Word: irishness
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Lately, however, things are looking up. Way up. Employing a combination of teamwork, discipline and canny recruiting, new head coach Lou Holtz, 51, now in his third year, has fielded a young squad that is stomping powerful foes with the zeal of modern-day Crusaders. Last year Holtz's Irish pulled off an 8-4 season, and they currently boast a sterling 9-0 record. More important, Notre Dame last week moved up to the No. 1 ranking, and the team just could capture its first national championship since...
What makes this all the more striking is that no one expected a distinguished season for Notre Dame this year. Playing one of the toughest schedules in the NCAA and lacking the services of 1987 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown, who graduated, the Irish were ranked 13th in pre-season projections. Eleven of the 22 first-stringers were starting for the first time. To compensate for the lack of experience, Holtz relentlessly drilled his specialty squads and relied on raw speed. In the season opener, the Irish edged out tenth-ranked University of Michigan 19-17 on the strength...
Late last month the Irish surprised everyone, perhaps even themselves, when they squeaked out a 31-30 win over archrival Miami, the defending national champion, which had been unbeaten in 36 regular-season games. As a sellout crowd of 59,075 roared in the South Bend stands, Irish quarterback Tony Rice threw touchdown passes to freshman wide receiver Raghib ("Rocket") Ismail and junior fullback Braxston Banks, and scored one himself on a keeper option play, a Holtz favorite. Says Holtz with a grin: "We've proved that there is life after Tim Brown...
Perhaps, but inexperience can lead to an odd inconsistency. Favored to beat Navy by five touchdowns, the Irish dropped five passes, lost two fumbles, shanked a punt for a mere 10 yds., and got whistled for having twelve men on the field -- all before winning the game 22-7. On the other hand, against 0-8 Rice last Saturday, Notre Dame dazzled with a 54-11 victory. After Rice scored early in the first quarter, the Irish quickly answered with four touchdowns on their first four possessions. Junior fullback Anthony Johnson rushed for two of Notre Dame's seven...
Much of the Irish success stems from perfectionist Holtz's famous practice sessions and attention to detail. When he arrived at Notre Dame in the winter of 1986, Holtz, who had been head coach at William and Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas and Minnesota, concentrated on molding the Irish into a clockwork mechanism. Says senior linebacker Wes Pritchett: "He gave out shirts with TEAM on them in big letters and ME in tiny letters. It sounds corny, but the message got through: everyone can't be a star, but if you tackle your assigned role with 100% effort...