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Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
Southern Cal Trojans © |
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Played November 27, 1976 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, California |
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Teams' Belt Records
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Team |
Belt Reigns |
Overall Record |
Home Record |
Away Record |
Neutral Record |
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W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
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| Notre Dame | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | .889 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Southern Cal © | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | .833 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .875 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
Previous Belt Meetings
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Southern Cal © |
14 | |
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Notre Dame |
23 |
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
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Notre Dame |
0 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
13 |
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Southern Cal |
0 |
7 |
7 |
3 |
17 |
The 3rd ranked, 9-1 Southern Cal Trojans of coach John Robinson awaited the annual battle with the 13th ranked, 8-2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish coached by Dan Devine. Southern Cal's QB Vince Evans & QB Rob Hertel each threw a touchdown pass while the Trojans’ defense forced 5 Notre Dame turnovers as the Trojans retained The Belt with a 17-13 victory which also gave them the Jeweled Shillelagh. The Trojans took the lead late in the 2nd quarter when Hertel connected with WR Shelton Diggs on a 6-yard touchdown pass finishing a 68-yard drive. On the fourth play of the 2nd half, Evans found WR Randy Simmrin open for a 63-yard touchdown pass giving Southern Cal a 14-0 lead. The Notre Dame offense continued to sputter as QB Rusty Lisch threw 3 interceptions & the Fighting Irish fumbled 6 times losing 2 of those. Early in the 4th quarter, Lisch hit RB Vagas Ferguson on a 17-yard touchdown pass to finish a 68-yard drive as Notre Dame closed to within 7 points at 14-7. Southern Cal's PK Glen Walker’s 46-yard field goal pushed the lead to 17-7. The final points came on a 1-yard touchdown run by Lisch after a 76-yard drive got the Fighting Irish close but with just 0:04 left in the game, the Trojans recovered the on-side kick attempt. Southern Cal's All-American RB Ricky Bell, hampered by an injured ankle, was held to 75 yards rushing while Simmrin had 6 catches for 121 yards with his touchdown. Lisch finished with 152 yards passing with a touchdown while RB Al Hunter had 115 yards rushing in the loss. Southern Cal finished the season 11-1; Pac 8 Champions & ranked 2nd nationally while the Fighting Irish finished 9-3, ranked 12th nationally. Notre Dame would play for The Belt again in 1978.
