Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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COACH PARSEGHIAN BY THE NUMBERS Before he dedicated his retired life to helping his family find a cure for Niemann-Pick disease, Ara Parseghian compiled a résumé that rivals the very best in college football. Here's a brief look at some of this accomplishments on the field. 0 Back-to-back games lost during the regular season in 11 years at Notre Dame. Since the hiring of Knute Rockne in 1918, Parseghian is the lone Irish head coach to never lose twice in a row during the regular season. 510.5 Yards of total offense averaged per game by Parseghian's 10-1 team in 1970 — a record that still stands. Notre Dame averaged a balanced 257.8 yards rushing and 252.2 yards passing en route to a No. 2 finish in the AP poll, highlighted by the 24-11 upset of No. 1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl to end the Longhorns' 30-game winning streak. .8362 Winning percentage (95-17-4) posted at Notre Dame from 1964-74. Since 1964, the only major college football coach who won a better percentage with at least 10 years at the same school is Oklahoma's Barry Switzer — .8368 from 1973-88. Nebraska's Tom Osborne (1973-97) is third at .8355. 3 Passing combinations at Notre Dame under Parseghian that earned first-team All-America honors from the Associated Press or UPI: John Huarte to Jack Snow (1964), Terry Hanratty to Jim Seymour (1968) and Joe Theismann to Tom Gatewood (1970). 4-0 Record at Northwestern (1956-63) against Notre Dame, with the victories occurring from 195962. It is the best winning percentage of any head coach who has faced the Irish at least four times in his career. 7 More wins Notre Dame posted in his first season (1964) than the Irish did the previous year without him. The improvement from 2-7 in 1963 to 9-1 in 1964 is the best in Irish football annals. Ranked No. 2 are the five-game improvements from 195657 (2-8 to 7-3) and 2001-02 (5-6 to 10-3). 14 The lowest finish ever in the AP poll under his direction. The Irish finished in the AP top 10 nine times in his 11 years, including seven times in the top five while twice capturing the national title (1966 and 1973). 37.6 Points per game averaged by Parseghian's 1968 unit — a school record since the Jesse Harper era commenced in 1913. The next closest is 37.2 by Lou Holtz's 1992 team that finished 10-1-1. 213.6 Yards yielded per season by the Notre Dame defense under Parseghian. The Irish never finished lower than 15th in the nation in total defense during his 11 seasons, and the worst total was 258.3 yards allowed per game in 1972. Since 1981, the best figure at Notre Dame was 270.0 yards allowed per game in 1996. Last year's team finished at 305.5 yards allowed per game. 350.2 Yards rushing per game averaged by the 1973 national champs. That qualifies as one of the unbreakable marks in Notre Dame football history. The closest any Irish team has come since then is 287.7 yards per game in 1989. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2013 FOOTBALL PREVIEW 144-147.Ara Parseghian.indd 147 ! 147 6/25/13 3:31 PM