Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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and two consensus national titles produced 259.8 rushing yards per game. The lowest was 190.9 in his debut campaign, the only time Parseghian was below 200 on the ground. Dan Devine (1975-80) — Highlighted by the 1977 national title, this regime had an output of 215.9 rushing yards per game. Only once did it finish under 200 — and that was Devine's worst season, 7-4 in 1979 with 184.1 yards per contest. Running To Glory A strong running game doesn't necessarily guarantee a football team will be a powerhouse. However, when you are well below that 200 base in rushing, it makes it a little more difficult to be counted among the major players in college football. Entering the final regular-season game Nov. 30, almost all of the BCS top 15 were averaging at least 200 yards rushing, our general "cutoff" point, or not far from it (like Notre Dame last year with a regular-season average of 202.5 yards per game). 1. Alabama — 211.5 2. Florida State — 211.6 3. Ohio State — 314.7 4. Auburn — 320.3 5. Missouri — 238.0 6. Clemson — 176.8 7. Oklahoma State — 169.5 8. Stanford — 203.7 9. Baylor — 279.7 10. South Carolina — 211.2 11. Michigan State — 186.6 12. Arizona State — 186.4 13. Oregon — 277.9 14. Northern Illinois — 318.9 15. Wisconsin — 297.8 Notre Dame was at 157.1 rushing yards per game (78th nationally) prior to the Stanford game Nov. 30. Gerry Faust (1981-85) — The average fell to 180.8 during this 30-26-1 run. The only time the Irish finished above 200 was the one time they did win a bowl game, 238.8 rushing yards per game in 1983. Lou Holtz (1986-96) — This 11-year term mirrored Parseghian's, averaging 251.6 rushing yards per game. The only year the Irish didn't post more than 200 rushing yards per contest was the first (190.9 for Parseghian and 189.4 for Holtz.) Bob Davie (1997-2001) — His two best seasons were the ones in which the Irish finished with more than 200 yards rushing: 212.5 in 1998 when Notre Dame began 9-1 before quarterback Jarious Jackson was injured, and 213.5 during the 9-2 BCS season in 2000. The other three had a cumulative 181.7 average in a run-first offense. Ty Willingham (2002-04) — The rushing average dipped to 141.3 yards per game, and Willingham was ousted after three seasons. Charlie Weis (2005-09) — The run plummeted even more with a five-year rushing average of 117.2. His best season was his first with a 147.1-yard average during a 9-3 campaign. It was the only time in history Notre Dame finished in the Associated Press poll's top 10 (No. 9) while averaging less than 190 yards rushing during the regular season. It was during this past decade Notre Dame became labeled as more "finesse" than physical. Beyond The Running Game Through four seasons of the Kelly regime, there has been some similar