Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com DECEMBER 2016 5 FAN FORUM THE WISCONSIN MODEL Nice article about Bob Davie in the Nov. 28 edition. He had the unenvi- able task of replacing Lou Holtz at a time when the administration was turning unfriendly to football. He was ridiculed by the fan base for his per- ceived whining — but frankly most of what he said was true. Notre Dame had mediocre facilities, uncompetitive coaching salaries, tight admissions and unrealistic schedules. On the other hand, from the outside looking in, he appeared to be some- what of a clubhouse lawyer while an assistant and lost an embarrassing lawsuit with Joe Moore. Most dam- aging was that his input was maybe one reason why Urban Meyer turned down the Notre Dame job. I opined last year that I felt Brian Kelly was as good a coach as Notre Dame would get under the current circumstance, but he's taking the pro- gram to depths unplumbed before. I am afraid Notre Dame football is reaching the point of no return into permanent mediocrity. I'm not sure who realistically could resurrect the program. Sometimes I wish Notre Dame would just co-opt the Wisconsin model: recruit big, strong offensive lineman — something the Irish ap- pear to be able to do — and establish a power running game. This eats clock and protects your defense, the place where you have difficulty recruiting difference-making pass rushers, run stuffers and cover corners. Wisconsin runs the ball, has a solid, if not spectacular running back with moderately skilled wideouts and a pedestrian quarterback. They play a solid zone defense concentrating on stopping the run. While not spectacular, it almost guarantees you 8-9 wins a year with a reasonable schedule and is realistic for a cold-weather school in the Midwest. The first call I would make this win- ter would be to Vinny Cerrato to see how he was able to recruit the stable of talent to Notre Dame in the late 1980s. Yes, it was a different era, but it's not like it was the 1950s either. Notre Dame's facilities were poor, weather still cold, the Gerry Faust years were an embarrassment — yet somehow he made Notre Dame a cool school to attend such that the likes of Ricky Watters, Tony Brooks, Rocket Ismail, Derek Brown, Mike Stone- breaker, Pat Terrell, Jerome Bettis et al. wanted to play there. Notre Dame simply has to get more playmakers into this program. Ed Polli Via the Internet Mr. Polli, during the first six years of the Brian Kelly regime from 2010-15, Notre Dame was one of 10 schools that won at least eight games per year dur- ing that span. Alphabetically, the oth- ers were Alabama, Boise State, Florida State, LSU, Northern Illinois, Okla- homa, Oregon, Stanford and, as you noted, Wisconsin. The Irish, Northern Illinois and Or- egon all plummeted out of that club this season big time. What is especially interesting to note is that Wisconsin has achieved it with three different coaches during that time: Bret Bielema (2006-12), Gary Ander- sen (2013-14) and now Paul Chryst (2015-present), who has had the Badgers in the top 10 all year. Since 2009, the Badgers have had con- secutive years of 11, 11, eight, nine, 10 and 10 wins, with a 9-2 start this season. It has averaged not eight but at least 10 wins per season. This is a tremendous testament to the "program" that was developed by Barry Alvarez, the defensive coordinator for Notre Dame during its school-record 23- game winning streak in 1988-89 before becoming the Wisconsin head coach from 1990-2005 and its athletics director since then. Wisconsin generally can't recruit from the same pool of top athletes Notre Dame can, but the Badgers epitomize the dif- ference between being a program or just another team, which is what the Fighting Irish have basically been the past 20 years because of their overall inconsistency. LEARNED HELPLESSNESS The losses don't even hurt any- more. Losing at home to first-time visitors is the norm, not the excep- tion. Home field just means the play- ers can go out after the game. The body language of the leaders of the team is very bothersome. The look of defeat even when leading or holding on is very evident. I went to the Army game in San Antonio and the contrived enthusiasm on the sidelines during kickoffs looked forced. Up 17-0 and you are waiting for the shoe to drop. Who will rough the QB to keep a drive alive? Who will miss a tackle on third-and-11 to give Barry Alvarez, Notre Dame's defensive coordinator in 1988-89 when the Irish were 24-1, has cultivated a winning system at once moribund Wisconsin. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN BE HEARD! Send your letters to: Letters Blue & Gold Illustrated P. O. Box 1007, Notre Dame, IN 46556 or e-mail to: lsomogyi@blueandgold.com