Notre Dame came in ranked 23rd. Initial shock....then acceptance. Excluding the last two years there are not too many fond memories that come to mind. A couple of nice wins, Ty's run at the beginning of his tenure. Charlie being hired. In my opinion, the most important part of this survey had to be the team's win-loss record over that time. The Irish were 75-47 (.615 win pct) over the last ten years. My stomach suddenly had a knot, and I began to sweat. I knew the last ten years had been hard to endure, but it couldn't have been that bad. I decided to break ND's record down by years and coaches to see how the Irish got to the point of only winning 61.5% of their games.
Year- Coach- Record- Bowl- Weeks Ranked
- 1997- Davie- 7-6- Independence L - LSU 27-9- 2 (First 2 weeks)
- 1998- Davie 9-3- Gator L - Georgia Tech 35-28- 12 (Peak spot 9)
- 1999- Davie- 5-7- None- 5
- 2000- Davie- 9-3- Fiesta Bowl L - Oregon St. 41-9- 11
- 2001- Davie- 5-6- None- 2 (First 2 weeks)
- Davie Totals 35-25 3 bowls (all loses)
- 2002 TY 10-3 Gator Bowl L - NC State 28-6 12
- 2003 TY 5-7 None 2 (First 2 weeks)
- 2004 TY/Baer(bowl) 6-6 Insight L - Oregon St. 38-21 2
- Ty Totals 21-16 2 bowls (all loses)
- 2005 Weis 9-3 Fiesta L - Ohio St. 34-20 11
- 2006 Weis 10-3 Sugar L - LSU 41-14 13
- Weis Totals 19-6 2 bowls (both loses, but BCS)
After going through these records I became aware of two things....#1- Davie and Willingham really were as awful as I had always believed they were. I still get sick everytime I hear Davie's voice on ABC or ESPN and he refers to his time at Notre Dame. As for TY, he better perform at UW or the axe is a comin...again. What the hell were these two doing? These two had a combined record of 56-41. That is a 57.7% winning pct. I know, I know, not easy to endure. How did Irish fans make it through this time period. I remember now...lots of pepto and drinking. #2 - Charlie has this program going in the right direction very quickly. 19-6 (76% winning pct.) over two years, 2 BCS bowl games and a recruiting class that right now appears destined to be #1 in the country for 2008. The future seems to be bright and getting brighter with each recruit that gives the nod to the Golden Dome.
Back to the criteria of this list, apparently the other criteria besides record really carried the Irish in this poll. First, tradition - no need to discuss, Notre Dame is second to none. Second - recruiting - Davie did well, Ty golfed alot and still was able to land some bigtime players, and Charlie seems to be the man in this area with some help from CB. Third - facilities - If you have seen or actually been in the Gug there is no need to discuss this as well. One word to describe the Gug - Wow! Pro teams are jealous of these facilities. Fourth - Gulp...Coaches - Um...the Irish are back on the path after the Davieham debacle. Lastly - attendance and support - The House that Rockne Built is always sold out. As for support, two words - subway alumni.
1o years from now when ESPN decides to put a poll like this together again, I truly believe the Irish will not be ranked #23. Instead, the Irish will be as good if not better than the team was from 1987-1996 (The Lou Years) 95 wins - 24 loses, 79% winning pct, 1 National Championship (1993 still hurts), 5 bowl wins. Lou was good to us all.
The future for Irish football looks as bright as the sun reflecting off the Golden Dome on a crisp, October Saturday morning without a cloud in the sky. Go IRISH!
