Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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54 NOV. 14, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED I n history books, the 2016 sports season will be re- membered as the year of snapping famously dubious championship droughts. First, the Cleveland Cava- liers ended a record 52 years of futility in the city's pro- fessional ranks in football, baseball and basketball with their surprising NBA title after facing a 3-1 deficit to Golden State in the best-of- seven series. More recently, the Chicago Cubs finally halted what had become a legendary 108-year dry spell without a World Series title (also bouncing back from a 3-1 disadvan- tage, against the Cleveland Indians), which prompted the "everyone's entitled to a bad century" line from one-time Cubs broadcaster Jack Brick- house, who died in 1998. For many a Fighting Irish follower, especially those on Social Security or nearing AARP, Notre Dame foot- ball these days must feel like being a Cubs fan — although it will take 80 more years before matching that string of futility. The 28 years between national titles is more like an eternity to a fan base that once upon a time believed such a special distinction was a birthright handed down by each generation. There was the 23-year increment of one generation from 1918-40 where Knute Rockne produced five un- beaten seasons and three national titles. It did include a 12-year title drought (1931-42) after Rockne's 1931 death. The next 23-year cycle and gen- eration from 1941-63 produced four consensus national titles under Frank Leahy, and three other unbeaten campaigns. There was some hand- wringing, though, when Notre Dame went through a seemingly ungodly 16-year stretch from 1950-65 without a coveted consensus national cham- pionship. And then just for good measure, the third and final 23-year increment from 1966-88 produced four more consensus titles, this time by three different coaches: Ara Parseghian (1966 and 1973), Dan Devine (1977) and Lou Holtz (1988). The main "suf- fering" was that there were none in the 10-year period from 1978-87. Fortunately, one title per every six or seven years was generally enough to satiate the rabid appetite. For the more patient, one per decade also was acceptable. And now, we're approaching three decades without one, which only in- creases the angst of "will Notre Dame ever win another championship?" It was us who used to smirk at other of the so-called traditional powers who could not boast nearly the same rate of success as the Fighting Irish: • Michigan, which owns the all- time best winning percentage in college football (Notre Dame fell to No. 2 this year), had none in 48 years from 1949-96, and split the one in 1997. In essence, the Wolverines have one share of the national title in the past 67 seasons, but they are back in the conversation for one in 2016. For Notre Dame faithful, it's one title the past 39 years (so another 28 years to catch up with Michigan). • Ohio State went 33 years from 1969-2001 without a consensus ti- tle, and even that one in 2002 came amidst controversy. The Buckeyes then actually had one over 45 years (1969-2013). • Texas, where football is king, has seen its flagship program in the Longhorns win it all one time the past 46 years, and none during a 35- year stretch from 1970-2004. • Oklahoma has won the same number of titles (one) the past 31 seasons as Notre Dame, although with the Sooners it was more recent with the 1999 crown. • Clemson, the football program with the longest prominent tradition in the ACC, has one national title to its credit (1981), as does Geor- gia (1980). • Among other top SEC powers, there was a 52-year gap between titles at Au- burn (1958-2009), 46 years at Tennessee (1952-97) and 44 at LSU (1959-2002). Notre Dame, with near misses in 1989 and 1993 and a title appear- ance (not necessarily a near miss) in 2012, has merely joined the club where decades and decades of a championship drought have mani- fested themselves. It's just more difficult for the older Fighting Irish faithful to fathom, pro- cess or accept because of the enor- mous past success through the afore- mentioned three generations. It probably feels a lot like UCLA men's basketball — one national title the past 40 years after 10 from 1964- 75 — or Montreal Canadians hockey, which has not won a Stanley Cup since 1993. Those who were around in 1988 likely felt that another Irish dynasty was in the works with three or four more titles prior to the turn of the century. Cherish it Cubs faithful, because you never know when those decades (or century) of also-ran status can return. ✦ Irish Faithful Dealing With Own Title Drought 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 It has been 28 years since Notre Dame's last national title — capped by a win over West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl — which seems like an eternity to Irish fans. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS