Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com JANUARY 2017 45 in 1983, Notre Dame had a disappoint- ing 6-5 regular season. Athletics direc- tor Gene Corrigan wanted to make a coaching change, but was vetoed by university president Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, who said the school would honor its five-year pact with Faust. Faust would have several more highs — including upset wins at LSU and USC (plus Penn State at home) in 1984 — but never could shake the stigma from his first season. BOB DAVIE (5-7 IN 1999) Why A Losing Season Was A Sur- prise: Davie seemed to have the team headed in the right direction with a 9-1 start in 1998, his second season. How- ever, in year three the Irish began 1-3 and then lost its last four to finish 5-7, the school's first losing campaign in 13 years. The Year-After Rebound: A 9-2 reg- ular season with only 11th-hour losses to No. 1 Nebraska and Michigan State earned the Irish a BCS bid to the Fiesta Bowl — and a five-year contract exten- sion for Davie through 2005. Eventual Fallout: The year after the BCS bid, Notre Dame plummeted to 5-6 and Davie was fired 11 months after signing the five-year extension, with Irish athletics director Kevin White ad- mitting it as a "misread." TYRONE WILLINGHAM (5-7 IN 2003) Why A Losing Season Was A Sur- prise: A year earlier in his first sea- son at Notre Dame, Willingham was named Sporting News' "Sportsman of The Year" because of "returning Notre Dame to glory" with a 10-3 record, in- cluding an 8-0 start. In year two, everything collapsed and included blowout losses to Michi- gan (38-0), Florida State (37-0), USC (45-14) and Syracuse (38-12). The Year-After Rebound: After the debacle in year two, Willingham pulled upsets of No. 8 Michigan (28-20) and No. 9 Tennessee (17-13) in year three. Eventual Fallout: Despite beating two top-10 teams, Willingham was axed after only three years for numer- ous reasons. Word was he was also sniffing around for the Washington job, and he was hired there soon after his ouster from Notre Dame. CHARLIE WEIS (3-9 IN 2007) Why A Losing Season Was A Sur- prise: Weis was 19-6 his first two sea- sons, with consecutive BCS bids to the Fiesta Bowl and Sugar Bowl. The Year-After Rebound: Although the Irish still were a disappointing 6-6 during the 2008 regular season, they did win their first bowl game in 15 years with a 49-21 victory over Hawai'i in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl. Eventual Fallout: Another 6-6 sea- son in 2009 resulted in Weis' dismissal with six years still left on his 10-year contract extension he signed after just seven games in his debut season. BRIAN KELLY (4-8 IN 2016) Why A Losing Season Was A Sur- prise: Kelly had won a minimum of eight games in each of his first six sea- sons. From 2010-15 under Kelly, Notre Dame was one of only 10 Football Bowl Subdivision teams to win a minimum of eight games during that time. The Irish also were a preseason top-10 pick, in part because of a more favorable schedule, at least on paper. The Potential Year-After Rebound: The opportunity for a dramatic re- bound — like Brennan, Kuharich, Faust, Davie and Willingham — is there with home games against Geor- gia and USC, plus on the road versus Michigan State, North Carolina, Miami and Stanford. Eventual Fallout: Will it go the di- rection of previous Irish mentors who had losing records after their second season? The moral of the story is the resid- ual effect of a losing season beyond your first year at Notre Dame is ex- tremely difficult to overcome, and puts the head coach under the microscope with intense scrutiny more than ever. It would take something extremely spe- cial from Kelly to overcome it. ✦ MEMORABILIA Vintage Notre Dame Memorabilia Augie's Locker Room ND Stadium Items, Jerseys, Helmets, Autographs and One of a Kind Rockne Items. COME IN THE STORE AND MENTION BLUE & GOLD AND GET A FREE $20 GIFT! NO PURCHASE NECESSARY!! Voted Best Notre Dame Collectables in the Country! 1811 South Bend Ave. South Bend , I n 46637 574-277-NDND (6363) www.augieslockerroom.com FACEBOOK.COM/AUGIESLOCKERROOM NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL GAMES on VHS or DVD for sale, from 1928 to present. Contact Peter Rahas at 7700 Golden Filly St., Las Vegas, NV 89131 or call 1-702-395-2974 M A R K E T P L A C E Call 877-630-8768 to advertise in Blue & Gold Illustrated! Want a prayer published? Call 800-421-7751 PRAYER TO THE BLESSED MOTHER- (Never known to fail) Oh, most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splen- dor of Heaven. Blessed Mother of the Son of God; Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this necessity. Oh, Star of the Sea, help me and show me you are my Mother. Oh, Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succour me in my necessity. There are none that can withstand your power. Oh, Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. (3 times). Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your hands. (3 times). Sweet Mother I place this cause in your hands. (3 times). Thank you for your mercy to me and mine. Amen. This prayer must be said for 3 days and after 3 days your request will be granted and the prayer must be published. Thank you. S.N. ST. JUDE NOVENA - May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, glorified, loved & preserved throughout the world now & forever. Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us. St. Jude, worker of miracles, pray for us. St. Jude, help of the hope- less, pray for us. Say this prayer nine times a day for nine days. Thank you St. Jude. S.N. PERSONALS Gerry Faust's 5-6 record in his debut season in 1981 cast immediate doubt about whether he could succeed at the collegiate level. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS