Believe it or not, the record of 37.6 points per game was set way back in 1968 under fifth-year Notre Dame head coach Ara Parseghian during a 7-2-1 campaign.
Only 10 regular-season games were played in college football back then — which could hit home 52 years later in 2020 — and it was the final year before Notre Dame ended its 44-year ban on bowl games from 1925-68.
The closest the Fighting Irish ever came to surpassing that standard was the 37.2 average in 1992, when the starting backfield featured No. 2 overall NFL Draft pick Rick Mirer at quarterback, No. 10 selection Jerome Bettis at fullback, and second-round tailback Reggie Brooks, who averaged a single-season school-record 8.0 yards per carry and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy balloting that year.
In 2019, the 36.8 average was the best in head coach Brian Kelly’s 10 seasons at Notre Dame, and the best by the program in 23 years. The previous highs under Kelly were 34.2, first set in 2015 and then matched in 2017.
The problem is the tier-one programs are generally in the 44 to 48 range, so such numbers by the Irish pale in comparison. For example, last year national champion LSU was at 48.4, while Alabama (47.2), Ohio State (46.9), Clemson (43.9) and Oklahoma (42.1) were among the top six.
SELL: By Lou Somogyi
This has become an annual preseason ritual among many Notre Dame faithful: This is the year to not only break the 1968 scoring standard, but also reach the 40-point benchmark for the first time.
To me, it has the feel of Lucy VanPelt telling good ol’ but gullible Charlie Brown that this is the year she won’t pull the football away when he tries to kick it.
