Tag: Ara Parseghian

Notre Dame All-Time Bowl History

What is your favorite Notre Dame bowl memory?

Notre Dame has played in 44 bowl games and counting all-time, a number that might seem low considering they’ve been playing football for over 130 years.  However, Notre Dame didn’t play in bowl games out of their belief in amateurism for over 40 years which means for a lot fewer bowl appearances than several other blue-blood programs.

There have been great triumphs and incredible heartbreakers both over those 44 games.

Legends were made, thrilling wins were had, and heartbreaking losses also occurred.

Check out the game-by-game history of Notre Dame in postseason bowl games below.

More Bowl Game History from the College Wire Network:

Alabama / Aub / Fla / LSU / Tenn. / UGA // Mich. / Mich St. / Ohio St. / Wisc. // Okla. / Texas // ND // USC

Happy Birthday to Legendary Notre Dame Head Coach Ara Parseghian

Happy heavenly birthday to a true Notre Dame legend

Today marks 101 years since the birth of one of the greatest coaches not just in the history of Notre Dame football, but in the history of college football as well.

[autotag]Ara Parseghian[/autotag] was born on this day in 1923 in Akron, Ohio.  He’d go onto a collegiate football career at Miami (OH) before a short stint with the Cleveland Browns.  From there he’d return to Miami to begin his coaching career that ultimately led him to college football’s peak.

Notre Dame football was a shell of itself when it hired Parseghian following the 1963 season. That year the Irish went 2-7 under Hugh Devore and were seemingly light years away from the perennial national championship contender they once were.

That year, the Irish hired Northwestern head coach Ara Parseghian, who went 36-35-1 with the Wildcats. That may not seem all that impressive, but the program had gone 7-28-2 in the four seasons before his hiring. Parseghian also went 4-0 against Notre Dame during his Northwestern tenure which certainly left an impact on the brass in South Bend.

In 1964, Parseghian led an incredible turnaround. The Irish went 9-1 and were minutes away from clinching a national championship before giving up a late touchdown at USC in the season’s final game. Quarterback John Huarte was named the Heisman Trophy winner that year, and only Tim Brown has won a Heisman at Notre Dame since.

Parseghian earned his first of two titles in 1966 after running out the clock at Michigan State in the famed 10-10 tie. Just how good was that ’66 team?  It produced six shutouts in 10 games, had just two wins by fewer than 23 points and four of the 10 games came against teams ranked in the top 10.

1973 was the second of Parseghian’s national titles with the Irish. The season culminated in a 24-23 thriller over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, his first of two wins against Paul “Bear” Bryant and the Crimson Tide. The second was Ara’s final game as Notre Dame’s head coach, capping the 1974 season in the Orange Bowl.

Parseghian finished his Notre Dame career with 95 victories, which trailed only Knute Rockne at the time of his retirement. Lou Holtz and Brian Kelly both passed Ara since.

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One of the best to ever do it at Notre Dame and the key in turning around a program that was on the brink of irrelevance, Parseghian led the Irish to six top-five finishes in 11 seasons as head coach.  Twice more his teams finished in the top-10 and they never closed a year ranked lower than 14th.

Parseghian was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980. Take a look back at the legend, Ara Parseghian, through the years below:

Notre Dame Football Coaches Historically in All-Important Third Season

Marcus Freeman is getting set for his third season as Notre Dame’s head coach and its safe to say the training wheels are off for the still young head coach. Gone are the excuses of being a new head coach and done are the looking past of no-shows …

Marcus Freeman is getting set for his third season as Notre Dame’s head coach and its safe to say the training wheels are off for the still young head coach.

Gone are the excuses of being a new head coach and done are the looking past of no-shows against the likes of Marshall and Stanford.

Freeman enters his third season at Notre Dame with sky-high expectations. Getting to the College Football Playoff seems like the bare minimum most Notre Dame fans are looking for in 2024. They’re looking to win a game and make some noise once there.

So as Freeman enters his third season at Notre Dame, how has the all-important third season gone for Fighting Irish coaches over the years?

Regardless of how that third year has gone historically, what you will see is that it will essentially tell the story of the overall tenure each head coach at Notre Dame. Here’s a look back at how each fared in their third year leading the Fighting Irish since the Frank Leahy era.

Freeman’s first two seasons (2021-22): 19-7
Third Season (2024): TBD

[autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] provided a spark to the Notre Dame fan base when [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] left for LSU at the end of the 2021 regular season. So far that spark has resulted in more major recruiting wins for Notre Dame but in year-three the expectation is that more of those recruiting wins will turn into big-time wins on Saturdays.

Kelly’s first two seasons (2010-11): 16-10
Third Season (2012): 12-1, lost BCS National Championship to Alabama

Say what you want about [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] but you can’t argue what he did in short order at Notre Dame. The Irish had been mostly out of the college football spotlight for almost 20 years before his arrival. Kelly’s first two seasons in South Bend were an improvement from the end of the Charlie Weis era, but no great shakes. Kelly would lead Notre Dame to an improbable 12-0 regular season in year-three however and eventually win more games as head coach than anyone else in program history.

Weis’ first two seasons (2005-06): 18-6
Third Season (2007): 3-9

After reaching back-to-back BCS games for the first time, Notre Dame took a huge step back in the third year under [autotag]Charlie Weis[/autotag]. After losing stars [autotag]Brady Quinn[/autotag], [autotag]Jeff Samardzija[/autotag], [autotag]Darius Walker[/autotag], and others, Notre Dame stumbled to a 3-9 season where they were non-competitive often. Weis was have alright starts to each of the next two seasons before November stumbles would cost him his job at the end of 2009.

Willingham’s first two seasons (2002-03): 15-10
Third Season (2004): 6-5 (fired at end of regular season)

[autotag]Tyrone Willingham[/autotag] was the sweetheart of the college football world in 2002, leading Notre Dame to an 8-0 start and No. 4 national ranking. After losing at home to Boston College to end that perfect season, Willingham and the Irish would go just 14-15 the rest of his time in South Bend, resulting in his firing following the a 6-5 regular season in 2004.

Davie’s first two seasons (1997-98): 16-10
Third Season (1999): 5-7

Bob Davie started just 1-4 in his first five games at Notre Dame so by comparison a 15-6 streak heading into year three didn’t seem as bad. After thrashing a poor Kansas team to open the season though the Irish would drop three-straight to Michigan, Purdue, and Michigan State. Despite a couple of comeback wins over Oklahoma and USC that year, the Irish would still finish just 5-7 despite entering November 5-3. Davie would have a bounce back season in 2000, leading Notre Dame to their first BCS appearance (where they were thrashed by Oregon State) but would be fired after another clunker in 2001.

Holtz’s first two seasons (1986-87): 13-10
Third Season (1988): 12-0, National Champions

[autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag] was missioned with rebuilding Notre Dame football after the woeful Gerry Faust era and rebuild he did. His first season saw the Irish be competitive in nearly every game despite finishing just 5-6 and in year two they earned a Cotton Bowl berth despite getting beat up by Texas A&M while there. Holtz’s third season would cement him in Notre Dame lore forever as he led the Fighting Irish to a 12-0 season which remains their most recent national championship.

Faust’s first two seasons (1981-82): 11-10-1
Third Season: 7-5, Liberty Bowl Champions

Just how bad was the Gerry Faust era at Notre Dame? Consider this: The Fighting Irish going 7-5 and winning the Liberty Bowl in his third season of 1983 was the highpoint. One of the most bizarre coaching hires of all-time was also an all-time backfire. Faust would be let go after a 5-6 1985 season that saw the Irish close the year with a 58-7 defeat at Miami.

