Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Anniversaries In Notre Dame Athletics History: January 20 Years Ago: Jan. 1, 1992 Ranked No. 18 with a 9-3 record, nine-point underdog Notre Dame stuns 10-1 and No. 3 Florida with a 39-28 victory in the Sugar Bowl. The Irish enter the contest reeling from their last three regular-season games: a 35-34 loss to Tennessee after leading 31-7, a 35-13 whipping at the hands of Penn State and a 48-42 shoot- out win at Hawaii. Florida head coach Steve Spurrier's "Fun and Gun" passing attack is pro- jected to put up at least 40 points against an Irish defense that was on the eve of changing coaches on defense, notably coordinator Gary Darnell and line coach Dick Bumpas (currently one of the most respected coordinators in the country at TCU). Indeed, Florida totals 511 yards of offense against the Irish, with quar- terback Shane Matthews completing 28 of 58 passes for 370 yards. How- ever, two are intercepted and five times the Gators reach the red zone only to settle for field goals when they are confounded by a defensive scheme in which head coach Lou Holtz drops eight or nine players into coverage. Trailing 16-7 at halftime, the Irish had rushed for only 34 yards in the first half — but romp for Sophomore fullback Jerome Bettis earned Offensive MVP honors after rushing 16 times for 150 yards and three touchdowns in Notre Dame's 39-28 win over Florida in the 1992 Sugar Bowl. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS 245 in the second. Sophomore fullback Jerome Bettis (16 carries for 150 yards) is named the Of- fensive MVP while scoring from four, 49 and 39 yards in the fourth quarter. "We got worn down defensively," Spurrier said. "They just said, 'We're gonna run that ball down their throats.' And they did." Afterwards, Holtz tells the story of how a waiter in a hotel prior to the game gave him a riddle about the game's mismatch and asked what the difference between Cheerios and Notre Dame was. Answer: Cheerios belong in a bowl. "When we heard it, we got real, real upset," Bettis said after the game. "If it did come from [Notre Dame] people, it was a great job. Our team just got fired up so much because … you know, who likes Cheerios anymore?" 10 Years Ago: Jan. 1, 2002 Lionel Tyrone Willingham is introduced as Notre Dame's new head football coach, the first African-American to hold the position. Of greater significance, the 48-year-old had posted a laudable 44-36-1 record at Stanford Uni- versity from 1995-2001, including 3-2 versus the Irish and 9-3 in his final season with the Cardinal. Football success at such an academically renowned institution is no simple task, and Irish athletics director Kevin White notes how Willingham's 35-33-1 career record entering the 2001 campaign was almost identical to the 36-35-1 ledger 1964-74 Notre Dame icon Ara Parseghian had as the head coach at Northwestern from 1956-63 prior to taking the position with the Irish. The New Year ends a tumultuous month of December for the program in which 1) head coach Bob Davie is fired on Dec. 2 after a five-year record of 35-25, 2) successor George O'Leary turns in his resignation on Dec. 13, four days after his hiring, because of false information on his résumé, and 3) the nation mocks how apparently no one is interested in the Notre Dame job anymore. White recalls approaching Willingham the second time in the interview process, after the O'Leary fiasco. "Tyrone will be the first to tell you, 'What I told Kevin is: Kevin, you hired the wrong guy. You need to hire me — and Kevin, you know you need to hire me.' " White said. "This is the most high-profile university in this country," Willingham said at his introduction. "With that it brings bright lights. But if you're doing the right things, it does not matter how bright the lights are or how many lights there are. But if you're doing the wrong thing, it only takes a flashlight." 12 JANUARY 2012 Getting To Know … The 6-7, 221-pound sophomore guard for the Notre SOPHOMORE GUARD ALEX DRAGICEVICH Dame men's basketball team ap- peared in just six games last season behind a number of veterans. The personnel losses to graduation and injury this winter have required the Northbrook, Ill., native to pro- vide quality minutes. Averaging 7.9 points and 2.2 rebounds per game, and with a season total of six blocks through 11 games, so far Dragicevich has done just that. Nickname: "Drago." Major: "Film." Dorm: "Siegfried." Favorite Class: "Script Analysis and Dramaturgy. We read a lot of plays and get a lot of insight into theater. It's really cool." Favorite Off-Campus Spot: "Scott Martin's and Tim Abromaitis' apartment." Dream Vacation: "I've never been to California." Best Movie You've Seen Lately: "'Bottle Rocket' by Wes Anderson. It's his first film." TV Show You Hate To Miss: "Workaholics." Musical Artist You're Listening To Most Right Now: "'The Heart is a Lonely Hunter' by The An- niversary." Role Model: "My dad." Favorite Pro Player: "[Chicago Bulls point guard] Derek Rose." Best Player You've Gone Up Against: "Ben Hans- brough." Dream Job If Football Didn't Exist: "A screen- writer." You Have One Last Meal, What Is It: "Steak and lobster." ✦ GIMME FIVE This year, Notre Dame junior Manti Te'o joined five other linebackers in Notre Dame history who were credited with at least 100 tackles in back-to-back seasons. The second-team Walter Camp Football Founda- tion All-American totaled 133 stops as a sophomore in 2010 and followed with 115 this year. During the reigns of Irish head coaches Ara Parseghian (1964- 74) and Dan Devine (1975-80), such prodigious num- bers were common among linebackers. Chronologically, here are the five Notre Dame line- backers prior to Te'o who had consecutive 100-plus tackles in a football season. Bob Crable (1978-81) is the only one to achieve the feat three straight years. Player 1. Jim Lynch 2. Bob Olson 3. Greg Collins 4. Bob Golic 5. Bob Crable Years 1965 (108) and 1966 (106) 1968 (129) and 1969 (142) 1973 (133) and 1974 (144) 1977 (146) and 1978 (152) 1979 (187), 1980 (154) and 1981 (167) BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED