“The Genuflect Play” (1971)


In 1971, top-ranked Notre Dame traveled to West Lafayette, Ind. for a rain-soaked matchup with Purdue. Trailing 7-0 late in the game, the Irish took advantage of a botched punt snap, recovering the ball in the end zone to pull within a point of the Boilermakers. In this video, quarterback Pat Steenberge (’73) provides his perspective on “The Genuflect Play,” a two-point conversion that lifted Notre Dame to an 8-7 victory at Ross-Ade Stadium.