Golden Opportunity Awaits Notre Dame In 2019

There was once a time when Notre Dame was one of the premier football programs in the country. Not based on history, not based on name recognition, not based on fan support, but it was one of the nation’s premier programs for what it accomplished on the football field.

I first started watching college football as a 10-year old in Northwest Ohio, and my first memories are of Notre Dame’s 12-0 national championship season.

I remember watching Notre Dame end Miami’s 36-game regular season win streak.

I remember Miami (Fla.) going 73-4 during the regular season from 1986 to 1992, and I remember half of those losses coming to Notre Dame.

I remember a stretch from 1988 to 1993 in which Notre Dame went 64-9-1, a stretch in which the Fighting Irish went 17-3 against top 10 opponents, including a 5-1 record in major bowls. The only bowl defeat was a 10-9 loss to Colorado in the 1991 Orange Bowl.

I’m still looking for the block in the back, but I digress.

Notre Dame’s 12-1 record and No. 2 national finish in 1993 – a season in which it handed national champion Florida State its only loss – was the last time Notre Dame was truly a national powerhouse. It was the last time Notre Dame went against an elite opponent and came away with a victory.