Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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62 NOV. 7, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED W hat would it be like to have Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy coaching college football today? The two Notre Dame icons rank one- two on the all-time major college foot- ball charts when it comes to best win- ning percentage. Rockne's .881 mark from 1918-30 (105-12-5) is at the top, while Leahy's .864 figure from 1939-43 and 1946-53 (107-13-9) is not far be- hind, with his first two seasons occur- ring at Boston College (20-2 record). The duo combined for seven consen- sus national titles. Unfortunately, Notre Dame faith- ful have discovered what it's like to have Rockne and Leahy coaching at the same time. They are named Nick Saban and Urban Meyer — and have com- bined for seven of the last 10 national championships in college football (four by Saban and three by Meyer). Heading into its bye weekend Oct. 29, Alabama's Saban had a 106-12 re- cord since 2008, which basically mir- rors Rockne's 105-12-5 record at Notre Dame. Meanwhile, Meyer was a ludicrous 56-5 (.918) at Ohio State entering the weekend of Oct. 29, and his 160-28 overall mark is good for a .851 win- ning percentage, behind only Rockne and Leahy. His 10-2 ledger in bowls is also the best in history by anyone who coached at least 10 such contests. While it was laughable during Notre Dame's 2-5 start this year to discuss its future aspirations to make the four- team College Football Playoff or legiti- mately vie for the national title, my first thought on what needs to be done to help make it happen is to have Saban and Meyer — although Michigan's Jim Harbaugh could be knocking on the door toward consistent elite status, too — retire from their field. That might not happen for at least another five years. There was some thought that when third-year head coach Brian Kelly led Notre Dame to the title game versus Alabama in 2012, the gap between the Irish and teams such as the Crimson Tide or even the Buckeyes (12-0 in Meyer's first season that year but in- eligible for a bowl) was closing. The reality is it has been widen- ing ever since then, with no evidence of stopping. That is part of why we featured former Notre Dame football player and current Board of Trustee member Rod West in this edition. He acknowledges that the way the current landscape is in college football, the Fighting Irish will not be a regular "player" in the College Football Play- off conversations, but can be on certain occasions, a la 2012 and 2015. Conse- quently, there might be more ebbs than flows than one might like. However, the popular perception is that Notre Dame isn't as "committed" to becoming great in football like Ala- bama and Ohio State. Yes, not to that degree, but in 45 years of following the Notre Dame football team, I can unequivocally say that I have never seen a greater com- mitment put into so many aspects of the operation — enhanced facilities, sports science, nutrition, salaries, re- cruiting budget, etc. — than now. That doesn't assure victory. No school has more opulent or osten- tatious facilities than Oregon, but it started 0-4 in the Pac-12 this year, in- cluding a 70-21 loss at home to Wash- ington, while yielding 53.5 points per game in league play. Prior to 2008, Alabama was a pedes- trian 74-60 in the 11 years from 1997- 2007, with only three Associated Press top-25 finishes. That doesn't mean it wasn't "committed." It just wasn't as good and didn't have as powerful a leadership, which is not easy to find. How easy it is to forget Ohio State was 6-7 the year before Meyer's arrival. Someday when they too reach a down cycle (it does happen), their fol- lowers will wax nostalgic about these days. No one has more resources to suc- ceed in football than Texas — yet it is 44-39 since 2010 with just one top-25 finish. USC's tradition can match most any- one — yet just one top-10 finish since 2009. Florida and Miami have elite recruit- ing bases. Yet the Gators have been a modest 46-30 since 2010 and the Hur- ricanes haven't had a 10-win campaign since 2003. Saban and Meyer have created such immense standards that national title coaches such as LSU's Les Miles or regular 10-game winners such as Mark Richt at Georgia are run out of town in the cutthroat world of coaching. Part of it is you face a certain crossroads in your coaching tenure where minds are made up that certain coaches have reached their plateau. As a result, there is always going to be the search for catching lightning in a bottle and discovering that next Saban or Meyer … or a Harbaugh, or a Bobby Petrino, if past indiscretions are not a blot. Potentially, that could be a prime obstacle facing Kelly, too, when he returns — as stated by Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick — in 2017. ✦ Today's Rockne And Leahy Continue Competition THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com Former LSU head coach Les Miles (left) had a stellar tenure with the Tigers, but his failure to match Alabama's Nick Saban led to his firing this season. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA