Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2015 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 115 It has happened to the best of them in athletics and at Notre Dame, from Knute Rockne in 1926 versus Carnegie Tech that cost him a national title, to Lou Holtz in 1993 against Boston College — a 54-7 loser the year prior to the Irish — that lost another No. 1 bid. "There is no greater cause for remorse than a missed op- portunity," Holtz lamented afterwards. How do such dramatic up- sets occur? Generally, it's a combination of the favorite having an inevitable human nature letdown, the underdog playing to its optimum level with a nothing-to-lose men- tality, and the timing of each event. In his first year at Notre Dame in 1986, Holtz noted that in the course of a football season, there will be three games per sea- son where his Irish would be at a prime mental, physical and emotional peak or focus — and usually they would be against the USCs, Michigans, Miamis or other mar- quee opponents. However, what rises must also descend. Consequently, there are likely to be three games per year in which the concentration level ebbs, while the opponent's is at a peak for that specific contest against the Irish. The Gerry Faust era from 1981-85 was replete with such examples. In 1982, for example, Notre Dame defeated three of its toughest foes, Michigan, Miami and then-No. 1 Pitt, whose quarterback was Dan Marino. Conversely, the 6-4-1 Irish that year were upset at home by 1-2-1 Arizona, lost to Air Force for the first time in its history and were fortunate to escape with a tie versus an Oregon team that started 0-8-1. Holtz, one of the great motivators in college football history, would experience similar ebbs and flows. In 1990, his team defeated Michigan and Miami, plus SEC champ Tennessee and USC on the road — but in between was upset at home by a Stan- ford team that finished 5-6 and lost as No. 1 to No. 18 Penn State, also at home. What is pivotal is being good enough to survive such contests. Regarding emotional peaks followed by valleys, we point to three of the most intense and famous games in Notre Dame annals. • In 1928, Fighting Irish head coach Rockne's 4-2 team was a heavy underdog The Irish let a winnable game versus a 3‑6 Northwestern team slip away last season, eventually falling 43‑40 in overtime after a cavalcade of mistakes. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA "There is no greater cause for remorse than a missed opportunity." LOU HOLTZ AFTER THE IRISH LOST 41‑39 TO BOSTON COLLEGE IN 1993 TOP SHOCKERS: 15‑10 Over the years, championship hopes or promising finishes were ruined by jaw-dropping setbacks. Over the next few pages we review 15 of them in our countdown: 15. Nov. 15, 2014: Northwestern 43, Notre Dame 40 (overtime) — The 3-6 Wildcats had lost four in a row while averaging 12.5 points per game. Notre Dame was 7-2 and expected to enter the Los Angeles Coliseum 9-2 and in the top 10. The Irish led 7-0 just 44 seconds into the game and 20-9 after the first quarter. But after going ahead 40-29, the Irish inexplicably went for a two-point conversion that failed, thereby opening the door for the Wildcats to send the game into overtime with two scores and ultimately prevail. 14. Nov. 6, 1976: Georgia Tech 23, Notre Dame 14 — Georgia Tech was 3-4-1 after getting ham- mered 31-7 the previous week at Duke. Notre Dame featured a defense, led by Ross Browner, Bob Golic and Luther Bradley, that a week earlier set a school record for playing the most consecutive quarters (21) without yielding a touchdown. Yet … Georgia Tech stunned 6-1 and No. 11 Notre Dame, 23-14 — without completing a pass. 13. Oct. 11, 1952: Pitt 22, Notre Dame 19 — A week before this game, No. 8 Notre Dame won at No. 5 Texas, 14-3, while Pitt was crushed by Okla- homa, 49-20. The Panthers were 3-7 a year earlier and now were under the direction of a new coach, Red Dawson. Yet 13-point underdog Pitt managed to upset Frank Leahy's Irish, 22-19 in Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame finished No. 3 that year, while Pitt was 6-3. 12. Sept. 3, 2011: South Florida 23, Notre Dame 20 — Coming off an inspiring 4-0 finish in 2010, the Irish were looking at national title contention with a lineup laden with future pros, including Michael Floyd on offense and Harrison Smith on defense as first-round picks. Skip Holtz was known mainly as Lou's son, and the Bulls would finish 5-7 this year … but on this surreal day, five Irish turnovers staked USF to a 16-0 lead, and Notre Dame Stadium also was evacuated for the first time in history after severe lightning occurred. After a couple hours of delay, the Bulls hung on for the upset victory. 11. Nov. 2, 2002: Boston College 14, Notre Dame 7 — First-year Notre Dame head coach Tyrone Willing- ham was hailed as the Messiah Coach while leading a Fighting Irish team that was 5-6 the year prior to an 8-0 mark and No. 4 ranking — and winning at Florida State (34-24) the week before facing the Eagles. Unranked BC was 4-3, had lost at Pitt the previous week and would lose to West Virginia the week after the Notre Dame game … but on this day that included five Fighting Irish turnovers, it repeated what it did nine years earlier by toppling Notre Dame the week after the Irish had vanquished Florida State.