Notre Dame Football: 5 biggest ‘What If’ losses in Irish history

3. 1921: Notre Dame 7, Iowa 10

Football was different in 1921. For instance, Knute Rockne ran a 7-2 defense. That’s seven down linemen, two linebackers, and two safeties for those wondering what the now-extinct 7-2 defense looked like. It worked better when teams were running the ball on every down. It helped to fill gaps in the offensive line.

Rockne also only had two National Championships at the time. He ended up with three, but would have had a fourth if the game on October 8, 1921 went the way it was supposed to go.

The Irish started 1921 with an average score of 56.5 to 5 through two games. They had one of the few passing attacks in the world. Rockne was actually willing to throw the ball frequently, instead of as a last resort like most teams. That isn’t to say Rockne was running an air raid offense, but given that passing was only a decade old, it was a shocking amount of forward laterals.

Notre Dame hadn’t lost since 1918, but that didn’t help them in Iowa City. The Irish lost by 3, and it was the only time they lost all season. In fact, in 1921, Notre Dame only had one other game that was within one score. That was a 7-0 win over Nebraska.

Losing to Iowa kept Notre Dame from winning another National Championship. That’s because no one beat Iowa in 1921. Iowa went 7-0, and given that they beat Notre Dame, that was good enough to beat Notre Dame’s 10-1 in the polls.

This was a de facto National Championship Game in early October.