Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI The Irish lost there, 20‑3, and in the Sugar Bowl, and suddenly a wonder‑ ful 9‑0‑1 campaign became sullied with a two‑game losing streak. This also has occurred the last three times Notre Dame reached 9‑1 or even 10‑1 during the regular season. • In 1998, the 9‑1 Irish under sec‑ ond‑year head coach Bob Davie fin‑ ished 9‑3 after a 10‑0 setback at USC in which injured quarterback Jarious Jackson could not play, and then fall‑ ing to Georgia Tech in the Gator Bowl (35‑28). • In 2002, the 10‑1 start that led to first‑year head coach Tyrone Willing‑ ham being named "Sportsman of The Year" by Sporting News finished with blowout defeats at USC (44‑13) and in the Gator Bowl to North Carolina State (28‑6). • In 2006 under second‑year head coach Charlie Weis, the 10‑1 Fighting Irish were left vastly unfulfilled again after losing at USC (44‑24) and getting crushed in the Sugar Bowl by LSU (41‑14). In each of those three seasons, the re‑ turn to glory themes became replaced by a two‑word summary at the end: fool's gold. It wasn't until 2012, when No. 1 Notre Dame finished the regular sea‑ son job with a 22‑13 win at USC for a 12‑0 ledger that there was a euphoria of completing a task. The BCS National Championship Game fiasco, a 42‑14 loss to Alabama, dredged up past ghosts of not putting the final touch on a memorable cam‑ paign. Yet that season is one that will remain cherished by the most recent generation of Notre Dame followers as the years pass. Now, to be in the hunt on Thanks‑ giving weekend for the national title for the second time in four years pro‑ vides a form of contentment (but not necessarily satisfaction) that the Fight‑ ing Irish have once again become a more stable, or even standout, figure on the college football scene. With a potential College Football Playoff bid on the line at most recent nemesis Stanford, where the Irish have lost three straight, four directions could be taken. One is those 1998, 2002 and 2006 routes where late‑season collapses leave the unfulfilled "we still have a ways to go" angst. Two is losing to the Cardinal but still having the opportunity to have a grati‑ fying major bowl win, like in 1970 or 1974, to classify it an overall successful campaign. Three is vanquishing Stanford, still being left out of the College Football Playoff but finishing with a major bowl win for the first time since 1993 and taking on the TCU 2014 or Notre Dame 1989 or 1993 arguments that "we're as good as anyone." Finally, there is the opportunity to be in the four‑team College Football Playoff and risk heartbreak. It's a risk one will take and embrace every time — and one where thanks‑ giving is apropos. ✦ Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com