The Fighting Irish: Notre Dame's Gold Still Shines
Published by Riley Steele (Columnist), Edited by Daniel Lewis (Editor-in-Chief) on November 27, 2012 in The Penn Sport Report. Click to read article in The Penn Sport Report.
Darren Cummings/The Associated Press
“Cheer, Cheer for Old Notre Dame”
These words, taken from the fight song of the University of Notre Dame, never seemed as appropriate as they did over the past two decades. Since 1988, fans of the Fighting Irish have clamored, hoped, cheered, and of course, prayed for a return to dominance—a return to glory. It has been 24 years since Notre Dame has won a national championship in football. 24 long, unusual years.
Irish fans have seen the likes of Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham, and of course, the “schematically advantaged” Charlie Weis come and go, coaches hired and then dismissed faster than you can say “BCS.” Not only has it been a long wait since the Irish last won a title, it has also been an arduous one, filled with disappointment, bitterness, and even tragedy.
Following the 2009 season, Brian Kelly was hired as the head coach of Notre Dame football. At the first press conference after his hiring, Kelly said, “There’s the football coach, and then there's the football coach at Notre Dame.”
At the time, even though it had been 21 years since Notre Dame last won a title and the program had not been to BCS bowl game since 2006, the aura of Notre Dame still existed. The legacy was still there. And neither seemed to be going anywhere.
Entering the 2012 season, Notre Dame seemed to be going nowhere fast. After two 8-5 seasons under Kelly, Irish fans and critics alike were expecting another mediocre season. At Notre Dame, a school with a football team so revered it has its own television contract and an 85,000 seat stadium, average is not and has never been acceptable.
Still, here were the 2012 Fighting Irish, a team prepared to start its season with the toughest schedule in the nation, without a clear-cut starting quarterback, and more questions than returning starters.
The “Old Notre Dame,” the Notre Dame of the 1970’s and 1980’s, the Notre Dame that featured greats such as Tim Brown, Tony Rice, and Joe Montana, the Notre Dame that was coached by legends such as Knute Rockne, Lou Holtz, and Ara Parseghian...well, that Notre Dame seemed long gone. Notre Dame had accepted a new normal, a new standard, and this “new” Notre Dame was rooted in mediocrity.
Perhaps the most outspoken critic of the Fighting Irish football program is world-renowned sports journalist, Rick Reilly. An 11-time National Sportswriter of the Year, Reilly made it clear that “[he] once loved Notre Dame Football,” but, as he put it, “[he] grew up.” In an article that was published on ESPN less than a month before the beginning of the 2012 season, Reilly wrote,
“When did I quit on Notre Dame? When it quit on itself.”
“You are not royalty anymore, Notre Dame. Turn in your tiara.”
“And with Kelly throwing the QB job up for grabs again, instead of just handing it to Tommy Rees once his one-game suspension is up, this season looks like 7-5 to me, with Ls to Michigan State, Michigan, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh and you don’t even want to know what USC will do to the Irish in the Coliseum. Cue the DentDoctor.com Bowl.”
At the time, Reilly stood by his comments, as did other college football fans. But nearly three weeks later, a funny thing happened: the season began, and Notre Dame was not losing.
First Navy, and then Purdue. Both battled the Irish, and both lost. Still, nobody thought it necessary to talk about a team that had only escaped Purdue on a late field goal. The biggest storyline of the first two weeks of the Irish season was that they opened up in Ireland, and had managed to keep college kids sober enough to defeat the Midshipmen by 40.
It seems that the turning point of the season for the Fighting Irish may not have come in a game at all, but on a less-than-normal Wednesday in mid-September. As the Irish prepared for their upcoming game against Michigan State, a team ranked tenth in the nation at that point, senior linebacker Manti Te'o was informed that both his grandmother and girlfriend has passed away. A four-year starter on the Irish defense, Te'o could have chosen to fly back to his native Hawai'i to be with family and friends in his time of need.
The next several days could have singlehandedly defined Te’o’s career at Notre Dame, had it not been for the events of the rest of the season. The Saturday following the tragic news that struck, Te'o recorded 12 tackles, deflected two passes, had an interception, and led the Irish to their first victory over a top-10 team in seven seasons.
For the first time since 2005, Notre Dame was 3-0.
A week later, the Irish returned home to face their hated rivals from Michigan. Over the past decade, any Irish fan will tell you that of the three most painful moments that have been experienced, two have come at the hands of Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson, who led the Wolverines to last second victories over the Fighting Irish in both 2010 and 2011.
