Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? game than the second. The second time we were on a mission, and we really did not want to be distracted by all the stuff that goes on in a bowl, the parties and all the other stuff," Novakov recalled. "We were there to beat Texas, and Ara put together a fabulous game plan. It went according to the way he drew it up." Notre Dame's 24-11 upset of the Longhorns and No. 2 Ohio State's loss to Stanford in the Rose Bowl gave Notre Dame a chance to win the national title — pro- vided LSU could upset unbeaten and No. 3 Ne- braska in the Orange Bowl. A late touchdown by the Huskers, though, gave them a 17-12 win and their first national title, with Notre Dame finishing No. 2. Such excitement made New Year's Day college football's Holy Day of Obligation through the 1970s and 1980s, and the College Football Playoff is trying to recapture that with the six major bowls played on Dec. 31-Jan. 1. LIFE IN BIG D As a senior in 1971, Novakov started at center in every game a second straight year and played in a couple of college all-star games. However, there was no bowl, and the NFL did not draft him. A Theismann-less offense had sputtered all year to an 8-2 mark, and a bid to the "minor" Gator Bowl was rejected through a combination of a team vote — although most of the two-deep wanted to go, per No- vakov — and the administration. The 6-2, 230-pound Novakov's try- out as a free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals lasted until the final cut. De- termined to still make it in the pros, Novakov recalled the extremely blunt appraisal Ben- g a l s o ff e n s i v e l i n e c o a c h B i l l " Ti g e r " Johnson gave him on the final day. "He said, 'I'm go- ing to give you some advice that I'd give my son: If I were you, I would go back to school, forget about professional football. You're going to be a journeyman at best. You'll get calls from teams that need bodies. "My advice would be not to do it and get on with your life. Other than not be- ing big enough, fast enough or quick enough, you're a good player.' "I'm forever grateful to Bill for di- recting me into not trying to go on in football." A bachelor of arts graduate in eco- nomics, Novakov next obtained his law degree from Notre Dame in 1976 and a master 's in tax from SMU's School of Law in 1984. By then, he was married seven years to his wife, the former Lydia Haggar, who was at In June, Novakov was elected to a two-year term as CEO of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association. PHOTO COURTESY DAN NOVAKOV