Stanford 33, Notre Dame 16: the 1992 "Midterms" Game Highlights

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• published: 16 Jun 2012
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#18 Stanford overcame a 16-0 deficit by scoring 33 unanswered points to upset #6 Notre Dame 33-16 in what three-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Walsh described as one of the biggest wins in his stellar career. It would be the Fighting Irish's only loss of the season as they finished 10-1-1 with a 28-3 win over Texas A&M; in the Cotton Bowl. Stanford went on to post a final record of 10-3 (6-2), including a 24-3 drubbing of Penn State in the Blockbuster Bowl. The 1992 Stanford-Notre Dame game marked the Cardinal's second straight trip to South Bend in which they took advantage of numerous Irish turnovers to upend their heavily favored hosts. In 1990, it was unforced Irish errors, such as three muffed punts, that contributed Stanford's upset, but this time around it was the Cardinal defense, led by hard-hitting free safety John Lynch, that propelled Stanford to victory. (Notre Dame won 42-26 at Stanford Stadium in 1991.) Walsh, who led Stanford to bowl victories in 1977 and 1978 before going on to coach the San Francisco 49ers, returned to The Farm in 1992 after Denny Green departed to coach the Minnesota Vikings. Prior to retaking the Stanford job, Walsh served as color commentator for Notre Dame football games. This added extra drama to the 1992 meeting between Stanford and Notre Dame as Irish head coach Lou Holtz admitted he didn't always appreciate Walsh's frank commentary. Before the game, Walsh showed his team a video of Tennessee erasing a 24-point deficit to beat Notre Dame 35-34 in South Bend the previous season. Walsh also told the Cardinal to remain resilient if they were to fall behind early and admonished them to avoid being a "wildebeest," a creature he cited as one that goes into a shocked state of capitulation when it's under attack. "It was though [Walsh] had received a vision, whole and complete, of the future," wrote Lowell Cohn in "Rough Magic," an account of Walsh's 1992 season at Stanford. The game began disastrously for Stanford as J.J. Lasley fumbled the opening kickoff before recovering it at the Cardinal 12-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Steve Stenstrom, who missed the previous week of practice with soreness in his chest, failed to read a blitz and fumbled after being pummeled by linebacker Demetrius DuBose, with Stanford falling on the ball in the end zone to give Notre Dame a safety and a 2-0 lead only seconds into the game. It soon got worse for Stanford as Notre Dame took possession on the ensuing free kick and proceeded to gash the Cardinal run defense up the middle on a 55-yard drive that culminated in a 12-yard run from Reggie Brooks. With Lynch temporarily out of the game with a "mild" concussion, Notre Dame added a second touchdown when Jeff Burris, who usually played safety, scored from two yards out on an option pitch. But Stanford was not a wildebeest. The defense shut out Notre Dame for the remainder of the game as the offense began chipping away at the lead, with the Cardinal pulling within 10 points at 16-6 later in the second quarter on a six-yard end-around scamper by Glyn Milburn (a two-point conversion attempt failed). Lynch, given clearance by doctors, returned to the game after halftime, and on the first play from scrimmage in the second half the safety forced a fumble by standing up Irish fullback Jerome Bettis. Working with a short field, Stanford pulled within three points following an eight-yard pass from Stenstrom to Justin Armour. Stanford took the lead for good at on a brilliantly-designed 20-yard pass to Lasley and found themselves ahead 33-16 at the final gun. Rick Mirer, who stayed at Notre Dame for his senior season in the hopes of winning a national championship, had a dismal game against Stanford, completing 13 of 38 passes for 195 yards and throwing 1 interception and no touchdowns. Before and after the game, Holtz expressed concern over how midterm exams were affecting the Irish and said in a post-game interview that he may have worked his team too hard. Walsh, in private, scoffed at the notion. "Lou Holtz is just a brat," Cohn quoted Walsh as saying in "Rough Magic." "Very bright, outstanding coach, but he's a little spoiled brat. What in the hell—'I worked them too hard and they took midterms?' Come on, so you lost. Play the next game, win it, don't start those kind of excuses." Holtz avenged his 1992 loss to Stanford by defeating the Cardinal 48-20 in 1993 and 34-15 in 1994. Walsh retired from coaching following the disappointing 1993 and 1994 seasons.