BY LOU SOMOGYI
F
or the third time ever,
N o t re D a m e c o n ‑
cluded a regular sea‑
son with a 10‑2 record.
That's in part because
12‑game regular seasons
didn't start becoming
the norm until 2002.
The first two were in
2002, head coach Ty‑
rone Willingham's first
season, and 2006, Char‑
lie Weis' second as the
boss.
In both cases, Notre
Dame was 10‑1 (just like
this year), and was then
ranked No. 7 in 2002 and
No. 6 in 2006. Both regu‑
lar seasons also ended
with blowout losses at
USC, 44‑13 in 2002 and
44‑24 in 2006.
D i m i n i s h i n g t h o s e
years even more were
bowl game implosions.
The 2002 Irish outfit
was rocked by North
Carolina State in the Ga‑
tor Bowl, 28‑6, to finish
No. 17. The 2006 edition
was trounced by LSU in
the Sugar Bowl, 41‑14,
and also finished No. 17.
What were vastly dif‑
ferent between the two
UNDER THE DOME
GOOD SEASON,
GREAT CHANCE
A major bowl victory is needed
for the season not to be
like 2002 and 2006
The emergence of sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer, who was
on the third team in the spring, helped make 2015 a good regular
season.
PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA
