Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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tory often are the ones when the Fighting Irish came out of nowhere to either win a national title, seriously vie for one, or just stun their fan base or the nation when expectations were low or the team was deemed a "year away," if not more. The 2012 sea- T he most special or memorable cam- paigns in Notre Dame football his- son might be re- membered with that kind of fondness. As a basis of compari- memorable comeback campaigns BY LOU SOMOGYI Notre Dame has had many SURPRISE SEASONS gram had been slump- ing prior to the turn- around. • How much it strug- gled a year earlier. • How dramatic the turnaround season be- came. 10. 2000: FROM HOT SEAT Dame finished 5-7 and surrendered 331 points, at the time the most in school history. The Irish lost their last four games while yield- ing 36.5 points per PREVIOUS YEAR: Notre TO HOT COACH son, here are 10 of the best "Where Did That Come From?" seasons at Notre Dame in its 125- year football history. The criteria include: • How long the pro- contest. PERCEIVED PROBLEMS IN 2000: Record-setting quarterback Jarious Jack- son had graduated, the defense seemed to be in shambles and fourth- year head coach Bob Da- vie was on the hot seat. quarterback Matt LoVec- chio, Notre Dame won its last seven regular-season games to finish 9-2 and set an NCAA record for fewest turnovers (eight) during an 11-game sched- ule. Highlights included victories over Texas A&M, Big Ten champ Purdue, at West Virginia and at USC, leading to a five-year contract exten- sion for Davie. Unfortu- nately, a 41-9 loss to Or- egon State in the Fiesta Bowl dropped the Irish to No. 15. RESULT: With freshman 2002: Quarterback Car- lyle Holiday didn't seem vie is fired after a 5-6 fin- ish, the third time in five years Notre Dame lost at least six games. PERCEIVED PROBLEMS IN PREVIOUS YEAR: Bob Da- 9. 2002: WINNING WITH A TY