Not Just a Regular Joe
For this week’s Throwback Thursday, I’m taking a step back to the 1981 Notre Dame football season, a year filled with challenges, moments of brilliance, and a freshman phenom who made an unforgettable impact. The March 1, 1982 issue of The Irish Eye featured a review of that season, highlighting Joe Howard, a freshman wide receiver who emerged as a key player late in the year. In the final home game against Georgia Tech, Howard’s explosive performance helped propel the Irish to a 35-3 victory, a game that remains memorable for fans and players alike.
The below excerpt is from the March 1, 1982 issue of the Irish Eye, which contained “A Review of the 1981 Notre Dame Football Season.”
Not Just a Regular Joe
by Michael Keane
It was almost ironic that, in the final home game of the careers of the Notre Dame seniors, a freshman made the big play which lifted the Irish out of their first-quarter lethargy and led them to a 35-3 victory over Georgia Tech.
For the second straight Saturday, Joe Howard became the most talked-about Notre Dame football player as he caught only two passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
Howard’s accomplishments were hardly the only story of the game. This Georgia Tech contest was a hallmark for several reasons.
First, it was the last scheduled meeting between Notre Dame and the Yellow Jackets, thereby putting at least a temporary halt to a rivalry begun in 1922.
Also, this marked the last home game for the Irish seniors.
Then there was the added dimension of revenge for the 3-3 tie brought by a 1-7 Georgia Tech squad upon a 7-0 and top-ranked Notre Dame team in 1980.
Thoughts of the previous year’s game might have been running through the minds of the Notre Dame players as the Irish found themselves trailing the Yellow Jackets 3-0 and faced with a second down and 13 yards to go with less than two minutes remaining on the first-quarter clock. The visitors had controlled the line of scrimmage on defense, allowing only 11 yards on two possessions.
It was then that first-year Irish coach Gerry Faust took a gamble of sorts and called for a play-action bomb to the speedy Howard. The play worked to perfection as Howard took the ball in from quarterback Blair Kiel at the Irish 46 and maintained his 15-yard advantage over the Georgia Tech secondary until he had completed the 96-yard play, a Notre Dame completion record.
The way things had gone earlier in the season for the Irish, such an unorthodox call might have gone astray and drawn some second-guessing. Kiel never questioned the play.
“I thought it was a darn good call,” related the sophomore. “The logical play would have been to go up the middle, but we worked all week on isolating Howard deep and he just turned on some extra jets to catch it.” “I wasn’t worried about anyone behind me,” Howard commented about the play. “We ran an isolation play, and I guess they were looking for a run.”
Although the Irish had broken through, the rout was not yet on. Georgia Tech’s defense held for the next three series – although Notre Dame’s Harry Oliver did miss a 25-yard field-goal attempt.
Again, it took Howard and Kiel to shake things up as the sophomore quarterback, who finished seven-of-18 for 189 yards and two scores, found Howard along the right sideline for a 58-yard touchdown and a 14-3 Notre Dame lead, an advantage the Irish held at halftime.
Part of the reason for the success of the two long pass plays may not have had to do with Notre Dame’s execution, but rather with Georgia Tech’s lack of personnel in the secondary.
“We played without our top two free safeties today, but you have to play with the people who are available,” stated Tech coach Bill Curry after the game.
The Irish widened their advantage with their first possession of the second half, as they took the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards in eight plays, with sophomore wingback John Mosley scoring on a 20-yard reverse. Notre Dame used a reverse three times in the drive, with Greg Bell first going 41 yards and then Howard going eight yards for an apparent score a few plays later.
That second one was nullified when tackle Phil Pozderac was caught clipping, but the 6-9, 270-pound senior atoned for his mistake on the Mosley run as he and Kiel threw key blocks. “The coaches are kidding about moving me to guard,” laughed Kiel about the block.
While the Irish offense was using the big play to be effective, the defense was consistently shutting down the Tech attack by adjusting to its short passing game which kept Notre Dame off balance early in the game.
Faust declared, “They gave us problems defensively. I was very impressed with their offensive and defensive strategies. It simply took us time to make the adjustments.”
Curry concurred with his counterpart: “We tried to establish the run but we didn’t do very well. We also didn’t execute the screens too well. What success we did enjoy was shut off when their linebackers came up tighter on our backs.”
The defense did come up with its own big play on the first play of the final quarter, when Irish linebacker Bob Crable intercepted a Stu Rogers pass and returned it 33 yards to the Tech 26. From there senior Tim Koegel, who had started four of the first five games, engineered a six-play drive which ended when he hit Mosley for a 14-yard touchdown, making the score 28-3.
Faust then worked to get as many seniors into the game as he could, a mission he accomplished.
Three seniors stood out on the next Irish possession as Koegel, who went six-of-seven for 64 yards, hit tight end Ron Mishler and split end Tim Tripp for big gains. The completion to Tripp marked off the final 10 yards of a 52-yard touchdown drive. For Mishler and Tripp, the receptions represented respective milestones in their Notre Dame careers, Mishler’s catch qualifying as the first of his career and Tripp’s the first for a touchdown in his four years at Notre Dame.
The last score came with 10:43 remaining in the contest, and the rest of the game featured wholesale substitutions for the Irish as all the senior walk-ons played.
“They work hard every day during the week and get no recognition on Saturdays, so it’s great that we were able to get everyone on the team involved,” commented Crable.
The day was also special for Crable. The 6-2 middle linebacker finished the day with 13 tackles; leaving him three shy of Bob Golic’s career record. The Cincinnati native had his second career interception, as well, and he left the field to a rousing standing ovation from the student body.
It seemed Crable was one of the few players who did not set a record during the game. Besides the Howard reception record, Georgia Tech freshman tailback Robert Lavette tied a Tech record for most receptions in a game and set a record for a Notre Dame opponent by grabbing 14 passes for 58 yards.
The victory raised Notre Dame’s record to 4-4, the first time the Irish had been at the .500 level since the fourth week of the year. The game also marked the second straight week the Irish had thoroughly defeated an opponent on the scoreboard, and the win kept Notre Dame’s bowl hopes alive.
“I think right now our biggest goal is to get to a bowl game. But the only way we are going to do that is to win the rest of our games,” declared Crable. Curry commented, “I’m not on the selection committees but based on what we’ve seen the last few weeks, Notre Dame certainly would qualify.”
Faust, remembering how far-reaching predictions hurt his team early in the year, stayed away from making bowl projections and concentrated on his team’s play: “We’re very pleased with our progress. We’ve been improving each week on the field. We feel like we can score anywhere on the field, which helps us immensely.”
Inevitably, the conversation turned back to the two-week-old saga of Joe Howard. His coach reflected on the dimensions the freshman added to the Irish offense. “When you have a man at wideout like Joe Howard, he’s a threat for six on every play. When they double cover him, it opens up our other receivers.”
Howard seemed anything but bewildered by his most recent accomplishments.
“I feel great these last two weeks. It’s like I’m back in high school. I have a lot of confidence now and it’s picking up in every game.” And so it was that a little child led them . . .
Joe Howard’s breakout game against Georgia Tech not only demonstrated his talent but also symbolized the fighting spirit of the 1981 Irish squad. As Notre Dame continued its pursuit of a bowl game, the contributions of Howard and his teammates became defining moments in a season that saw both triumphs and struggles. As we look back on this pivotal game, it’s a reminder of how new stars can emerge when least expected, and how every player, from seasoned seniors to rising freshmen, plays a role in Notre Dame’s storied football legacy.