Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1194048
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com JANUARY 2020 11 UNDER THE DOME While a matchup with 7-5 and unranked Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl Dec. 28 might not elicit much buzz among many Notre Dame faithful, the 10-2 Notre Dame program has plenty to gain. Among the opportunities for the Fighting Irish, ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press poll, is a chance to crack the final top 10 for the first time in back-to-back years since 1992-93. Getting back to .500 all time in bowl games at 19-19 also would be another aspiration. Once upon a time, Notre Dame had the best winning percentage in college football with a mini- mum of 15 bowl games played. That was 25 years ago, following a 24-21 victory versus Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, 1994. That conquest improved Notre Dame's post- season record to 13-6 (.684). Especially extraordinary was during that 24-year period from 1970-93, Notre Dame won the most major bowls (the Fiesta was added to the category in the 1980s) with 10. In that same stretch, the Fighting Irish played 10 bowl games against teams that were either ranked No. 1, undefeated or both — and re- corded a remarkable 7-3 record against them. Unfortunately, the ensuing 25 years from 1994-2018 saw Fighting Irish postseason fortunes swing the other way. From 1994-2006, the program lost nine consecutive bowl games — an NCAA record that dropped its all-time postseason ledger to 13-15. The streak ended when the 6-6 Irish defeated Hawai'i 49-21 on Christmas Eve 2008 in the Hawai'i Bowl. In three different years, Notre Dame was able to crawl back to .500 in bowl games. • It was 15-15 at the end of 2010, but then lost to Florida State (18-14) in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl and Alabama (42-14) the following year in the BCS National Championship Game. • After defeating Rutgers in the 2013 Pinstripe Bowl (29-16) and LSU (31-28) in the 2014 Music City Bowl, Notre Dame returned to .500 again (17-17), but the Fiesta Bowl defeat to Ohio State (44-28) following the 2015 regular season made it 17-18. • The comeback win versus LSU in the 2018 Citrus Bowl (21-17) evened the mark again at 18- 18 — but then last year's 30-3 defeat to Clemson at the Cotton Bowl in the College Football Playoff dropped it under .500 again at 18-19. Head coach Brian Kelly especially values the mo- mentum that can be built from a bowl victory, specifically pointing to the comeback win versus LSU in the 2018 Citrus as a springboard to a 12-0 regular season in 2018. "When individuals have really good perfor- mances, it does that, as well," Kelly said. "Ian Book, Miles Boykin, obviously teamed up in that [LSU] game to have big performances. I just think it catapults you into your offseason training and conditioning. "It builds a great deal of confidence as you get ready for the next season." This year marks the 50th anniversary of Notre Dame ending its 44-year bowl ban from 1925-68. It was voluntary because national titles were voted on by the Associated Press and coaches at the end of the regular season (1965 was an exception among the coaches), e.g., the 1966 national cham- pionship for the Fighting Irish with a 9-0-1 record without needing to go to a bowl. However, in 1968 the Associated Press decided that it would wait until after the bowl games to make its selection on who is No. 1. Not so coinci- dentally, Notre Dame then rescinded its non-bowl policy in 1969. — Lou Somogyi Miles Boykin's thrilling 55-yard touchdown connection with Ian Book led Notre Dame's 21-17 comeback victory against LSU in the 2018 Citrus Bowl and gave the Fighting Irish a powerful momentum boost heading into 2018 season. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA Getting Back To .500 … In Bowl Games Hanging 11 Ten-win regular season don't carry the same weight they used to, mainly because of 12-game regular seasons that became the norm for Notre Dame in 2006. This year's 10-2 regular season is the fourth time the Fighting Irish finished with that mark before a bowl. In two of the previous cases, Notre Dame entered the bowl scene ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press poll. The first was in 2002 under first-year head coach Ty- rone Willingham. Following an 8-0 start that elevated them to a No. 4 placement, the Irish sputtered to a 2-2 finish in the regular season. Consequently, Notre Dame was invited to the Gator Bowl, where a 28-6 defeat to North Carolina State resulted in a No. 17 finish at 10-3. The second occurred in 2006 with second-year head coach Charlie Weis. Notre Dame was 10-1 and No. 6 entering the regular-season finale at USC, with the lone setback was a 47-21 defeat to Michigan. But a 44-24 loss to the Trojans dropped the Fighting Irish to No. 11. And then a 41-14 dismantling at the hands of LSU in the Sugar Bowl led to a No. 17 final ranking at 10-3 — just like in 2003 again. In 2015, the Irish were 10-1 again, but a 38-36 loss at Stanford dropped them to 10-2, and the Fiesta Bowl de- feat to Ohio State resulted in a No. 11 placement. This year, 10-2 Notre Dame is No. 14 in the AP poll, but a victory in the bowl game to improve to 11-2 could lead to a spot in the top 10 for the third time in head coach Brian Kelly's 10 seasons, with No. 11 finishes mixed in at the end of 2015 and 2017. The first time the Irish finished with 11 wins was in 1973 with the 11-0 national champions. The second also resulted in a national title in 1977 (11-1). The third was in 1993 (11-1), a debatable No. 2 finish despite defeating eventual No. 1 Florida State. — Lou Somogyi