Montana

Joe Montana’s Purdue Comeback

Published

9 months ago

June 26, 2025

By the fall of 1977, Joe Montana’s future in football felt uncertain. A series of injuries and inconsistent play had dimmed the spotlight that once shone so brightly on the junior quarterback. For much of that Purdue game, Montana watched from the sidelines as his team struggled to find its rhythm. But when backup quarterback Gary Forystek went down with a broken collarbone in the fourth quarter, Montana was thrust back into the action. What followed wasn’t just a comeback—it was a foreshadowing of greatness.

The article below, “Comeback Kid Conquers Purdue” by John Stenson, appeared in Volume 119, Number 7 of Scholastic Magazine on January 27, 1978, as part of the official 1977 Notre Dame Football Review. It captures the drama, the grit, and the heart of a game that helped reignite Montana’s legend—and Notre Dame’s national championship hopes.

Comeback Kid Conquers

Purdue

by John Stenson

For so long it was simply a memory. Joe Montana had a lot to look back on in his four years at the Dome, but on this October afternoon one would swear his diary was complete. The cheers, which once surrounded him were no longer heard. He was the forgotten man in the Irish attack, and why would anyone be foolish enough to think his statistics would change within the confines of Ross Ade Stadium?

As far as the team was concerned, they were in the midst of a beginning that they would rather have forgotten. There was a scare that first weekend until Cavanaugh got hurt and the Panthers ran out of gas. And then there was that debacle against Mississippi which seemed to put the Irish hopes into a severe tailspin. Now it was time for the Boilermakers, and for the third week in a row it appeared that the Irish might have been outmatched. Purdue’s offense centered around freshman quarterback Mark Hermann. This freshman standout from Carmel, Indiana, had thrown for over 600 yards in his first two games of the season. It appeared on the first drive of the afternoon that he was going to have little trouble adding to this total. Starting from his own 20, Hermann guided the Boilermakers downfield for the first score of the afternoon. Sixty of those yards came through the air with the clincher coming on a touchdown pass from Hermann to speedy Reggie Arnold for the final ten yards.

The Irish offense, keeping pace with its performance in the previous two encounters, could go nowhere early and it was the defense that created the first score. Hermann had good field position in the early going but when he was finally trapped deep in his own territory, his inexperience paid larger dividends for the Irish. Working from his own 10, he overthrew his intended receiver, Raymond Smith, into the waiting arms of Doug Becker. Becker returned it 20 yards for what appeared to be an Irish touchdown until clipping was detected. The Irish offense then got to make the first tally as Rusty Lisch hit Terry Eurick in the end zone.

Hermann would not fold against the Irish defense. Before halftime Hermann would roll up 270 yards in the air completing two other touchdown strikes to Jappy Oliver and Raymond Smith while staking Purdue to a 24-14 third-quarter lead. On the other side, the Irish offense was listless. Lisch and Eurick had teamed up again for an Irish tally, but as the third quarter came to a close, Notre Dame looked as though they had nearly accepted defeat.

The fourth quarter brought more movement to the offense. Gary Forystek, who took over for Lisch at halftime, began to move ND downfield connecting with MacAfee and putting the Irish on the Purdue 30-yard line. Then, on second and seven it appeared that the Irish had finally cashed in their chips. On this play Forystek rolled to his right and decided to keep the ball. He carried it all the way down to the 17 before being met by a host of Boilermakers and suffering a broken collarbone. Now the stage was set. It would be Montana’s turn to recapture the spotlight. The only question left to be answered was whether he could conjure up another dream.

The Irish had to settle for a field goal on the drive which cut the deficit to seven points with over ten minutes left in the game. Now Notre Dame’s defense rose to the occasion. The passing game, which had been there for the taking all afternoon, had suddenly fallen apart. Purdue was resorting to their little-used ground attack and gaining yardage with it until Hermann was forced back to the air and made his second mistake of the game. This time it was Luther Bradley who had the honor of picking off the errant pass, putting the offense back in the driver’s seat at the Boilermaker 48-yard line. Montana’s game plan was a simple one on this drive. A sideline pass to Kris Haines and then a pass across the middle to MacAfee brought the Irish deep into Purdue territory. From there Montana returned to his big tight end for the tally, and with a Reeve conversion the score was tied at 24-24. In a period of eight minutes, Montana had guided the offense from apparent defeat to new life. He had given them the spark they had long been missing. Now it was showtime.

As they had done for much of the second half, the defense played it tough in the waning minutes. Montana got the ball on his own 30 with just over three minutes left, and everyone in the stadium realized he would not be denied. The “Monongahela Minuteman” went straight to the air, using MacAfee and Haines as his targets. Four completions between these two receivers brought the ball to the Purdue 10. On first down Montana turned to his ground game. First it went to Orsini, who brought them to the five. Then, on second and goal, sophomore Dave Mitchell fought his way to the end zone. The miracle was complete. Joe Montana had again returned to the spotlight, where he seemed to belong.

