Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/462058
FAN FORUM dominates the line of scrimmage. We are told Notre Dame's defensive line- men need time in the weight room while its 300-pound linemen are pushed around like they are on skates. • Ohio State had a true sopho- more running back rushing for 200- plus yards a game. We are told Notre Dame's sophomore backs are still learning the system and cannot play because they don't understand pass- blocking schemes. • Ohio State replaced four offensive linemen — incidentally coached by Notre Dame castoff Ed Warinner — and developed it into a dominant unit that could not be stopped by season's end. Notre Dame's experienced offen- sive line consistently struggles to con- vert third-and-ones. There is a reason Urban Meyer twice turned down his supposed "dream job" in 2004. It is because he knows what many of us suspect, but are prob- ably afraid to admit. In the current mi- lieu of college football, Notre Dame's days as a perennial football power are over. To quote The Great Gatsby: "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." Ed Polli Via the Internet FANATICAL STORIES Thanks much for printing my letter to the editor (January 2015) regarding the reduced scholarships since 1973. You made some excellent points in your response. Question, the longer I follow college football and interface with fans, par- ticularly Notre Dame fans, the more wacky stories I come across. As an ex- ample, I know of a subway alum in upstate New York who has a personal trainer who tapes him up before watch- ing Notre Dame on TV so he can be more "involved" in the game. He has a tackling dummy in his house and uses it while watching games taking "self- ies." Now, this man is in his 50s and by all outward appearances is normal. Do you think there would be any merit in asking readers to contribute their stories about things fanatical Notre Dame fans do for the purpose of incorporating them into a book, pro- ceeds to go to the Ara Parseghian Medi- cal Research Foundation? John Lushis Jr. '77 Bethlehem, Pa. Mr. Lushis, we're game if our readers can provide us with enough examples. Any takers out there? LIFE OF RILEY Thank you for printing the article on Ruth Riley. She is an inspiration to us all. I will never forget the night that she made the two free throws with sec- onds remaining to beat Purdue and win the national championship. She BE HEARD! Send your letters to: Letters Blue & Gold Illustrated P. O. Box 1007 Notre Dame, IN 46556 or e-mail to: lsomogyi@blueandgold.com