Sad news for longtime Notre Dame football fans broke Monday. [autotag]Gerry Faust[/autotag], who coached the Irish from 1981 to 1985, has died at age 89.
Over his five seasons in South Bend, Faust accumulated a record of 30-26-1, good for a .535 winning percentage. Under his leadership, the Irish won the 1983 Liberty Bowl over Doug Flutie and Boston College. The following year, they lost the 1984 Aloha Bowl to SMU in its last game before it was handed the death penalty a few years later.
A disappointing 1985 season in which the Irish went 5-6 prompted Faust to announce that he would resign after the final game against a Miami team coached by Jimmy Johnson. The Irish lost that game, 58-7, and the university would go on to hire [autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag] as Faust’s successor.
After his Irish tenure ended, Faust went to coach at Akron, where he did so for nine seasons and compiling a 43-53-3 record. But he never lost his love for the Irish no matter how much time passed:
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Faust family during this difficult time.
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If the story doesn’t get you, Taylor impersonation of Holtz will
There are so many stories to be shared about Notre Dame football that we don’t know about, and on Thursday former Irish All-American guard [autotag]Aaron Taylor[/autotag] told a doozy about his former coach [autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag].
The College Football Hall of Famer described a practice where he got under his coaches skin. As Taylor recalls, late during his sophomore season he was lining up against a scout team defender and completely whiffed on his assignment, giving up a tackle-for-loss.
Holtz then kicked him out of the drill, and actually completely removed his guard position from the play. The national championship winning Holtz then went on to tell Taylor that there was no difference if he was in there or not after the play was once again blown up.
The “spectacle” as he called it worked, as Holtz actions taught his team that what we do matters, if they don’t do their job, someone else plays the price. While this type of coaching tactic is surely unique, it got the job done.
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Notre Dame’s rivalry with Michigan needs to happen with regularity again. It can involve just as much intensity as the Irish’s annual clash with USC. When you beat a rival convincingly, it can be just as fulfilling as squeaking by in a thriller.
Take, for example, the Irish’s 35-17 win over the Wolverines in 2008. Everything went he Irish’s way on the day [autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag]’s statue at Notre Dame Stadium was dedicated. They benefited from six Wolverines turnovers and jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. Oh, and [autotag]Charlie Weis[/autotag] injured his knee on a play he was caught up in.
Here are the highlights as presented on ESPN later on:
You can see [autotag]Jimmy Clausen[/autotag]’s stats on the graphic at the end. You can’t see that [autotag]Golden Tate[/autotag] caught four passes for 127 yards and one touchdown. You also can’t see that [autotag]Robert Hughes[/autotag] ran for 79 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.
Why do we have to wait until 2033 for these teams to play each other again?
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Lou Holtz’s charity had a unique way of wishing old rival Jimmy Johnson a happy birthday recently
Legendary college and NFL head coach Jimmy Johnson recently celebrated his 81st birthday.
Johnson is known for his time with the Miami Hurricanes and Dallas Cowboys especially, as he took both programs to championships at their respective playing levels.
Johnson is remembered by Notre Dame fans for being Miami’s coach during the peak of the rivalry between the two schools.
When you think of Notre Dame-Miami, the first game that comes to mind for all is the 1988 “Catholics vs. Convicts” game that had the wild finish and helped send Notre Dame on their way to the national championship.
The social media account Holtz’s Heroes, which is the Lou Holtz charity, gave a unique birthday greeting to Jimmy Johnson recently.
One of the most famous games in the Notre Dame-USC rivalry came in 1977. The Irish warmed up on the field in their regular blues, but they returned for the game wearing green, and they won that game.
Fast forward to the teams’ 1985 meeting. [autotag]Gerry Faust[/autotag] decided to do what predecessor [autotag]Dan Devine[/autotag] did, but he didn’t do it in the same way. Rather, the Irish played the first half in their blues before sporting green for the second half of a 37-3 blowout win. Faust explained his decision-making afterwards:
— College Football Classics (@ClassicsCFB) July 14, 2024
The victory came in the middle of a four-game winning streak, but all it ultimately did was make the Irish’s 5-6 season look better. Faust resigned at the end of the year and was replaced by [autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag], who would lead the Irish to their most recent national championship in 1988. It was a reminder that even though a jersey swap might seem cool, people won’t care as much if you’re a so-so team.
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Late last month it was announced that the Notre Dame-Michigan State football rivalry was being renewed. The former annual rivals haven’t played since 2017 when Notre Dame went into East Lansing and had their way with the Spartans.
The Megaphone Trophy will be on the line when the two meet in 2025 and 2026, just like it was back in the early parts of the 1994 season when the two met up north.
The X/Twitter account College Football Classics recently posted the SportsCenter highlights from the 1994 contest between Notre Dame and Michigan State. Check them out below and see what school record Notre Dame set with the close victory.
Before being a Heisman Trophy winner, first round NFL draft pick, or putting together a Hall of Fame career with the Raiders, [autotag]Tim Brown[/autotag] was a little-known Notre Dame recruit from Dallas.
Brown’s first two seasons in South Bend saw him compile 53 total receptions for 737 yards and four touchdowns while he ran for another.
[autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag] was hired following the 1985 season and in turn, Brown’s career went from being a solid start to downright legendary at Notre Dame.
Just how did Holtz help Brown reach that potential that helped him end up in Canton at the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
Holtz shared a story about hyping up Brown to himself that the former Notre Dame head coach recently released on social media. Check it out below.
During my time at Notre Dame, I had the privilege of coaching Tim Brown, a wonderful individual and an elite athlete!@81TimBrown’s story is one of perseverance, faith, and dedication. pic.twitter.com/KuRk5QoPPo
It’s safe to say Holtz’s motivation tactics worked as Brown went on to become not just one of the best receivers Notre Dame has ever seen, but that football as a whole has ever seen.
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).
Urban Meyer is back to the grind at Notre Dame this weekend
With Fox Sports in town with “Big Noon Kickoff” for the first time this weekend, a few familiar faces that don’t often make it to South Bend have come along.
One of those is former national champion football coach Urban Meyer who is back on the panel. Meyer spent from 1996-2000 as Notre Dame’s wide receivers coach, spending 1996 with Lou Holtz.
Meyer shared a story detailing what it was like to coach alongside Holtz during Lou’s final game at Notre Dame Stadium back in 1996. He also shares an example of why he liked recruiting at Notre Dame as well. Check it out below.
Former Arkansas Razorbacks All-American Dan Hampton is slated to become the 21st Hog to be inducted the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame.
It’s been 45 years since Dan Hampton departed Arkansas for an NFL Hall of Fame career, but the accolades keep coming in for the Jacksonville product.
Hampton spent four years as a defensive tackle for the Razorbacks, from 1975-78, playing for a pair of legendary coaches. He played the final two season’s of Coach Frank Broyles’ career, then wrapped up his final two seasons under Coach Lou Holtz. Arkansas went 35-10-2 record during Hampton’s career, including a mark of 22-8-1 in the Southwest Conference.
Hampton amassed 239 tackles – 126 unassisted – as a Razorback, including 32 from behind the line of scrimmage and six fumble recoveries. As a senior in 1978, he totaled 98 tackles, including 18 behind the line of scrimmage, while being named SWC Defensive Player of the Year and earning first-team All-SWC honors.
He was also named an AFCA First-Team All-American that season, leading Arkansas to a No. 3 finish in the national polls, following the 31-6 rout of heavily favored No. 2 Oklahoma.
In 1991, Hampton was elected to the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor and a year later, was voted to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. He was selected to the Razorbacks’ All-Century team in 1994 and was later named one of the state’s Top 50 greatest athletes of the 20th century.
After being the No. 4 overall pick in the 1979 NFL Draft by Chicago, Hampton spent 12 seasons with the Bears, and is one of only two players to play for the franchise in three different decades. He was also one of the cornerstones of the famous 1985 Bears defense that cruised to a 46-10 victory over New England in Super Bowl XX. That vaunted “46 Defense” allowed just 198 points all season, and recorded shutouts in both NFC playoff games.
Razorbacks in the NFF College Football Hall of Fame:
2024 – Dan Hampton (DL)
2019 – Darren McFadden (RB)
2017 – Danny Ford (HC)
2012 – Jimmy Johnson (DL/AC)
2010 – Ronnie Caveness (LB)
2008 – Lou Holtz (HC)
2004 – Wayne Harris (LB)
2004 – Tracy Rocker (AC)
2003 – Doug Dickey (AC)
2003 – Hayden Fry (AC)
2001 – Barry Switzer (AC)
2000 – Billy Ray Smith Jr. (LB)
1999 – Chuck Dicus (WR)
1997 – Bowden Wyatt (HC)
1992 – Loyd Phillips (DL)
1987 – Johnny Majors (AC)
1984 – Lance Alworth (WR)
1983 – Frank Broyles (HC)
1971 – Clyde Scott (RB/DB)
1967 – Wear Schoonover (WR)
1954 – Hugo Bezdek (HC)
Dan Hampton makes a tackle during the 1978 Orange Bowl victory over Oklahoma.
Jan 26, 1986; New Orleans, LA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Chicago Bears defensive tackle (99) Dan Hampton pressures New England Patriots quarterback (11) Tony Eason during Super Bowl XX at the Superdome. The Bears dominated the Patriots 46-10 giving the Bears their first ever Super Bowl victory. The Chicago defense had 7 sacks and limited the Patriots to a record-low seven rushing yards. Mandatory Credit: Tony Tomsic-USA TODAY NETWORK
