Back in the day I had reason to know about one of the most famous faking injuries games. 1953, last game of the season, Notre Dame's antics cost it the natty, I believe. Nevermind the opponent ;-)
Notre Dame faked injuries twice, in the waning seconds of the first half and in the final seconds of the second.
Wiki:
Iowa improved in
1953, starting the season with a 3–3 record. Iowa then defeated
Purdue, 26–0, and
Minnesota, 27–0, in consecutive weeks to set up the most controversial game in school history. The final game of the season was against #1
Notre Dame in
South Bend. Notre Dame was a 13-point favorite. In fact, not only was Notre Dame the top-ranked team in the nation, the AP writers had voted the Irish number one by the largest margin in their poll's history. With just seconds remaining in the first half and Iowa holding a 7–0 lead, Notre Dame was stopped for no gain on Iowa's seven-yard line. A tackle for the Irish screamed and fell to the ground, and the clock was stopped for the injury with just two seconds remaining. The Irish broke huddle and the officials signaled for the clock to start. Notre Dame was able to set down the lines, call signals, and snap the ball before time expired, and Notre Dame completed a touchdown pass on the final play of the half. The game was tied at halftime, 7–7. Iowa scored another touchdown with two minutes remaining in the game. With just 32 seconds left on the clock, Notre Dame advanced the ball to the Iowa 19-yard line. But the clock was running, and Notre Dame had no timeouts remaining Again, an injury timeout was granted, but this time, two Notre Dame players fell at the same time, apparently unaware of the other. Both players left the field unassisted, and Notre Dame quickly resumed their drive. With six seconds to play, Notre Dame completed another touchdown pass and salvaged a 14–14 tie.
[22][23]
Iowa sportscaster Bob Brooks said, "In retrospect, faking an injury was common in those days. That's what teams did, anything to get a timeout. However, it was abnormal in that
Frank Leahy, the Notre Dame coach, had the Irish fainting all over the place. Players went down like they were shot."
[24] Critics labeled Notre Dame the "Fainting Irish",
[25] and while there was no official rule against faking injuries, many critics questioned the practice. When Notre Dame star
Johnny Lattner was asked about it, he responded, "Pretty smart thinking, wasn't it?"
[26]
Famed sportswriter
Grantland Rice stated, "I consider it a complete violation of the spirit and ethics of the game and was sorry to see Notre Dame, of all teams, using this method. Why, in heaven's name, was it allowed? If this violates neither the rules nor the coaching code, let's throw them both out the window. Some people are calling it smart playing. I think it was disgraceful playing."
[27]
Evashevski attended a pep rally when he returned to Iowa City, and he parodied Rice himself when he said, "When the One Great Scorer comes to write against our name, He won't write whether we won or lost, but how come we got gypped at Notre Dame."
[25] Evashevski said, "Don't celebrate a tie; celebrate a victory. I was there Saturday, and if ever a team won a game, Iowa won a victory at Notre Dame Saturday." School officials eventually ordered Evashevski to apologize for his remarks.
[28] The tie cost the Irish the #1 spot in the final
AP Poll, dropping them to a distant #2. Iowa rocketed into the AP rankings, finishing the year ninth in the nation and garnering six first place votes.
First time I've been aware of this film:
247sports.com
