Notre Dame Will Look To Earn Its First Bowl Win Over Oregon State

Notre Dame is 0-2 against Oregon State in bowl games, something the Irish hope to change in the Sun Bowl

Notre Dame takes on Oregon State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on Friday, December 29th. While no Fighting Irish player, coach, or fan came into the season wanting to finish it up in a bowl sponsored by a cartoon breakfast cereal mascot, Marcus Freeman’s squad still has plenty to play for. With a win, Notre Dame can reach double-digit victories and take positive momentum into a pivotal offseason. The Fighting Irish can also end a bizarre losing streak against teams that use the abbreviation “O-S-U” that stretches back to 1936.

SERIES HISTORY

Notre Dame and Oregon State have only met twice on the gridiron, with both matchups occurring in Arizona-based bowl games. Notre Dame dropped both matchups against the Beavers, and neither game was particularly close.

With Oregon State’s program at a crossroads following the departure of former coach (and program legend) Jonathan Smith for Michigan State (let alone the Pac-12’s upheaval which has left the Beavers and fellow outcast Washington State without a long-term conference home), this is a big opportunity for Notre Dame to get into the win column against the Beavers.

SERIES RESULTS

2004 – Oregon State 38, Notre Dame 21 (Insight Bowl)
2001 – Oregon State 41, Notre Dame 9 (Fiesta Bowl, following the 2000 season)

PAST GAMES

2004 – Oregon State 38, Notre Dame 21

Tyrone Willingham started his Notre Dame career 8-0 but after that strong start went just 13-16 over the next two-and-a-half seasons. That performance, coupled with lackluster recruiting classes and an ill-timed late season swoon in 2004 led to Willingham’s dismissal following a 41-10 loss in the season finale at top-ranked USC. With Kent Baer serving as interim coach, the Fighting Irish headed to the desert to take on an Oregon State team led by future NFL QB Derek Anderson.

Even though Notre Dame limited Oregon State to just 20 yards rushing on 18 carries, Anderson gashed the Irish through the air, throwing for 358 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Beavers jumped out to a 21-0 lead on the strength of Anderson’s right arm and special teams mistakes by the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame did not quit though, and twice closed the deficit to 10 points in the second half, but Oregon State punched in the game-sealing touchdown to extend the lead to 38-21 after recovering a Notre Dame onside kick late in the fourth quarter.

Charlie Weis had already been named the Notre Dame head coach two weeks before the game and quickly reenergized the program during a magical 2005 season that saw the Fighting Irish finish in the AP top-10 while taking down rivals #3 Michigan and #22 Purdue.

2001 – Oregon State 41, Notre Dame 9

After a 2-2 start against a brutal stretch of four straight ranked opponents to open the season, Bob Davie’s best squad finished the season with seven straight wins after turning to Matt LoVecchio at quarterback, including a 38-21 triumph at USC in the season finale. Notre Dame’s reward was a date in the Fiesta Bowl against an upstart Oregon State program led by former Miami Hurricanes head coach Dennis Erickson.

Prior to Erickson’s arrival in 1999, Oregon State had been a laughingstock, posting 28 consecutive losing seasons. After the Beavers went 7-5 in Erickson’s first year, they exploded for an 11-1 record, Pac-10 co-championship, and top-5 ranking. The Beavers were led by former coach Jonathan Smith (who left Oregon State for Michigan State last month) at quarterback, Ken Simonton, who posted a school-record 1,474 yards and 18 touchdowns, at running back, and future NFL stars T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson at wide receiver.

Oregon State dominated Notre Dame in every phase of the game en route to a 41-9 victory, the second-worst bowl defeat in Fighting Irish history. The Irish were outgained 446-155 and posted only 17 yards rushing, putting all the pressure on the freshman LoVecchio, who completed just 39% of his passes for 138 yards, as the Irish surrendered 6 sacks and turned the ball over 5 times. The game was actually fairly close at halftime on the scoreboard, with Oregon State holding just a 12-3 lead, but the Beavers posted 29 third quarter points to put the game away. Jonathan Smith finished with 305 yards passing and 3 touchdowns, with Johnson hauling in 2 of them and Houshmandzadeh the other. Things could have been even worse had Oregon State not committed a Fiesta Bowl-record 18 penalties for 174 yards.

Unfortunately, the blowout loss portended Notre Dame’s struggles in the 2001 season. The Fighting Irish stumbled out of the gate, scoring 23 total points while starting 0-3 en route to a 5-6 finish. Davie was dismissed after the season and after the hiring of George O’Leary blew up in the university’s face, the school turned to Stanford’s Tyrone Willingham, whose tenure ended up setting the program back another 5 years. 

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