Notre Dame marched into Palo Alto and dismantled Stanford 49-20 on November 29, ending the Cardinal's short run and lifting the College Football Belt for the program's seventh reign. The Irish turned a late-season defense into a statement win, seizing control of the belt with a dominant road performance.
The victory returns the belt to Independent hands. Notre Dame's next defense is set for Sun, Sep 6 vs Wisconsin, giving Irish fans a full offseason to savor the new title run.
Great Upsets in Belt Game History
The USF Bulls pulled off a huge upset of the Florida Gators. The Gators were favored by 18.5 points. Here are some other notable CFB Belt game upsets:
1981 - Wisconsin 21, #1 Michigan 14 The unranked Badgers stunned the top-ranked Wolverines in Madison, snapping Michigan's short reign and handing the belt to Wisconsin for a single week.
1998 - Texas A&M 28, #2 Nebraska 21 The Aggies halted Nebraska's 15-game belt streak in College Station, turning a title defense into an unexpected transfer of power.
2007 - Auburn 20, #4 Florida 17 Florida looked invincible after its national championship run, but Auburn walked into Gainesville as a two-touchdown underdog and left with the belt.
2007 - Arkansas 50, #1 LSU 48 (3OT) LSU survived almost everyone on the way to a national title, but Arkansas grabbed the belt in one of the season's wildest games.