Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com AUGUST 2019 61 Season Review Notre Dame scuffled early in the year with hard-fought wins at Pur- due (20-7) and then at home versus Michigan State (14-10). The primary hurdle was game six versus USC, which Notre Dame had not defeated in the six previous meetings, and the Trojans entered Notre Dame Stadium with a 23-game unbeaten streak. The 23-14 Irish vic- tory, propelled by Eric Penick's epic 85-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, was the catalyst needed to propel the Irish to the title. Three Notes • It was the first time ever Notre Dame won 11 games (11-0). The fol- lowing year would mark the begin- ning of never playing less than 11 contests during the regular season. • The 350.2 rushing yards per game remains what appears to be an un- breakable school record. The closest figure since then was 287.7 in 1989. Bowl games weren't included back in 1973, but even if they were the 341.3 figure would still be the record. • The defense finished the regu- lar season No. 2 in total (201.3 yards per game), and No. 3 versus the run (82.4) and in scoring defense (6.6). 2. Frank Leahy: Year 10 (1952) Result: 7-2-1, No. 3 in AP poll How does a team that won only seven of its 10 games fin- ish No. 3? The same 7-2-1 re- cord a year ear- lier didn't earn a top-20 finish. The difference was in 1952 the schedule saw Notre Dame defeat three major conference champs in Texas (14-3), Oklahoma (27-21) and USC (9-0) — all ranked in the top five at the time of the game, with OU finishing No. 4, USC No. 5 and Texas No. 10. Notre Dame also conquered co-Big Ten champ Purdue (26-14), which was ranked No. 9, and tied Ivy League champ Penn. Season Review Going 4-0-1 against five different conference champions was one of the most remarkable single season ac- complishments ever by the program. One of the two losses was at No. 1 Michigan State, which went on to win the national title before joining the Big Ten the following year. The other defeat was the ultimate let- down, a 22-19 loss at home to Pitt in week three. The Panthers had been crushed at Oklahoma (49-20) the week prior, while No. 19 Notre Dame won at No. 5 Texas (14-3). Three Notes • After the loss to Pitt dropped Leahy's squad to 1-1-1, the Fighting Irish fell out of the rankings. • The four wins versus those that finished in the final AP top 20 (three in the top 10), were the second most in Leahy's 11 seasons, behind the six (four in the top 10) by the 1943 na- tional champs. • Notre Dame fumbled an astound- ing 57 times, 29 of which were recov- ered by the opposition. The Irish foes also had a record 51 fumbles, 28 of which Notre Dame recovered. 3. Knute Rockne: Year 10 (1927) Result: 7-1-1 Another solid y e a r, b u t a l - though the re- cord featured o n e l e s s l o s s t h a n L e a h y ' s 10th season, the schedule wasn't as treacherous. Season Review Notre Dame started 5-0, but No- vember had a rough start with a 7-7 verdict against Minnesota and an 18-0 loss to archrival Army. However, the season ended well with a 7-6 win ver- sus USC at Chicago's Soldier Field. Three Notes • The finale versus USC — the sec- ond meeting between the two teams — was listed with an NCAA-record 120,000 in attendance (99,573 offi- cially paid). • This year marked the first meet- ing against Navy (a 19-6 Notre Dame win), and the series has continued uninterrupted since then. • Christie Flanagan led the team in rushing a third year in a row, the sec- ond of six players to achieve the feat. 4. Lou Holtz: Year 10 (1995) Result: 9-3 After finishing outside the AP top 25 in 1994 for the first time in eight years, Notre Dame re- bounded with a No. 11 place- ment. Season Review Notre Dame lost the opener at home to four-touchdown underdog Northwestern (17-15). Afterwards, the Fighting Irish posted quality wins against No. 13 Texas (55-27), at No. 15 Washington (29-21), and crushed No. 5 and Pac- 10 champion USC (38-10) to earn an Orange Bowl berth at 9-2. With backup quarterback Tom Krug replacing an injured Ron Pow- lus, Notre Dame led No. 8 Florida State 26-14 in the fourth quarter be- fore losing 31-26. Three Notes • Following the precipitous decline in 1994, Holtz began the practice of opening the preseason at Culver Academy that August as a way for the team to bond. • In week three, Holtz underwent surgery for a neck/spinal condition that temporarily made defensive co- ordinator Bob Davie the acting coach — and hastened Holtz's departure the next year. • Notre Dame had a team record five captains this season, led by sec- ond-round draft pick Derrick Mayes at wide receiver and offensive lineman Ryan Leahy, grandson of Frank Leahy, a rare second straight season. ✦ LASTING POWER Among 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams this year, Brian Kelly will be one of the 16 head coaches to reach a full decade at the same school. Here is the breakdown: Kirk Ferentz: Iowa — 21 years Gary Patterson: TCU — 20 years Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State), Frank Solich (Ohio) and Kyle Whittingham (Utah) — 15 years Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern) and Rick Stockstill (Middle Tennessee) — 14 years Ken Niumatalolo (Navy), Mark Dantonio (Michigan State), Troy Calhoun (Air Force) and Nick Saban (Alabama) — 13 years Dabo Swinney (Clemson) and David Cutcliffe (Duke) — 12 years Bobby Wilder (Old Dominion) — 11 years Brian Kelly (Notre Dame) and Doc Holliday (Marshall) — 10 years — Lou Somogyi