That day in Ross–Ade Stadium marked the beginning of Montana’s mythos—the first of many fourth-quarter comebacks that would come to define his career. But more than that, it was a reminder that even when the crowd quiets and the headlines move on, greatness has a way of breaking back through. For Notre Dame fans, this wasn’t just a comeback—it was the return of a quarterback who would become one of the greatest to ever play the game.

Cheers & GO IRISH!

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Montana

Missoula and Western Montana neighbors: Obituaries for March 20

Published

4 hours ago

March 20, 2026

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Missoula and Western Montana neighbors: Obituaries for March 20

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Montana smokejumper Sam Forstag aims to flip House seat blue

Published

16 hours ago

March 19, 2026

Press Room

Montana smokejumper Sam Forstag aims to flip House seat blue

Montana hasn’t elected a Democrat to the House since the late 1990s. Smokejumper Sam Forstag, who jumps out of planes into the remote wilderness to put out wildfires, is trying to change that. Forstag joins “The Takeout” to lay out his progressive campaign in the deep-red state.

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Montana

Amazing America: Smokejumpers share how job evolved through the years

Published

1 day ago

March 19, 2026

Press Room

Amazing America: Smokejumpers share how job evolved through the years

MISSOULA, Mont. — In this week’s Amazing America, NBC Montana is highlighting smokejumpers and their efforts to keep our communities safe during wildfire season.

NBC Montana caught up with a current and a former smokejumper to learn more about the work they do and how the job has changed throughout the years.

Jim Kitchen was a smokejumper for 20 seasons, fought over 100 fires and raised his three daughters on a smokejumper base, where he served as base commander.

Kitchen says he’ll never forget his first jump, when he started training in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1987.

“I went, ‘That was amazing,’ and he goes, ‘Yeah,’ and I go, ‘Have you ever done anything as amazing in your life? I mean, we just made our first jump,” said Kitchen.

Kitchen told NBC Montana when he laughed his crew had to do 50 pushups.

Kitchen saw several changes during his career, including women entering a historically male-dominated field. He told NBC Montana Deanne Shulman, the first woman smokejumper, paved the way for the industry.

He recalled a time when he was on a trip to Washington, D.C. , in the early ’90s to coordinate emergency response, when a U.S. Department of State official asked him a question.

“He goes, ‘I didn’t realize men were smokejumpers.’ And I had to go, ‘Peter, I’ll have you know, there’s quite a few of us, and actually, it’s the women that are rare,’” said Kitchen “The early ladies in smokejumping, they always met and exceeded the bar, and they were instrumental in doing these winter details.”

Another change he oversaw as base commander, was moving from round parachutes used in World War II, to the ones used today.

“Ram-Air parachutes that inflate make the shape of the wing and they actually have about a 20 mph forward speed. And so you can you can fly those in much windier conditions, higher elevations,” said Kitchen.

Kitchen says the job requires you to roll with the punches and make quick decisions on the fly.

He said while training new jumpers, he taught them early to prepare and never hesitate.

“The only thing that we ask of you is that you take all the information that you can and then make a decision,” said Kitchen.

Nick Holloway, a current Missoula smokejumper, who’s been working for 14 seasons, says it’s important to rely on your training, stay positive and persevere.

“Having done this for a few years, it’s just trying to know that essentially every season is a marathon, it’s not a sprint. Just stay healthy, stay focused and keep having a good time,” said Holloway.

NBC Montana asked both men what they were most proud of during their time jumping.

Kitchen recalled fighting a fire near the Grand Canyon, when he and his crew decided to manage a fire instead of suppressing it when they ponderosa pine trees.

The crew let the fire burn to a plateau, “The Ponderosa pine has about a 20 to 30-year fire return interval in that area,” said Kitchen. “That’s one of the high points as far as land stewardship of my career is seeing fire on a landscape escape and not necessarily suppressing it but allowing it to burn, because then you’re saying it’s good for decades after that.”

Holloway told NBC Montana, while he has “too many to count,” he’s most proud that recently he jumped a 3- to 5-acre fire at Yellowstone National Park.

The fire grew to 8 acres, “So seven days later we got around everything, put it all out and essentially with a good product upon departure. So it’s just a classic example of a smokejumper fire.”

Holloway says staying fit for annual trainings, regardless of experience, is critical to staying fire-ready.

“Pushups, pullups, sit-ups, a certain amount and then a mile and a half in a certain time as well,” said Holloway.

Kitchen told NBC Montana he still does his pullups, pushups and sit-ups.

“Many of my colleagues are still in really fit shape even in their 60s, 70s and 80s,” he said.

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