This was a big win. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Hell, go ahead and see how outrageous you can get with the superlatives over this win, and then challenge any and all comers to try to bring you down. And then ignore them. Because this is a big win. Notre Dame has played 1179 games, won 842 of them, and should count this win among some of the most significant for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that this win represents the end to the longest drought between victories over Top 15 ranked teams in the program's history.
And the Irish pulled it off with about two thirds of a starting lineup.
Until last Saturday, Notre Dame hadn't beaten a top-15 team since it defeated Michigan in September of 2005. Every similar drought in the program's history had lasted, at most, 3 seasons. This drought lasted more than 5 full calendar years.
Notre Dame hadn't defeated a top-15 team while being unranked itself since the prior year, in 2004, when Notre Dame was 5 and 3, trying to shake off the effects of a loss to Boston College the previous week, and headed into Tennessee to meet and beat the #9 ranked Volunteers. Of the 103 wins over teams ranked 15th or better in Notre Dame's history, the win against Utah represents only the 19th such victory wherein Notre Dame was unranked at game time. It's just the 10th Irish win over a top-15 team since Holtz left Notre Dame.
So this win is big, no matter what the media or the Cassandras of Notre Dame fandom might want to say about the mental state of Utah. So what if TCU beat them to a pulp a week before. Notre Dame was beaten to a pulp by Navy this year. The mental hurdles ND had to clear for the game last weekend make Utah's troubles pale in comparison. The last time the Irish beat a top-15 team, the Irish didn't also have a losing record, even as an unranked team in 2004. Actually, the last time an Irish team beat a top-15 team while being unranked and possessing a losing record was October 11th, 2003, against #15 Pitt. So, again, this is a big win, even among all those historic, ancient, sacred wins ND has accumulated over the course of 1179 contests.
Of course, nothing can be gleaned from it.
Just as historically significant as this win may be, as we just pointed out, some really awful coaches have pulled off similar feats at Notre Dame. Ty Willingham beat top-15 ranked competition 5 times in his 3 years, laying claim to half of ND's victories over top-15 teams since the Holtz era. Hell, Ty did it 3 times while his team was unranked between 2003 and 2004. Bob Davie beat top-15 competition 3 times in his 5 years, managing to do the whole "unranked miracle whipping" of a top-15 team on the road during his first year while visiting at LSU. If they can do it, so could you.
But then, neither Davie nor Willingham ever had to take over a program that had suffered either Davie or Willingham or, gulp, both. For Davie, he was taking over a program with a win percentage of 71%. Yep, even including Faust's years, the previous 15 years had been pretty good times for the Irish. Willingham had to take over following Davie and his sins, but he also had a program with a 15 year win rate of 72%. Davie was bad, but he may not have been as bad as Faust. Weis took over a program with a 15 year win rate of 66%. And Kelly? Kelly's taken on a program with a win rate of 59% over the previous 15 years. As we've written quite a bit, Kelly's taken on a program that is broken. Completely. And with a backup QB, TE, NT, half a starting receiving corps, and an underperforming OLB at middle linebacker, he just beat a top-15 team after suffering the worst 2 weeks in the program's history.
Maybe it's just an apparition. Maybe this win just feels so big because ND is so far removed from the accumulation of regular wins against top competition thanks to the dire effects of 3 eras of coaching. Maybe it's just shear luck that ND's defense held a team averaging 41 points a game to 3. Perhaps it's just a bit of serendipity that ND finally blocked and returned a punt for a TD. It's gotta be some sort of miracle that Harrison Smith made that pick. Or that Prince Shembo left the opposing QB laying in the dirt in the fetal position - the sort of after-hit-image ND fans have craved for half a decade. Or that Jonas Gray broke off a 36 yard run after reversing course. What stars had to align to make sure that Rees, after throwing 3 picks against the worst pass defense in the nation, didn't have a single interception against the 18th ranked pass defense of the Utes? How lucky was it that Duval Kamara made 2 touchdown grabs. What were the chances that we'd see Brian Smith have the best game of his career since his freshman year while he fought back the emotions of his own Senior Day?
And what were the odds that we'd see all of these things that we've not seen done by people we've not seen do them actually happen against a top-15 team?
