A lot of hype has been heaped upon the Notre Dame-Ohio State game on Saturday. The game is a rematch of the 1935 battle that was dubbed the “The Game of the Century.”

Notre Dame pulled out an 18-13 victory in the last second, in front of a stadium full of shell-shocked Ohio State faithful. The game was moved to South Bend the next year, and the two schools have not met on the football field since.

The game has an Iowa State tie-in. Ohio State head coach John Cooper was a member of one of Iowa State’s most memorable squads. The 1959 Cyclone football team was affectionately known as the “Dirty Thirty” squad.

The Iowa State football media guide calls the 1959 squad “one of the great underdog teams in college football.”

It was coached by the legendary Clay Stapleton, who was the all-time winningest coach in Iowa State history. Cooper was a sophomore defensive back on that team.

The 1959 team was noted for its grittiness and determination in the face of great obstacles.

No one outside of the team gave the Cyclone gridders much of a chance for success because only 30 players remained on the squad for the season opener.

The “Dirty Thirty” proceeded to surprise everyone by defeating Nebraska and Colorado on their way to a 7-3 record.

The nickname “Dirty Thirty” was given to the team by their trainer Warren Ariail. As the team was returning to the locker room after a season-opening 41-0 pasting of Drake on a wet and muddy field, Ariail exclaimed “Here comes the Dirty Thirty!”

The name stuck as the team rolled out to a 7-2 record and faced a showdown with Oklahoma in Norman. The winner would represent the Big Eight in the 1960 Orange Bowl.

It was not to be for the Cyclones as they fell behind early and ended up losing 35-12. But regardless of the loss, ISU gained nationwide recognition for its gutsy play.

Cooper went on to captain the 1961 team that was most remembered for knocking off Oklahoma at Norman.

Cooper later went on to be the head coach at Tulsa and Arizona State, before taking the helm at Ohio State.

Opposing Cooper on the Notre Dame sideline will be Lou Holtz. This is news itself because Holtz was not originally supposed to be on the field after neck surgery.

Holtz is going against doctor’s orders, but feels that the Ohio State crowd will be so hostile that it will be beneficial for his young team to have him roaming the sidelines.

This is a big homecoming for Holtz. Not only was he born and raised in the Buckeye state, he also played his collegiate football at Kent State.

Holtz was a member of Woody Hayes’ 1968 coaching staff at Ohio State. The 1968 squad is the last Ohio State team to win the national championship.

Holtz has described this as a very emotional game for him in newspaper accounts.

After the Northwestern game, no one gave Notre Dame much chance of winning at Columbus, but the Fighting Irish seem to be playing with much more enthusiasm and precision under the leadership of defensive coordinator Bob Davies.

The Irish defensive secondary has been lit up a lot lately, which could cause problems facing the Buckeye vaunted pass attack.

But who knows? Maybe tomorrow’s game will go down as “The Game of the Century II.”

---

Bill Kopatich is a sophomore in journalism from Des Moines.