Notre Dame & 'The Drought'
There are numerous current droughts in Notre Dame football that are often highlighted as reminders of how its glory days have either dissipated or, to the ultimate pessimist, forever gone.
Among them are only two top 10 finishes in the last 23 seasons (2005 and 2012) while not once recording consecutive 10-win seasons, zero major bowl victories in that same span (after recording an NCAA high 10 in the 25 years from 1969-93) and, above all, no national title since 1988, or none in 28 seasons.
From the school’s first consensus national title in 1924 through its most recent in 1988, Notre Dame produced 11 such campaigns in those 65 years, or one approximately every six seasons. The three longest previous droughts without a consensus title were:
• 16 seasons from 1950-65
Even then the 1953 Fighting Irish that finished No. 2 with a 9-0-1 ledger saw No. 1 Maryland lose Oklahoma — a team Notre Dame defeated in Norman — in the Orange Bowl. Back then it didn’t matter, because the championship was voted on at the end of the regular season and bowl games were not included.
Also, in 1964 Notre Dame was credited with a share of the national title when it was awarded the MacArthur Bowl by the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame. Similar to 1953, Alabama won the AP and UPI titles despite losing in the Orange Bowl to Texas.
• 12 seasons from 1931-42
Notre Dame lost the title on the last day of the 1938 season and finished unbeaten in 1941 (8-0-1) but No. 4.
• 10 seasons from 1978-87
If Notre Dame's incoming class also goes four years sans a national title in football, the drought would elevate to 32 years — double the previous longest swoon of 16.
Yet lost somewhat in the conversation is just how difficult it is to capture the grand prize. Take a look at some other all-time top 10 programs (either in wins or percentage) and what a challenge winning a title has been for them too.
• Michigan went 48 years (1949-96) before splitting one with Nebraska in 1997. So it’s been one title over the past 68 seasons.
• The University of Texas, the consummate football-mad state with every resource available — recruiting hotbed, facilities, financial wherewithal… — went 35 years (1970-2004) without a consensus title, and has one the past 47 years. It has averaged six losses per year the past seven seasons, and is 6-7, 5-7 and 5-7 the last three.
• The Ohio State University went 33 years (1969-2001) without a No. 1 placement — and even the one in 2002 was aided by a controversial call in overtime.
• Over the past 31 seasons, Oklahoma has the same number of No. 1 finishes as Notre Dame (one).
Head coach Bob Stoops became an instant legend when he directed the Sooners to the 2000 national title in only his second year on the job, but some angst has been in the program after not winning one the last 16 years when OU followers might have thought at least three or four more would be forthcoming. Possibly that frustration might have played a bit role in Stoops’ sudden departure this summer.
• Tennessee went 46 years between national titles in 1951 and 1998. Fellow SEC power LSU had a drought of 44 years (1959-2002) before sharing one, and it took Auburn 52 seasons (1958-2009) between national championships.
• After splitting the national title in 1978, it took USC 24 years to split another one in 2003 (with LSU)— although the eventual result would be probation down the road.
• Georgia (1980) and Clemson (1981) captured national titles in back-to-back years. The Bulldogs have not been able to replicate such lightning in a bottle despite consistently strong recruiting, but the Tigers last year did get their first in 35 years just as the game clock was about to elapse in the title tilt.
The point is not to justify Notre Dame’s drought, but to appreciate how everything has to fall absolutely perfectly to reach the Promised Land.
There are also at least two other factors currently that make achieving the feat more difficult than ever for the Fighting Irish: Nick Saban and Urban Meyer.
Never since the start of the Associated Press poll in 1936 have two college football coaches in business at the same time have had such a stranglehold on No. 1. They have combined to win seven of the last 11 titles (Saban has four and Meyer three). Saban became the Frank Leahy of this era with four national titles in seven years (2009-15).
Guess which teams were 1-2 in the 2017 Rivals recruiting rankings? Alabama and Ohio State, naturally. Of the 35 five-star prospects on the board, those two schools signed 37 percent (13 of 35), with Alabama inking seven and Ohio State six.
Having the best head coaches while also consistently signing the most talent are a lethal combination. No matter how well another school does on the recruiting circuit, the specter of Alabama and Ohio State is always going to loom that they are doing better.
Yet even Saban has never been able to finish unbeaten the past seven years, and had to overcome home losses in November (the kiss of death in the past) in 2011 and 2012 to win it all.
Meyer at Florida in 2006 and Ohio State in 2014 needed help from the outside to play in the title game or the Playoff. In 2006 it was a shocking 13-9 loss by USC to UCLA, and in 2014 it was the vote of a Selection Committee.
Can Notre Dame ever win another national title again? It possesses the tradition and resources to at least contend, just like in 2012 and 2015, right up to at least the final day of the regular season.
That will be the expectation anyway. Whether it might take the duration of time it did for Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, Tennessee, LSU … is a question that will remain.
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