Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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52 OCT. 7, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED IRISH ECHOES JIM LEFEBVRE BY JIM LEFEBVRE O ne of the more compelling story lines of the 2023 college football season is the Georgia Bulldogs' bid to become the first team to win three consecutive national championships in nearly 90 years. Not since coach Bernie Bierman's Minnesota Golden Gophers won titles in 1934, 1935 and 1936 has a team se- cured a three-peat. The balance of power in the Western Conference was a little bit different back then. In that three-year stretch, Minnesota won the Little Brown Jug from Michigan all three seasons, outscoring the Wolverines by a 100-0 count, with Michigan going 6-18 overall in those years. Since then, no fewer than 12 teams have won two consecutive champi- onships but failed to repeat in Year 3. None, however, came as close to achiev- ing the feat as the 1948 Fighting Irish. In 1946, with the war ended and head coach Frank Leahy back in charge at Notre Dame after a two-year absence, the program started an incredible run of success … a record of 36-0-2 over the next four seasons. The 1946 squad was packed with stars, including eventual College Foot- ball Hall of Famers George Connor and Ziggy Czarobski at the tackles, Bill Fischer at guard, Leon Hart and Jim Martin at the ends, Red Sitko at half- back and Johnny Lujack at quarterback. They began the season with a trip to Champaign, Ill., and whipped an Il- lini squad that would finish the sea- son fifth in the nation, 26-6. The Irish never looked back, romping through their schedule, outscoring the opposi- tion 271-24. They led the nation in total offense with 441.3 yards per game and total defense with just 141.7 yards al- lowed per game. They were neck and neck with Army's powerhouse, featuring Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis, all season long. And the two teams battled to an epic 0-0 tie before 74,121 on Nov. 9. But week after week, Army stood No. 1 and Notre Dame No. 2 in the Associated Press rankings. Then, in the season's finale, Army barely got by an extremely weak 1-8 Navy team, 21-18. The Irish had handled the Midshipmen, 28-0, four weeks ear- lier. In the final rankings, Notre Dame squeaked by Army, 1,730 points to 1,659. All of Notre Dame's top players were back in 1947, and the juggernaut con- tinued its assault on all comers. This time, the Irish held the top spot in the nation for several weeks during the season, while Army was tied by Illinois Quarterback Frank Tripucka (8) and end Leon Hart (82) led the 1948 Irish to a 9-0-1 record and a No. 2 national ranking. FILE PHOTO The 1948 Irish Came Within Striking Distance Of A Three-Peat