Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/296331
UNDER THE DOME sons since Mainieri's departure, and is now more challenged than ever in the ACC, where it started 3‑15. 7T. FOOTBALL (1988-89) — 23 Most amazing about this string by the 12‑0 national champs of 1988 and 12‑1 unit in 1989 is 11 of the wins came against ranked opponents — seven of them that placed in the final top 10. The 1988 team defeated four that finished in the Associated Press top 10 (one of only four teams in history at that time to achieve the feat), while the 1989 edition vanquished seven that placed in the Associated Press top 18. 10. MEN'S BASKETBALL (1953-54) — 18 All‑American center Dick Rosenthal, the athletics director at Notre Dame from 1987‑95, led this run that was capped by upsetting No. 1 and de‑ fending national champ Indiana in the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament. The Irish were then favored to win the title. Alas, the next day in the ultimate let‑ down, Notre Dame lost to Penn State in the Elite Eight, and La Salle, led by the late Tom Gola, went on to capture the title. Since then, Notre Dame has never won more than 12 in a row in men's basketball — and it happened twice during the 24‑2 regular season in 1973‑74. Mike Brey's 2012‑13 Irish were the most recent to win 12 straight before losing at home on Jan. 12, 2013. The culprit? Who else but UConn? ATTENTION IRISH FANS Packages are available for all home football games Aug. 30 Rice Sept.6 Michigan Oct. 4 Stanford Oct. 11 North Carolina Nov. 15 Northwestern Nov. 22 Louisville Packages Include: * Game Tickets Endzone to the 45 yard line * Two night hotel Please visit www.diamondtravel.com for complete details 1-602-870-9197 26 years in business PHIL STEELE PREDICTS AP TOP 25; NOTRE DAME 15TH Nationally renowned college football analyst Phil Steele makes two annual predictions in college football. One is on how Associ- ated Press voters will vote in August. The other is his own predic- tion in his publication each summer. Last year, all 25 teams he pegged in the AP poll were indeed listed in the preseason, including eventual national champ Florida State outside the top 10 (Steele had the Seminoles No. 3 in his preseason publication). This year, Steele projects that the AP will pick Notre Dame No. 15 heading into its season opener versus Rice Aug. 30. Among the 2014 Fighting Irish opponents, he noted that the Seminoles will start at No. 1, with two other foes ahead of Notre Dame: No. 12 Stanford (Oct. 4) and No. 14 USC (Nov. 29). Two other Notre Dame opponents, both at home, made the projected AP top 25: No. 23 North Carolina (Oct. 11) and No. 25 Louisville (Nov. 22) — which barely edged out Nov. 8 opponent Arizona State for the last spot. The Cardinals received the edge over the Sun Devils because of an easier schedule and because ASU lost 10 of its top 12 tacklers from 2013.