Some will claim that Utah was overrated. Others will say that the ball just bounced the right way for ND. They can say what they want. I just know that, in the last 15 seasons, including 2010, Notre Dame has faced a top-15 team 36 times, has only won ten times, and this is the biggest margin of victory for the Irish in any of those contests.*
This is a big win.
* The previous largest MOV in those previous 35 contests was 18 pts, in Davie's win over LSU in 1997.
By SDI November 15, 2010 - 4:11 pm
Couldn’t agree more. Amazing to me how many folks, whether pro ND or not, were willing to chalk this up to “bad Utah” without also pointing out all the obstacles ND had to overcome. I would like to read some articles about how ND’s true frosh QB now has 7 TD passes in his first two games (not even 2 full games) or how Prince Shembo has 3.5 sacks even though he just started getting significant minutes. Or how the DC that plenty of loud mouth ND fans wanted to fire coached his injury riddled D up enough to give up only a couple of touchdowns in the past two games against good offensive teams.
Tell the whole story good and bad and let people decide for themselves where this program is headed.
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By domer_mq November 16, 2010 - 11:09 am
I suppose some of that is, despite what some may say, ND is still so “relevant” or what have you that they’re still not conditioned to note “positives” for ND unless the positive is “contending for a NC.”
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By Erik '04 November 16, 2010 - 11:27 am
SDI, I have one minor nitpick for you: Diaco’s D hasn’t given up “a couple of touchdowns.” They have given up exactly ONE touchdown… on the first drive of the game against Tulsa. Tulsa’s other TDs came from special teams and defense. In 7+ quarters, our defense has given up a few paltry field goals. It’s a helluva job, really.
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By Trey November 15, 2010 - 5:01 pm
It was all about the picture cards. Alex Flanagan in jumbo pixelated glory situated next to
Curious george and a pack of doublemint did the utes in
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By JM November 15, 2010 - 5:31 pm
I am with you. I thought we had a young QB who looked like he was 12, but when I saw that picture of curious george on the sideline we are using to signal him plays, I knew we had a young one in the game!
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By Craig November 15, 2010 - 9:50 pm
Speaking of which… I was in the grad student section, so I could see the back of one of the cards they were holding up, but not the front of it. Is there a screen capture showing it (or them, if they had more than one)?
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By Trey November 16, 2010 - 11:24 am
I think mq is going to have a poster contest, so youll get the idea. They were just giant posters with 4 completely random pictures on them.
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By StewVee November 15, 2010 - 6:06 pm
Hell yes, Domer. Well done. The entire time I watched this thing I was struck with the bizzaro feeling of being pulled in opposite directions; I wanted the clock to run run run, but I wanted the game to last forever. I think Nate said something similar in the Sideline forum (which I’m too dense to figure out how to post in).
As well as we played on offense (I mean, what else can be said about Tommy Rees…), this was the defense’s game. Somehow our soft coverage worked. Somehow Gray and Walls had a hand somewhere, everywhere to make those balls uncatchable. Somehow frosh Prince Shembo was let out of his cage and repeatedly opened cans of whoopass on the Utes. Somehow Te’o continued to play like a professional asskicker.
And as great and totally exhilarating as it felt to win, to win big and watch the students engulf the team and hear WE ARE ND over and over again, I kept hoping somehow, some way, this wasn’t just a moment, but a sign of things to come, that we are back, that things have CLICKED, that Kelly’s message and coaching finally sunk in and these kids have risen up to meet the challenge.
It’s all so ludicrous, I know. But, man, if the same team that dismantled the Utes turns up in Yankee Stadium next week and then the following in the Coliseum….
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By domer_mq November 16, 2010 - 11:12 am
I’m not sure a lot can be extrapolated about this year’s team from the performance, but I do think you can look at it and say, “aha! There’s the culmination of a lot of hard work and people doing things because they know it will work.” So I guess what I’m saying is, I’m not sure this will be remembered as a moment where things clicked for ND, and then everything was peachy afterwards, but in a very long-term view, perhaps you could look back on this one day and realize you saw a flash of what was to come.
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By tjak November 15, 2010 - 6:14 pm
Thanks Domer, my thoughts exactly!
