Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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under the dome Making History The 1937 Notre Dame team also recorded five victories in one season decided by seven or fewer points — but head coach Elmer Layden's Fighting Irish also lost one that year (9-7 to Carnegie Tech) and tied another (0-0 versus Drake) to finish the year 6‑1‑1 overall. In both 1929 and 1974, Notre Dame was 4‑0 in games decided by seven points or less, one short of the 5-0 ledger posted last season. Head coach Knute Rockne's 1929 national champions finished the year 9-0, highlighted by edging Navy (14-7), Carnegie Tech (7-0), USC (13-12) and Army (7-0) in the season finale thanks to Jack Elder's 100-yard interception return. In 1974, Ara Parseghian's final season as head coach, the 10-2 Irish won all three regular-season games decided by seven or less points with wins against Michigan State (19-14), Rice (10-3) and Pitt (14-10), and then added the 13-11 upset of 11-0 Alabama in the Orange Bowl. The most games Notre Dame played in a season where the outcome was seven points or less was the final season under head coach Charlie Weis in 2009. Remarkably, 10 of the 12 contests during that 6-6 campaign came down to the final possession, with Notre Dame recording a 4-6 mark. Can It Continue? Depending on one's perspective, some might refer to 2012 as winning with "smoke and mirrors." Others might state that the Luck of the Irish was more akin to "preparation meeting opportunity." Still others might contend that it was an evolution of the Notre Dame program under Kelly progressing from thinking it can win to now expecting and knowing how to win when game situations reach a crescendo in the clutch. Each of Kelly's first two seasons began with a couple of extremely painful close losses. In 2010, the Irish fell to 1-2 when they dropped a 28-24 decision to Michigan, with the Wolverines scoring the game winner with 27 seconds left, and 31-24 to Michigan State on a fake field goal in overtime by the Spartans that resulted in a touchdown. The following year, Notre Dame committed five turnovers apiece in losses to South Florida (23-20) and Michigan (35-31) — the latter when the Wolverines scored with two seconds left — to begin 0-2. In 2012, did Notre Dame hone its winning edge, or did the "law of averages" return in favor of the Fighting Irish? The coming years might provide more perspective. Down To The Wire Brian Kelly's five straight victories in games decided by seven points or less are tied for the fifth longest such streak by a head coach in Notre Dame history. Elmer Layden (1934-40) holds the record with 12 from Oct. 23, 1937, until it was snapped at Iowa (a 7-6 loss) on Nov. 11, 1939. Knute Rockne (1918-30) is next with 10, beginning with the 12-6 "One For The Gipper" victory over Army on Nov. 10, 1928, and continuing up to his death in the spring of 1931. Ara Parseghian (1964-74) is third with seven in a row, starting Nov. 18, 1972, right through his final season in 1974, while Lou Holtz (1986-96) had six straight from Sept. 10, 1988, until Oct. 6, 1990. Like Kelly, Terry Brennan (1954‑58) won five games in a row decided by seven points or less, but his were spread out over three seasons from the end of 1956 until the middle of 1958. The longest drought of winning games decided by seven points or less was by Gerry Faust (1981-85), who was 0‑6‑1 Former Notre Dame head coach Elmer Layden's 1937 squad in 1982-83 before a 19-18 victory over Boston College in the 1983 Liberty Bowl. grinded out a 6-1-1 record in a year of tight contests. — Lou Somogyi photo courtesy notre dame media relations Life's Short... Eat Well Find Us In The Best Book "Head East!" Award Winning Desserts Award Winning Full-Service Restaurant Private Rooms Available Hand-Cut All Natural Meats Scrumptious Homemade Desserts The Freshest Seafood Reservations Encouraged Lunch: Saturday 11a-4p Dinner: Mon-Thur 4p-9:30p Fri & Sat 4p-10:30p 12594 SR 23 Granger, IN www.yesterdays-granger.com © 2008 Studio A Advertising Full Service catering available. PleaSe call (574) 272-7017 For DetailS blue & Gold illustrated 2013 Football Preview ✦ 5 4-6,8,10-17.Under The Dome.indd 5 6/25/13 4:50 PM