Epic Notre Dame-Alabama Sugar Bowl still resonates 50 years later

Fifty years later, it is still the greatest game in Sugar Bowl history. For a 16 year old kid in the south endzone at Tulane Stadium, it is still the greatest game he has ever seen.

Notre Dame 24, Alabama 23.

Fighting Irish left guard Frank Pomarico summed up December 31, 1973 perfectly.

“It was the north against the south,” said Pomarico. “It was the Catholics against the Baptists kind of thing. It was Ara against the Bear. There were so many things riding on this. Two storied programs went toe to toe and nobody really flinched.”

Even the weather was dramatic. Heavy thunderstorms rumbled through the city, causing street flooding before the game. Then came biting cold, with a brisk wind out of the north.

The lead changed hands six times.

Notre Dame’s Al Hunter returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown to give the Irish a 14-7 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Alabama went razzle-dazzle with Mike Stock’s 25 yard touchdown pass to quarterback Richard Todd.

Crucially, The Crimson Tide missed the extra point, and their lead was 23-21.

Notre Dame’s Bob Thomas fit a 19 yard field goal just inside the right upright in the north endzone 5 minutes, 7 seconds later.

The Irish led 24-23.

Late in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame quarterback Ara Parseghian gambled, calling for a pass on third and long from the Irish three-yard line. Tom Clements threw 35 yards to reserve tight end Robin Weber, who caught the football in front of the Alabama bench.

The third ranked Irish ran out the clock and defeated the top-ranked Crimson Tide.

Pomarico said his team had total belief in Parseghian and the risk that he took.

“We didn’t have any worry at all. We felt if Ara was calling this play, we had total confidence in his ability to call whatever play, he thought might work.”

After the game, Pomarico said Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant visited the Notre Dame locker room to congratulate the Irish.

The last 10 years of professional and college football at Tulane Stadium are littered with incredible moments.

There was Dempsey’s kick, Gilliam’s kickoff return, Tulane’s 14-0 victory over LSU as well as Super Bowl wins by the Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Vince Lombardi, in his lone season as the head coach of the Redskins, won his first game as Washington head coach there.

In 1971, William and Mary head coach Lou Holtz led his team to an upset victory over Tulane. A year later, Holtz took over at North Carolina State and later served as the head coach of a national championship team at Notre Dame.

Yet, there was no finer moment at Tulane Stadium than 50 years ago on New Year’s Eve.

It was epic.