California Dreamin': Notre Dame Seeks To Achieve A First
The forecast for Notre Dame's football game at Stanford this Saturday afternoon calls for rain — but for the Fighting Irish it's more about ending a drought.
While facing a 4-7 Stanford team that is reeling with a three-game losing streak might not appear to be an alluring matchup, Notre Dame can achieve a unique distinction this weekend with a victory.
Notre Dame has met Stanford and USC on an annual basis since 1997, with trips to Stanford in odd-numbered years and to USC in the even-numbered ones.
In that time, the Fighting Irish have never had back-to-back years where it won in the state of California (although it did win twice there during the 3-9 season when it was victorious at UCLA and Stanford). This year that 21-year drought has an excellent opportunity to finally be snapped.
Notre Dame capped its 12-0 regular season in 2018 by defeating a sub-.500 USC team (24-17), and this year Stanford also is going to finish under .500 for the first time since 2008. The Cardinal will enter the contest as a 16.5-point underdog.
The Fighting Irish did have success at Stanford while winning there in 2003, 2005 — and even in 2007 when it was 2-9 heading into that game. But during that same decade Notre Dame repeatedly was crushed at USC by an average of 29 points in the four meetings from 2002-08.
Then when the Irish finally reversed the course at the Los Angeles Coliseum with victories under head coach Brian Kelly in 2010, 2012 and 2018, it is Stanford who has won five straight at home versus Notre Dame from 2009-17.
Despite the lack of back-to-back success in California, it remains an important element to maintain a presence in the state for recruiting purposes.
California and Illinois have the most representation on Notre Dame’s 2019 roster with 12 players apiece. Among the starters from the Golden State are quarterback Ian Book (El Dorado Hills), left guard Aaron Banks (Alameda) and center Jarrett Patterson (Laguna Hill), while cornerback TaRiq Bracy (Milpitas), receiver Javon McKinley (Corona) and linebackers Jack Lamb (Temecula) and Jordan Genmark Heath (San Diego) all have had extended or specialized roles, although McKinley and Lamb have been sidelined with injuries.
Also making the trip is freshman defensive end Isaiah Foskey (Antioch), whose pass-rushing skills could make him a visible figure in Notre Dame’s sub/nickel alignments versus a team that has relied heavily on the aerial route this season.
This also could be the first time since 2000-01 that the Irish would win their final regular-season game in consecutive seasons.
In 2000, Notre Dame won at USC (38-21), earning head coach Bob Davie a five-year contract extension following the 9-2 regular season.
The next year, the final regular-season outing was at Purdue, rescheduled because of the 9-11 tragedy in September, and the Irish won 24-18 to finish 5-6. Davie was fired the following day.
In addition to 2000-01, there have been only two other occasions since 1960 that Notre Dame finished the regular season with a victory in back-to-back years:
The first was in 1966-67, with the former resulting in a national title for head coach Ara Parseghian’s troops after demolishing No. 10 USC, 51-0. That is the last team in college football to capture a national title in both polls without playing in a bowl game.
The second occurred three straight seasons from 1990-92 under Lou Holtz against USC (10-6) in 1990, Hawaii (48-42) in 1991 and USC again in 1992 (31—23).
That streak ended when the No. 1-ranked and 10-0 Irish lost to Boston College in 1993 — which also marked the last time the final regular season game for Notre Dame was played at home.
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