Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/605097
When Powlus suffered a broken clavicle a week before the season opener, the unheralded McDougal — who also would never be drafted nor play in the NFL — had to take over in a desperate type of situation. Voila! He becomes the all-time pass efficiency king (which he still is) while leading the Irish to a debatable No. 2 finish, including a 31-24 victory versus No. 1 Florida State. EVERETT GOLSON/TOMMY REES (2012) After five straight seasons of five or more losses (and a 32-31 overall record since 2007), Notre Dame was led by the inexperienced sophomore Golson, who had never taken a college snap, and junior Rees, also not an NFL prospect. The two combined to lead a "where did that come from?" 12-0 regular season that had the Irish No. 1 in the polls. Each had his dramatic game-saving moments, four of them by Rees off the bench, before the Irish lost to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game to finish No. 4 — their highest ranking since the '93 campaign with McDougal. One can't deny that there has been a galvanizing effect in Notre Dame football the past five decades when a newbie or non-NFL prospect at quar- terback emerges when least expected. Conversely, when the Irish introduce a highly heralded five-star prospect, be it Mirer in 1990, Powlus in 1994, Jimmy Clausen in 2007 or Dayne Crist in 2010, it almost creates a letdown because there is so much hype that no human being can possibly live up to it. Mirer had to follow Rice, yet he was advertised as maybe the greatest col- lege quarterback prospect since Roger Staubach at Navy in the early 1960s. In 1994, Powlus was deemed the most heralded college prospect in any sport since Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) enrolled to play basket- ball at UCLA in the late 1960s. After Powlus' debut, ESPN's Beano Cook predicted he would win not merely one but two Heismans. One can't win while burdened with such expectations. Upon his enrollment, Clausen was described as "the LeBron James of football" (until Crist was described as maybe even a better leader). It's like informing someone you are about to tell him the world's funni- est joke. No matter how humorous it might be, your initial thought likely will be "it wasn't that funny." In today's college football, it also doesn't hurt to be a dual threat, and quarterbacks such as Powlus or Clau- sen were not. Now, timing also matters to quar- terbacks, and a supporting cast, espe- cially a strong defense, is necessary. Paul Hornung, the 1956 Heisman Tro- phy winner, was on a 2-8 Notre Dame team but was hardly a "loser." Clausen had a losing record as a starter, but he too lacked a supporting cast, specifi- cally on defense. Under Kizer, the pattern continues where Notre Dame is often at its best when one feared that there was lim- ited hope at quarterback. Remember that the next time either a "the next big thing" or a "why did they recruit that guy?" prep quarter- back enrolls. ✦