Devine’s first two seasons (1975-76): 17-6
Third Season (1977): 11-1, National Champions

Devine took over for [autotag]Ara Parseghian[/autotag] and had incredibly massive shoes to fill. Devine lost three regular season games each of his first two seasons, something Parseghian never did in his 11 years as head coach. With the pressure especially on following an early season loss at Ole Miss, Devine took advantage of the talents of Ross Browner, Joe Montana and others and ran the table to the 1977 national championship in his third season. Devine would last three more years in South Bend, announcing before the 1980 season that he would be stepping down at season’s end.

Parseghian’s first two seasons (1964-65): 16-3-1
Third Season (1966): 9-0-1, National Champions

[autotag]Ara Parseghian[/autotag] was minutes away from coaching the greatest turnaround in football history as he took Notre Dame from 2-8 in 1963 to unbeaten and No. 1 nationally at USC in late November. The Irish lost a late lead in that game that cost them a national championship. Two years later however Parseghian would get his first of two championships in South Bend as the 1966 squad pitched six shutouts and allowed more than 10 points just once all season, a 26-14 win over No. 7 Purdue in the opener.

Hugh Devore coached the 1963 season at Notre Dame as the Fighting Irish went just 2-7 in his forgettable year. The season did however feature a 17-14 win over No. 7 USC so at least he had that?

Kuharich’s first two seasons (1959-60): 7-13
Third Season (1961): 5-5

Joe Kuharich didn’t get the backing from administration that coaches to follow would get but that wasn’t excuse still wasn’t good enough. He started slow his first two years, improved to perfectly average (5-5) in year three, and was gone after another 5-5 campaign in his fourth season.

Brennan’s first two seasons (1954-55): 17-3
Third Season (1956): 2-8

[autotag]Terry Brennan[/autotag] capitalized on following the legendary Frank Leahy and rode it to an impressive first two seasons (although it wasn’t compared to what Leahy did). Reality would come in year three as the Irish bottomed out at 2-8. Brennan’s most memorable moment as Notre Dame head coach was leading the Irish to a legendary upset of unbeaten Oklahoma in 1957 as the Sooners had rode a 47-game winning streak into the contest.

Leahy’s first two seasons (1941-42): 15-2-3
Third Season: 9-1, National Champions

At any other program Frank Leahy would have gone down as the runaway greatest coach in program history. At Notre Dame however he of course would never be able to surpass the man that made college football what it is, Knute Rockne. Leahy started with a bang, coming from Boston College in 1941. He had the Irish in the top-five both of the first two seasons before winning the national championship in year-three. Leahy would go on to lead Notre Dame to three more national championships in his time while also taking time away to serve in World War II (while trying to recruit for his football program, too).

Notre Dame Football: All-Time Losingest Coaches

The program has lost more than 300 times in its history. So which coaches are responsible for most of those?

Notre Dame has a long football history that fans nationwide flock to.  “Win one for the Gipper”, the Four Horsemen, and the “Play Like a Champion Today” sign are all parts of Fighting Irish lore.  In that long football history that has been played at the university since an 8-0 loss to Michigan in November of 1887, it hasn’t always been national championships and 10-win seasons.

In fact, Notre Dame has lost a total of 330 times in the more than 13 decades they’ve been playing football.  We know which coaches won the most of those games as Brian Kelly set that record before leaving in 2021.  But who has lost the most as Notre Dame’s head coach?

Marcus Freeman isn’t there – yet – but with five in 13 career games he’s already in the top 16.

We went ahead and listed the the top 13 in program history as that’s how many have lost double-digit games at Notre Dame.  Here they are, the all-time losingest coaches at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame football: History of Notre Dame clues on ‘Jeopardy!’

Post how many you got right in the comments.

It has been established more than once on this site that I am fanatical about game shows. With Notre Dame athletics on hiatus until fall save for the track team at the NCAA championships, I have time to try ideas I’ve been wanting to try for a while now. One of them was planted in my head after our own Nick Shepkowski reported on a “Jeopardy!” category that was about ACC schools. I’ve decided to take that idea and narrow the focus to “Jeopardy!” clues about Notre Dame.

