Notre Dame ‘spasmodic’ in 1898 loss to IU, the Hoosiers’ only win in South Bend
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff features a matchup that might have already divided Indiana households. The 10-seed IU will travel to South Bend to take on No. 7 Notre Dame in the opening round.
With Sunday’s bracket announcement, the CFP Selection Committee accelerated the two school’s next meeting to Friday, Dec. 20.
Both schools had previously agreed to play each other in a home-and-home series starting in 2030.
The rare in-state game will be the two teams’ first since Sept. 7, 1991, also in South Bend.
IU finished with a winning season in 1991 with a 7-4-1 record. However, they were no match for Notre Dame, who was ranked in the Top 10 heading into that game.
It saw the Fighting Irish beat the Hoosiers, 49-27. Notre Dame finished that season 10-3.
Before then, the last time they played each other was back in 1958. The two schools met on the gridiron fairly consistently through the 1950s, playing 19 games between 1919 and 1958.
The Hoosiers haven’t beaten the Irish since 1950, a 20-7 win in Bloomington.
Notre Dame dominates the series with an overall record of 23-5-1. The last time the Hoosiers beat the Fighting Irish in South Bend was all the way back on Nov. 5, 1898, in what was the first recorded football game between the two schools.
However, the final score of the game is a bit controversial. Official records show IU beating out Notre Dame, 11-5.
However, the Indianapolis Journal’s recap shows the final score as 12-6. Meanwhile, Chicago-based newspaper The Inter Ocean shows it as an 11-6 final score.
An excerpt from the game recap says the Fighting Irish performed well, but “the play was spasmodic.”
The next game in this historic in-state series kicks off Dec. 20 at 8 p.m. at Notre Dame Stadium.
Because the CFP Selection Committee prioritizes conference champions, both the Hoosiers and Fighting Irish are actually seeded lower than they are ranked.
IU finished the regular season ranked 8th, while Notre Dame finished 5th.
The winner will play No. 2-seed Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl. It’s slated for New Year’s Day in New Orleans.
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