The SB library has had what is like a permanent display covering mostly the history of ND football (presume it is still there) ... worthwhile once you have a sense of the narrative history ... maybe next Spring at the end of the school year or if you get to the Spring game (worth seeing at least once)
Again once you have the big picture might want to take this on as a "research project" as it is the reality of "what thou the odds be great or small" ...
There were 2 weeks in 1956 that constitute (personal opinion) the lowest point of ND football history. We played at home the #1 and 2 teams in the context that whichever one beat us worse on national tv would almost certainly be #1 at the end of the season (turned out that the team in game one got upset the next week) - Sports Illustrated is probably the easiest to check out.
-The Michigan State game had the most emotional crowd I'd ever seen and played out a lot like what happened to the Spartan 300 and probably earned Paul Hornung his Heisman. It took until 1964 to avenge that defeat.
-Game 2 set the stage for probably the greatest moment (to the public) in ND FB history. Oklahoma pulverized us ("no mercy"). In 1957 they were rolling along as #1 as we lost to MSU setting the stage for the SI Jinx and an amazing upset. Can read the lead SI article going into the game (something like a 10 page spread detailing why the Sooners were unbeatable) and read about what happened (think the game highlights are on YouTube). Can remember my HS football game ending when someone shouted ND was on the move in the waning minutes ... watched the scoring play with about 70 people of all ages crammed together like the clowns in a car
Did this as a student in library (that was the signature building of the Hesburgh Era - took no time at all to "recognize" Touchdown Jesus and No 1 Moses (although there was no immediate hope that would actually happen) using hard copy archives.
Good luck on your quest