Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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the fifth quarter lou somogyi tended since 1969, this one might have the least appeal, rivaled mainly by the 2004 Insight Bowl matchup with Oregon State, a 38-21 defeat while the 6-6 Irish transitioned from Ty Willingham to Charlie Weis. (A case also could be made for the 1997 Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La., in which 7-5 Notre Dame had to play LSU a second time.) This year's outing is only the second time out of those 32 instances since 1969 that Notre Dame will enter a bowl with more victories than its opponent. The other was the 1976 Gator Bowl when the 8-3 Irish faced 7-4 Penn State. This is the season when everyone in bowls will speak of the "momentum" that can be carried into the following season with a victory, and how it can be a "springboard" or "the first game of next year." However, for better or worse, bowl games generally don't define how the next season plays out for Notre Dame. We've seen Notre Dame get crushed in the 1973 Orange Bowl (40-6 to Nebraska) and 1988 Cotton Bowl (35-10 to Texas A&M) — and then proceed to win the national title 12 months later. Notre Dame ended the 1970 and 1974 campaigns with epic upsets of No. 1-ranked Texas and Alabama, respectively — and a year later the Irish were so disillusioned with their results that the players voted not to accept a bowl invitation. When the 6-5 Irish upset 9-2 Boston College in the 1983 Liberty Bowl, head coach Gerry Faust vowed "this is the start of something great." Notre Dame opened the next season with a 23-21 loss to Purdue, which it crushed 52-6 a year earlier, en route to a 3-4 start. The 33-17 win over Miami in the 2010 Sun Bowl was the cherry on top of a four-game winning streak and championship aspirations in 2011 — only to be foiled by an 0-2 start, including a 23-20 defeat at home to South Florida. Squandering a 14-point second-half lead in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl to Florida State for another 8-5 finish was further evidence to many that "Brian Kelly doesn't haven't it" — and the following season produced a 12-0 regularseason ledger and No. 1 ranking (even without irreplaceable game-changers such as Michael Floyd or Aaron Lynch). Personalities, chemistry and attitudes shift with each new year. The bowl result is merely a final page of a previous book. What does Notre Dame have to play for versus Rutgers? Mainly a second straight top-25 finish (a rarity since 1997), the third chance this season to pass Michigan on the all-time winning percentage chart (provided the Wolverines lose the same day to Kansas State) … and just victory. "It's not a catapult into an undefeated season by any means," summarized Kelly of the matchup with Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl. "I don't want to overstate that. But it does leave a good feeling going into the offseason when you win that football game." It merely closes another book. A new, blank manuscript begins thereafter. ✦ Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com