Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com APRIL 2020 7 FAN FORUM He has five. If you beat UConn, you need to finish with a title. Diggins was a program-changing player. She demanded winning and it seemed like that attitude has been carried over by the returning players since she left. Now with losing the whole team last year, it seems like that attitude is lost and it is something we may never get back. Muffet was inducted into the Nai- smith Hall of Fame in 2017. It's going to take a Hall of Fame coach to get Notre Dame back to an elite team. She needs to start landing elite tal- ent and then develop it — something she is not currently doing. Don Bruno Via the Internet Mr. Bruno, the "one that got away" title was in 2011, Diggins' sophomore year, when the Fighting Irish lost 76-70 to Texas A&M in the championship game after it had upset the late Pat Summitt's Tennessee team (first win ever against the Vols in 21 tries) in the Elite Eight and then stunned title favorite UConn in the Final Four. • The 2012 team lost the title game to one of the most dominant teams in the sport's history, 40-0 Baylor led by Brittney Griner and Odyssey Sims. • UConn was the nation's best pro- gram from 2013-16, but the ultimate frustration was that Notre Dame was 3-0 against it during the season before the Final Four matchup in 2013. To have to go 4-0 against that juggernaut was practically asking for the ridiculous and was so unfortunate. • Both the Irish and Huskies were un- defeated heading into the 2014 champi- onship match — but Notre Dame center Natalie Achonwa was sidelined with a torn ACL in the Elite Eight win versus Baylor. We're not saying McGraw and Co., would have won with Achonwa — but reverse the roles with a healthy Achonwa and then either UConn's Stefanie Dolson or Breanna Stewart out with a knee in- jury, and that would have been a notable advantage. • The Irish were likely better than Stanford in 2016-17, but let's not forget that Tara VanDerveer also is in the Hall of Fame with two national titles. Regard- less, no one was beating UConn in 2016 to win it even if the Irish were to make the Final Four. • The way Notre Dame was playing at the end of 2017 it was the team to beat — until center Brianna Turner tore her ACL in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. That was the edge No. 6 Stanford needed to defeat the No. 2 Irish 76-75. An argument can be made that the one-point loss to Baylor last year also is one that got away, but we'd hardly clas- sify it as a huge upset. The 2018 Notre Dame team that won the title probably shouldn't have with the four ACL tears and no true point guard. Sometimes it works out that way that when you least expect it … Taking nothing away from Saban, but his teams were given second chances in 2011 and 2012 despite home losses to inferior teams in November, which used to be a death knell. The 2017 Alabama team lost 26-14 in the regular-season finale too and didn't even play in the SEC Championship Game (just like the one in 2011) — but also was fortunate to be given a second chance in the CFP. One off day in the NCAA Tournament does not get forgiven like that in basket- ball, and there are no do-overs. We do agree that several major recruit- ing misses from 2017-19 — plus un- expected attrition — helped lead to the current state. For the first time during head coach Muffet McGraw's 33-year tenure with the Irish, the women's basketball team finished with a losing record in regular-season conference play. PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER Interested in exposing your business to thousands of other loyal Irish fans? Advertise With Blue & Gold Illustrated! FEBRUARY 2020 • $3.50 VOLUME 39 • ISSUE 14 • EST. 1981 HAPPY CAMPERS Tony Jones Jr. and Notre Dame dominate in 33-9 rout of Iowa State in Camping World Bowl to finish 11-2 WWW.BLUEANDGOLD.COM ADDING FIREPOWER Notre Dame's 17-man recruiting class features a highly touted group of skill players on offense RB Chris Tyree WR Jordan Johnson TE Michael Mayer 2020 RECRUITING ISSUE MARCH 2020 • $3.50 VOLUME 39 • ISSUE 15 • EST. 1981 WWW.BLUEANDGOLD.COM APRIL 2020 • $3.50 VOLUME 39 • ISSUE 16 • EST. 1981 FINE LINE Left tackle Liam Eichenberg, veteran front on offense leads Notre Dame into spring drills WWW.BLUEANDGOLD.COM 2020 SPRING PRACTICE OVERVIEW Reach over 14,000 Irish fans in the 20 full-color print issues (including both big preview issues for football and recruiting) ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ Reach over 13,000 Irish fans in the Annual Football Preview, the 160-page glossy magazine sent in early July 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ISSUE $12.95 ✦ WWW.BLUEANDGOLD.COM ARMS RACE Senior quarterback Ian Book and the Irish strive to produce more offensive firepower in pursuit of another College Football Playoff berth For further information on opportunities for growing and enhancing your business, please contact Michelle DeLee-Hamilton at 574-286-8688 or michelle@blueandgold.com