The Chicken Soup Game // UHND.com

In Notre Dame’s long bowl history, few endings have been as dramatic as their 35-34 Cotton Bowl victory over the Houston Cougars on January 1, 1979. The contest was highlighted by a thrilling Irish comeback fueled by a unlikely source: chicken. soup. This magical elixir allowed Joe Montana to close out his career at Notre Dame with the type of clutch play that would continue throughout his remarkable NFL career.

The victory against Houston brought an exciting end to a season that began with two disappointing losses. These defeats helped put an end to any talk of repeating the national championship title. A heartbreaking last-second loss in the regular season finale to arch-rival Southern Cal then blunted any momentum for the Irish’s second consecutive Cotton Bowl appearance.

Notre Dame was playing its fourth Cotton Bowl of the decade. The Irish lost to Texas in the 1970 Classic before getting the better of the Longhorns in the 1971 Cotton Bowl. Notre Dame got the better of Texas again in the 1978 Cotton Bowl to win the 10th championship national program.

The Coaches: Devine back under pressure a year after his title

Dan Devine was finishing his fourth season as head coach at Notre Dame and was once again feeling the heat from the school’s fans with an 8-3 record. Its shaky tenure the year before seemed to stabilize after the Irish put together a remarkable run capped by the school’s 10th national title.

Bill Yeoman was in his 17th of 25 seasons as head coach of the Cougars and had led his 1978 team to a 9-2 record. His legendary Veer offense was still clicking, averaging 330 yards per game and five yards per carry. On the other side of the ball, Houston’s defense had held four opponents to single digits in the scoring column.

Key players: Joe Montana and the Irish running backs lead the offense

Montana’s dramatic talent didn’t just materialize during this competition. This was a developing skill that would prove to be part of his DNA over the years to come. His two primary running backs, Vagas Ferguson and Jerome Heavens, combined to rush for over 1,900 yards in 1978. They also complemented a modest passing attack that saw Kris Haines lead the team with 32 receptions during the season. On defense, linebacker Bob Golic was a driving force who was aided by a secondary that included players like Dave Waymer, Joe Restic and Jim Browner.

Given the Cougars’ offensive approach, the fact that no Houston receiver has had 30 or more catches shouldn’t be a surprise. Quarterback Danny Davis threw for over 1,000 yards, but he relied heavily on his running back duo Randy Love and Emmett King, who each rushed for over 1,000 yards. On defense, defensive linemen Leonard Mitchell and Hosea Taylor, as well as linebacker David Hodge, hoped to stop an uptick in opposing scoring late in the season.

The Game: Montana sparked another comeback, this time with Campbell’s soup

In the build-up to the match, Devine was keen to dispel the notion that the Irish had little motivation for the match, given that no title was on the line. When the match began, the miserable weather conditions created by an earlier ice storm resulted in a wind chill of minus six degrees.

A worrying sign early in the game was that Montana was battling the flu. Despite this health issue, the Irish got every early break in the form of two Cougar fumbles that were converted into scores. First, Montana threw it three yards out and was quickly followed by freshman fullback Pete Buchanan’s diving pass. In both cases, Notre Dame failed on a conversion attempt to maintain a 12-0 advantage.

In the final two minutes of the first quarter, the Irish forced Houston to punt, but disaster ensued. The punt deflected Waymer and the Cougars took over at the Irish 12. Houston converted a third-and-13 play into a touchdown with 17 ticks left in the first quarter.

Midway through the second half, Montana had trouble with a snap and Hodge recovered for the Cougars at the Notre Dame 21. On fourth-and-goal, Houston pushed to take their first lead at 14-12.

By halftime, it was clear that Montana was in trouble as he finished the half with two interceptions that led to two Houston field goals and a 20-12 halftime lead for the Cougars. After reaching the Irish locker room, Montana quickly shook from chills and saw his temperature drop to 96 degrees.

Notre Dame’s medical staff did not allow Montana to return to play until his body temperature returned to normal. Hoping to speed up the process, team doctor Dr. Les Bodnar gave Montana chicken soup which did the trick.

During this quick recovery, Houston scored two more touchdowns to increase its lead to 34-12 with 4:40 left in the third quarter. Even though Montana was back, he missed the connection on 10 of his first 11 pass attempts and threw his third interception of the game. Although the signal-caller ultimately led the Irish to victory, it was the special teams gem that sparked the comeback.

With 7:25 left, Irish Steve Cichy returned a blocked punt 33 yards, with Vagas Ferguson then catching a Montana two-point conversion attempt. After Notre Dame quickly shut down Houston, Montana needed just five plays to go 61 yards, running the last two alone. He then found Kris Haines for another two-pointer to make it 34-28 with 4:20 left.

Another defensive stop by the Irish gave the ball back to Montana with 2:25 remaining, but he fumbled the ball away to the Cougar 20 with 1:50 left. Once again, the Irish defenders rose to the occasion, stopping Houston on fourth and one at the Cougar 29 with 28 seconds remaining.

After running for the first time for 11 yards, Montana connected with Haines again on a 10-yard grab to leave six seconds on the clock. After a quick pass attempt to Haines failed with just two seconds left, the duo connected for the tying score as time expired. Dallas native Joe Unis then snagged the game-winning extra point that required two downs after a first-down penalty.

The results

In the final polls, Notre Dame finished in seventh place, moving up three spots after its victory. Houston fell one spot to finish 10th for the season. The following year, Devine saw the team fall to a 7-4 record and no bowl games. He then capped his tenure at Notre Dame with a 9-2-1 record in 1980, falling to eventual national champion Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

This Cotton Bowl game remains the only time the Irish and Cougars fought on the field. Still, Notre Dame’s victory remains a testament to the power of home remedies and has earned a permanent place in college football lore.