1925: Stanford, 10 vs. Notre Dame, 27

It was this game that made the most fabled quartet in all of sports truly legendary.

Two and a half months prior to Notre Dame’s 27-10 Rose Bowl win over Stanford, New York Herald-Tribune sportswriter Grantland Rice gave quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, left halfback Jim Crowley, right halfback Don Miller and fullback Elmer Layden the unforgettable nickname “The Four Horsemen.”

With the convincing win, the Fighting Irish wrapped up a perfect 10-0 season and the national championship in a game remembered as “The Four Horsemen’s Last Ride.”

Following Notre Dame’s 13-7 victory over Army on Oct. 18, 1924, Rice penned the most famous passage in the history of sportswriting:

“Outlined against a blue-gray October sky the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death. These are only aliases. Their real names are: Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden.”

Layden was the star on New Year’s Day, scoring three times, one on a run of three yards and two on interception returns of 78 and 70 yards in a game that pitted two legendary coaches against one another: Stanford’s Glenn “Pop” Warner and Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne.

Stanford had its own star in the making in Ernie Nevers, who ran the ball 34 times for 114 yards just 10 days after having casts removed from both ankles. He also played the entire game on defense and had the interception that led to Stanford’s only touchdown.

“No one on the field today performed more brilliantly than Nevers,” the Associated Press reported. “Except for the one occasion when he was halted on the eight-inch line, the Notre Dame line was unable to stop his terrific smashes that carried the force of every ounce of his two-hundred pounds.”

Stanford opened the scoring after recovering a Notre Dame fumble on the Irish 15 with Murray Cuddleback kicking a field goal from the 17-yard line.

Warner, who had popularized the single-wing attack, introduced for the first time in national play the double wingback formation. Stanford controlled parts of the game and actually had 17 first downs to Notre Dame’s seven and won the total yards battle, 298-179.

Stanford attempted a late rally, but Nevers was stopped inches short of the goal line in a disputed call by Warner. Layden put the game out of reach with the final score, intercepting Ed Walker and running it back all the way.

Attendance
53,000

Weather
Sunny

Scoring
First Quarter
Stan – Cuddleback, 17-yard field goal

Second Quarter
ND – Layden, 3-yard run (Crowley drop kick failed)
ND – Layden, 78-yard run (Crowley drop kick good)

Third Quarter
Stan – Shipkey, 7-yard pass from Walker (Cuddleback kick good)
ND – Hunsinger, 20-yard run (Crowley drop kick good)

Fourth Quarter
ND – Layden, 70-yard run (Crowley drop kick good)

Coaches
Stanford: Pop Warner
Notre Dame: Knute Rockne

Fun Fact
In 1925, The Rose Bowl Game featured a matchup between two legendary Hall of Fame coaches, Knute Rockne of Notre Dame and Glenn “Pop” Warner of Stanford.

Individual Stats
Rushing
Stan: Nevers 34-114; Shipkey 5-19; Lawson 4-18
ND: Layden 13-35; Miller 14-29; Crowley 11-62;