By: JC Nevils
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish haven’t won a national title since
1988. Can they finally regain the top spot?
Since college football officially became a real thing back in the late
1880’s, Notre Dame has been one of the forefathers along with the
likes of Michigan. However while that may be true, they didn’t quite
get off to the best start. They lost their first ever game all the
way back in 1887 to the Wolverines 8-0. The would finally get their
first win the last game of the 1888 season, once again to Michigan.
By 1913 the Fighting Irish had become nationally relevant led by
new head coach Jesse Harper. He would install an offense that would
change the game forever. On November 1st, 1913, they went on to
to stun Army 35-13. Yes they won, but how they did it was even
more impressive. Up until then it was strictly smash mouth football
led by the option, but in this game not only did they run it but they
also made the forward pass popular. They were led by quarterback
Gus Dorais and end Knute Rockne. More on him in a second.
By 1918 former player Knute Rockne would take over and begin
his tenure, which would be the era that turned Notre Dame into a
powerhouse. From 1918-1930 he would lead the Irish to five undefeated seasons along with three national championships. By
1920 they would have their first All-American in George ‘The
Gipper’ Gipp along with their first national championship in 1924.
While Knute Rockne was the pioneer, one of his former players
would take it even further. Frank Leahy would take over in 1941,
and by 1943 he would gain the Irish their fourth title led by their
first Heisman trophy winner in quarterback Angelo Bertelli. By the time
the late 80’s came around they were still a power led by coach Lou
Holtz, and would gain their last championship to date back in 1988, 100 years after their first ever win. Ever since though,
the national championship has eluded them no matter what.
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They got back to the natty only once more during the 2012 season
with Brian Kelly at the helm, but would get run out of the stadium
losing to Alabama 42-14. During this period until now, Notre
Dame was and has been looked at as just a historical media darling
program. They just don’t have what it takes to get over the hump. In
comes Marcus Freeman. He had such an impact as the defensive
coordinator that the administration needed no search. He would
become head coach on December 3, 2021 becoming just the second
African American coach to ever lead the program.
That leads us to today where in just his third season they will be
playing for the national championship against his alma mater the
Ohio State Buckeyes. They were once again written off after an
early season loss to Northern Illinois that almost derailed the entire
season. While not having a conference championship to back them up, they won every game after that, which led them to the CFP.
They’ve arguably had the toughest path to the championship as well.
After watching very closely, that leads me to believe that this Notre
Dame team is different. Marcus Freeman is a players coach, and you
can tell his players go all-out for him. That paired with the skill
he has accumulated, South Bend may be celebrating once again after
Monday night.
