Notre Dame brings new style football to East
By MIKE CONNOLLY
When most people consider Notre Dame football, they don't usually think of high flying aerial attacks that spread the defense and awe opposing coaches.
Modern Notre Dame football is running the ball straight ahead and grinding an opponent into the ground with powerful backs.
When Notre Dame defeated Army 35-13 on Nov. 1, 1913, however, head coach Jesse Harper showcased a deep passing attack and All-American quarterback Gus Dorais.
After the game, the press was full of praise for Harper's squad and his revolutionary style of play.
"Coach Harper undoubtedly has put together the best 11 which ever wore the Gold and Blue," Lamber G. Sullivan wrote in the Nov. 2 edition of the Chicago Daily News. "The team is almost perfect in every detail of technical play."
Dorais orchestrated a passing attack that kept the Army defense on its heels and prevented the Cadets from crowding the line. Dorais finished the day 12-14 for 243 yards with two touchdown passes and only one interception.
`Inventing' the forward pass
It has been said that Dorais and then-Irish captain Knute Rockne, a left end, invented the forward pass for the game against Army. The pass, however, was not created in 1913; it had been around since 1906 when St. Louis University head coach Eddie Cochems began using it.
In fact, the forward pass previously had been utilized by Notre Dame to defeat Michigan in 1909.
Dorais and Rockne didn't invent the forward pass. They instead showed how it could be used by a smaller team to counteract the size advantage of its opponent.
Harper created plans for forward pass use while head coach at Wabash, but it was not until he became head coach at Notre Dame in 1913 that he had a stage large enough to popularize it.
By forcing the Cadets to defend against deep passes, the Irish were able to run the ball between the tackles because there were less defenders close to the line. Deep passes opened running lanes for Irish All-American fullback Ray Eichenlaub.
Instructing the nation
After the Irish proved the effectiveness of a balanced offensive attack, teams across the country began to adopt the new style of play.
"It took a so-called smaller college to come East and display an attack so versatile and dazzling that it may revolutionize the style of offensive play throughout this section of the country," the New York Evening Telegram wrote on Nov. 1.
Teams across the nation heard of a revolutionary pass which the Irish implemented in the second quarter against Army in 1913.
With Notre Dame trailing 13-7, Dorais broke to the outside on a quarterback keep for five yards.
Facing second down, Dorais dropped back to pass, lofting one to Joe Pliska for 30 yards.
Dorais again went to the air on the following play when he hit Rockne for another long gain of 35 yards. Rockne caught the next pass from Dorais for a 15-yard gain, and the Irish found themselves at the Cadet five yard line.
Eichenlaub finished the Irish drive with a five yard touchdown run to give Notre Dame the lead 14-13.
Second-half control
While the Irish offense received much praise from the media, the Irish defense also played well, standing tall against a powerful Cadet rushing attack.
In the third quarter, with the ball inside the Notre Dame 1-yard line, Cadet halfback Paul Hodgson, who had earlier run for a touchdown, was tackled by Rockne for a loss. On second down, halfback Frank Milburn was slammed to the turf by the Irish line.
With its ground game stalled, Army attempted to pass for a touchdown but Dorais intercepted the ball and killed the Cadet drive.
After that goal-line stand, Notre Dame's offense sprang to life and scored 21 points. The Irish offensive explosion left little doubt of which was the better that Saturday.
"The first half was close, but West Point was lucky," The Chicago Evening Journal reported on Nov. 1. "In the second half, it was outplayed in every department of the game."
All Sports Stories for Friday, September 10, 1999
