Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2015 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 117 You know what no one tells you? The next week, the Irish were upset at home, 14-7, by a 2-3 Northwestern team. • In 1957, Notre Dame traveled to in- vincible Oklahoma, which was sporting an NCAA-record 47-game winning streak and had crushed the Irish 40-0 the previous year. Notre Dame somehow prevailed, 7-0. The rest of the story is that Notre Dame came home the following week and lost to Iowa, 21-13. Holtz experienced his own version in 1993. A week after rising to No. 1 with an upset of No. 1 Florida State to improve to 10-0, the Irish found themselves trailing Boston College 38-17 in the fourth quarter before losing 41-39. Sustaining physical, emotional and mental peaks game after game is not a realistically attainable objective. Similar to the NCAA Basketball Tournament, one tries to "sur- vive and advance" over the course of several months. Potential 2015 Pitfalls This summer, Brian Fremeau of ESPN/ Football Outsiders, who also has written a regular column of statistical analysis for Blue & Gold Illustrated since January, noted what it is about Notre Dame's sched- ule that makes it susceptible to the given day upset. Wrote Fremeau: "Elite teams have little trouble against non-elite opponents (91 per- cent win likelihood), but it is much more difficult for the next tier to face that type of opponent week in and week out. "Teams ranked outside the top 15 win only 62 percent of their games against oppo- nents ranked between 16th and 50th. That's where most of the opponents on the Irish schedule are often ranked in a given season, and the 2015 schedule is no different." While USC, Clemson, Georgia Tech and maybe Stanford likely will all be in the 2015 preseason top 25, and draw most of the at- tention or curiosity amongst Irish followers, opponents such as Texas (never to be taken lightly), Pitt (which might have the best of- fense in the ACC), Boston College and at least a couple of others might have top-50 potential. Therefore, the residual effect of playing such quality week in and week out facilitates the chances of a "how could they lose that game?" upset. In golf, it's not so much about making birdies and even eagles over 18 holes, but more so avoiding the bogeys and double bogeys to reach a sustained level of quality play. In college football, consistently winning "the games you're supposed to" is the first step toward possibly reaching prominence. ✦ TOP SHOCKERS: 5‑1 5. Sept. 17, 1977: Mississippi 20, Notre Dame 13 — The overwhelming preseason choice to win the 1977 national title with the return of all 11 starters on defense and a powerful offense, head coach Dan Devine's Fighting Irish were stunned by a Rebels team that was whacked 34-13 the previous week by Alabama, lost at home to Southern Missis- sippi the week after the Notre Dame win (the letdown factor) and would finish 5-6. The 1-1 Irish would win their final 10 games to capture the national title, but this loss prompted the sale of "Dump Devine" stickers right outside Notre Dame Stadium that season. 4. Sept. 28, 1974: Purdue 31, Notre Dame 20 — Head coach Ara Parseghian's squad was the defending national champ and a favorite to repeat, outscoring its first two opponents 80-10. The Boilermakers were 0-1-1, with the tie occurring against Miami (Ohio). The Irish were a four-touchdown favorite — but fell behind 24-0 in the first quarter en route to a stunning defeat. One week later, Purdue lost to Duke. The Boilermakers would finish 4-6-1, while Notre Dame finished 10-2 after defeating No. 1 Alabama in the Orange Bowl, 13-11. 3. Oct. 6, 1990: Stanford 36, Notre Dame 31 — Notre Dame was 27-1 in its previous 28 games, was ranked No. 1 and had won 19 straight at home. Stanford was an 18-point underdog, finishing 3-8 the year before and entering with a 1-3 mark — including a 29-23 loss to San Jose State the previous week. Remarkably, Dennis Green's Cardinal rallied from a 24-7 deficit to pull off the upset. Stanford still finished with only a 5-6 record. 2. Oct. 21, 1972: Missouri 30, Notre Dame 26 — Parseghian's 4-0 Irish yielded only 30 points in their first four games, while Missouri was coming off a 1-9 record the previous year and a 62-0 loss to Nebraska the week before traveling to Notre Dame. Consequently, the Tigers were a 28-point underdog. Missouri took a 30-14 lead into the fourth quarter (aided by a first-half phantom touchdown) and held on against a fierce Irish rally. The Tigers also upset No. 7 Colorado the ensuing week and eventually earned a bowl bid. 1. Nov. 27, 1926: Carnegie Tech 19, Notre Dame 0 — Knute Rockne's 1926 Irish were 8-0, had outscored their op- ponents 197-7, recorded six straight shutouts, and were the overwhelming favorite to win the national title. Foe No. 9 was Carnegie Tech, which had lost four straight to Notre Dame by a 111-19 total, including 26-0 the previous year. So confident was Rockne, he didn't make the trip to the game while attending a public relations event in Chicago. He left assistant coach Hunk Anderson in charge. Notre Dame not only lost, it was walloped. The game cost the Irish the national title despite closing with a 13-12 victory over powerful 8-1 USC to finish 9-1. Knute Rockne's 1926 Irish team lost a chance at the national title when it was stunned 19‑0 by a Carnegie Tech team it had outscored 111‑19 while winning the previous four meetings. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS