Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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finished 7-0 again this year, but it shocked the East Coast with an ad- vanced passing attack that defeated powerful Army (35-13). Six days later it returned to defeat Penn State (14-7), and on Thanksgiving Day it won at Texas (30-7). This was the season that set the course of Notre Dame's future destiny. 3. 1929: ON THE ROAD AGAIN 1929: With Notre Dame Stadium under con- struction, all nine games would have to be played away from the campus, including against the four teams it lost to in 1928. This rebuilding coach Knute Rockne's 11th season not only saw double-digit losses to Wisconsin and Georgia Tech, but the 5-4 cam- paign ended with a 27-7 shellacking at home by Carnegie Tech and a 27- 14 loss at USC. PERCEIVED PROBLEMS IN PREVIOUS YEAR: Head Notre Dame sought to build a reputation by traveling across the na- tion to play at Army, at Penn State, in St. Louis and at Texas during the month of November. RESULT: Harper's team unit also was considered "a year away." RESULT: The Irish eked out one close win after another, including 13- 12 versus USC and 7-0 against Army in the fi- nale, to earn Rockne's second consensus na- tional title. It's safe to say it is the last team that will ever win a national title without playing a game on its home turf. 2. 1988: FROM THESE ASHES: PART II 1988: Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown grad- uated, the entire defen- sive line was new, and all five full-time starters had departed from the of- fensive line. Plus, junior coach Lou Holtz's sec- ond Irish team finished the year with three straight losses, notably a 35-10 rout by Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. Holtz referenced the last time Notre Dame was beaten so soundly in a bowl game — the 40-6 loss to Nebraska in the 1972 Or- ange Bowl — and then responded by winning the national title the fol- lowing season. Still, the Irish were only 43-36-1 from 1981-87. PERCEIVED PROBLEMS IN PREVIOUS YEAR: Head finished 12-0 en route to the national title and became the fourth team since the 1936 advent of the AP poll to defeat four teams that finished in the top 10: No. 2 Miami (31-30), No. 4 Michigan (19-17), No. 5 West Vir- ginia (34-21) and No. 7 USC (27-10). quarterback Tony Rice's passing problems (.412 completion percentage) were a huge concern. RESULT: Notre Dame 1. 1964: THE MESSIAH COACH COMETH 1964: New head coach Ara Parseghian inher- ited a team with a losing mentality, minimal ex- perience at quarterback and receiver and an all- sophomore four-man de- fensive line, and the Irish had to play six teams that defeated them a year ear- lier. RESULT: The No. 1 and Dame failed to finish above .500 for the fifth straight year, and the 2-7 record in 1963 made it 34-45 in the eight-year stretch from 1956-63. PERCEIVED PROBLEMS IN PREVIOUS YEAR: Notre 9-0 Irish were one half away from a national title after building a 17-0 halftime lead at USC, but