Using the site J-Archive, which has records of nearly every game during the show’s current run, I have come across several Notre Dame clues. Many of them were repeats because that’s what happens when you’ve been on for 39 years. However, I feel like I’ve compiled a diverse list of clues that you should be able to respond to if you have even a basic knowledge of Notre Dame, particularly the football program. Check the end of this list for the correct responses:

Should Chicago’s college football team try poaching another from Chicago’s Big Ten team?

Should Chicago’s college football team try to poach another from Chicago’s Big Ten team?

Notre Dame doesn’t use the transfer portal like Lincoln Riley and USC, as the Trojans have become college football’s version of shopping on Black Friday.  The end result may be great but the process in getting there makes you want to vomit.

Notre Dame has been known to pick their spots in the portal, however.  We’ve been tracking all the quarterbacks who enter the portal for obvious reasons, but a compelling non-quarterback entered Tuesday.  It’s especially compelling for Notre Dame because it’s a program just down the road that the Irish have poached a couple of talents from in recent years.

Malik Washington was Northwestern’s leading receiver this past season and entered the portal Tuesday.  He’s listed at 5-9, 180 pounds and although nobody would describe him as a burner, he consistently makes plays on the ball.  It should also be noted that perhaps no Power Five team has had less production from their quarterbacks in the past two seasons.

Washington hauled in 65 receptions for 694 yards (10.7 avg) this year, the sixth-highest total in the entire Big Ten.  He did find the end zone just once but then again, Northwestern threw for just 10 touchdowns all year.

Notre Dame had massive receiver issues this season as a sophomore [autotag]Lorenzo Styles[/autotag] was the only one to amass 300 yards.  If it wasn’t [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] chances are it wasn’t getting done in the passing game and the group of receivers would certainly use some help and experience.

Wide receivers coach [autotag]Chansi Stuckey[/autotag] has the cavalry coming but counting on several underclassmen is a risk I certainly wouldn’t prefer taking.  Growth and development will help Styles, [autotag]Deion Colzie[/autotag], [autotag]Tobias Merriweather[/autotag], and the incoming freshman group, but it would certainly be nice to have some proven veteran experience as well and Washington would accomplish that.

And heck, [autotag]Ara Parseghian[/autotag], [autotag]Ben Skowronek[/autotag], and [autotag]Brandon Joseph[/autotag] all worked out alright so why not do it again?

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USC-Notre Dame classic photos from John McKay-Ara Parseghian glory days

.@IrishWireND would agree: The 1964-1974 11-Year War between John McKay and Ara Parseghian needs an @ESPN @30for30 documentary. #USC

When people talk about “the good old days,” such a longing for nostalgia can cloud the memory. When a person is quick to say how much better things were back then, it can simply be a longing for the innocence of childhood, or a return to a time when things were simpler. That can be a naive instinct. It might not be informed by reality or a mature understanding of a situation.

Human beings long to go back to what is comfortable, but that doesn’t necessarily mean things were actually better in the past. Emotions can — and do — overpower reason and rationality.

Yet, some times, things really and truly were better back in the day.

Consider the USC-Notre Dame football rivalry.

From 1964 through 1974, John McKay of the Trojans and Ara Parseghian of the Irish gave USC-Notre Dame 11 special games and a battle of iconic coaches who regularly competed for national titles.

Notre Dame won the national title in 1966 under Parseghian. USC won it all in 1967 under McKay.

USC won the national title in 1972. Notre Dame came back and won the national championship in 1973. USC won it in 1974.

Even after McKay and Parseghian left, the schools won natties in consecutive seasons yet again: Notre Dame in 1977 under Dan Devine, USC in 1978 under John Robinson.

The 1960s and 1970s were glory years for USC and Notre Dame. Relive their rivalry when it was at its height in these amazing photos:

Legendary college football coach Vince Dooley dead at 90

RIP to a legend.

Former Georgia head football coach and athletic director Vince Dooley died Friday at the age of 90.  Dooley had been hospitalized due to complications from COVID and pneumonia earlier this month.

