Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2022 19 55 Years Ago: Sept. 2, 1967 Despite the 1966 national champs graduat- ing nine starters who were selected in the first three rounds of the NFL-AFL Draft, Notre Dame was selected as the preseason No. 1 by Sports Illustrated in its college football preview edition. Fourth-year head coach Ara Parseghian's Fighting Irish were selected at the top even though the sched- ule included No. 3 Miami, No. 6 Michigan State, No. 8 USC and No. 12 Purdue. Notre Dame's offense included the passing combination of Terry Hanratty to Jim Seymour, plus team captain Rocky Bleier at run- ning back. The defense was led by Kevin Hardy along the line, John Pergine at linebacker and Tom Schoen in the secondary. The feature noted that Parseghian's 25-3-2 re- cord with a consensus na- tional title practically mir- rored Frank Leahy's first three seasons at Notre Dame (1941-43) in which he was 24-3-3, also with a consensus national title his third season. 25 Years Ago: Sept. 6, 1997 In 42-year-old Bob Davie's head coaching debut and the inaugural game of the revamped and expanded Notre Dame Stadium — the new seat- ing capacity was 80,225 instead of 59,075 — the Fighting Irish rallied to a 17-13 victory versus George O'Leary's Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Notre Dame drove 70 yards for the game-win- ning touchdown by junior running back Autry Denson, who scored on a 1-yard run. The Irish defense made the victory possible when all four Georgia Tech possessions in the fourth quarter went three-and-out. The 12 plays by the Yellow Jackets totaled minus-8 yards, and they also missed 2 field goals after Irish turnovers at their own 29- and 32-yard line with Tech ahead 13-10. "All I ask for our players to do is just take the lead of the coaches," Davie said afterwards. "When something negative happens, we're going to be very calm. We're going to get the situation rectified, and if our players see the confidence our coaches have in them, things will work out." 20 Years Ago: Sept. 7, 2002 Notre Dame improved to 2-0 under first- year head coach Tyrone Willingham despite still not scoring a touchdown on offense. The 24-17 Irish victory at home versus Purdue saw all three Irish touchdowns scored by defen- sive backs: safety Gerome Sapp on a 54-yard fumble return, reserve cornerback Lionel Bo- len catching a fumble and tallying from 4 yards out on the ensuing kickoff for a 14-0 lead, and cornerback Vontez Duff breaking a 17-17 tie by intercepting a Kyle Orton pass and returning it for a 33-yard score with 5:09 left in the contest. A week earlier the Irish defeated Maryland 22-0 with five field goals and a punt return for a score. It is the first time Notre Dame is 2-0 without a touchdown on offense. 10 Years Ago: Sept. 1, 2012 For the third time in its history and the first time in an opener, Notre Dame played overseas. Third-year head coach Brian Kelly's unranked Fighting Irish opened with a 50-10 rout of Navy at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. The Irish amassed 293 yards rushing, while Stephon Tuitt returned a fumble for a 77-yard score — the first Irish lineman in 16 years to do so — and senior linebacker Manti Te'o recorded both his first interception and first fumble recov- ery in his career. Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: Sept. 1-7 UNDER THE DOME Text 574-386-6004 • Email tamrschneider@gmail.com Prime Commercial Location Prime Commercial Location For Sale For Sale 3 adjacent parcels totalling just under 2 acres Convenient location close to campus with 2 existing buildings and an empty lot for future expansion. 1628 & 1636 N Ironwood, South Bend CLOSE TO CAMPUS! Jim Seymour (left), Terry Hanratty and the Irish were the preseason No. 1 in 1967. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS