Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MAY 2021 7 FAN FORUM Everyone has a "what if" moment in his/her life that could have dramati- cally altered the course of their destination on Earth. On BlueandGold.com, many of our members reflected on some of them relating to the Notre Dame football program over the past century. If began with Knute Rockne's death at age 43 in a plane crash on March 31, 1931, and stretched into the 2010s. Grumpy Leprechaun: How do you think the following play out? 1. Knute Rockne doesn't die in the plane crash. 2. Notre Dame joins the Big Ten. 3. Randy Moss comes to Notre Dame and plays three years (1995-1997). 4. Notre Dame lets Carson Palmer in. 5. Justin Tuck, Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate stick around another year. 6. Kansas State doesn't lose to Baylor in 2012, thereby setting up a Notre Dame-Kansas State national title game instead of Notre Dame-Alabama. SB Irish 25: 1. That is one heck of a what if. You would think Notre Dame would have won at least 1 or 2 more national championships between when he died and when Frank Leahy took over in 1941. 2. Glad that didn't happen. 3. He couldn't get into FSU, so this is a pipe dream. Would have been super nice to have, but wasn't going to happen. 4. Bob Davie Era, would they have used him properly to maximize his talents?! 5. Tuck coming back would been amazing for the 2005 team. Wonder how Jimmy and Golden would have taken to Kelly's coaching style, especially in his early years. The 2010 team was talented but was missing in some key areas. 6. Notre Dame most likely wins the 2012 national championship game. Sucks that Kansas State lost. Cfuentes: Reggie Bush doesn't push Matt Leinart into the end zone. Gabe90028: Notre Dame beats Boston College in 1993. George O'Leary is the coach, as originally hired in December 2001, and not Tyrone Willingham. IrishJohn68: What if there was no clipping call on the Rocket touchdown run? UNDIrish3: Hired Mike Elko and Clark Lea in 2014 instead of Brian Van- Gorder. Cyaros44: 1) 3rd and 43 1a) 11/20/1993 We will truly never know how impactful those two games were in the re- written history of Notre Dame football or how it could have changed Lou Holtz's tenure. He had a legitimate shot at back-to-back titles and three out of six. Not to mention being No. 1 multiple times in 1990 and arguably the best team in 1992. Even if Holtz had still left because of the pressure, imagine if Notre Dame had hired Barry Alvarez for 8-10 years. Perhaps Notre Dame then is far more attractive to Urban Meyer in 2005 instead of Florida. The ripple effects are crazy to think about. PappaBear: If Rockne had coached at Notre Dame as long as Joe Paterno did at Penn State, well there might not have been a Frank Leahy. Hmmm. Every action has a ripple effect, both good and bad. That should not be equated as "Rockne's plane crash was a good thing." Anyone thinking that is insane. AKWilliams: Ohio State doesn't go on probation in 2012 and we play them instead of Bama. JY09: Add Lou Holtz was not able to get Tommie Frazier. Image having him for four years. Shabak: If Notre Dame would give some passes to borderline students with good moral character who are damn good at playing football. We would then pick up the elite players that were missing. Johnnyh: If what happened to Moss happened in this day and age, he would have been at ND. No question about it. FROM THE WEBSITE .com .com OVERSTAYED WELCOME Thank you for finally printing some recent comments about Mike Brey and the Notre Dame men's bas- ketball program ("From The Web," April 2021). The generic, vanilla brand of bas- ketball that the Notre Dame faithful have been forced to watch over the last several years has to end. We are a team that does not play defense, has no inside presence, does not rebound on the offensive glass, lives and dies on the three-point arc, does not press and very seldom challenges a shot. It has become dreadfully obvious that winning is no longer a priority — only to have a clean program with good graduation rates that represents the university well. Then why are there so many other colleges/univer- sities that have been able to do both? I have always thought the world of Coach Brey, but it's his time to go. Notre Dame stands for excellence in every area and it should also apply to its athletic coaches and sports pro- grams. I realize it's often difficult to recruit at a university that puts academics first, but I think that Notre Dame owes it to its athletes, alumni and fans to try. Charles Schirtz Via the Internet BE HEARD! SEND YOUR LETTERS TO: Blue & Gold Illustrated (attn: Letters) • P. O. Box 1007, Notre Dame, IN 46556 or e-mail to: lsomogyi@blueandgold.com How many more national titles would Knute Rockne have won had he not tragically passed away at age 43 in a plane crash on March 31, 1931? PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS JOIN THE CONVERSATION! GET A 60-DAY FREE TRIAL WITH CODE IRISH60