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By TLNDMA November 15, 2010 - 7:05 pm
Have we finally pushed the boulder over the crest of the hill?.. Will it start tumbling down to the finish line we all crave?.. Will the momentum carry this team through to Diaco’s option atonement?.. Will it gather more to steam and atone for nine long years?..Can it carry on to a bowl game and a great recruiting class?..We shall see..we have hope..we still believe. Go Irish!!
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By OderName November 15, 2010 - 11:51 pm
Thanks to wonderful WAVE 3 here in Louisville I had to watch the first half on the Internet, so my Dad kept having to get updates from me on the game from across the room. After the punt return for a touchdown, fantabulous interception, rookie-led drive and then a touchback(!) I finally said, “Dad, you have to look at this, there’s a flock of pigs flying over South Bend.” This just doesn’t happen to us. But I’m not going to complain, and suddenly I’m looking forward to the game in Yankee Stadium next week.
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By Nate November 16, 2010 - 1:21 am
Ah, Louisville…armpit of humanity. Be happy that you have the internet broadcast. Back when I lived there (Fort Knox) in 98 and 2000-2002, we had to drive forever to find a sports bar that would carry the full ND game. Bastages. I’m so happy that this year the games are broadcast on NBC.com (allowing me to see them when Armed Forces Network decides not to show them) that I could care less almost that it’s still NBC’s crappy broadcast!
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By GB November 16, 2010 - 2:30 am
This was a completely different team, especially the D. They looked great. Yeah, Utah’s miscues on offsides helped a lot but ND flat out looked good. My only real complaint is going for a 1st down at the 50 with 3 yards to go. I used to love it when Lou did that. the difference was that he knew when the team could make it and when they couldn’t. Well done boys.
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By domer_mq November 16, 2010 - 11:12 am
I really believe that call was Kelly making a point to his team. He was demanding that they play physical football.
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By Bubba Du Lac November 16, 2010 - 6:46 am
It’s all about Alex Flanagan!!!!
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By NWohioND November 16, 2010 - 7:04 am
Exactly DMQ & StewVee…this game was big and I wanted the clock to keep moving but also the game to last forever…
After one of Utah’s punts it hit RB in the leg and spiraled slightly and then dropped right by him where he then recovered it…we’re getting the bounces on Saturday for sure…but for some reason at that game I just felt like something CLICKED with the team…maybe it’s what I’m hoping happened but the energy in the air and the way the boys played it just felt right…
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By Wilhelm ND '80 November 16, 2010 - 8:13 am
My sons and nephew were at the game (Domers all, like dad/uncle) and they sent me a picture of them all on the field with their classmates/team after the game. The text message that accompanied it, I think, encapsultes what the win (and the way they won) did and means. Here is what they said:
“This is what catharsis looks and feels like. Love, Your Domer Boys”
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By domer_mq November 16, 2010 - 11:34 am
I was really, really happy for the senior students and players. Biscuit and I graduated in 2000, so I’d been arguing with some current seniors that our 4 years were worse (we had the tease of Lou’s last year in ’96), but after the last month, I think the class of ’11 wins the title for most misery.
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By Nate November 16, 2010 - 7:03 pm
The curse started with my class, ’98. Our first football season was 94, the previous season was 93, with the loss to BC. We hadn’t won a bowl game since my class came in until the Hawaii Bowl 2 years ago. Been once long decline since. Over on another board there was a guy who’s screen name was “Curse of the Class of 98″ or something like that–always made me laugh and cry at the same time.
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By wvirish November 16, 2010 - 8:38 am
BELIEVE
KELLY WILL BRING ND BACK
BELIEVE
Don’t say if, don’t say when.
BELIEVE
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By Erik '04 November 16, 2010 - 11:34 am
Good job with this, DMQ. I know you were just summarizing, but you forgot Armando Allen in your “And with a backup QB, TE, NT,…” Every skill position except Michael Floyd was playing a backup. Only the o-line was relatively cohesive, although Chris Watt got a lot of playing time as well.
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By domer_mq November 16, 2010 - 11:37 am
Geeze, can’t believe I missed that. Going into the game, I was fully mentally preparing to write a “this is where we really miss Armando” type thing, because I figured with a frosh QB, we’d really miss senior leadership from Armando. Good call.
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