Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/95140
THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI from Sept. 1 through Nov. 30 that Notre Dame had never won a game in its history. Check. • Game three featured the doozy of ending Notre Dame's "Seven Year Itch" of not having defeated a top-10 ranked team at the time of the game since Sept. 10, 2005. It had been 0-9 since then, its worst drought ever, before vanquishing No. 10 Michigan State 20-3. Check. • Game four was about avoiding great campaign way back in 1993. It had eight-game winning streaks un- der Bob Davie (1998), Ty Willingham (2002) and Charlie Weis (2006), but never reached nine. Check. The previous 8-0 start (2002) ended the designation as the first graduat- ing class from Notre Dame to finish 0-4 against the Michigan Wolverines. Check. • Game five versus Miami saw Kelly reach his first five-game win- ning streak at Notre Dame. Previously he had three four-game streaks with the Irish. Check • Game six prevented Notre Dame's graduating class in 2013 from becom- ing the first one to finish 0-4 against Stanford, and it needed overtime and a dramatic goal-line stand to aid it. Check. • Game seven, a 17-14 comeback the cauldron as an 11-point under- dog at Oklahoma. The ghost of being "due" to lose in Norman because of an 8-1 lead in the series was eliminated with a 30-13 triumph. Check. • Game nine versus Pitt is when win against Brigham Young, marked the first time since head coach Knute Rockne's 1920 team that Notre Dame produced back-to-back victories after trailing at halftime. Check. • Game eight Notre Dame entered with a 14-7 upset loss at home to Bos- ton College, and Pitt was on the same route with a 20-6 fourth-quarter lead, until the Irish survived, 29-26, in three overtimes. Check. • Game 10 at Boston College … how many times were 1993 and 2002 resur- rected? Check. • Game 11 with Wake Forest, the Irish wrapped up their first unbeaten home season since 1998 — and only second since 1989. Check. • Game 12 at USC was the ultimate there is the BCS bowl. Since the BCS's inception in 1998, 29 different teams have won a BCS bowl — and Notre Dame isn't one of them. The Fighting Irish haven't achieved a "major bowl" win since 1993, and the SEC rep — their likely opponent Jan. 7 — has won six straight BCS titles. It is the final ghost for this incompa- rable 2012 Notre Dame Spirit to face. Check, please. ✦ ghost story in Notre Dame football annals. The House of Horrors, better known as the L.A. Coliseum, is where Fighting Irish national title runs in 1938, 1948, 1964, 1970, 1974 and 1980 went to die. Check. And now, even at No. 1 and 12-0, Notre Dame achieved its first nine- game winning streak since its last truly Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com