2019 Notre Dame Football Preview

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Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2019 Notre Dame Football Preview

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from 1990-94, Notre Dame produced 19 first- or second-round picks, thanks in great part to four consecutive No. 1-ranked recruiting classes from 1987-90. Yet even with that much talent and a Hall of Fame coach in Lou Holtz, "only" one national title was pro- duced. Part of the reason was … TREACHEROUS SCHEDULES As an independent, it will be extremely difficult for Notre Dame to make the College Football Playoff with only one defeat, unlike a conference champion. If the Irish could have finished 11-1 in 2017 after they began 8-1, they would have made the CFP. But they came in at 9-3 after road losses at No. 7 Miami and No. 21 Stanford. The current 2020 recruiting class might have a chance for a top-five rating. Still, con- sider that when they are juniors and seniors in 2022-23, the slate includes home-and-home series with both Clemson and Ohio State, in addition to contests versus USC and Stanford. That's part of why Notre Dame also won "only" one title during the halcyon days under Holtz from 1988-93 when it was a remarkable 5-1 in major bowl games and an astounding 17-4-1 versus top-10 opposition at the time of the game. DIFFERENT BOWL FORMAT Think about the last four national titles at Notre Dame: 1966 — The Irish had to play only 10 games (9-0-1), and playing in a bowl game was not even necessary because the national title was awarded at the end of the regular season. 1973 — Ten regular-season games again — and only USC (9-2-1), Pitt (6-5-1) and Air Force (6-4) had winning records. When 8-0 and No. 5-ranked Notre Dame accepted a bid to play in the Sugar Bowl, Alabama was No. 2, behind No. 1 Ohio State, while Michigan was also unbeaten. On Thanksgiving weekend, the Irish needed a tie between the Buckeyes and Wolverines so that Alabama would move to No. 1, thereby giv- ing Notre Dame a chance to play for the title. Voila! Ohio State 10, Michigan 10 — but ties aren't allowed in college football anymore. The Buckeyes went on to crush USC in the Rose Bowl (42-21) … but the tie did them in. That tie made it possible for Notre Dame and Alabama to play for the national title in the Sugar Bowl, won 24-23 by the Irish. 1977 — Would you believe Notre Dame was ranked No. 5 (10-1) going into the bowl season? Today, it might not have been invited to the four-team CFP over 1977 conference champs that included 11-0 Texas in the Southwest, Oklahoma in the Big 8, Alabama in the SEC and Michigan in the Big Ten. 1988 — In today's format, instead of play- ing outmatched West Virginia for the national title, Notre Dame might have been required to play Miami a second time, plus also win against someone like a Florida State. Possible … but much harder, just as it is today. Committing To Excellence Deep down, doubts about Notre Dame winning another national title in football are understandable. Yet one also has to be encouraged that the program has at least reached a point again where it can be a con- sistent top-10 operation. A confluence of myriad elements — coaching, recruiting, schedule, a little luck, etc. — all have to come together to make catching that lightning in a bottle possible. Part of Kelly has come to grips during his 10 years that the Fighting Irish can't and won't change some elements in recruiting, yet can still consistently reel in top-15 all the way to top-five classes. "We're going to fall somewhere in that range because there's a line there we can't get over based on what our distinctions are here," Kelly said on National Signing Day a few years ago. "That line is going to keep up between five and 15." Yet to still make the BCS National Cham- pionship Game in 2012 (a 42-14 thrashing from Alabama) and the 2018 CFP (a 30-3 defeat to Clemson in the semifinals) pro- vides evidence that the ultimate prize is still attainable with some good fortune along the way. The backing from the school's adminis- tration is not an issue either as it once might have been at the turn of the century. "The university has stepped up. Our Board of Trustees have been great in giving us the kind of resources financially to do these things," Kelly told Blue & Gold Illustrated in the summer of 2018. "We all go into a season with a championship mentality that we are here at the very minimum to be one of the four playoff teams, and then let's play. "We're going to win a national champion- ship here. It's just a matter of when." The program has the commitment finan- cially and in resources to help make it pos- sible. That and the spirit that built Notre Dame in the first place are what keep the Fighting Irish faithful continuing to hope for the best — augmented by the unbeaten regular seasons in 2012 and 2018 — no matter the skepticism. "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." — The Shawshank Redemption ✦ How Many Titles? The University of Notre Dame officially recog- nizes 11 "consensus" national titles. • Three under Knute Rockne in 1924, 1929 and 1930, prior to his death in a plane crash on March 31, 1931. • Four with Frank Leahy: 1943, 1946, 1947 and 1949. • Two captured by Ara Parseghian in 1966 and 1973. • One apiece by Dan Devine in 1977 and Lou Holtz in 1988. However, the NCAA also officially recognizes the shared titles achieved by the Fighting Irish in 1919 under Rockne and with the awarding of the MacArthur Bowl in 1964 to Notre Dame in Par- seghian's debut campaign. That would in actuality bring the total to 13. Other outlets mentioned or named Notre Dame as title winners in 1920 (9-0), 1927 (7-1-1), 1938 (8-1), 1953 (9-0-1), 1967 (8-2), 1970 (10-1), 1989 (12-1), 1993 (11-1) and 2012 (12-1) — but neither the university nor the NCAA recognize them as such, otherwise the total would balloon to 22. Notre Dame had won the most Associated Press national titles since its inception in 1936, captur- ing eight from 1943-88. Since then, Alabama has taken the lead with 11, winning five of the last 10 from 2009-18. Oklahoma is in third place with seven, while Miami, Ohio State and USC have five each. — Lou Somogyi "We're going to win a national championship here. It's just a matter of when." HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY Notre Dame's most recent national title came three decades ago, when the Irish capped an un- defeated 1988 season with a 34-21 victory over West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl. FILE PHOTO BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 37

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