The Northwestern–Notre Dame football rivalry is an American
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
rivalry
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...
between the
Northwestern Wildcats
The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and the only private university in the conference. Northwestern ...
and
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...
.
History
Starting in the 1920s, Northwestern and Notre Dame played for a Shillelagh until the mid-1970s. The trophy game was created at the behest of Notre Dame head coach
Knute Rockne
Knut (Norwegian and Swedish), Knud (Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used whi ...
, who wanted a rivalry in the
Chicago metropolitan area
The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...
to help build Notre Dame's fanbase there.
The game decided the national championship in 1930, and Notre Dame victories cost Northwestern national championships in 1926 and 1936. The two schools stopped playing regularly in the 1970s, though the rivalry was renewed from 1992 to 1995. When Northwestern stunned No. 8 Notre Dame 17–15 as a 28-point underdog in 1995, the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' billed it as the "Upset of the Century."
In 2014, the rivalry was renewed in a two-game series, with Northwestern winning 43–40 in
overtime
Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways:
*by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...
in South Bend. It gave Northwestern only their second winning streak against the Irish since they won four straight from 1959–62. Notre Dame traveled to
Evanston in November 2018 for their first encounter on the Wildcats' home turf since 1976. The Fighting Irish got their revenge for the Wildcats overtime upset in South Bend four years prior, winning 31-21 at Ryan Field. Notre Dame leads the series 38–9–2.
Game results
See also
*
List of NCAA college football rivalry games
This is a list of rivalry games in college football in the United States. The list also shows any trophy awarded to the winner of the rivalry between the teams.
NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Northwestern-Notre Dame football rivalry
College football rivalries in the United States
Northwestern Wildcats football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football