It is likely safe to assume that the Notre Dame football program will never have another decade like the 1940s.
In that 10-year span from 1940-49 — with four different coaches, two of them interim for one season apiece — the Fighting Irish were 82-9-6 for a .876 winning percentage and won four national titles.
That compares favorably with Alabama’s reign of dominance from 2010-19 (bowl game still to come) with a 123-15 ledger for a .891 winning percentage and also four national titles.
One must first appreciate how difficult it is to sustain excellence for a full decade that begins with the number 0 and ends with a 9. It’s hard to believe that Clemson began the 2010s with a 6-7 ledger — and then the next season lost 70-33 in its bowl game to finish with four defeats.
Auburn began the decade in 2010 with a national title, and played for another in 2013 — yet in between also had a 3-9 clunker and had four other seasons this decade with five defeats.
