Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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quarter-century run in major bowls than Notre Dame from 1969���93 in regards to the level of competition that was encountered. During that time, the Fighting Irish won 10 ���major bowls��� ��� the most ever by any program over a 25-year stretch. ��� USC won nine from 1967-91 and nine from 1984���2008. ��� Penn State recorded nine major bowl victories from 1968-91. ��� Oklahoma won nine from 1948���72. The ���major bowls��� are defined as the Rose, Orange Sugar, Fiesta (starting in 1981, when it was first played on New Year���s Day) and the Cotton until 1995. In 1995, the new Bowl Alliance chose the Fiesta over the Cotton in its national title game rotation, thereby displacing it among the four major bowls. This transpired mainly because of the dissolution of the former Southwest Conference (SWC), whose champion was the automatic tie-in to the Cotton Bowl. Of the 18 bowls Notre Dame partook in from 1969-93, the Irish were Notre Dame beat an undefeated West Virginia team 34-21 in the Fiesta Bowl in 1988 to lock up the national championship. photo courtesy notre dame media relations 12-6. Among those dozen victories, none was against a team that had more than two losses ��� and seven were against opponents who were either No. 1, unbeaten or both. ��� In the 1971 Cotton Bowl, Notre Dame upset 10-0 and No. 1 Texas 24���11 to end the Longhorns��� 30-game winning streak. The 10-1 Fighting Irish ended up No. 2, behind 11-0-1 Nebraska. ��� In 1973, 11-0 and No. 1 Alabama fell to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, 24-23, giving the Irish their first consensus national title from a bowl win since 1924. ��� In 1974, the 9-2 Fighting Irish vanquished 11-0 Alabama again, 13���11. Although Alabama was No. 2 in the AP to Oklahoma, it was No. 1 in the UPI going into the game because the Sooners were on probation, ineligible for bowl participation and were not allowed to be in the coaches��� poll (just like 12-0 Ohio State this year in the overall BCS poll).