Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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52 SEPT. 23, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI H istory can be achieved by the Notre Dame football program when the Fighting Irish have their showdown at No. 3 Georgia Sept. 21. Not including bowl games, which are located at neutral sites, it could be the school's first football victory ever at night at a top-five opponent's on-campus home site. Over the past 20 years, these were the seven other instances of Notre Dame facing a top-five team on its home turf at night, and all had in- auspicious results and ramifications, particularly for the head coach: • In 1999, the No. 24-ranked Irish lost 38-14 at No. 4 Tennessee. It was the start of a four-game losing streak under third-year head coach Bob Da- vie to finish the season 5-7 — the most defeats in one season in 36 years (2-7 in 1963). • To open the 2001 campaign, No. 23 Notre Dame was defeated 27-10 at No. 5 Nebraska. It began a 5-6 campaign that would result in the firing of Davie, even though 11 months earlier he had signed a five-year extension, or buyout terms, whichever you prefer to call it. • The 2004 regular season ended with a 41-10 setback at No. 1 USC, and the firing of head coach Ty Will- ingham a couple of days later. • Likewise in 2006 and 2008, Notre Dame lost in the finale in the Los An- geles Coliseum at night to a top-five Trojans squad. The No. 6 Irish were throttled 44-24 by No. 3 USC in 2006, and the reel- ing 2008 unit was crushed 38-3 by the No. 5 Trojans. In the latter, Notre Dame did not even pick up a first down until the final play of the third quarter. For the next few days fol- lowing that 35-point defeat, ques- tions loomed on whether fourth-year head coach Charlie Weis would be retained for a fifth season in 2009. • Under current head coach Brian Kelly, there have been two such con- tests: a 28-14 loss at No. 4 Stanford in 2011, and the controversial setback at No. 2 FSU in 2014 (31-27), when Notre Dame was 6-0 and No. 5. A touchdown pass from Everett Golson to Corey Robinson in the closing sec- onds was nullified when it was ruled that running back C.J. Prosise created offensive interference while blocking on a "pick play." "It was pretty clear what happened on the play," Kelly said the following day after reviewing the tape. "Flor- ida State blew the coverage and got rewarded for it. It's unfortunate." There also was the officiating crew ignoring an FSU penalty of remov- ing one's helmet on the field of play on that same fateful call. Kelly took another lesson from that defeat, spe- cifically about playing on the road against a top foe. "When you get a team like this and outplay them, you've got to put them away," Kelly said. "You never want to let the game be decided by a ref- eree. You want to control the game yourself. … If you've got the champ, you can't win by split decision — you've got to knock him out. I think that's what we want to take away from this." AFTERNOON DELIGHTS That's not to say Notre Dame hasn't had its share of special vic- tories against top-five teams on the opponent's home turf. They just all happened to come in the afternoon. Notre Dame has not defeated a top- five foe on the road since Sept. 10, 2005, a 17-10 conquest of No. 3 Mich- igan in Weis' second career contest. However, even that became a little overshadowed when the Wolverines finished that season only 7-5. Here is that list, based on highest ranking since the advent of the As- sociated Press poll in 1936: No. 1 Pitt (1982): 31-16 — Second- year head coach Gerry Faust's 5-1-1 squad stunned the top-ranked Pan- thers, who had senior Dan Marino at quarterback. No. 2 Oklahoma (1957): 7-0 — This ONE FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS Notre Dame has never defeated a top-five team at night on the opponent's home turf A 76-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Allen Pinkett sparked Notre Dame's 31-16 upset at No. 1 Pitt in 1982. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS