Notre Dame, led by quarterback Riley Leonard (left) and head coach Marcus Freeman, are just three wins from a national championship. (Mallory Bielecki\/Yahoo Sports)<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\nFor many, the streak is quite unbelievable. It spans 31 years, 10 major bowl games, eight different opponents and six Notre Dame head coaches.<\/p>\n
The last time Notre Dame won a major bowl, Mariah Carey topped the Billboard charts and Steve Young won his third NFL passing title. No player on the current Notre Dame team was even remotely close to being born. In fact, two players on the current team have fathers who were members of that 1993 team: freshman defensive lineman Bryce Young, the son of former Irish D-lineman Bryant Young; and walk-on linebacker Tommy Powlus, son to current Notre Dame deputy athletic director and ex-Irish quarterback Ron Powlus.<\/p>\n
Before leaving for New Orleans, the elder Young informed the younger Young of the streak.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talked about it,\u201d Bryce Young said Monday from the Sugar Bowl media day. \u201cIt\u2019s crazy how long it\u2019s been.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a program of Notre Dame\u2019s stature, it seems unfathomable to go so long without a major bowl victory.<\/p>\n
The skid covers the 1995 Orange Bowl, 2006 Sugar Bowl, 2018 Cotton Bowl and 2020 Rose Bowl, as well as the 2012 BCS national championship game, and a whopping five Fiesta Bowl losses. The last of those five came in 2021, Marcus Freeman\u2019s first game as head coach, when the Irish blew a 21-point lead in a two-point loss to Oklahoma State.<\/p>\n
The most troubling part for the ND faithful? All but two of the 10 games were lopsided. The losing margin is an average of 19 points.<\/p>\n
However, the competition hasn\u2019t been light. Five of the last six losses have come against an SEC power, Clemson or Ohio State.<\/p>\n
Next up? Oh, you know, just the SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs who have won two titles in the last three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully, times are changing and we can cement our roots as one of the nation\u2019s elite,\u201d says Taylor. \u201cThat\u2019s what this game is about for me. It\u2019s an opportunity to remove any doubt that Notre Dame is a national power.\u201d<\/p>\n
For some, Notre Dame\u2019s positioning as an elite in the college football framework is in doubt. In this new era of athlete compensation, can the Irish continue to compete in a more professionalized and transactional world?<\/p>\n
The school\u2019s rigorous academic standards and infrequent transfers may make it more difficult. Perhaps, the program can keep cranking out 10-win seasons, but its failures in the postseason to beat blue-blood programs call into question its position in the college football hierarchy.<\/p>\n
The Irish remain perhaps the most polarizing program in the country. The school\u2019s branding and logo is routinely rated among the most valuable in all of college athletics. The only major independent football program, the school exists on an island, with its own lucrative NBC television deal and multi-million dollar apparel partnership with Under Armour.<\/p>\n
As an example of Notre Dame\u2019s power within the sport, it is the only school with a seat on the College Football Playoff governing board as one of the 11 voting members. The other 10 are representatives of each FBS conference.<\/p>\n
The school seems to be adjusting just fine to the new world.<\/p>\n
A story published by Sportico earlier this month revealed that the Irish\u2019s collective, Friends of University of Notre Dame, generated $20.5 million in revenue last year. New athletic director Pete Bevacqua has made clear in public comments that the school will participate fully in the impending revenue-sharing concept, with a majority of the funds going to football.<\/p>\n
The school is in the process of building a multi-million dollar, 150,000-square foot football facility, too.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s all an effort to remain among the country\u2019s elite as the industry\u2019s only independent. Just one thing is missing: big postseason wins.<\/p>\n
Most Notre Dame stakeholders believe the 31-year skid can be explained in a single word: talent.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019d be lying to yourself if you didn\u2019t look at the academic standards there and say that doesn\u2019t have an impact,\u201d said former Irish quarterback Brady Quinn, now an analyst for Fox. \u201cThe quality of student-athlete you are getting is not the same as everywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quinn was part of two of those 10 major bowl losses.<\/p>\n
LSU and Ohio State outscored Notre Dame a combined 75-34 in the Sugar and Fiesta bowls in consecutive seasons under coach Charlie Weis. Before those games, Quinn recalls conversations with Weiss about having to outscore those opponents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew we couldn\u2019t stop them,\u201d he said. \u201cNow, what Marcus has done with the defense, we\u2019ve got one of the better groups in college football. That wasn’t the case back then.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 38-year-old Freeman, a defensive coordinator-turned-head coach, has closed the talent gap with his recruiting, Taylor and Quinn both contend. Notre Dame\u2019s defense is ranked in the top 10 in yardage and scoring for the second consecutive year under Freeman and coordinator Al Golden\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n
Littered with pro prospects and All-Americans, the Irish defensive line resembles those in other major leagues. They are bigger, faster and stronger than Taylor can ever remember.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s been the missing piece. On the field before the team\u2019s game against Alabama in the 2012 BCS national championship, he recalls the disparity between the two clubs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Notre Dame was walking down the tunnel and Alabama went by, I think all of us thought, \u2018Oh s**t!\u2019\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n
Notre Dame\u2019s notoriously rigid admissions process \u2014 with both high school and transfer prospects \u2014 is a long-running issue. Former head coach Brian Kelly shined a light on that upon leaving for LSU three years ago. He became the first Notre Dame coach in 100 years to leave South Bend voluntarily for another college head coaching job.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of the lure of [the LSU] job is there are many more avenues toward [winning a national championship],\u201d Kelly said in 2022. \u201cThere are not as many paths at Notre Dame.\u201d<\/p>\n
Exhibit A: In a world of frantic player movement, Notre Dame accepts limited transfers who have not graduated from their previous school. The school has signed just one undergraduate transfer in three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re bringing in rentals and others are bringing in guys who can be part of the program for several years,\u201d Edwards says. \u201cWe needed to expand our horizons a bit to keep up with this era.\u201d<\/p>\n
Progress, though, is being made. Without lowering its standards, the university is expected to embrace more transfer movement. And perhaps transfers are not the answer anyhow, says Taylor. Take for instance Kelly\u2019s current team: LSU is 8-4 in his third season and playing in the Texas Bowl while the Irish are in the playoffs in Louisiana.<\/p>\n
\u201cThings are really going well for him now in Baton Rouge, right?\u201d Taylor laughs.<\/p>\n
Perhaps this Notre Dame team carries with it a good omen, too. Four Notre Dame coaches have won national titles in their third seasons: Holtz (1988), Dan Devine (1977), Ara Parseghian (1966) and Frank Leahy (1943). Freeman is in Year 3.<\/p>\n
During media day Monday, he shrugged off the question about the major bowl losing streak. After all, he said, what is truly considered a major bowl<\/em>?<\/p>\nOver the last three decades, the Irish have beaten plenty of ranked teams, toppled those from the SEC and Big Ten and qualified for the playoffs three times.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t believe much in a \u2018major bowl,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cI believe in the opportunity to go out there and compete and win with guys that prepare like heck with you. And so that’s the mindset we’ve got to have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, back in Jacksonville, Edwards and family will watch his Irish on Wednesday night from his outdoor deck affixed with multiple flat screen televisions. Perhaps he\u2019ll even brandish that blue pin-back button and hope the streak<\/em> finally ends.<\/p>\n\u201cI don\u2019t feel Georgia is the Georgia of the past where they are completely dominant,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd Notre Dame isn\u2019t the Notre of the past \u2014 we aren\u2019t a step down from the elite teams. We are right there with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
\n\n\n| \n Notre Dame’s major bowl losing streak<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| \n Game<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n| \n Opponent (score)<\/strong><\/p>\n*playoff game<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| \n 1994-95 Fiesta Bowl<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n Colorado (41-24)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| \n 1995 Orange Bowl<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n Florida State (31-26)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| \n 2000 Fiesta Bowl<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n Oregon State (41-9)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| \n 2005 Fiesta Bowl<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n Ohio State (34-20)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| \n 2006 Sugar Bowl<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n LSU (41-24)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| \n 2012 BCS championship<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n Alabama (42-14)*<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| \n 2015 Fiesta Bowl<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n Ohio State (44-28)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| \n 2018 Cotton Bowl<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n Clemson (30-3)*<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| \n 2020 Rose Bowl<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n Alabama (31-14)*<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| \n 2021 Fiesta Bowl<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n Oklahoma State (37-35)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Read More<\/a> Yahoo Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW ORLEANS \u2014 About three inches in diameter, the blue metal pin-back button is still safely kept in the Jacksonville home of Marc Edwards, the treasured item only unearthed for special occasions. Scrawled around the edges of its face are four words, all in capital letters: NOTRE DAME NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. At its center is a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":816181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[848,3790,3730],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-816180","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-finally","8":"category-football","9":"category-notre"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=816180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=816180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=816180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=816180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} | | | |