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✦ top storylines: notre dame vs. temple By Lou Somogyi Stanford's David Shaw in 2011 the most recent examples. However, to debut as a head coach and beat Notre Dame in the opener would be a monumental feat. Breaking (In) The Rhule In contrast to the more grizzled coaching veteran Brian Kelly, Temple's 38-yearold Matt Rhule is a first-time head coach. A Pennsylvania native and an assistant for six years (2006-11) at Philadelphiabased Temple, Rhule is a long shot to pull off what might be a unique achievement: defeating Notre Dame in his first game ever as a head coach. Research dating back about 80 years has not yet indicated that has ever happened, but some of the closest instances included: • Purdue's Jack Mollenkopf defeated Notre Dame in his third game as a head coach in 1956, but it wasn't his first. • Pitt's Jackie Sherrill coached his first college game against Notre Dame in 1977 and had a 9-0 lead at home before an injury to his quarterback and multiple turnovers led to a 19-9 defeat to the eventual national champs. • In 1978, Warren Powers' first game as Missouri's head coach saw the Tigers pull off a 3-0 upset at Notre Dame. However, Powers' first game as a head coach came the previous season at Washington State. • Michigan State's George Perles' second career game as the head coach saw the Spartans upset the Irish in Notre Dame Stadium to end a seven-year losing streak to ND. Again, it was Perles' second career game as a head coach, not first. • The closest was Washington State in 2003 with first-time head coach Bill Doba. The Cougars built a 19-3 lead in the opener at Notre Dame Stadium before the Irish rallied in the fourth quarter and then won 29-26 in overtime on a Nicholas Setta field goal. There have been many coaches who have won either in their first meeting with Notre Dame or in their first year at a school, with Michigan's Brady Hoke or Brian Kelly Takes Aim At 200th Win On Saturday, Temple's Matt Rhule will attempt to become the first person to defeat Notre Dame in his first-ever game as a head coach. photo courtesy temple ✦ Page 7 If Notre Dame defeats Temple Aug. 31, it will be fourth-year Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly's 200th career victory in 23 seasons as a college football boss. Kelly's ledger entering the 2013 campaign includes: • 118-35-2 at Division II Grand Valley State from 1991-2003. • 19-16 at Central Michigan from 2004‑06, highlighted by a Mid-American Conference title his third year. • 34-6 at Cincinnati from 2007-09 (plus the 2006 bowl game that he coached), with Big East championships his last two seasons. • 28-11 at Notre Dame since 2010, most notably last season's appearance in the BCS National Championship Game. The only other Notre Dame coach who posted 200 career victories during his career was Lou Holtz, who was 249-132-7. What is ironic is the number of similarities Holtz and Kelly have while chasing No. 200. First, Holtz was also at 199 heading into the bowl game his previous season, but his Irish were outmatched in a 41-24 loss to Colorado, a game not nearly as close as the score indicates. Likewise, Kelly was at 199 before facing Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game last year and getting crushed 42-14. Second, prior to the 1995 opener, Holtz took Notre Dame off campus for the first time in August to hold practices about an hour away at Culver Military Academy in an effort to remove preseason distractions