Notre Dame-Miami: The Richt Stuff
Miami head coach Mark Richt will enter Notre Dame Stadium with what is probably a unique trifecta in the 87-year history of the edifice.
• First, in 1982 as a fifth-year senior, he was the starting quarterback for the No. 17-ranked Miami Hurricanes against the No. 10 and 3-0 Fighting Irish. That Miami team had four other first-round picks at QB: the injured Jim Kelly (which is why Richt was the starter), freshmen Bernie Kosar and Vinny Testaverde — both of who redshirted that year — and quarterbacks coach Earl Morrall.
• Second, Richt was the quarterbacks coach at Florida State when the No. 1 Seminoles, with Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward at QB, visited No. 2 Notre Dame on Nov. 13, 1993.
• And this weekend, Richt will come full circle, arriving as the first-year head coach of the Hurricanes, with yet another highly regarded NFL quarterback prospect in Brad Kaaya.
From 2001-15, Richt produced a 145-51 record at Georgia, but after an 82-22 (.804 winning percentage) start his first eight years, he dropped to 63-29 (.685) his last seven.
Even though Richt led Georgia to a No. 5 finish in the Associated Press poll in 2012 — when his Bulldogs fell about five yards short of defeating Alabama in the SEC Championship Game and thereby playing Notre Dame for the national title — and No. 9 in 2014, Bulldogs faithful became restless about averaging “only” nine wins per season over the last seven years and not challenging more frequently for the SEC crown.
The restlessness with Richt in Athens somewhat mirrors what is transpiring with Kelly at Notre Dame, where his 57-28 record and .671 winning percentage has created the same unfulfilled angst the way Richt’s 63-29 mark and .685 ledger at Georgia did his last seven years.
In that aforementioned 1982 contest at Notre Dame, Richt completed 12 of 25 passes for 151 yards, highlighted by a perfectly placed 79-yard touchdown on a deep route to Rocky Belk that put Miami ahead 14-13 in the fourth quarter.
With a chance to put away the game late, Richt called a quarterback sneak that was stopped short, and Notre Dame then drove 55 yards to kick the game winning 32-yard field goal by Mike Johnston with 11 seconds left in its 16-14 win.
“It was strictly my decision to go for the sneak,” Richt said after the game. “I’m the man to pin the loss on. I did it because I figured there wouldn’t be anybody in the middle to stop me.”
Richt’s next visit to Notre Dame Stadium occurred in 1993 as the quarterbacks coach for Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward of top-ranked Florida State. Richt’s team came up on the short end again that with a 31-24 loss.
Ward completed 31-of-50 passes for 297 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, while Notre Dame’s Kevin McDougal was 9-of-18 for 108 yards. But the Irish out-rushed FSU 258-143 and controlled the line of scrimmage. Used to warmer climates, Richt remembered that “Game of The Century” as relatively inclement — even though the temperatures were in the upper 50s with no precipitation.
“I remember that game was not so much cold — it was cold — but that’s the windiest game I’ve ever been a part of, where the wind really made a big difference in the ball game, for both teams,” he recalled this Wednesday.
Despite the defeat, the Seminoles ended up as the national champs because the Irish lost the following week at home to Boston College, 41-39.
“That saved our season,” Richt said of the Eagles’ upset.
To avoid the “triple play” sweep at Notre Dame this Saturday as a starting QB, assistant for a national champion and now head coach, Richt is focusing on three aspects to break a three-game losing streak: the running game on both sides of the ball, turnovers and kicking game.
In consecutive losses to Florida State (20-19), North Carolina (20-13) and Virginia Tech (37-16), Miami totaled only 243 yards rushing (81.0 per game) while relying almost exclusively on the arm of quarterback Brad Kaaya.
“That’s not a healthy way to play football,” Richt said.
Likewise, Notre Dame has relied much more on quarterback DeShone Kizer’s passing while ranking only 91st in rushing yards per game (150.0).
“We’ve got to on both sides of the ball either run it well or slow down the run game,” Richt said. “It’s so important to get to your third down, if you are having a third down, that it’s real manageable, short to medium.
“You don’t want the score to get away from you where you just feel like you have to chuck it every down … It would be good to win that turnover battle. And then when it’s time to kick the ball, we have to get points on the board.”
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