Blue and Gold Illustrated

BGI Nov 30, 2019

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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54 NOV. 30, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED I n the post-Knute Rockne era, there has loomed a nemesis that evoked dread to every Notre Dame head coach (and fan). Even Frank Leahy lost his final three games to Michigan State, get- ting outscored 56-3 in the last two. Ara Parseghian and Dan Devine combined for a 2-10-2 mark versus USC from 1967- 80 — with the two victories producing national titles for both. Parseghian also had a 1-4 stretch versus Purdue in the 1960s, with the lone win again (1966) resulting in a national championship. Lou Holtz endured his share of heartaches while going 2-4 versus Penn State from 1986-91. Then there was Joe Kuharich finishing 0-4 versus Parseghi- an's Northwestern squads, Gerry Faust losing four in a row to Air Force, Bob Davie producing a 0-5 mark against Michigan State, and Ty Will- ingham's 0-for-3 ledger versus Boston College. Timing plays a role. Charlie Weis was 0-5 versus USC dur- ing the halcyon Pete Carroll years, while successor Brian Kelly's 7-3 ledger versus a Tro- jans program experiencing much more transition and turmoil has mer- ited plaudits during his era. Naturally, though, Kelly has had his own opposition cross to bear with Stanford. That was timing, too. Weis was 4-1 versus the Cardinal, but Kelly walked into the eye of the Stanford storm just as he began his Notre Dame career in 2010. Following the 37-14 defeat at home to the Cardinal in 2010, Kelly reportedly told Notre Dame director of athletics Jack Swarbrick that the 12-1 Cardinal team from that season is the one the Fighting Irish would look like in a few years: smart on the field and in the classroom, ex- tremely physical and tough-minded (see Identity Crisis on pages 36-37), and possessing an aura of excellence. Indeed, two years later the Fight- ing Irish finished 12-1, highlighted by a thrilling 20-13 overtime victory versus Stanford in which a field goal with 20 seconds left enabled Notre Dame to put the game into overtime, and a goal-line stand allowed it to emerge victorious against an outfit that would finish No. 7 nationally. It was the ensuing five years that became the problem. While Stanford continued produc- ing multiple division and conference championships, its best finish in the Associated Press poll (No. 3 in 2015) since 1940, and went 4-1 versus Notre Dame from 2013-17, the Irish contin- ued their inconsistencies during that five-year stretch while fashioning a yawn-inducing 41-23 (.641) record. Head coach David Shaw, who suc- ceeded Jim Harbaugh in 2011, be- came Kelly's version of the irritating little brother the parents pointed to as a model his program needed to emulate. Making it more exasperating was Stanford had nowhere near the foot- ball history of the Fighting Irish — and you could not use academic standards as an alibi, especially when the Cardinal recruiting and school standards didn't even permit early entrants in January. Yet there was Kelly at the end of 2017 with a 2-6 record versus Stan- ford, and Notre Dame 2-7 overall since 2009. How in gracious name could that happen? This against a school whose highly successful coaches had winning percentages of .600 or less, including John Ralston (.601), Bill Walsh (.585), Dennis Green (.471), Willingham (.549) and Harbaugh (.580) — all praise- worthy considering the cir- cumstances faced at Stanford. It earned them getting hired either by the NFL as head coaches, or at Notre Dame. Fortunately and gradually, Stanford has begun to return to its historical norm. It lost nine games in 2017-18, including the 38-17 decision at Notre Dame last year, began this season 4-6 and signed only 15 players in 2017 and 15 in 2018. Ten, 15, 20 years down the road, that 2010-17 period will be viewed as a Golden Era in Stanford football annals much like the 1940s, 1964-80 or 1988- 93 are at Notre Dame. Shaw's 86-32 record (.729) entering the Nov. 23 week- end dwarfs that of his many esteemed predecessors, but the plateau probably has been reached in Palo Alto. Meanwhile, over the past three years Notre Dame has been quietly returning to a top-10 standard with a 31-6 mark (.838) — although Kelly still has to erase that 0-for-4 cross at Stanford Stadium. For both Stanford and Michigan State, it was an extraordinary foot- ball run from 2010-17, highlighted by multiple top-10 and even top-five finishes, tremendous upset victories, conference titles and national adula- tion for consistent overachievement despite recruiting rankings that don't match the blue-blood rivals. However, as we are about to head into the 2020s, this Stanford series is one that might be coming full circle since the beginning of 2010. ✦ Notre Dame-Stanford Pendulum Finally Turning THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com Brian Kelly has faced quite the nemesis in Stanford and head coach David Shaw during his time at Notre Dame, but the rivalry now appears to be leaning back toward the Fighting Irish. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA

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