Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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98 PRESEASON 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED O ver the past 53 years, the resur- rection standard at Notre Dame in football has remained Ara Par- seghian's 1964 inaugural season with the Fighting Irish. How apropos would it be that in the year Parseghian left this earth, a simi- lar renaissance would occur in 2017 to honor his legacy while donning "ARA" on the helmets. In 1964 under Parseghian, Notre Dame went from 2-7 to 9-0 before the harrowing 11th-hour defeat at USC in the finale. The seven-win improve- ment from one season to the next re- mains the greatest single-year upgrade in the program's history from a victo- ries standpoint. Going from 4-8 last year to 11-1 this season would tie that standard, and 12-0 would eclipse it. Such an aspira- tion would be deemed a pipe dream, which is why 8-4 might be the safe pick in Las Vegas — although Blue Chips Ratio analytics has Notre Dame as "one of only 10 teams that could possibly win the 2017 national title." Only at Notre Dame can you lose at least three games in 22 of the last 23 seasons, not even record a major bowl win during that span and finish 4-8 the year prior, yet still be in national title conversation. That's sort of that "magical" feel- ing Parseghian created in 1964, which was the start of Notre Dame's "24-year cycle." Twenty-four years later in 1988, Lou Holtz had a similar renaissance, with the program going from a pedestrian 43-36-1 the previous seven years to suddenly 12-0 and a national title. Twenty-four years later in 2012, third-year head coach Brian Kelly worked his own "Wow, where did that come from?" rebirth. The Irish had tied the 1959-63 school record of five straight seasons with at least five losses from 2007-11 — and then fol- lowed with a 12-0 regular season be- fore losing in the national title game. However, whereas Notre Dame be- came a "program" in Parseghian's 11 seasons and then for a six-year stretch under Holtz (1988-93), it has not sus- tained similar success under Kelly. Since 2013, the Irish are merely 20-19 versus Power Five conference foes and 3-10 in their last 13 true road games. Like in 1964, there is a feeling of a transformed environment in 2017 with six new coaching hires, a brand new strength and conditioning staff, and enormous advancements inside the stadium and in the overall infrastruc- ture of the football operation. "Like anything else, when you have an environment that's done the right way and classy, it feeds on how you feel about yourself," Kelly said. "And that environmental factor is big." Especially significant is like in 1964, the players are embarrassed about the recent underachievement, fuel- ing a hunger that, combined with the changes, can fortify energy and deter- mination. Of course, until proven otherwise on the field, it remains merely artifi- cial enthusiasm, which is typical in the preseason. Understandably, Kelly's prime concern remains how everyone reacts when inevitable adversity oc- curs this season. "We can talk about relationships and confidence right now as our strengths," Kelly said. "Will those stick together when we face some adver- sity?" Maybe the most difficult inquiry to answer is: "What would define a suc- cessful season in 2017 at Notre Dame?" Notre Dame's team entered the 2016 seasons as a "B" student, but ended with an "F" result. Consequently, a "C-like" season (8-4) now would be feted as "improvement," but would it be "successful" given where you had been? Is that what it has come to? There are probably only four op- ponents on the slate — Georgia, USC, Miami (Fla.) and Stanford — that might be considered comparable to or slightly above Notre Dame's overall level of talent, so 8-4 might be deemed par for the course. At the same time, it could be clas- sified as unfulfilling because then it becomes "did you beat anyone com- parable or better (i.e. the 10-3 mark in 2015 with Navy as the biggest win)?" In 2005, Charlie Weis had almost a Parseghian-like impact in his inaugu- ral season with the school's first top-10 finish (No. 9) in 12 years, but he had a banner hung up in the weight room that read: "9-3 Isn't Good Enough!" Will it be good enough now in 2017? A 10-win season for the second time in three years probably would be the demarcation to many that maybe, just maybe, Notre Dame can get back on track after all. You reach 11 wins — or two defeats or less for only the second time in 24 years — then you are navigating into "Ara territory." Parseghian didn't possess the super- natural powers to stop the rain, as the Irish student body would implore him to do, but he did halt the Notre Dame football drought. How fitting it would be to follow suit again in 2017. ✦ 2017 Fighting Irish Need An Ara-Like Rebirth THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com Brian Kelly will once again attempt to engineer the type of turnarounds legendary Irish head coaches Ara Parseghian (left) and Lou Holtz (right) pulled off during their time in South Bend. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND