Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Harnessed FURY Bennett Jackson hates to lose, but he had to learn how to use that to help him win B In his first year as a starter at cornerback last fall, Jackson made 65 tackles and intercepted four passes. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA BY DAN MURPHY ennett Jackson paced across the soft, carpeted floor of the Sun Life Stadium locker room. His right shoulder was wrapped in ice. His face was wrenched by anger that now had no other way to escape, his brow raised tightly in confusion and his jaw hanging in disappointment. He collapsed into a vacant locker stall and tried in vain to fight off the next wave of tears. "I was just like, 'This really happened?' It was a blur to me. I was just pissed. I felt like we let ourselves down," he said months later, still shaking his head in disbelief. Jackson and his Notre Dame teammates had just been handed the worst loss of their college careers — a 42-14 whooping by Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game. For many of them it was the most lopsided defeat they had ever suffered on a football field, and it came on the biggest stage on which they had ever played. Jackson eventually dressed, dropped the strap of a bag over his left shoulder and walked out into the balmy Miami night. A crowd of supporters — some of whom had made the 19-hour drive from northern New Jersey just to sit outside the stadium and soak up the atmosphere — greeted him by the team bus. Jackson nodded his appreciation and walked by until he felt a pull on the back of his arm. He turned to see a familiar face from home wrapping him a bear hug. And again, the tears started to flow. "I was furious," he said. "It's not even really a oncein-a-lifetime experience. A lot of people don't experience it." BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2013 FOOTBALL PREVIEW 96-99.Bennett Jackson.indd 97 ! 97 6/25/13 11:13 AM