Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM APRIL 2023 15 50 Years Ago: April 4, 1973 Notre Dame signed 40 student- athletes — National Signing Day was held in April back then — in what would be the final year be- fore the NCAA would limit the scholarship count to 30 per year and 95 over four seasons. (Those numbers have since been adjusted to 25 per class and 85 total.) Notre Dame generally allowed about 30 to 35 grants-in-aid per year (35 in 1971 and 32 in 1972). Unique to this class was nine of the 40 players were Black. Previ- ously, Notre Dame had never been able to attract more than five in a class (1968), and had only three in 1971, despite school presi- dent Rev. Theodore Hesburgh's renowned work on Civil Rights that would earn him the Medal of Freedom. The group inked by head coach Ara Parseghian was headlined by prized tight end/defensive end Ross Browner from Warren, Ohio. Also signed were Tennessee line- man Willie Fry, game-breaking North Carolina running back Al Hunter, Indiana running back/defensive back Luther Bradley and Ohio lineman Gene Smith, who was rated behind only Browner and Gary Jeter (USC) as the best in the state at his position. 35 Years Ago: April 23, 1988 The 15,699 in Notre Dame Stadium for the Blue-Gold Game probably could not imagine they were witnessing a national title team eight months later. The Gold team won 27-9 with a backfield of quarterbacks Steve Belles/Kent Graham, fullback Braxston Banks and tailback Tony Brooks. The Blue team featured a backfield with the starting lineup of quarterback Tony Rice, fullback Anthony Johnson and tailback/captain Mark Green. Rice completed only 6 of 19 passes with 2 in- terceptions — and the lone Blue score came on a 22-yard interception return by backup safety Greg Davis. In five scrimmages, including the Blue-Gold Game, Rice completed only 36.3 percent of his 77 passes, reinforcing popular belief that third-year head coach Lou Holtz's Power I/option offense could never take Notre Dame to the Promised Land. In the previous seven years, the Irish were a modest 43-36-1, and lost the final three games of 1987 while getting outscored 80-30. 30 Years Ago: April 24-25, 1993 Blue-Gold Game weekend began with senior quarterback Kevin McDougal rallying his Blue team from a 17-7 fourth-quarter deficit to a 21- 17 victory versus the Gold, quarterbacked by counterpart Paul Failla. Named the Offensive MVP, McDougal completed 16 of 26 passes for 260 yards with 2 scores, highlighted by the 30- yard game-winner to Clint Johnson with 5:34 left. Still, head coach Lou Holtz did not name a start- ing quarterback, with the popular contention that he would make incoming National Player of the Year Ron Powlus the heir to three-year starter Rick Mirer. The next day, Mirer was the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft (behind Washington State quarter- back Drew Bledsoe), the first of six Notre Dame players selected among the top 45. Also tabbed in the first round were junior fullback Jerome Bettis (No. 10), junior cornerback Tom Carter (No. 17) and tight end Irv Smith (No. 20), while linebacker Demetrius DuBose (No. 34) and run- ning back Reggie Brooks (No. 45) were chosen in the second round. 20 Years Ago: April 26, 2003 In an oft-repeated theme of a Blue-Gold Game, the backup quarterback stole the show. This time it was freshman Chris Olsen, named the Offensive MVP while leading the Gold to a 6-0 halftime lead, and then switching to Blue in the second half and directing it to a 17-8 "win." Starter Carlyle Holiday was used on only five plays because per second-year head coach Ty- rone Willingham, "we're so much farther along" from last season. Willingham led the Irish to a turnaround 10-3 campaign (from 5-6 his first year). 5 Years Ago: April 1, 2018 The Notre Dame women's basketball team cap- tured the second NCAA championship in program history — 17 years to the date that it earned its first — by rallying past Mississippi State for a thrilling 61-58 victory. In the process the Fighting Irish became the seventh women's college bas- ketball program to win multiple titles. The Bulldogs (37-2) led the Fighting Irish (35- 3) 40-25 midway through the third quarter. The 15-point comeback was the most in an NCAA title game and tied for the second most in the Final Four. The Irish closed the third quarter on a 16-1 run to tie the game, and then rallied again after fall- ing behind 58-53 with 1:58 remaining. A three- pointer by guard Marina Mabrey brought the Irish to within two, and then guard Jackie Young tied it with a jumper with 45 seconds left. After a defensive stand and forced turnover, the Irish had the ball with 3.0 seconds left. Guard Arike Ogunbowale received the inbounds pass and took a dribble towards the corner before hoisting a game-winning three-pointer with 0.1 remaining to clinch the title for the Irish. Ogunbowale, who finished with 18 points and also hit the game-winning shot in Notre Dame's 91-89 overtime win over Connecticut in the na- tional semifinals, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player following the game. Anniversaries In Notre Dame Athletics History: April UNDER THE DOME Arike Ogunbowale's buzzer-beating three-pointer gave Notre Dame a 61-58 win over Mississippi State and the pro- gram's second national title on April 1, 2018. PHOTO BY MATT CASHORE