I thought every ND fan knew this story, but I guess not.
The two players did travel w/ the team but were sent back after the seniors voted. They were back in South Bend by the time the game kicked off. It is not remotely correct to say ND was 'given no chance at all'. I don't recall the line on the game, but we entered the game ranked #1. Also, it was a regular season game and there was no game MVP.