Returning to play at home for the first time since the death of his grandmother and girlfriend, Te’o played inspired football, and picked off two Robinson passes in a 13-6 Irish victory. After the game, there was not a dry eye in the stadium, as every person in the student section at Notre Dame Stadium was wearing a Hawaiian lei to honor Te’o.
At 4-0, the Irish seemed to be rolling.
But surely they would stumble. The Irish were led by redshirt Freshman quarterback in Everett Golson. His inexperience would certainly get in the way. And Te’o and his defense were playing at a superhuman rate. Clearly it would be impossible for the Irish to win out. They still had to play Stanford, at Oklahoma, and at the preseason #1 ranked team in the country, USC. At best, maybe Notre Dame would finish 10-2, if they were lucky.
Eight weeks later, the Irish were 11-0. Ranked No. 1 in the nation for the first time since the BCS format was instituted, all the Irish had to do was beat a USC team that with its senior starting quarterback Matt Barkley not have its senior starting quarterback and that had already lost four games after being ranked No. 1 to start the season.
If they won the game, the Fighting Irish would be headed to South Beach to play for the national championship. Three months ago, most college football fans assumed that the roles would be reversed: it would be a mediocre Notre Dame team coming into Los Angeles to try and spoil USC’s chances of playing for a title.
Unpredictable might be the only word to describe the situation.
Notre Dame 22, USC 13
With a strong defensive stand, led by none other than the Heisman candidate Te’o, the Irish escaped L.A. with a berth in the National Championship game in early January. After the game, Irish players and fans rejoiced in glory, at least in their return to it.
Gone are the days of 3-9 or even 8-5. Relevant? Somewhere, Rick Reilly is cringing at the thought that he, somehow, could have been so painfully wrong.
It hasn’t been pretty; the past 12 games have been the complete opposite. But with the best defense in the country, a powerful running game led by Theo Riddick, a blossoming young quarterback, and solid coaching on all fronts, the Fighting Irish have restored order to the college football world.
Their mission is not over. At Notre Dame, teams are measured by the number of championships they win, not by how many games are played. Though there is over a month between the Fighting Irish’s last game and the national championship game against Alabama or Georgia, Notre Dame will be ready when it takes the field in Miami on January 7.
Remember when Rick Reilly said the Irish would lose to Michigan State, Michigan, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, and of course, Southern California? They came, they saw, and like the leaves on the trees that adorn the Notre Dame campus, they fell.
The echoes have been awakened once again. The Golden Dome shines bright, the helmets of the Irish players glisten, and although “the odds may be great or small,” it seems that, like olden days, “Old Notre Dame will win over all.”
These words, taken from the fight song of the University of Notre Dame, never seemed as appropriate as they did over the past two decades. Since 1988, fans of the Fighting Irish have clamored, hoped, cheered, and of course, prayed for a return to dominance—a return to glory. It has been 24 years since Notre Dame has won a national championship in football. 24 long, unusual years.
Irish fans have seen the likes of Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham, and of course, the “schematically advantaged” Charlie Weis come and go, coaches hired and then dismissed faster than you can say “BCS.” Not only has it been a long wait since the Irish last won a title, it has also been an arduous one, filled with disappointment, bitterness, and even tragedy.
Following the 2009 season, Brian Kelly was hired as the head coach of Notre Dame football. At the first press conference after his hiring, Kelly said, “There’s the football coach, and then there's the football coach at Notre Dame.”
At the time, even though it had been 21 years since Notre Dame last won a title and the program had not been to BCS bowl game since 2006, the aura of Notre Dame still existed. The legacy was still there. And neither seemed to be going anywhere.
Entering the 2012 season, Notre Dame seemed to be going nowhere fast. After two 8-5 seasons under Kelly, Irish fans and critics alike were expecting another mediocre season. At Notre Dame, a school with a football team so revered it has its own television contract and an 85,000 seat stadium, average is not and has never been acceptable.
Still, here were the 2012 Fighting Irish, a team prepared to start its season with the toughest schedule in the nation, without a clear-cut starting quarterback, and more questions than returning starters.
The “Old Notre Dame,” the Notre Dame of the 1970’s and 1980’s, the Notre Dame that featured greats such as Tim Brown, Tony Rice, and Joe Montana, the Notre Dame that was coached by legends such as Knute Rockne, Lou Holtz, and Ara Parseghian...well, that Notre Dame seemed long gone. Notre Dame had accepted a new normal, a new standard, and this “new” Notre Dame was rooted in mediocrity.
Perhaps the most outspoken critic of the Fighting Irish football program is world-renowned sports journalist, Rick Reilly. An 11-time National Sportswriter of the Year, Reilly made it clear that “[he] once loved Notre Dame Football,” but, as he put it, “[he] grew up.” In an article that was published on ESPN less than a month before the beginning of the 2012 season, Reilly wrote,
“When did I quit on Notre Dame? When it quit on itself.”
“You are not royalty anymore, Notre Dame. Turn in your tiara.”
“And with Kelly throwing the QB job up for grabs again, instead of just handing it to Tommy Rees once his one-game suspension is up, this season looks like 7-5 to me, with Ls to Michigan State, Michigan, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh and you don’t even want to know what USC will do to the Irish in the Coliseum. Cue the DentDoctor.com Bowl.”
At the time, Reilly stood by his comments, as did other college football fans. But nearly three weeks later, a funny thing happened: the season began, and Notre Dame was not losing.
First Navy, and then Purdue. Both battled the Irish, and both lost. Still, nobody thought it necessary to talk about a team that had only escaped Purdue on a late field goal. The biggest storyline of the first two weeks of the Irish season was that they opened up in Ireland, and had managed to keep college kids sober enough to defeat the Midshipmen by 40.
It seems that the turning point of the season for the Fighting Irish may not have come in a game at all, but on a less-than-normal Wednesday in mid-September. As the Irish prepared for their upcoming game against Michigan State, a team ranked tenth in the nation at that point, senior linebacker Manti Te'o was informed that both his grandmother and girlfriend has passed away. A four-year starter on the Irish defense, Te'o could have chosen to fly back to his native Hawai'i to be with family and friends in his time of need.
The next several days could have singlehandedly defined Te’o’s career at Notre Dame, had it not been for the events of the rest of the season. The Saturday following the tragic news that struck, Te'o recorded 12 tackles, deflected two passes, had an interception, and led the Irish to their first victory over a top-10 team in seven seasons.
For the first time since 2005, Notre Dame was 3-0.
A week later, the Irish returned home to face their hated rivals from Michigan. Over the past decade, any Irish fan will tell you that of the three most painful moments that have been experienced, two have come at the hands of Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson, who led the Wolverines to last second victories over the Fighting Irish in both 2010 and 2011.
Returning to play at home for the first time since the death of his grandmother and girlfriend, Te’o played inspired football, and picked off two Robinson passes in a 13-6 Irish victory. After the game, there was not a dry eye in the stadium, as every person in the student section at Notre Dame Stadium was wearing a Hawaiian lei to honor Te’o.
At 4-0, the Irish seemed to be rolling.
But surely they would stumble. The Irish were led by redshirt Freshman quarterback in Everett Golson. His inexperience would certainly get in the way. And Te’o and his defense were playing at a superhuman rate. Clearly it would be impossible for the Irish to win out. They still had to play Stanford, at Oklahoma, and at the preseason #1 ranked team in the country, USC. At best, maybe Notre Dame would finish 10-2, if they were lucky.
Eight weeks later, the Irish were 11-0. Ranked No. 1 in the nation for the first time since the BCS format was instituted, all the Irish had to do was beat a USC team that with its senior starting quarterback Matt Barkley not have its senior starting quarterback and that had already lost four games after being ranked No. 1 to start the season.
If they won the game, the Fighting Irish would be headed to South Beach to play for the national championship. Three months ago, most college football fans assumed that the roles would be reversed: it would be a mediocre Notre Dame team coming into Los Angeles to try and spoil USC’s chances of playing for a title.
Unpredictable might be the only word to describe the situation.
Notre Dame 22, USC 13
With a strong defensive stand, led by none other than the Heisman candidate Te’o, the Irish escaped L.A. with a berth in the National Championship game in early January. After the game, Irish players and fans rejoiced in glory, at least in their return to it.
Gone are the days of 3-9 or even 8-5. Relevant? Somewhere, Rick Reilly is cringing at the thought that he, somehow, could have been so painfully wrong.
It hasn’t been pretty; the past 12 games have been the complete opposite. But with the best defense in the country, a powerful running game led by Theo Riddick, a blossoming young quarterback, and solid coaching on all fronts, the Fighting Irish have restored order to the college football world.
Their mission is not over. At Notre Dame, teams are measured by the number of championships they win, not by how many games are played. Though there is over a month between the Fighting Irish’s last game and the national championship game against Alabama or Georgia, Notre Dame will be ready when it takes the field in Miami on January 7.
Remember when Rick Reilly said the Irish would lose to Michigan State, Michigan, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, and of course, Southern California? They came, they saw, and like the leaves on the trees that adorn the Notre Dame campus, they fell.
The echoes have been awakened once again. The Golden Dome shines bright, the helmets of the Irish players glisten, and although “the odds may be great or small,” it seems that, like olden days, “Old Notre Dame will win over all.”