Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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54 SEPT. 30, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED W hat's too painful to remember, we simply choose to forget." — From the 1973 song, "The Way We Were" For the 28 years I've been at Blue & Gold Illustrated, there is an an- nual ritual after a Notre Dame de- feat (Michigan) or even a close call versus an opponent (Purdue) that "shouldn't even be in the game." The first is receiving the predict- able mail on predictable play calling by the coaching staff. People annu- ally will note that in the course of watching the game with either their 7-year-old son or daughter, infirmed mother-in-law with severe memory loss, or a wife/girlfriend who has no interest in sports, "even they were calling the next play each time. If they could do it, just think how the team on the other side already knows what's coming." It didn't help Brian Kelly and Co. when Alabama players after last year's 42-14 BCS National Champi- onship Game rout pointed out that they could always count on Notre Dame's defense to line up in a certain look in specific situations. It was the same look that made them 12-0 in the first place. Had too much been altered or tweaked before the Al- abama game, and a blowout had still occurred, then the natural reaction is, "Why the heck did they try to fix some- thing that was not broken? They're over-coaching again. Just let the play- ers play." During a halftime sideline interview this Sept. 14, Purdue head coach Darrell Hazell noted how his team had scouted Notre Dame's tendencies and responded to them, and later there was talk of how formations and personnel groupings also tipped off Purdue. When they don't work, you are "stub- born, muleheaded and predictable." When they do, it's because you "impose your will." "We lined up in the same formation 11 times on the last drive," Kelly noted. "They knew exactly what we were do- ing — and we had the ball for [the final] 7:22, so it's still about execution. "Those are good sound bites and all, but we know what our tendencies are. We have self-scouting information from our graduate assistants at our finger- tips first thing when we get in Sunday. … Generally speaking, bye weeks are where we do a more thorough evalua- tion of those things." The second predictable response after disappointment is even more common: "In all my (20, 30, 40, 50 …) years of following Notre Dame, I have never seen such …" From there, fill in the flavor of the week: questionable coaching, in- ability to move the ball, poor discipline, lack of intensity, absence of fundamen- tals, etc. To that my simple reply is, "Oh, I'm sure you have." Like anyone else, I can romanticize the past ("the older I get, the better I was"), and it's human nature to do so. A recent press release announcing the death of the great Frank Tripucka mistakenly listed that he threw zero in- terceptions as the starter during Notre Dame's 1948 unbeaten season. Upon further review, he actually had 11 in just 91 attempts. My first thought was, "I wonder how people would react today if Tommy Rees had 11 interceptions in 91 attempts?" You've never seen an Irish quar- terback turn it over more than Rees? Oh, sure you might have, or did. In 1967, All-American Terry Hanratty had one stretch where he tossed 13 interceptions in 113 attempts. He threw 5 in 23 tries one week versus USC and 4 in 17 tries the next against Illinois (that's 9 interceptions in 40 tosses). I can cite almost as equally unimpressive data for icons such as Joe Theismann, Joe Montana, Tony Rice and even Jimmy Clausen. You've never seen so many stars on a defensive line be so unproduc- tive than this year? Oh, sure you might have. The 1975 line featured first-rounders Ross Browner and Steve Niehaus, second-rounder Willie Fry, NFL player Jeff Weston … but they still gave up 303 yards rushing to Tony Dorsett in a 34-20 loss at Pitt. I've seen an unbeaten Notre Dame team lose at home to a team that was 1-9 the year prior and had just come off a 62-0 loss (Missouri, 1972). I saw a 9-1 Irish team ranked No. 1 on defense yield 55 points in less than 17 minutes (1974, USC). I fumed and broke furniture when I used to see head coach Dan Devine (1975-80) call the most predictable plays (and many times unsuccessful) known to man … but applauded when his statue was unveiled at Notre Dame in 2011. I've seen a 58-7 loss (1985 at Miami), and I've seen a 1-9 start (2007). Never say never, because you never know when it will get worse or better. That's part of the intrigue, and predict- ability, of each new season. ✦ In 1967, All-American Terry Hanratty had one stretch where he tossed 9 interceptions in 40 passing attempts. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS BEST OF THE FIFTH QUARTER ✦ LOU SOMOGYI ✦ SEPT. 30, 2013 'Well, I've Never' … Oh, I'm Sure You Have EDITOR'S NOTE: The late, great Lou Somogyi possessed an unmatched knowledge of Notre Dame football, and it was his mission in life to share it with others. Those of us at Blue & Gold Illustrated would like to continue to provide his wis- dom and unique perspective from his more than 37 years covering the Fighting Irish for this publication. "