Dooley is Georgia’s all-time winningest football coach and the fourth-winningest coach in the history of the SEC with the 201-77-10 mark he registered from 1964-1988.  Only Bear Bryant, Nick Saban, and Steve Spurrier won more games in SEC play.

Just how long was Dooley at Georgia?

For Notre Dame fans, which we’re guessing most of you reading this are seeing as this site is named Fighting Irish Wire, 1964 was also [autotag]Ara Parseghian[/autotag]’s first year in South Bend and 1988 was the third year of [autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag], which happened to be Notre Dame’s last national championship team.

Dooley coached Georgia to the national championship in 1980 which they secured after beating Notre Dame 17-10 in the Sugar Bowl.  Until 2017, that was the only time Notre Dame and Georgia had ever met.

Dooley is survived by his wife of 62 years, Barbara, children Deanna, Daniel, Denise, and Derek, 11 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to our friends at UGA Wire, the Georgia football family, and college football fans everywhere with the passing of an all-time great.

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Athlon Sports ranks greatest college football champs since 1968

Who is the greatest college football team you’ve ever seen?

Who is the greatest college football team since 1968?

Every college football fan has their own answer to that but for me it’s the 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers.  They went 12-0 overall, weren’t challenged all season long as they won every game by at least 14 points, beat four top-10 teams by an average of 31.5 points per game.  Their style of play doesn’t fit what works in college football today but they were unstoppable in every sense of the word.

Athlon Sports recently ranked every college football team to win a championship since 1968 and as our colleagues at Cornhuskers Wire pointed out, they got the top overall team wrong.

I’ll make you click the link above to see the entire list but here are where Notre Dame’s champions since 1968 ranked (’73, ’77, ’88).

Notre Dame football: Ara Parseghian through the years

With there being 95 days until Notre Dame starts the 2022 season we take a look back at a legend who won 95 games as Notre Dame’s head football coach.

There are 95 days until Notre Dame opens the 2022 college football season at Ohio State and today we continue the countdown with a look back at [autotag]Ara Parseghian[/autotag] through the years as the legendary head coach won 95 games during his time with the Irish.

Notre Dame football was a shell of itself when it hired [autotag]Ara Parseghian[/autotag] following the 1963 season.  That year the Irish went just 2-7 under Hugh Devore and were seemingly light years away from the perennial national championship contender they once were.

Hired that year was Northwestern head coach Ara Parseghian who went 36-35-1 with the Wildcats which may not seem all that impressive but by comparison the program was just 7-28-2 in the four seasons before his hiring.  Parseghian also went 4-0 against Notre Dame in that time which certainly left an impact on the brass in South Bend.

1964 saw Parseghian lead an incredible turnaround as the Irish went 9-1 and were just minutes away from clinching a national championship before giving up a late touchdown at USC in the season’s final game.  Quarterback John Huarte was still named the Heisman Trophy winner that year and only Tim Brown has won a Heisman at Notre Dame since.

Parseghian would get his first of two titles in 1966 after running out the clock at Michigan State in the famed 10-10 tie.  Just how good was that ’66 team?  They pitched six shutouts in 10 games, had just two games finish within a 23 point margin, and four of those 10 games came against teams ranked in the top 10.

1973 was the second of Parseghian’s national titles with the Irish, culminating in a 24-23 thriller over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, his first of two wins against Paul “Bear” Bryant and the Crimson Tide, the second being Ara’s final game as Notre Dame’s head coach, as the Irish beat Alabama to cap the 1974 season in the Orange Bowl.

Parseghian finished his Notre Dame career with 95 victories which trailed only [autotag]Knute Rockne[/autotag] at the time of his retirement, although [autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag] and [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] have both passed Ara since.

One of the best to ever do it at Notre Dame and the key in turning around a program that was on the brink of irrelevance, Parseghian was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980.

Take a look back at Parseghian through the years below: