Notre Dame

History [edit] The beginning (1887 - 1917) American football did not have an auspicious beginning at the University of Notre Dame. In their inaugural game on November 23 1887 the Irish lost to the University of Michigan Wolverines by a score of 8-0. Their first win came in the final game of the 1888 season when the Irish defeated Harvard Prep by a score of 20-0. At the end of the 1888 season they had a record of 1-3 with all three losses being at the hands of Michigan by a combined score of 43-9. Between 1887 and 1899 Notre Dame compiled a record of 31 wins, 15 losses, and 4 ties against a diverse variety of opponents ranging from local high school teams to other universities.At the beginning of the 20th century college football began to increase in popularity and became more standardized with the introduction of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS) in 1906. That organization would become the NCAA in 1910. Notre Dame continued its success during this time and achieved their first victory over Michigan in 1909 by the score of 11-3 after which Michigan refused to play Notre Dame again for 33 years. By the end of the 1912 season they had amassed a record of 108 wins, 31 losses, and 13 ties.Jessie Harper became head coach in 1913 and remained so until he retired in 1917. During his tenure the Irish began playing only intercollegiate games and posted a record of 34 wins, 5 losses, and 1 tie. This period would also mark the beginning of the rivalry with Army and the continuation of rivalries with Michigan State.[edit] Rockne era (1918 - 1930) Knute Rockne became head coach in 1918 and ushered in one of the most famous and successful chapters in Notre Dame football history. Under Rockne the Irish would post a record of 105 wins, 12 losses, and 5 ties. During his 13 years, the longest tenure of any coach to date, the Irish won 6 national championships, had 5 undefeated seasons, won the Rose Bowl in 1925, and produced many legendary players such as the "Four Horsemen". Rockne has the highest win percentage (.881) in college football history.Among the events that occurred during Rockne’s tenure none is more famous than the Rockne’s Win one for the Gipper speech. George "the Gipper" Gipp was a very successful player on Rockne’s earlier teams and tragically died of pneumonia in 1920. Army came into the 1928 matchup undefeated and was the clear favorite. Notre Dame, on the other hand, was having their worst season under Rockne’s leadership and entered the game with a 4-2 record. At the end of the half Army was leading and looked to be in command of the game. Rockne entered the locker room and gave his account of Gipp’s final words: "I've got to go, Rock. It's all right. I'm not afraid. Some time, Rock, when the team is up against it, when things are wrong and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go in there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper. I don't know where I'll be then, Rock. But I'll know about it, and I'll be happy." The speech, although possibly fictional, inspired the team and they went on to upset Army and win the game 12-5.Rockne died in a plane crash in Kansas while on his way to help in the production of the film The Spirit of Notre Dame in 1930. He was the subject of the 1940 film Knute Rockne, All American.[edit] After Rockne (1931 to 1941) Upon Rockne’s death Heartly "Hunk" Anderson took the helm of the Irish leading them to a record of 16 wins, 9 losses, and two ties. Anderson was a former Irish player under Rockne and at the time of his death was serving as Rockne’s assistant coach.Anderson resigned as Irish head coach in 1934 and was replaced by Elmer Layden, who was one of Rockne’s "Four Horsemen" in the 1920’s. After graduating, Layden played professional American football for one year and then began a coaching career. The Irish posted a record of 47 wins, 13 losses, and 3 tie in 7 years under Layden. He left the team in 1940 to become Commissioner of the National Football League (NFL).[edit] Leahy era (1941 – 1953) Frank Leahy was hired by Notre Dame to take over for Layden in 1941, and was another former Irish player that played during the Rockne Era. After graduating from Notre Dame, Leahy had a variety of coach positions including line coach of the infamous "Seven Blocks of Granite" of Fordham University that helped that team to win all but two games between 1935 and 1937. He then coached the Boston College Eagles to a win in the 1941 Sugar Bowl. His move to Notre Dame would inaugurate a new period of spectacular gridiron success for the Irish and would insure Leahy's place among the very greatest coaches in the history of college football.Leahy would be the Irish’s head coach for 11 seasons from 1941 to 1943 and 1946 to 1953. He has the second highest winning percentage (.864) of any college coach in history. He led the Irish to a record of 87 wins, 11 losses, and 9 ties including 39 games without a loss (37-0-2), four national championships, and six undefeated seasons. A fifth national championship was lost because of a tie in 1953 against Iowa, in a game that caused a minor scandal at the time, when it appeared that some Irish players had faked injuries to stop the clock. Leahy retired in 1954 due to health reasons.From 1944 to 1945, Leahy served in the U.S. Navy and was honorably discharged as a Lieutenant. Ed McKeever, Leahy’s assistant coach, became interim head coach while Leahy was in the Navy. During his one year at the helm the Irish managed 8 wins and 2 losses. McKeever left Notre Dame in 1945 to take over as head coach of Cornell University. McKeever was replaced by Hugh Devore for the 1945 season and led the Irish to 7 wins, 2 losses, and 1 tie.[edit] After Leahy (1954 – 1963) The departure of Leahy ushered in a downward slope in Notre Dame’s performance. Terry Brennan was hired as the Notre Dame head coach in 1954 and would stay until 1958. He departed with a respectable total of 32 wins and 18 losses. But note: the 32 wins included 17 in 1954 and 1955. Thereafter his record would be a mediocre 15-15. Brennan was a former player under Leahy and before joining the Irish had coached the Mount Carmel High School team in Chicago, Illinois and later the freshman squad at Notre Dame. His first two seasons were successful and the Irish were ranked 4th and 9th respectively. However, in the light of what would follow those first seasons, some observers began to wonder if Brennan's early success owed more to the residual effects of Leahy's coaching on Brennan's first two cadres than it did to any notable brilliance of his own. It was the 1956 season that began to darken his reputation, for it became one of the most dismal in the team’s history and saw them finish the season with a mere 2 wins, including crushing losses to Michigan State, Oklahoma, and Iowa. The Irish would recover the following season, posting not only a respectable record of 7 wins and 3 losses but including in their wins a stunning upset of Oklahoma, in Norman, that ended the Sooners' still-standing record of 47 consecutive wins. In Brennan’s final season, though, finished with a mere 6 wins and 4 losses, acceptable at many places but a severe disappointment at Notre Dame. Brennan left the Irish to become the conditioning coach for the Cincinnati Reds.Fifty years after Brennan's appointment, one could look back at Notre Dame' hiring policies and notice a curious pattern: the recurrent hiring of inexperienced coaches in the wake of legends. Brennan following Leahy; Gerry Faust following the hall-of-fame tandem of Parseghian and Devine; and, finally, Davie following Lou Holtz. In each case the Irish had hired a youthful coach with no experience as a head coach, and in each case the choices led to bitter disappointment on the fieldJoe Kuharich took over for Brennan in 1959 and to date remains the only Irish head coach to leave the team with a losing record. During his 4 year tenure as coach, the Irish finished with 17 wins and 23 losses and they never finished better than .500 in a season. Hugh Devore once again filled in the gap between coaches and led the Irish to yet another lackluster season in 1963, finishing with 2 wins and 7 losses.[edit] Parseghian era (1964 - 1974) Ara Parseghian was a former college football player for the Miami University Redskins until 1947 and became their assistant coach in 1950 and head coach in 1951, after a two year stint playing for the Cleveland Browns. In 1956 he moved to Northwestern University, where he stayed for eight years. In 1964 he was hired to replace Devore as head football coach and immediately brought the team back to their former levels of success. In his first year the Irish improved their record to 9 wins and 1 loss earning Parseghian coach of the year honors.During his eleven year career, the Irish amassed a record of 95 wins, 17 losses, and 4 ties and captured two uncontested national championships. The Irish also had two undefeated season in 1966 and 1973, had three major bowl wins in five appearances, and produced one Heisman Trophy winner. Parseghian was forced to retire after the 1974 season for medical reasons.[edit] Devine/Faust era (1975 - 1985) Dan Devine was hired to take over as head coach upon Parseghian's retirement in 1975. Devine was already a highly successful coach and had led Arizona State, Missouri, and the Green Bay Packers. When he arrived at Notre Dame he already had a college coaching record of 120 wins, 40 losses, and 8 ties and had led his teams to victory in 4 bowl games. At Notre Dame he would lead the Irish to 53 wins, 16 losses, and 1 tie. The Irish were winners of 3 major bowl games and captured one national championship in 1977. Devine resigned as head football coach in 1980.Gerry Faust was hired to replace Devine for the 1981 season. Prior to Notre Dame, Faust had been one of the more successful high school football coaches in the country. As coach of Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio he amassed 174 wins, 17 losses, and 2 ties. Despite his success in the high school ranks, his success at Notre Dame was mixed. In his first season the Irish finished with 5 wins and 6 losses. The most successful years under Faust were the 1983 and 1984 campaigns where the Irish finished with 7 wins and three losses and made trips to the Liberty Bowl and Aloha Bowl respectively. Faust resigned at the end of the 1985 season to take over as head coach for the University of Akron.[edit] Holtz era (1986 – 1996) Lou Holtz had 17 years of coaching experience by the time he was hired to lead the Irish. He had previously been head coach of William and Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, and Minnesota. Holtz began in 1986 where his predecessor left off in 1985, finishing with an identical record of 5 wins and 6 losses. That would be his only losing season as he posted a record 95 wins, 24 losses, and 2 ties over the next ten seasons adding up to 100 wins, 30 losses, and 2 ties overall.Holtz was well-known as a master motivator and a strict disciplinarian. He displayed the latter trait in spades when he found that two of his players had been having academic problems right before the then top-ranked Irish played second-ranked Southern California in the final regular season game of 1988. Holtz stuck to his guns, sending the two players home despite the fact that they had been contributors to the team's success. His move was vindicated when the Irish defeated USC anyway.Holtz was named coach of the year in 1988, the same season he took Notre Dame to an upset of #1 Miami in the Catholics vs. Convicts series and a win in the Fiesta Bowl, thus capturing the National Championship. His 1989 and 1993 squads narrowly missed repeating the feat. Overall, he took Notre Dame to one undefeated season, 9 consecutive New Year’s Day bowl games, and top 10 finishes in the AP poll in five seasons. Holtz retired from Notre Dame in 1996, although there has been much speculation (fueled further by a lack of clarification from Holtz himself) on whether he left of his own accord or was forced out by then athletic director Mike Wadsworth, with whom Holtz did not have a very good relationship. He went on to become an analyst for CBS for a few years before accepting the head job at the University of South Carolina before the 1999 season. After turning around the former Southeastern Conference doormat, he retired again from coaching after the 2004 season. He is currently a football analyst for ESPN.