2019 Notre Dame Football Preview

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Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2019 Notre Dame Football Preview

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The other bowl option that year given to the players to vote on was the Sugar Bowl where No. 13 Ole Miss, led by dynamic junior quarterback Archie Manning, would be the SEC home team representative. The easy choice for the players was the Cotton because of the better challenge either Texas or Arkansas provided. The precedent was set then that Notre Dame would always take the best bowl avail- able to provide it an opportunity to improve its national ranking. "We wouldn't go if we were [ranked] third and our opponents was 15th," Parseghian explained. Reaping Benefits By happenstance, on Nov. 22, 1969, No.1- ranked Ohio State was upset by Michigan. That then moved Texas to No. 1, where it would remain after rallying to defeat No. 2 Arkansas 15-14 on Dec. 6. President Richard Nixon was in the locker room after the game to declare the Long- horns the official national champions — even though they still had to play 8-1-1 and No. 9 Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl Jan. 1. It was an era where bowl games were still perceived as somewhat anticlimactic. The first practice for Notre Dame in Dal- las was scheduled on Dec. 26, but it had to be canceled because not enough players showed up from their various flights around the country, another testament to the school's lack of bowl experience. On Jan. 1, 1970 in the Cotton Bowl, Texas clinched the national title with a dramatic 17-play, 76-yard drive in the fourth quarter and the game-winning touchdown with 1:08 left to defeat Notre Dame 21-17. That tremendous performance by the Fighting Irish lifted it from No. 9 to No. 5 in the final AP poll despite an 8-2-1 mark. Moving up four spots after a defeat is some- thing one probably will never again see in college football, but it demonstrated to Notre Dame the value of returning to the bowl scene. Still, the postseason events required some getting used to by the old guard of college football. Following the loss to Texas, longtime South Bend Tribune sports editor and Notre Dame graduate Joe Doyle, who covered the program more extensively than anyone, wrote: "The No. 5 national rating was a big bo- nus, even though there is still the notion here that the final vote should be taken at the end of November. Somehow or other, the Irish didn't treat it as intensely as if it were a regular-season game, and Texas probably didn't either." A year later in 1970, 9-0 and No. 4-ranked Notre Dame had another vote to take on where it wanted to go for its bowl game. It could either play No. 1 Texas again in the Cotton Bowl, or choose the more appeal- ing, warmer Orange Bowl to play No. 3 Nebraska, the Big Eight champion. Parseghian made it clear to his players that the chance to win a national title would be better against Texas, thus taking South Beach off the table. Alas, when Notre Dame was upset at 5-4-1 USC in the regular-season finale (38- 28) to drop to No. 6, any chance of a national title appeared gone. Yet when Notre Dame upset No. 1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl (24-11) and No. 2 Ohio State fell to 8-3 Stanford in the Rose Bowl, and No. 3 Nebraska trailed LSU in the fourth quarter of the Orange Bowl, the Irish were on the threshold of vaulting all the way to No. 1. Nebraska did rally to a 17-12 win, and it received 39 first-place votes and 946 points with its 11-0-1 record to 10-1 Notre Dame's eight first-place ballots and 814 points. Re- gardless, Jan. 1, 1971 became one of the memorable days in college football because of how three different bowls at once im- pacted the national title. The change of the bowl culture had reached full circle, especially at Notre Dame. The 1960s indeed began a new revolution in college football. ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 145 consensus national title despite getting out- gained in total yardage 316-186 by previously unbeaten Stanford. Standout: Fullback Elmer Layden scored once on offense on a three-yard run, twice on defense with 78- and 70-yard interception returns, and kept Stanford bottled up deep in its territory by averaging 48.5 yards per punt. 2 JAN. 2, 1978 COTTON BOWL: Notre Dame 38, Texas 10 Many believed the No. 5 Irish not only had to beat 11-0 and No. 1 Texas in the Longhorns' home state, but win decisively (a minimum of two touchdowns) to move up all the way to No. 1. Style points would be needed. The 28-point beat down clinched No. 1 and has not been sur- passed by the Irish in a bowl game. Standout: Running back Vagas Ferguson rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns, and also made a diving 17-yard reception in the end zone on a Montana pass. Fullback Jerome Heavens led the team in rushing with 101 yards. Linebacker/ nose guard Bob Golic recorded 17 tackles and blocked a field goal attempt. 1 DEC. 31, 1973 SUGAR BOWL: Notre Dame 24, Alabama 23 The national title showdown between the two unbeatens can be considered the most exciting Irish game ever. The seventh and final lead change came on Bob Thomas' 19-yard field goal with 4:26 left. Standout: Clements completed 7 of 12 passes for 169 yards, highlighted by the most famous Notre Dame pass ever, a deep 35-yarder under duress to reserve tight end Robin Weber from the end zone on third-and-eight with two minutes left to help seal the verdict. Clements also rushed for 74 yards on 15 carries. — Lou Somogyi A 9-3 Notre Dame team was nearly a 10-point un- derdog versus No. 3 and SEC champion Florida in the 1992 Sugar Bowl, but a powerful ground attack in the second half led by Jerome Bettis (6) over- whelmed the Gators. PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH MEDIA

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