Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2025 95 The '61 Irish started strong, with wins over Oklahoma, Purdue and USC, but then lost hard-fought games against No. 1 Michigan State, Northwestern and Navy. Gerry Faust (7-5, 1983) Faust was already a high school coaching legend at Cincinnati Moeller when Notre Dame made the bold move of making him head coach to succeed Devine in 1981. After starting out 5-6 and 6-4-1, the Irish appeared to be possibly turning the corner in 1983, winning five straight and standing at 6-2 heading into Novem- ber. But consecutive losses to Pitt, Penn State and Air Force brought the Irish back to mediocrity. Bob Davie (5-7, 1999) Davie was defensive coordinator under Holtz when he was promoted to head coach in 1997. His firing of offensive line coach Joe Moore was highly unpopular, and the results on the field were uneven. There was hope after a 9-3 season in 1998, but his third year was frustrat- ing. Early narrow losses to Michigan and Purdue set the tone, and a four-game losing streak to Tennessee, Pitt, Boston College and Stanford ended the year. Ty Willingham (6-6, 2004) Willingham's first Irish team in 2002 posted a series of unlikely victories and finished 10-3, but things soured after that. His 2003 squad went 5-7, and his third season unraveled. Notre Dame was 5-2 before narrow losses to Boston College and Pitt, and a 41-10 blowout defeat at Southern Cal. Willingham was fired before an Insight Bowl loss to Oregon State. Charlie Weis (3-9, 2007) Enthusiasm was sky high when Weis arrived from the New England Patriots, where he was part of a staff that won three Super Bowls. With a class of ju- niors that included quarterback Brady Quinn, receiver Jeff Samardzija, tackle Ryan Harris and defensive back Tom Zbikowski, the Irish went 9-3 in 2005 and 10-3 in 2006, earning a pair of ma- jor bowl appearances. But things went south in 2007, as a dearth of quality recruiting played out on the field. In 2007, the Irish were blasted by Georgia Tech, 33-3, in the opener, then lost their next four, none closer than 14 points. Weis held on for two seasons, at 7-6 and 6-6, but couldn't recover the early success. ✦ Your book order supports the Knute Rockne Memorial Society. Order your autographed, inscribed copy TODAY by visi ng www.RockneSociety.org/Shop/ Special Centennial Commemorative Edition LOYAL SONS: The Story of The Four Horsemen and Notre Dame Football's 1924 Champions Winner – Independent Publisher Book Awards Get the full story on these iconic Notre Dame figures A great read for any Notre Dame fan! "A must-read real jewel… wonderfully researched and detailed." --SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE SPECIAL CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATIVE EDITION National Award-Winning Author Jim Lefebvre T h e s t o r y o f T h e F o u r H o r s e m e n a n d N o t r e D a m e F o o t b a l l ' s 1 9 2 4 C h a m p i o n s Loyal Sons Jim Lefebvre is an award-winning Notre Dame author and leads the Knute Rockne Memorial Society. He can be reached at: jim@ndfootballhistory.com After leading the Irish to a combined 19-6 record in his first two seasons, Charlie Weis' third squad bottomed out with a 3-9 record in 2007. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME