Blue and Gold Illustrated

January 2019

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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52 JANUARY 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI I t has been 24 years since Notre Dame won a major bowl game. At no place would it be more fitting for that dubious drought to end than the Cotton Bowl — where the Irish last won such a contest. Dal- las has become a beacon of both new starts and wonderful old memories in Fighting Irish football annals. • In Notre Dame's first game ever in Dallas, on Dec. 3, 1949, head coach Frank Leahy's Fighting Irish clinched their third national title in four years. It was the final bow to an unprec- edented run of four straight seasons without a defeat (36-0-2) after a pul- sating 27-20 victory versus SMU. "I never saw more excitement in a game in my life," Leahy said after one of the all-time classics in the pro- gram's history, played in front of a crowd of 75,457 at the Cotton Bowl that day. • On Jan. 1, 1970, Notre Dame ended its 44-year self-imposed ban on bowl games by going to … the Cotton Bowl to meet No. 1 Texas. • Seven Cotton Bowl appearances are the most by Notre Dame at any postseason venue. Notre Dame's five victories in the Cotton Bowl are also the most in any postseason event, with the Orange and Sugar next in line with only two apiece. EVEN IN DEFEAT … A silver lining could be found amidst the two times Notre Dame lost in the Cotton Bowl. The 21-17 defeat in the 11th hour to No. 1 Texas on Jan. 1, 1970 elevated Notre Dame from No. 9 in the Associ- ated Press poll before the game to No. 5, an unlikely occurrence today. Then, on Jan. 1, 1988, the 35-10 loss to Texas A&M marked the larg- est margin of defeat head coach Lou Holtz would experience in his 11 sea- sons with the Fighting Irish (1986-96). Looking like death warmed over following the game, Holtz did refer- ence Notre Dame's 40-6 loss to Ne- braska in the 1973 Orange Bowl — the worst defeat ever under head coach Ara Parseghian — as a starting point toward the 1973 national title for the Irish. Indeed, using the bowl humiliation as an impetus again, Notre Dame went on to capture the 1988 national title, its most recent. GLORY DAYS Chronologically from 1970-93, these were the five Notre Dame wins in the Cotton Bowl: Jan. 1, 1971: Mirror, Mirror, On The Field … Notre Dame ended 10-0 and No. 1 Texas' 30-game winning streak with a 24-11 victory in the Cotton Bowl. Leading the way was quarterback Joe Theismann running for two touch- downs and throwing for one, and the "Mirror Defense" that Parseghian cre- ated to slow Texas' unstoppable Wish- bone/triple-option attack. The Irish generated nine Texas fumbles, five of which Notre Dame recovered. The 10-1 Irish moved up from No. 6 to No. 2 after the victory, with un- beaten and then No. 3 Nebraska ral- lying to a 17-12 win versus LSU in the Orange Bowl to claim the national title. Jan 2, 1978: Repeat Act … Plus One Seven years later on Jan. 2, 1978, 11-0 and No. 1 Texas faced 10-1 and No. 5 Notre Dame. The Irish pulled another stunning upset, 38-10 — and this time vaulted all the way to No. 1 to win their second national title in Dallas. The only city where Notre Dame has clinched more national ti- tles is Los Angeles, with victories in season finales at USC in 1930, 1947 and 1966. There were three remarkable simi- larities between the 1971 and 1978 Cotton Bowl triumphs versus the Longhorns. • In 1971, Notre Dame trailed 3-0 but exploded with three touchdowns in a span of 9:30 to take a 21-3 lead. In 1978, the game was tied 3-3 when the Irish detonated with three second- quarter touchdowns in a span of 7:28 to build a 24-3 cushion. • In 1971, the Longhorns committed six turnovers, while Notre Dame had only two. In 1978, Texas again had six turnovers, while the Irish had one. • In 1971, Texas scored late in the first half to trail 24-11 at halftime. In 1978, the Longhorns scored a touch- down on the last play of the first half to cut their deficit to 24-10. Vagas Ferguson, who scored three touchdowns, and Jerome Heavens had 100 and 101 rushing yards, re- spectively, for the Irish. Meanwhile, IN HIGH COTTON Dallas and the Cotton Bowl have a glorious past with Notre Dame Joe Theismann (left) helped Notre Dame to a 24-11 upset of No. 1 Texas in the 1971 Cotton Bowl, and seven years later the Irish put on an encore performance at the same site. PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH MEDIA

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