Vince Vaughn remembers 'Rudy' days before Notre Dame game

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As the college football season heats up, actor Vince Vaughn is reliving his glory days as a sports star — in the movies.

Appearing on ESPN’s “College GameDay” Saturday ahead of the University of Notre Dame and Ohio State University game, Vaughn rooted for the Fighting Irish while remembering his time as Jamie O’Hara in 1993’s “Rudy.” 

“This is like picking kids for me,” Vaughn said. “My dad’s from [Ohio]. My sister, born in Columbus. My niece goes to Ohio State. And you can’t talk about football without talking about the great state of Ohio.”

Vaughn, 53, added: “The Buckeyes are for real, always. You can never doubt them. That being said, I played for Notre Dame — I threw a pass [in ‘Rudy’]. If I had half the heart of Rudy, I would have been All-American instead of picking games up here with you guys.”

Vaughn’s character in the film, Jamie, was the Notre Dame tailback alongside newcomer Rudy (Sean Astin).

“Rudy” also starred Jon Favreau, Ned Beatty, Lili Taylor, Scott Benjaminson, Mary Ann Thebus, Greta Lind and Charles S. Dutton.

On Saturday, the actor also quoted his character Jeremy from the 2005 comedy film “Wedding Crashers,” saying, “Rule No. 76: Play like a champion. The Irish will prevail today!”

Sadly for Vaughn, the Buckeyes won 17-14. 

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