Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1187512
36 NOV. 30, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI SNAPPING THE STREAK The 2019 preseason theme pre- sented by head coach Brian Kelly to the team was to be "Road Warriors." With no disrespect intended to- ward the season opener at Louisville Sept. 2 and the visit to Duke Nov. 9, both of which were middle-of-the- road ACC foes, that topic was spe- cifically targeted to three 2019 foes: Georgia Sept. 21, Michigan Oct. 26 and the regular-season finale at Stan- ford on Thanksgiving weekend. • The visit to Georgia was about ending the long-standing account that Notre Dame cannot "win the big ones," or the marquee games in which they are a prohibitive under- dog. They had not defeated a top- five opponent, home or away, since a 17-10 victory at Michigan in 2005, a school record for such futility. Notre Dame did earn much respect while playing the No. 3-ranked Bull- dogs down to the wire, but it still resulted in a 23-17 defeat. • Next up was the trip to Ann Ar- bor versus a two-loss Michigan team that likewise was derided as a squad unable to "win the big one," entering the contest 1-15 in its last 16 games versus top-10 opposition. Notre Dame arrived at No. 19 Michigan ranked No. 8, with a vic- tory versus the Wolverines likely placing it in College Football Playoff contention again after earning a bid to the four-team field the year prior. Instead, it turned out to be one of the two or three biggest single-game debacles of the 10-year Kelly era, a 45-14 defeat in which the entire team was a no show. With a 4-6 start to this season prior to last week's meeting with archrival Cal, the 2019 Stanford Cardinal hardly qualify as a Notre Dame victory that would be remembered for the ages — but it would end a dubious five-game losing streak in Stanford Stadium. Oddly enough, Notre Dame's most recent victory on The Farm occurred to conclude the miserable 3-9 campaign in 2007, a 21-14 decision over first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh's squad. The 0-5 mark at Stanford from 2009- 17 ties the current five-game losing streak at Michigan (since 2007) and at Miami's Orange Bowl (1981-89) for the third longest by Notre Dame on another school's home turf. The only ones with more futility were at Michigan State's Spartan Sta- dium from 1951-68 (seven game losing streak before the famous 10-10 tie in 1966, but 0-8-1 overall until winning in 1970) and USC's Los Angeles Memo- rial Coliseum. After a 21-21 tie there in 1968, USC defeated Notre Dame seven straight times at home from 1970-82 before falling 19-7 in 1984. In Charlie Weis' final game as the Notre Dame head coach in 2009, Stan- ford began the home winning streak versus the Irish with a 45-38 victory while scoring the game-winning touchdown from four yards out with 59 seconds left and the score tied at 38. The order was given by Weis to allow Stanford to score, otherwise it would run the clock down to a final chip-shot field goal as time ran out. Logic dictated that with 59 seconds left the explosive Irish offense, led by quarterback Jimmy Clausen and wideout Golden Tate, would at least have a chance to drive the length of the field to tie the game and put it into overtime, which did not occur. Speaking of driving the field for a late score … in 2015, Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer ran for a touchdown with 30 seconds remain- ing, and Justin Yoon's extra point provided the Irish a 36-35 lead and a chance to improve to 11-1. Instead, a crucial 15-yard penalty by the Irish and a 27-yard pass play by the Cardinal set up Conrad Uk- ropina's 45-yard field goal as time expired. In its most recent visit to Northern California in 2017, the 9-2 Irish en- tered the fourth quarter with a 20-17 advantage, but three ensuing turn- overs resulted in a 38-20 setback. A victory at Stanford won't allay the pain of the Georgia and Michigan setbacks, but it would end a streak of futility at a specific road venue. IDENTITY CRISIS First with Jim Harbaugh (2007-10) and then successor David Shaw (2011-present), Stanford football had GAME PREVIEW: STANFORD Top STorylineS In 2017, the Irish carried a 20-17 lead versus the Cardinal into the fourth quarter but committed three turnovers that resulted in a 38-20 defeat and extended their losing streak at Stanford Stadium to five games. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA