When Notre Dame meets Wisconsin this Saturday at Soldier Field, the Fighting Irish will be attempting to extend its history of success in big games at the iconic Chicago stadium.

From the first-ever major college game played at the venue to the present day, here is the history of Notre Dame’s 10‑0‑2 record at Soldier Field.

Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Notre Dame 13, Northwestern 6

Notre Dame’s Oct. 18 victory over Army that resulted in the Four Horsemen moniker for the Irish backfield was only the third game of the season. Notre Dame went on to victories over major powers Princeton, Georgia Tech, Wisconsin and Nebraska to stand at 7-0, gaining a legion of followers across the nation. The Northwestern game was scheduled to be played on campus in Evanston, but Knute Rockne convinced Northwestern officials to switch the site to the brand-new Grant Park Municipal Stadium, not yet named Soldier Field.

Heavy rains caused the new field to become a muddy quagmire, slowing the action to a sloppy scrum. The Wildcats went up with two early field goals, and the Irish had one successful drive in the second quarter, Harry Stuhldreher finishing with a one-yard run for a 7-6 lead. Neither offense clicked after that.

The outcome was in doubt until Elmer Layden picked off a fourth-quarter Wildcat pass and returned it 45 yards for the clinching touchdown.

Notre Dame 7, Southern Cal 6

The great intersectional series began with ND’s 13-12 win at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1925, and now it was time for the return match. The demand for tickets was immense, the turnstile system broke down and an estimated 120,000 jammed the site, with about 99,000 having paid.

Southern Cal scored a first-quarter touchdown, but Chile Walsh, the younger brother of 1924 captain Adam Walsh, blocked the extra point in the game’s pivotal play.

The Irish grabbed the lead, 7-6, when 5-foot-8, 156-pound halfback Ray “Bucky” Dahman snared a TD pass from Charley Riley, and Dahman’s drop kick for the extra point was good. From there, it was a fierce defensive tussle and the Irish held.

Notre Dame 7, Navy 0

Another massive crowd approaching 120,000 gathered for the second game of Notre Dame’s series with Navy. They witnessed a classic battle of evenly matched teams threatening each other with strong parries before falling short of scoring.

With the score 0-0 early in the fourth quarter and Notre Dame at the Navy 13, a hobbling John Niemiec started an end run, stopped suddenly and hit John Colrick with a surprise pass for a score. Frank Carideo’s extra point provided the final margin.

Notre Dame 19, Wisconsin 0

As Notre Dame Stadium was being constructed to replace adjacent Cartier Field, it was decided to play all 1929 games away from campus. This was a rematch with Wisconsin, as the Badgers had pasted the Irish 22-6 in Madison the previous year.

Before 90,000 spectators, Notre Dame’s “stocky, speedy Wandering Italian” Joe Savoldi scored on dashes of 40 and 71 yards to lead the charge to victory.

Notre Dame 19, Drake 7

The Bulldogs were a quality opponent who would finish 5-3-1 with wins over Oklahoma State and Iowa State and a Missouri Valley championship. And for three quarters, they made the most of their moment in the spotlight in front of 55,000, taking a 7-6 lead into the fourth quarter.

But the Irish rallied on long drives capped by short touchdown runs by Jack Elder and Moon Mullins, to keep alive their hopes of an unbeaten campaign.

Notre Dame 13, Southern Cal 12

Assistant coach Tom Lieb guided the Irish during much of the season, as Rockne was laid low by phlebitis. On this day, with 113,000 in the stands, Rock was wheeled into the locker room on a gurney to give a few inspiring words to his team.

In the first half, Elder launched a pass from midfield that Tom Conley caught at the 15 and went into the end zone. Savoldi dove in for the second touchdown and Carideo added the point for a 13-6 lead. Southern Cal returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a score but couldn’t convert the extra point.

Notre Dame 7, Army 6

For the first time in the rivalry that began in 1913, the game would be played somewhere other than West Point or New York City. It was a colossal meeting; the Cadets came in 8-0-1, having shut out six opponents while tying Yale 7-7.

Rockne’s Irish were 8-0 after handing Northwestern its only loss of the season. A cold, steady rain drenched the 110,000 onlookers, but they could see Marchy Schwartz break free on an off-tackle run for 54 yards and Notre Dame’s lone touchdown. It proved enough. Army scored in the final minute, but a gang of Irish defenders blocked the point-after to gain the win.

Notre Dame 0, Northwestern 0

The 1931 season was a tribute to Rockne after his death in an airplane accident in eastern Kansas on March 31 of that year. The two-time defending national champs brought a 20-game winning streak to Soldier Field.

With spectators again braving drizzle and downpours, neither team could mount much of an offense — Notre Dame fumbled 10 times, the Wildcats nine.

Notre Dame 13, Great Lakes Naval 13

The Irish already had three blemishes on their record — a tie with Wisconsin and home losses to Georgia Tech and Michigan, but also had impressive wins over top-20 teams Illinois, Army and Southern Cal. The Great Lakes Naval Training Station, a collection of former college all-stars, had defeated a gauntlet of major teams.

Almost exactly a year after Pearl Harbor, the Irish rallied from a 13-0 deficit on long runs by Cornie Clatt and Creighton Miller to pull out a tie.

Notre Dame 42, Northwestern 7

After a half-century away from Soldier Field, the Irish returned with a bang. For the first time in Notre Dame’s history at the stadium, a team scored 20 or more points.

Jerome Bettis carried 19 times for 130 yards and a touchdown, and Reggie Brooks broke free for a 72-yard scoring run en route to 157 rushing yards as Lou Holtz’s Irish were never seriously challenged.

Notre Dame 42, Northwestern 15

In a night game before a modern-era capacity of 66,946, highly touted freshman quarterback Ron Powlus made his college debut for the No. 3 Irish and threw second-quarter touchdown passes to Derrick Mayes, Michael Miller and Ray Zellars to launch the runaway victory.

Notre Dame 41, Miami 3

In the fourth edition of the Shamrock Series, George Atkinson III rushed for 123 yards and Cierre Wood had 118, the first time in a decade ND had two 100-yard rushers in a game.

Everett Golson went 17-of-22 passing for 186 yards and added 51 yards rushing, and Manti Te’o led the defense with 10 tackles and one pass broken up.

Jim Lefebvre is an award-winning Notre Dame author and leads the Knute Rockne Memorial Society. He can be reached at: jlefebvre@blueandgold.com.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE DISCUSSION ON THE LOU SOMOGYI BOARD!

----

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.

• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.

• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @Rivals_Singer, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka and @ToddBurlage.

• Like us on Facebook.