[edit] Davie/Willingham era (1997-2004) Coached by Bob Davie for 5 years, the team suffered 3 Bowl losses (1997 Independence Bowl, 1998 Gator Bowl, 2000 Fiesta Bowl) and failed to qualify during two seasons, 1999 and 2001. The highlight of Davie's tenure may have been beating USC on three consecutive occasions, including the thrilling 25-24 victory at Notre Dame Stadium in 1999. The aforementioned 2000 Fiesta Bowl was Notre Dame's first invitation to the Bowl Championship Series. The 2001 squad was awarded the American Football Coaches Association Achievement Award for its 100% graduation rate.Realizing the team was not progressing, the administration decided it was time to make a change. On Dec 9, 2001, Notre Dame hired George O'Leary to replace Davie. However, New Hampshire Union Leader reporter Jim Fennell—while researching a "local boy done good" story—uncovered discrepancies in his résumé. O'Leary resigned five days later before coaching a single practice.In need of a coach, the school turned to Tyrone Willingham, who had been coaching at Stanford. Bringing a new feeling of change and excitement to campus, Ty energized the team in the Fall of 2002 by starting the season 8-0, with wins over #7 Michigan and #11 Florida State. Those eight games, however, would be the highlight of Willingham's tenure, as Notre Dame finished the year with a heart-breaking loss to Boston College (further worsened by the fact that Willingham, using a well-known Notre Dame coach's play, dressed his Irish in green jerseys before the game), being exposed by a very talented USC team, and suffering a depressing loss to NC State in the Gator Bowl. Things would not get better as the team compiled an 11-13 record over the next two years, and a multitude of lopsided losses (2003: 38-0 Michigan, 45-14 USC, 37-0 FSU, 38-12 Syracuse; 2004: 41-16 Purdue, 41-10 USC).Alumni around the nation voiced their displeasure in the current state of Notre Dame football, though the firing of Willingham came as a surprise to most. Despite Willingham's mediocre overall performance as coach, many pundits accused Notre Dame of racism for firing Willingham after three years when every previous full-time Irish coach had been given five years to put their team together. However, good news was on the horizon for Notre Dame fans, as the latest coaching search found Charlie Weis, the highly successful offensive coordinator to the New England Patriots, ready to accept the job and return the program to prominence and its rightful place among the college football elite.[edit] Current team Charlie Weis became head football coach for the Irish beginning with the 2005 season. In his inaugural season he led Notre Dame to a record of 9 wins and 3 losses and a postseason appearance in the Fiesta Bowl, losing to Ohio State 34-20. Weis' impact was immediately apparent when, in the first half of the first game against Pittsburgh, Notre Dame had more offensive yards than in any of five entire games of the previous season. Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn would go on to break numerous team passing records that season and put himself in the national spotlight. Wide receiver Jeff Samardzija also put himself on the national scene by catching a touchdown pass in the Irish's first eight games, a team record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass. Samardzija eventually became a finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award given to the nation's top wide receiver.The season also included one of the classic games in team history as well as the sport's history when USC came to South Bend for an October 15, 2005 game. The Trojans had won the last three meetings between the teams by 31 points each and had won 27 games in a row overall. However, this game became a classic when Brady Quinn took his team down the field to score a touchdown with just over two minutes to play to put Notre Dame ahead 31-28. The Irish defense pushed the Trojans into a 4th down and nine situation, but USC quarterback Matt Leinart hit receiver Dwayne Jarrett for 67 yards to put the ball inside the Notre Dame 10 yard line. Then, on a second down and goal play, Leinart was flushed from the pocket and forced to scramble towards the end zone. He was hit at the one yard line and fumbled the ball out of bounds. However, the clock operator ran the clock down to 0:00, and delirious Irish fans thought they had finally defeated USC, flushing a large portion of the student section onto the field. However, officials regained order and placed the ball inside the one yard line and put seven seconds on the clock. On third down, USC elected to try for the touchdown rather than spike the ball and go for a field goal on fourth down. Although Leinart's quarterback sneak was initially turned away by the Notre Dame defense, he spun to his left, and, aided by a controversial shove (see Bush Push) from his teammate, 2005 Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush, surged into the end zone to win the game for USC by a 34-31 margin. Pundits called it one of the greatest games ever, and Bush himself, who had won a national championship game in his career, called it "the biggest win of my career".