Of the 23 football games Notre Dame and Carolina have played over the years, there is nothing that matches 1975, when an unknown quarterback came off the bench to save the Irish from what would have been an embarrassing upset in Kenan Stadium. I was covering for the Durham Morning Herald and wanted to watch Notre Dame up close and stood on the sideline.
The Tar Heels led 14-6 in the third quarter when head coach Dan Devine frantically paced the Notre Dame sideline. With 6:04 left in the game, Devine turned to the bench and shouted, “No. 3, get in the game.”
That was the jersey Joe Montana wore at Notre Dame before he became the legendary number 12 in the NFL. The following week, Montana came off the bench again, this time against Air Force. Notre Dame trailed 30-10 and Montana helped produce a stunning 31-30 victory. The true freshman became the starter for Notre Dame and was selected by the 49ers as the third quarterback picked in the 1979 NFL draft. Interestingly, head coach Bill Walsh used round 10 to choose tight end Dwight Clark who caught Montana’s legendary pass against Dallas in the 1981 NFC championship game.
Carolina was dominating the 1975 game with two-time ACC Player of the Year Mike Voight rushing for 169 yards – as well as a blocked punt for a 12-yard touchdown – and Bill Pascal throwing a 39-yard scoring pass to Mel Collins. That’s when the Montana magic kicked in. He immediately moved Notre Dame 73 yards for a touchdown and threw for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 14. UNC moved into field goal range on its next drive, but Tom Biddle missed a 41-yard attempt.
Notre Dame got the ball back with 1:19 remaining. On second down, Montana threw to Ted Burgmeier, who took the pass down the left sideline 80 yards for the winning touchdown. Montana was on the field for only one minute and two seconds, yet had accounted for 129 passing yards and the comeback victory. Montana had been telling Burgmeier to run an 8-yard out pattern, but called an audible and threw deep instead. The Notre Dame account said Burgmeier’s fake caused UNC safety Bobby Trott to stumble, while Russ Conely also lost his footing trying to make the interception.
Notre Dame athletic director Moose Krause reportedly called it the greatest comeback he’d ever seen, while Devine later called the victory his greatest win. Montana was listed as third on the Notre Dame depth chart and said afterwards, “I never expected to get in the game.”
UNC starting center Mark Cantrell said he was stunned by the outcome. “We tore them up and they were dying in the fourth quarter. Then I don’t know what happened. I can’t believe we played the way we did and lost.” Coach Bill Dooley called it, “the most disappointing loss I’ve had in my life. We had it won and let it slip away.”
Featured image via Notre Dame Athletics
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs on 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro during football and basketball seasons.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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