Notre Dame Football Review
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. I \ \ \ \, \ \ \i \1 ~ 2 The Kickoff '83 Overview: Learn How to Fly By John Heisler 50 The Bowl Liberty Bowl: A Most Valuable Win By John Heisler 54 The Trivia Notes on Notre Dame: Irish Items: Football '83 By John Heisler Vol. 4, No. 1, March 1, 1984 57 The-NewYear '84 Preview: 6 The Season. The Horses Are There Purdue: Just What the Doctor Ordered ................................ By Karen Croake By John Heisler Michigan State: So Much for Cloud Nine ............................ By Karen Croake Miami: Have a Cocktail for 'Canes .......................................... By John Heisler Colorado: Back to Business ...................................................... By John Heisler South Carolina: Raining on the 'Cocks' Parade............ By John Lewandowski Army: Marching on the Meadowlands .................................. By Chuck Freeby 160 The Stats USC: Something Borrowed, Something Green .............. By John Lewandowski Navy: A Napoleonic Effort.. .................................................. By Karen Croake Pittsburgh: A Party for the Panthers .................................... By Louie Somogyi Penn State: All But the Cigar................................................ By Chuck Freeby The Awards Air Force: So Close-Yet So Far.......................................... By John Heisler ~itation jfor ~Utnu The Credits Colk9t Sports Information Dirtetors of America SW-'-It. Irish Eye is a copyrighted production of Sports Publications, Notre Dame, Ind. Editor: John E. Heisler. Editorial Staff: Karen Croake, Chuck Freeby, ~irb Jn m,t Jlation-lilibision g John Lewandowski, Louie Somogyi. Cover Design: Mossberg and Company. A....._.l.•s.-IP...I.IHior-~r-..l~oi.A....Ic- .lc.s~o••r-,...CA.n.»J.o.,.I,_MJ Cover Artwork: Lee Henricks, Tim MacDonald, Wainwright-Raber Adver tising Art. Printing: Mossberg and Company, Ave Maria Press. @ Sports Publications, University of Notre Dame, 1984. All rights reserved.- John Heisler, Editor Irish Eye has been honored as one of the top publications of its kind .in each of its three previous years of production. The 1983 Associated Press-10, 30, 36 (bottom), 38, 41, 54; Mike Bennett-42, edition was judged "Third in the 43, 44, 45y 50, 51, 52; Mike Collins-27; Wayne Doebling-6; Manny Na!ion" in the Special Publica tions division by the College Gaetan- 23, 24; Neal Kemp- 26, 28, 29; LeRoy Lambright, Goshen Sports Information Directors of News-4; Caryn Levy-14, 15, 16, 17; Br. C~arles McBride-3, 5, 39, America- after finishing fourth 40; Kevin Moloney,;_ 18, 19, 20; Gary Mills- 36 (top), 56; Steven Nav in 1981 and first in 1982. ratil-2, 7 (top), 9, 11 (top, bottom), 12, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 47, 48, 57, 59; Tom Priddy, Columbia State- 46, 49; Tom Roberts, Goshf!ll News_ -46, 49; South Bend Tribune -1 (bottom), 8, 11 (middle), 13. 1 '83 Overview Learn How to Fly You got to learn how to fall Before you learn to fly And mama, mama it ain't no lie Before you learn to fly Learn how to fall He holds the forefinger just a half inch away from the thumb. A deter mined look flashes across the face that betrays emotion so easily. "We're that close." . It's more of a promise than an excuse in the Gerry Faust lexicon. It fits right in with other Faustian catchphrases such as, "We're getting better," and, "It's coming." At a cursory glance, the Faust view point might seem unrealistic. After all, since when has close ever counted when it comes to Notre Dame football? But the naked figures tend to agree with Notre Dame's 24th head coach. In three seasons, his 15 defeats have come by an average of 8.2 points per game. Throw out a couple of emotion drenched, one-sided losses to Miami in '81 and '83 and that figure drops to 6.2 per game. Ten of the 15 losses have come by a touchdown or less. That's close. The Irish lost to the eventual na tional champion in both '82 and '83. A field goal here or a defensive stand there and Notre Dame could have been welcomed to Tempe for the Fiesta Bowl either of the last two seasons. It was that close. Just ask the Fiesta Bowl executives. They've been aching for · Notre Dame ever since purposefully moving their game date away from Christmas Day and into the New Year's Day listings. The Cotton· and Sugar and Orange Bowl folks have been to Notre Dame Stadium in November each of the last two Novembers. Only the losses have kept them from returning. Faust doesn't like to talk about it. He doesn't want anyone to think he's mak ing excuses. It hurt him as much as anyone to stand adjacent to the Orange Bowl turf, where Miami had shut out the Irish on national television, and sug gest to the assembled media that the 2 Irish still were in good shape. In good shape, at 1-2? After The Sporting News predicted the Irish would win the na tional championship? You have to un derstand Gerry Faust to know why it makes sense. * * * Gerry Faust never learned how to fall. Eighteen years of big-time high school football went by the board, and so few of those humbling experiences occurred that Faust never had to learn how to take his lumps. He figures his three years at Notre Dame already have more than made up for that deficiency, if you want to call it that. Eighteen years of 10-1, 12-0, only one so bad as a 7-3 thrown in. It be came commonplace, almost the way Notre Dame fans expect their seasons to be. You play the game to win, and that's what is supposed to happen at Notre Dame. Former Marquette basketball coach AI McGuire hit the nail on the head last December as he spoke to an Irish pep rally before Digger Phelps' squad met UCLA. "You're playing at home," he told the crowd. "I don't want to hear about your sprained ankle or your runny nose. You're playing at home. What do you do? You win. "Forget about the record and last week's game and all that other stuff. You're playing at home. What do you do? You win." Faust knows he hasn't done that enough times in Notre Dame Stadium. There, the record is 9-7 in three sea sons. Ara Parseghian went 51-6 and never lost more than one home game in a year. Dan Devine went 25-7. The fig ures don't mesh. So how come this guy Faust still manages to keep smiling? How come he hasn't lost his sense of humor and started snapping at people? What's the deal with this guy? Part of the answer is what Gerry Faust is all about. "If and when Gerry wins, it'll be the greatest situation we've ever seen here," says Notre Dame athletic director Gene Corrigan. "He's a great example of what college athletics should be all about. Look at the attention he has gotten by going a little better than .500 the last few years. Can you imagine what it will be like if we go 10-1? "I think some of our assistant foot ball coaches realized that when they went to- the NCAA coaches convention in Dallas. They talked to enough other coaches and other people down there, and I think they started to understand why it's important to college football for Notre Dame to win. "We're supposed to stand for values and standards and morals. And if we 3 can't get it done, then what kind of his hands and doesn't worry about it. Force block an 11th-hour field-goal at hope is left? I know that may sound a The 5-6 and 6-4-1 and 7-5 must have tempt and beat Notre Dame by one in little chauvinistic, but that's the kind been in the cards all along. But let's not front of the ABC Sports cameras. The of thing that built up over all those get carried away with that angle. After Orange and Sugar and Cotton and decades of winning seasons. all, enough is enough. Fiesta Bowl people had long since left "The Leon Harts came through here "We're that close." for greener pastures, and now even the and never lost a football game. And it It's time to fly. Liberty Bowl folks had been sent home was done the right way. Gerry can be * * * to consider other options. so much a part of all that with every You got to drift in the breeze The newspapers were saying unkind thing he's got going for him - if he Before you set your sails things about Gerry Faust and his pro just wins." It's an occupation where the gram. It almost made Faust want to Sometime during the last three sea wind prevails wish football could just disappear for sons, a little birdie got to Faust and Before you set your sails a while. But, amidst all that gloom, a gave him a message. Right here is Drift in the breeze ray of hope appeared. The media had a where you start. paying, he was told. It field day and the fans had their say and must have happened that way. All those The breeze just may have started to the players had their vote. And when wins, but did he pay his dues? The fill out the mainsail the afternoon of the last opinion had been voiced, the patience has remained intact because, November 20. It was an awfully strange Irish were headed for Memphis and somehow, Faust figures this is how the day around the Notre Dame football the Liberty Bowl.