Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/680997
UNDER THE DOME 10 Years Ago: June 13, 2006 Citing Notre Dame's return to prominence in 2005 under first-year head coach Charlie Weis in 2005, Sporting News and Lindy's rank the Fighting Irish No. 1 in their 2006 football annuals. Weis' inaugural campaign saw the Irish finish 9-3, "highlighted" by a 34-31 last-second loss to No. 1 USC to earn him a 10-year contract extension. Still, Notre Dame finished in the Associated Press top 10 (No. 9) for the first time in 12 years. The return of Heisman Trophy candidate Brady Quinn at quarterback, consensus All-American wide receiver Jeff Samardzija, 1,000-yard rusher Darius Walker and nine of the 11 starters on defense — led by future second-round picks Victor Abiamiri and Trevor Laws along the line, and Tom Zbikowski at safety — has Notre Dame ranked in the top four in five of the seven annual college football previews, and no lower than No. 9 (The Gold Sheet). Weis says the high preseason projections provide him the perfect opportunity to hone his sarcasm and deflate some egos. "Don't worry about them trying to live up to the hype — because I will be unmerciful," he said. "Every time there's a mistake I'll say, 'I guess you're reading the papers again, huh? That's right, you're an All- American, you're an up-and-coming Heisman Trophy winner, you don't need to listen to me.' "It's going to be a bad training camp. It's going to be good for me, but bad for them." — Lou Somogyi After finishing in the top 10 (No. 9) of the Associated Press poll in 2005 for the first time in 12 years, head coach Charlie Weis and quarterback Brady Quinn (above) made Notre Dame a popular No. 1 choice in 2006. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS