When There Were Ties

How many of you are old enough to remember the 10-10 tie Notre Dame and Michigan St. played in 1966? Probably only a few of us. The game was played on November 19, 1966 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. I waited and waited for that doggone game and I sat there and watched every minute of it. You see, back then there was only one college game televised per week. That’s right, ONE! There was no ESPN, FOX, TNN, BTN, or anything other than the big three - ABC, NBC, and CBS. Only one had the rights to the game of the week. So, I looked forward to that one game on TV every week and it was just about always the premier game in the country. They could afford to be very picky.

Notre Dame and Michigan St. were ranked #1 and #2 all season. Notre Dame was ranked #1 in one poll and #2 in the other. MSU was ranked #2 in one poll and #1 in the other. So, who was really #1? This game would decide it. They both came into the game undefeated, ND 8-0 and MSU 9-0. The buildup for the game was tremendous; this was the first time in 20 years that a college football game was given the "Game of the Century" tag by the national media. The Spartans were coached by old Duffy Daugherty, the veteran coach of the Big Ten. The Irish were coached by the legendary Ara Parseghian, one of the best. I was about 15 years old and a football junkie. On Saturday mornings I played on the high school sophomore team, Friday nights I went to the varsity game, Saturday afternoon I watched the college game of the week and on Sunday I watched the Bears or Packers. Homework? I don’t remember doing it-I disliked school work very much. I’m not proud of that, but that was me. Oh yeah, no girlfriend either. Got in the way of football. So, there I sat in front of that TV with my Pepsi and snacks.

Irish quarterback Terry Hanratty was knocked out after getting sacked in the first quarter by Spartan defensive lineman Bubba Smith. Michigan State jumped out to 7-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter. Later in the half they added a field goal for a 10-0 lead. But the Irish came right back scoring on about a 35 yard pass play. MSU took a 10-7 lead to the half. I was enjoying a great game. Notre Dame tied the game early in the 4th quarter on a field goal. Who was going to get the winning score? I was ready for an exciting finish. Late in the game, Notre Dame had the ball on its own 30-yard line with 1:10 to go. They needed about 40 yards for a game-winning field goal. But Coach Parseghian, not wanting to risk a turnover that could hand the game to the Spartans, chose to run the clock out, preserving the tie and Notre Dame's # 1 ranking. The last play of the game was a QB sneak by Notre Dame that gained 5 yards. Game over. I sat there, Pepsi in hand, staring blankly at the TV. A tie? I waited and watched all that for a tie?

For over 40 years, Parseghian has defended his end-of-the-game strategy, which left many fans feeling disappointed at the game not having some sort of resolution. Michigan State fans and other Notre Dame detractors called him a coward, and college football expert Dan Jenkins lead off his article for Sports Illustrated by saying Parseghian chose to "Tie one for the Gipper." In that same article, Parseghian was quoted as saying, "We'd fought hard to come back and tie it up. After all that, I didn't want to risk giving it to them cheap. We get reckless and it could cost us the game. I wasn't going to do a jackass thing like that at this point."
The tie resulted in 9–0–1 seasons for both Michigan State and Notre Dame. The final AP poll put the Irish and the Spartans at #1 and #2, ranking both teams above the undefeated and two times defending national champion 11–0 Alabama. Both schools shared the MacArthur Trophy, while Alabama was denied recognition for its accomplishment.

We no longer have ties, and I’m thankful for that, but we do have the BCS and so controversy remains a part of college football. But I’ll never forget that game and in fact was the 2nd greatly anticipated game for me in less than a year. I went to local high school game that was dubbed “Game of the Century” in 1965, but that’s another story. I’ll share that with you soon. Right now, its playoff time in Illinois and I get to watch more football. The fun just never ends. Keep following the documentaries on www.chiefpigskin.com and enjoy the greatest team sport ever.