Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 149 suspended three of his stars on offense. Both teams' sole loss had been tight struggles ver- sus Texas, with OU falling 13-6 and Arkansas losing 13-9. • No. 3 Alabama (10-1) — the SEC champ — played No. 8 Ohio State (9-2) in the Sugar Bowl. • Finally No. 4 and Big Ten champ Michi- gan (10-1) was the huge favorite over Pac-10 champion Washington (7-4). Today, it might have been Texas versus Michigan and Oklahoma versus Alabama, all conference champs, in the semifinals. For Notre Dame to climb all the way to the top, it also needed "style points" against the in-state Longhorns and some help in the other bowls. Mission Accomplished Motivated by its underdog status and be- ing treated as second-class citizens in Dallas, Notre Dame's astonishing 38-10 victory over the No. 1 Longhorns was propelled by a de- fense that bottled up Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell at running back (29 carries for 116 yards) and forced six turnovers. The five Irish touchdown drives covered 27, 35, 20, 29 and 50 yards. Notre Dame did com- mit one turnover to raise its total to 40 for the year — but the ball-hawking defense forced 58 total, or about five per contest. When Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer saw the Cotton Bowl result, he informed his troops that they too needed to win in blowout fashion to move one spot up to No. 1. Indeed, the Orange Bowl turned into a laugher — but it was funny-man Holtz's Ar- kansas team that won going away, 31-6. No. 4 Michigan also was upset by Washington (27-20), so the lone potential obstacle to No. 1 was Alabama, a 35-6 winner over Ohio State. However, defeating No. 8 by 29 was no match for vanquishing No. 1 by 28 in its home state. The Irish were selected No. 1 by all four major outlets. The AP had No. 1 Notre Dame with 37 1 ⁄3 first-place votes, Alabama No. 2 with 19 1 ⁄3, Arkansas No. 3 with 5 1 ⁄3 , and Texas still received two first-place ballots. The UPI coaches' poll had 23 first-place votes for the Irish, 13 for Alabama, two for Arkansas and one for Texas. It was the first time a team soared from No. 5 to No. 1 during bowl season. No. 5 Miami would duplicate the feat in 1983 when it upset No. 1 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl (31-30). It was a fitting end to a remarkable Notre Dame journey. ✦ One of the most remarkable testimonials to the supreme talent Notre Dame's 1977 national champions possessed was how so many players 40 years later still either are at the top or near it in the Fighting Irish record books, or in football lore: Backfield: Joe Montana, Jerome Heavens, Vagas Fer- guson, Terry Eurick, Dave Mitchell and Steve Orsini Montana joins Joe Namath as the only two quarter- backs to direct a national title in college and a Super Bowl title (four of them for Montana). Heavens broke George Gipp's 58-year-old career rush- ing mark at Notre Dame, and then first-round pick Fer- guson passed both. The two are still among the top six rushers in school history, with both reaching 100 yards against No. 1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Eurick made the cover of Sports Illustrated with his six- and 10-yard scoring runs in the win over the Longhorns. Receivers: Ken MacAfee, Kris Haines and Dave Waymer Walter Camp Award winner MacAfee also had the highest finish ever in the Heisman Trophy voting by a tight end (No. 3). Including bowl games, his 1,882 yards receiving and 15 touchdowns remain the most ever by an Irish tight end. Haines' 21.5 yards per catch (on 63 receptions) in the regular season are behind only Raghib "Rocket" Ismail's 22.0 (71) in Notre Dame annals. Waymer was a second-round pick in the NFL Draft as a defensive back, where he played 13 years before a premature death. Offensive Line: Steve McDaniels, Ernie Hughes, Dave Huffman, Ted Horan- sky, Tim Foley and Dave Vinson Huffman and Foley were second-round picks, Hughes was chosen in the third round, and McDaniels (6-7, 276 pounds) was the biggest man on the roster. Vinson earned Academic All-America notice when he replaced an injured Horansky in several games. Defensive Line: Ross Browner, Willie Fry, Scott Zettek at end; Ken Dike, Mike Calhoun, Jeff Weston and Jay Case at tackle Like MacAfee, Browner is in the College Football Hall of Fame, and he finished fifth in the Heisman balloting. His 340 career tackles are the most ever by a Notre Dame lineman, and his 77 tackles for lost yardage dwarf No. 2 Kory Minor's 44.5 from 1995-98. UPI second-team All-American Fry missed some time with injuries, but Zettek filled in with 51 tackles (10 for loss). The Irish had a four-man rotation in the interior. Linebackers: Bob Golic, Steve Heimkreiter, Doug Becker, Bobby Leopold and Mike Whittington All played in the NFL, with second-round pick Golic lasting 14 seasons. Golic and Heimkreiter graduated one-two on the all-time Irish tackles chart, and Golic is still No. 2 (479, not including bowls) while Heimkreiter is No. 4 (398, not including bowls). Defensive Backs: Luther Bradley and Ted Burgmeier at corner; Jim Browner, Joe Restic and Randy Harrison at safety Bradley's 17 career interceptions remain the most in Notre Dame history. Since Bradley's graduation, the one player who came the closest was his 1977 teammate Restic — an Academic All-American and the punter — who graduated with 13 the following year. Former quarterback and receiver Burgmeier also received All-America notice, while former starting fullback Browner, Ross' younger brother, became the first Irish defensive back to amass more than 200 career tackles (228). Harrison became the first football player at Notre Dame to earn five mono- grams. Four-year starter Dave Reeve provided stability at kicker. — Lou Somogyi Defensive end Ross Browner anchored an Irish defense that harassed opposing quarterbacks and forced an astounding 58 turnovers. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS The Test Of Time Running back Terry Eurick graced the cover of Sports Illustrated after his six- and 10- yard scoring runs helped the Irish rout No. 1 Texas 38-10 in the Cotton Bowl.