Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2025 15 45 Years Ago: Aug. 15, 1980 One week after the start of practice, sixth-year Notre Dame head coach Dan Devine told ABC-TV reporter Dave Diles during a Friday night nation- ally televised NFL preseason game between Pittsburgh and Atlanta that he planned to step down from his post at the end of the season. The 55-year-old Devine — at the time the oldest head coach ever at Notre Dame — said the move was because of "family considerations and personal reasons." Hired in 1975, Devine's 44-14 career record (.759 winning percentage) with a 1977 national title was still not considered up to the standards of prede- cessor Ara Parseghian, who was 95-17-4 (.836) with two consensus titles, a shared third one and No. 2 finish in a fourth campaign. Devine also denied there was any pressure from a 7-4 finish the previous year, the most losses by the Fighting Irish since a 2-7 showing in 1963. Notre Dame was not expected to fare much better in 1980, perhaps even worse while trying to find a new quarterback. Freshmen Scott Grooms and Blair Kiel, the No. 1 and No. 3 prep All-Americans according to Parade maga- zine, were two of the top candidates; plus the Irish had to replace all-time leading rusher and first-round pick Vagas Ferguson and retool a defense that allowed the most rushing yards by the program in 22 years. Furthermore, the schedule included No. 9 Purdue and Michigan (which would win the Big Ten and Rose Bowl) in the first two games, road trips to Michigan State and Arizona, plus other excursions to two-time reigning na- tional champ Alabama and perennial superpower Southern Cal. The Irish went on to begin the season 7-0 and ascended to No. 1 in the polls, before stumbling with a 3-3 tie at Georgia Tech. After wins at Alabama and over Air Force, the Irish fell 20-3 at Southern Cal in the regular-season finale and then lost 17-10 to national champion Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day to finish 9-2-1. 35 Years Ago: Aug. 22, 1990 An emergency press conference was held in response to a Sports Illustrated feature written by Rick Telander in which former Notre Dame player Steve Huffman revealed that "almost half" of the lettermen at Notre Dame used steroids at the behest of the coaching staff. Director of athletics Dick Rosenthal and head coach Lou Holtz vehemently denied the accusations. Meanwhile, players from the past and present ad- mitted to "isolated" incidents that led to expulsions, and claimed the feature was mostly exaggerated. "If I told you nobody ever tried it, I'd be a liar — and if you believed me, you'd be a fool," stated 1988-89 captain and linebacker Ned Bolcar. "But no way did Notre Dame, Coach [Lou] Holtz or anybody else suggest the use of steroids — or any drug for that matter." 15 Years Ago: Aug. 21, 2010 For the third time in four years, Notre Dame did not appear in the Associ- ated Press preseason top 25, this time under first-year Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly. Named Home Depot's National Coach of the Year the previous season while leading Cincinnati to a 12-0 mark before accepting the Notre Dame position, Kelly said returning to prominence was going to be first decided by internal choices. "All the things that detract you from winning, how do you live your life?" Kelly said. "Are you a guy that likes to drink beer on Thursday night and think you can do that and be the best you can be on Saturday? Are you somebody that likes to hide during practice and pick your spots when you're going to turn it on? "I look for all those things that can keep you from winning because I know how to win and I know what the things are that needed to be put in place here. "Our players right now have cut out a lot of the losing things. To me, that's how you win. It's not just about what the scoreboard says; it's about how you go about doing your job seven days a week, 24 hours a day." UNDER THE DOME Anniversaries In Notre Dame Athletics History: August ✦ Your home address will be automatically changed to the mailing address on file with the US Postal Service? ALL addresses are cross-referenced with the USPS National Change of Address database. ✦ Your postal forwarding order expires in 60 days or less? Most forwarding requests expire in 60 days and DO NOT include periodical mail. Issues are discarded at their discretion. ✦ It can take up to 7 days for the USPS to update your address in their database? Don't assume the post office knows your vacation or moving schedule! To prevent missed issues, please notify the US Postal Service ASAP and verify your delivery address with your local post office. DID YOU KNOW … AVOID COSTLY DELAYS & REPLACEMENTS! Blue & Gold Illustrated Customer Service: 1–800–421–7751 (Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) We are happy to assist, but due to privacy laws all postal address changes must be completed by you. One week after fall practice started in August 1980, Notre Dame head coach Dan Devine announced that he would step down from his post at the end of the season. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS