went three-and-out AGAIN, but USC fumbled. After yet another Irish punt, though, USC got the ball back with four minutes left. Two long passes set the ball up on the N.D. 17 with 2:30 left, and despite the failed PAT, Jones asked Johnny Baker to kick a 23-yard field goal a few plays later. He nailed it. USC picked off a desperation pass, and the upset was complete.

Highlights, intermingled with hilariously cute reenactment scenes, here:

The box score: Full play-by-play description here. (They were pretty common back in the day.) And here’s a sliver of a box score.