Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Irish Play In China? 2013 Schedule Finalized; Will 2013 slate, but there is still one undecided factor when it comes to venue. Discussions began last year about moving the On Aug. 3, Notre Dame released the 12-game Nov. 30 regular-season finale at Stanford to China. However, those conversations reached a stand- still when former Stanford athletics director Bob Bowlsby left his position to become the commis- sioner of the Big XII conference. "That derailed a little bit of that discussion and the momentum on it," Notre Dame athletics direc- tor Jack Swarbrick said. "We're anxious to restart those discussions. While it remains a strong priority for me, we haven't made any progress." Among other notable items from the 2013 schedule: • The opener versus Temple, currently a member Anniversaries In Notre Dame Athletics History: Sept. 1-4 45 Years Ago: Sept. 2, 1967 Sports Illustrated mails its preseason college football edition that selects defending national champion Notre Dame No. 1 — despite the graduation of nine players selected within the first three rounds of that spring's NFL-AFL Draft. Among them are first-round linemen Alan Page, Tom Reg- ner and Paul Seiler, plus half- back Nick Eddy and fullback Larry Conjar. Remarkably, it even picks of the Mid-American Conference but headed to the Big East, will be against then third-year head coach Steve Addazio, if he isn't hired elsewhere after finishing 9-4 his first year. Addazio coached Notre Dame special teams from 1999-2001, tight ends in 1999, and tight ends and offensive tackles in 2000-01. • It will mark the first time since 2001 the Irish the Irish to claim the top spot even though four of their opponents are ranked in the top 12: at Miami (3), Michigan State (6), USC (8) and at Purdue (12). The reasoning is the Irish don't face Michigan and Michigan State in back-to- back games. In 2000-01, Nebraska replaced Michi- gan on the schedule. • Oklahoma returns to Notre Dame Stadium (Sept. 28) for the first time since Sooners head coach Bob Stoops' first season in 1999, a 34-30 Irish victory. • The Oct. 5 game with Arizona State will be the still return a plethora of tal- ent at the skill positions, highlighted by the junior passing combination of quar- terback Terry Hanratty and wide receiver Jim Seymour, plus running back and team captain Rocky Bleier. The defensive fortress is off-site game held in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which can hold 110,000 spectators when in- cluding the standing room. The Irish and Sun Devils squared off two other times, a 28-9 Notre Dame victory at Tempe in 1998 and a 48-17 Notre Dame win in 1999 — the week after defeating Oklahoma. • There are two bye weeks, the first strategically positioned right at the midway point of the season (Oct. 12) when mid-term exams usually take place. It also is the week prior to hosting USC. The second is Nov. 16. • The two triple-option foes, Air Force (Oct. 26) and Navy (Nov. 2), will be faced on consecutive weeks. • Notre Dame will host BYU for a second straight season. Date Aug. 31 Temple Sept. 7 at Michigan Sept. 14 at Purdue Sept. 21 Michigan St. Sept. 28 Oklahoma Oct. 5 vs. Arizona St.* Opponent 16 2013 NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Date * at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas PRESEASON 2012 Oct. 19 USC Oct. 26 at Air Force Nov. 2 Navy Nov. 9 at Pittsburgh Nov. 23 BYU Nov. 30 at Stanford Opponent highlighted by linemen Kevin Hardy and Bob Kuechenberg (switched from offense), linebacker John Pergine and safety Tom Schoen. "One of our assets is that we have our entire coaching staff back," comments Bleier. SI points out that after three seasons with the Irish, head coach Ara Parseghian's record is 25-3-2, remarkably similar to Frank Leahy's first three seasons at Notre Dame (1941-43) when he was 24-3-3, while also winning a consensus national title. Irish quarterback Terry Hanratty gave Notre Dame and national pollsters plenty of reasons for optimism in 1967 despite the team losing nine players to the professional ranks. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech romps for 265 yards rushing, while Notre Dame finishes with minus-8, courtesy of nine sacks of three different Irish quarterbacks that result in 69 yards of lost yardage. Sophomore quarterback Demetrius Jones is given the starting reins in the post-Brady Quinn 5 Years Ago: Sept. 1, 2007 Notre Dame suffers its worst-ever opening-game defeat in its 120-year history, 33-3 at home year, but is yanked midway through the second quarter after rushing 12 times for 28 yards, and completing 1 of 3 passes for four yards, in third-year head coach Charlie Weis' experiment to add a new dimension to the offense. Junior Evan Sharpley and freshman Jimmy Clausen finish out the game that looks even more horrid to Weis when he reviews the tape the following morning. "I wanted to vomit," Weis said after grading the tape. "If you're asking what was going through my mind, the bathroom was close by … I never believe in saying anything really derogatory or negative about the players or coaches because I always feel it's my ultimate responsibility to have the team ready to go. "Now when we get into that meeting and it's behind closed doors, I share the wealth — and it's usually not very pleasant." — Lou Somogyi BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED