81 days from now will be much different. We’ll all be gathered around televisions getting set to watch Notre Dame start off their 2020 campaign for the first time in Annapolis as they play Navy.
Until then though we’re left counting down the days and remembering some of the best players, coaches, seasons and moments that have helped make Notre Dame football as legendary as it is today.
Today, with 81 days to go until kickoff, it’s a pretty easy guess where we’re going.
81: 1987 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown’s number at Notre Dame
Tim Brown won Notre Dame’s last Heisman Trophy in 1987. Although some have been finalists and taken the trip to New York’s Downtown Athletic Club since, no Fighting Irish player has won one since.
Brown was a tremendous receiver that went onto a fantastic NFL career with the Raiders before one season with Tampa Bay. At Notre Dame however, his junior year was statistically better than his Heisman winning senior season.
Brown totaled 174 more yards from scrimmage his junior year (1164 to 990) and scored the two more touchdowns (nine to seven). That’s what happens when teams blanket you in coverage do everything possible to not let you get the ball and instead let someone else beat them.
Brown’s pair of punt returns for scores against Michigan State in ’87 stand out as his biggest highlight of the memorable year.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T67HDocsEY&w=560&h=315]
And in Tim Brown days from now we’ll be watching Notre Dame take on Navy.
Let’s go!