Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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under the dome The Imperfect 10s Recording 10 victories during a season is a benchmark for top programs in college football, even though it's been watered down in recent years with expanded schedules. Alabama has won at least 10 games five years in a row under Nick Saban. Oregon did it all four years with Chip Kelly (2009-12) while finishing 46-7, and even did it a year earlier with Mike Bellotti (10-3). In eight seasons under Les Miles, LSU has won 85 games. Until his ouster in 2011, Ohio State's Jim Tressel recorded a double-digit victory total six straight seasons from 2005‑10. Stanford has made its mark the past three years with consecutive ledgers of 12‑1, 11-2 and 12-2. The flip side is that 10 wins doesn't mean the same as it did 10 or 20 years ago. Twelveand 13-game regular-season schedules, conference title games and 35 bowl contests provide extra opportunities to reach 10. Nebraska, for example, has finished 10-4 in three of the last four seasons under Bo Pelini. Not bad … but it isn't the same value as when you actually played only 12 games. Notre Dame didn't even start to play 11-game regular-season schedules until 1974, and it began playing 12 regular-season games annually in 2006. On the heels of last year's 12-1 finish, Notre Dame will attempt to reach a double-digit victory total two consecutive years for only the fifth time in its history. Here are the other four: 1. 1973 (11-0) & 1974 (10-2) In his final two seasons, Ara Parseghian produced 21 wins, highlighted by conquests of 11‑0 Alabama teams in the 1973 Sugar Bowl (24-23) and 1975 Orange Bowl (13-11), the latter to reach the coveted 10 wins. 2. 1988 (12-0) & 1989 (12-1) REASONS TO CHOOSE HOLY CROSS COLLEGE At Notre Dame, Indiana 1. The Core: Four life-changing experiences we call the Four Pillars. These building blocks are global experience, professional internship, service learning project, and Senior Capstone presentation. We prepare you to be a leader in a global economy! 2. Affordable: One of the lowest tuition rates of private four-year colleges in Indiana and a Tuition Lock that guarantees not to raise individual tuition during enrollment. 90% of our students receive financial aid. The 24 victories over two seasons — highlighted by a school-record 23 straight — are the Notre Dame standard and held by head coach Lou Holtz's juggernaut from these back-to-back campaigns. For the Fighting Irish to break that, they would have to go 13-0 this season. What is particularly notable is that 11 of those victories occurred against teams that finished in the final Associated Press top 18 — and seven of them in the top 10. 3. Strong Relationships: 13-to-1 student/ faculty ratio means you'll never get lost in the crowd. Know your professors and classmates! We are here to help you succeed! 4. Distinctly Catholic: We are affiliated with the Brothers of Holy Cross who run schools worldwide with strong traditions of faith and academic excellence. Holy Cross has a strong campus ministry program, with spiritual leadership and retreat opportunities. Daily and Sunday Masses offered. 3. 1991 (10-3) & 1992 (10-1-1) 5. Highly Rated: A Top 10% School in the Reaching that 10th victory had to occur by first defeating head coach Steve Spurrier's 10-1 and No. 3-ranked Florida Gators in the 1992 Sugar Bowl (39-38), Notre Dame won 24 games in 1988 and '89, hiand then vanquishing R.C. Slocum's 12‑0 glighted by a national-title-clinching victory over Texas A&M Aggies in the 1993 Cotton West Virginia in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl. photo courtesy notre dame media relations Bowl (28-3). Yet both of those seasons were "letdowns" in the eyes of many Irish faithful. That's what happens once the monster gets fed. It becomes insatiable. 4. 1992 (10-1-1) & 1993 (11-1) The 1993 campaign expanded the streak of 10-win seasons to a school record three in a row. The following year, Notre Dame dropped to 6-5-1, and it was the beginning of the end of the Holtz era, which would finish after the 1996 season. Interestingly, there has been a precipitous drop after each of Notre Dame's last three seasons in which it posted at least 10 victories. • From 11-1 in 1993 to 6-5-1 in 1994. • From 10-3 in 2002 to 5-7 in 2003. • From 10-3 in 2006 to 3-9 in 2007. Reaching that 10-win milestone in 2013 might constitute another step in building a program rather than just a team. National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Holy Cross students are happy and engaged with the community. 6. Community: The best of both worlds—a small college in a big university setting— Notre Dame, Indiana. Buy tickets to ND football games, play in the ND marching band, or join a Saint Mary's club, while taking advantage of the vibrant Holy Cross campus! Participate in HC intramural sports, student government, numerous clubs, and student activities galore! Play on our NAIA athletic teams as part of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Call 574.239.8400 to set up a campus visit. Apply online at www.hcc-nd.edu blue & Gold illustrated 2013 Football Preview ✦ 17 4-6,8,10-17.Under The Dome.indd 17 6/25/13 4:51 PM