These fans are called “Subway Irish.” My parent’s best friends loved Notre Dame and went to lots of games with their only connection being they were of Irish descent. Even though my mom (and I) are Irish, we got very tired of their loyalty to ND and disloyalty to their state school…
As a junior in high school, I was at that beat down, too, watching with my dad and older brother who was a sophomore at Illinois. Notre Dame just kept pouring it on, winning 58-8. I’ve hate them ever since…
X ran down a guy twice in the same possession. He looked like his old self, and that stop WITH ONLY 3 points, made a HUGE difference in the game. It gave the D confidence and was a turning point, imo.