Take Five: Taking A Trip Down Notre Dame's New Year's Six Memory Lane, Marcus Freeman vs. Lou Holtz

Five thoughts about Notre Dame's present and past ahead of its next New Year's Six bowl game

Five thoughts about Notre Dame's present and past ahead of its next New Year's Six bowl game.

1. It’s been 27 years since Notre Dame beat Texas A&M in the 1994 Cotton Bowl for its last New Year’s Six bowl victory. The Fighting Irish (11-1) can erase the ghost of that past with a win over Oklahoma State (11-2) on Saturday in the Fiesta Bowl. 

Some nostalgia? It was a defensive slugfest that the Fighting Irish won on a 31-yard field goal by Kevin Pendergast with 2:22 left. Tailback Lee Becton led Notre Dame with 138 yards rushing. It was the seventh straight game that Becton had rushed for over 100 yards. A Bobby Taylor fumble helped them seal the victory. The previous year, a Rick Mirer led Notre Dame team had overwhelmed the Aggies 28-3 in the Cotton Bowl.

2. For those of us who were there, the 1993 Cotton Bowl victory was anti-climatic. In those days, it was a bad year if Notre Dame had a chance to win a National Title and they didn’t. Different times now. Then No. 1 ranked, the Fighting Irish lost to Boston College in the last regular-season game on a 41-39 on a 41-yard field goal by David Gordon with under a minute left. Notre Dame had beat then No. 1Florida State 31-24 a week earlier in a game that was advertised as the “Game of the Century.” I was in the end zone watching Gordon’s kick float through the uprights. It was crushing. Still is. Should’ve never lost that game.

3. Does dome experience matter? If so, Oklahoma State has the advantage. The Cowboys played the Big 12 Championship game in Dallas at the AT&T Stadium in a retractable dome, losing to Baylor 21-16. Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl Game will be at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. OSU coach Mike Gundy said the team is trying to amp up the crowd noise.

“When we practice, about 25% of our practice is with music blaring, really loud music. It gives us a good simulation of what it's like to be in a noisy environment and also in a dome,” he said.

4. The ramp-up to the 2022 season for Notre Dame will get exponentially better if it can beat Oklahoma State on Saturday. The confluence of events that has led Marcus Freeman to be the head coach has made the Fighting Irish the most interesting story in college football right now. Freeman is the most celebrated hire for the school since Lou Holtz was plucked from Minnesota in 1986 to clean up the disastrous Gerry Faust era. 

The difference between Freeman and Holtz is that Holtz was a virtual lock to make Notre Dame great again. Freeman’s inexperience as a head coach doesn’t give him that kind of credibility. There are bound to be ups-and-downs, but winning this game would be huge for the program. Of course, this game is about winning for the seniors but it’s also about matching the enthusiasm for Freeman’s hiring with a tangible result. In other words, win one for Marcus, please.

5. Notre Dame has covered the spread in its last seven games and nine of its last 10. The Irish were a great bet during the regular season. I like the Fighting Irish to win a 24-23 nail biter. This will be a low-scoring game that will turn on a turnover. Notre Dame has forced 23 turnovers. They’ll get a big interception that will be the difference. The Fighting Irish are 2.5 point favorites.

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