We are opening up the YouTube vault today for what is and what surely should remain the shortest video in our series history. It’s late August of 2002 and the opening of a new era, the Tyrone Willingham era. This season in a vacuum is just…man…where do you even start?

How about the old Kickoff Classic? Remember that? Quick history lesson for those youngsters out there: The money makers decided to create a bowl game in the late 70’s called the Garden State Bowl which lasted 4 seasons after poor attendance. Turns out crappy football in the metro New York area during December isn’t a big hit with fans. Back when college football fans had standards!

That failed enterprise morphed into the Kickoff Classic starting in 1983, billed as a pre-season “bowl” which was the beginning of college football teams being able to play 12 regular season games.

This 2002 Kickoff Classic in fact would be the last installment, another historical footnote. Beginning in 2003 the NCAA would legislate that all programs would have to play 12 regular season games.

Also, an Irish game in August has been pretty rare.

AUGUST IRISH GAMES

1989, 36-13 win vs. Virginia
1999, 48-13 win vs. Kansas
2002, 22-0 win vs. Maryland
2013, 28-6 win vs. Temple
2014, 48-17 win vs. Rice

The ’89 game was the first of Notre Dame’s 2 appearances in the Kickoff Classic. Undefeated in August, let’s go!

Speaking of undefeated, this was the 10th of an eventual 11 games played inside Giants Stadium for Notre Dame. The Irish won every game with none of them being particularly close except Faust’s great escape against Navy in 1984 and Holtz almost being toppled by Army in 1995. The two Kickoff Classics would be the only time Notre Dame played a non-service academy inside Giants Stadium.

Adding to the uniqueness of this game was that it was the first meeting between Maryland and Notre Dame. And not just any Terrapins team, a pre-season ranked Terps team! It was year two under Ralph Friedgen with Maryland coming off a 10-2 season which saw them win the ACC and appear in the Orange Bowl. They’d get rocked in that bowl game by Florida but went 11-3 in 2002 all the same. At one point in history, Maryland won 10+ games for 3 straight seasons! That is not a made up stat.

Another further oddity, Giants Stadium with grass! How weird does that look in our grainy video? The stadium was around for 34 seasons and only spent 2000-02 with real grass.

Today’s video isn’t much, just a 76-yard punt return from junior cornerback Vontez Duff–the only touchdown featured in the game. I have looked far and wide for more footage of this game and it’s not on the internet anywhere. As many Irish fans know this ’02 offense was seriously a slog to watch. They possessed the ball for 41:04 of this game and couldn’t score a touchdown!

They got away with it for a while. In particular with this game the fearsome Irish defense held Maryland to 133 total yards and 2.5 yards per play. Shutouts are fun.

By the way, since the Kickoff Classic fancied itself as a pre-season “bowl” game they gave out a trophy.

I dare you to find a picture that encapsulates the institutionalized dorkiness of early 2000’s Notre Dame football more than this right here.

Pleated khakis 30% too baggy
Braided leather belt
Sport (likely) Timex watch
Full buttoned polo (before it was fashionable)
Goofy fitting dad hat

We should have known better. Willingham’s outfit screams “I would rather be teeing off with Northwestern Mutual friends than coaching football.”