This month's edition of Reflections From The Dome features accounts of the "Snow Bowl" game from The South Bend Tribune and Joe Garner's Echoes Of Notre Dame Football. ***And don't miss Peg Ward's article on the game from The Scholatic in the Semper Victurus column below.

A special thanks to Ed Andrews, Class of 1970 for providing the unique and never before published photos from his day on the sidelines for the 1992 Penn State game.

The introduction to Joe Garner's chapter on the Snow Bowl from his book Echoes Of Notre Dame Football does an excellent job of evoking the tone and dramatic setting for the game.

"On any other November day, it would have been regarded as simply a minor snow flurry, an insignificant percipitation unworthy of an after-thought by the residents of a north central Indiana town well versed in the unrelenting wrath of the "lake effect" snow.

But this was not just any other November day. It was one of those magical Notre Dame football Saturdays in South Bend. And this was not just any other opponent. It was Penn State and its living legend of a coach, Joe Paterno, against the Fighting Irish and one of Paterno's great coaching rivals, Lou Holtz.

This was also not just any other game between two preeminent college football programs. It was the final meeting in a seventeen- game series that pitted this small, private, Catholic, liberal arts institution in the Midwest against a sprawling, state-sponsored, land grant university in the East. Different as they were, both schools shared a passion for college football and a commitment to playing the game at the highest level with players who were expected to excel both in the classroom and on the field.

Giving it even more significance, the contest was also the final home game for NFL-bound Irish, including quarterback Rick Mirer, fullback Jerome Bettis, tailback Reggie Brooks, linebacker Demetrius Dubose, punter/placekicker Craig Hentrich and tight end Irv Smith. For them, this was their last chance to play the game they loved in the place they loved.

And so the flurries could not be dismissed. In the context of all the finality and football significance that accompanied this game, the swirling snow flakes assumed an almost sacramental aura, drifting down on "The House That Rockne Built" and blessing the sell-out crowd and its gridiron heroes with nature's frozen holy water."

And from the November 15, 1992 South Bend Tribune, here is Al Lesar's story on the game...

Script for 'Reggie' thrills Irish Fans
Seniors write storybook ending

SOUTH BEND -- Hollywood producers may already be scrambling for the rights to the script that was written Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame's 17-16 football win over Penn State was that good.

The Title: "Reggie."

The Theme: In his last home game, Irish tailback Reggie Brooks overcame injury, slick turf from a first half snow and a punishing Nittany Lion defense to catch a game winning two-point conversion while fully extended in the corner of the end zone with with 20 seconds left in the game

The Plot: Notre Dame hadn't scored a touchdown in the entire game. Three field goals had been enough until Penn State's offense finally found some firm footing and began to wear down the Irish defense.

Richie Anderson and the rest of the Nittany Lion ballcarriers began to make some inroads in the Irish defense on their first two possessions of the fourth quarter. That success on the ground yielded a field goal that tied the score 9-9 and a 13-yard touchdown run by Brian O'Neal that put Penn State ahead 16-9 with 4:25 left in the game.

Notre Dame, 8-1-1, got the ball on the Penn State 36 yard line and went to work. A 21-yard pass from Rick Mirer to Jerome Bettis, a 14-yard run by Mirer to the 34 and a 17-yard pass from Mirer to Ray Griggs got the ball into the "red zone" inside the Penn State 20.

Notre Dame's running game of Brooks and Bettis chipped away at the Penn State defense. With 25 seconds left in the game and the Irish facing fourth and goal at the 3, the game came down to one play.

That play sent Bettis across the middle for a pass. Mirer found him and set the stage for Brooks to provide the final drama.

"It was a two-point play," Bettis said of the six-pointer. "In practice, it was supposed to go to the tight end. I was just trying to get open." Ironically, this wasn't the first such scenario the Irish have faced against Penn State. However, it was the first time it worked in their favor.

"In 1987, against Penn State, we scored with 30 seconds left and went for the two-point conversion and did not make it and lost 21-20 Irish coach Lou Holtz said. "We showed tremendous courage."

Brooks, who had already left the game game with shoulder and knee injuries, lined up on the far left end for the conversion. When the ball was snapped, he drifted across the middle.

"I was drifting, then I made a burst," Brooks said. "When I saw Rick scramble, my job was to get open." He did, just in time. Brooks was fully extended when he caught the pass in the right corner of the end zone, getting his feet inbounds just in time to make it count.

"I thought I was running out of field," Brooks said, "I had to get down in a hurry."

He also had to brace himself for the celebration that followed. He was mobbed by teammates and fans alike, making that the toughest hit he took all day.

The TD and conversation clinched the outcome, but a lot went into getting to that point. The Notre Dame defense rose to the occasion, allowing a dangerous Penn State offense 238 total yards, 107 yards of which came via the running game. Penn State, however, returned the favor. Notre Dame, with the most potent offense in the country, was limited to 365 yards. Mirer had a good day, hitting 12 of 23 passes for 164 yards. The Nittany Lions kept the Irish out of the end zone until the fateful final seconds.

Bettis and Brooks rushed for 89 and 78 yards, respectively. Three Craig Hentrich field goals -- 26, 31 and 37 yards -- kept Notre Dame in the game.

Notre Dame led 3-0 late in the first quarter when Penn State took advantage of an interception by Lee Rubin. Coach Joe Paterno's club used a 46-yard pass from Kerry Collins to receiver Tisen Thomas to set up a 1-yard run by Anderson.

Notre Dame's freshman safety Bobby Taylor blocked the PAT kick -- a point that later came back to haunt Penn State.

Hentrich tied it up in the second quarter, and gave Notre Dame a 9-6 lead after three periods, setting the stage for the storybook ending.