A Sad Realization....(ND-F$U Related)

[FirstTimer]

That my high point of my football watching life was over 18 years ago...............

:obama:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cipJq3ZHuuQ"]#1 FSU vs. #2 Notre Dame Intro - 1993 - YouTube[/ame]



[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYpMLpmemaQ"]1993: Notre Dame vs. Florida State - YouTube[/ame]

[KnightNoles]

I have an article about this.. ill post when I have some time at work

[FirstTimer]

Awesome story about the bye week before the 1993 game

(Our good buddy Dan was a walk-on wide receiver under Holtz and Davie. Here, Dan regales us with some stories from '93 about the bye week preparations leading up to the eventual upset of #1 Florida State.)

The historical success of the University of Notre Dame football team after having a bye week is impressive: our post-bye week record currently stands at 59-13-2 (.811) since 1900. But that success is not merely a result of an extra week of rest, or an extra week of film study, or an extra week to heal injuries... although all of these components certainly provide an advantage. Rather, post-bye week success is a direct result of how the head coach, and his football team, are able to effectively balance the myriad psychological benefits of having an additional seven days to prepare... and there was no better psychological manipulator than former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz.

As a walk-on, I had the opportunity to witness firsthand a master craftsman who balanced history and hype with strategy and execution to carve out another moment in the storied tradition of Notre Dame football. This is an inside account of what transpired the two weeks leading up to “The Game of the Century” in 1993 - #1 Florida St. vs. #2 Notre Dame.

After having just defeated Navy for the 30th consecutive year, we had two weeks to prep for the showdown with the top ranked Florida State Seminoles. The personality of our football team could not have been more different than that of Florida State. We were an extremely gifted team, with future NFL greats such as Bryant Young, Jeff Burris, Bobby Taylor, Aaron Taylor, Tim Ruddy, and Derrick Mayes, as well as exceptional leaders such as Greg Lane, Anthony Peterson, Brian Hamilton, Shawn Wooden, Kevin McDougal and Lake Dawson...but we were still a team with a modest, blue-collar approach to the game. On the other end of the spectrum was Florida State: Charlie Ward, Warrick Dunn, Tamarick Vanover and Peter Boulware – a team with swagger that intimidated opponents with speed, strength and showmanship. The press thoroughly enjoyed this clash of personalities and played to the differences in style. And the more we thought about the differences, the more we agreed with the comparison – and this turned out to be the main building block for how Coach Holtz intended to deliver a “W” on game day. Holtz believed that it was our approach that made us better -– a focus on fundamentals and toughness, rather than speed and swagger -- and it ultimately would lead to our success.

The beginning of the bye week was different than most weeks during the season, in that the game plan was not yet finalized. As such, we did not practice on Mondays. Rather, we spent the afternoon in film sessions, getting treatment and working on conditioning. In total, it was a rather light day – this set the tone for the rest of the week. Although we returned to a normal practice schedule on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we were working more on fundamentals of the game, footwork, balance, positioning, and accurate reads, rather than focusing on our upcoming opponent. If it wasn’t for the media (and a few of our teammates) there would have been no mention of Florida State.

In hindsight, this was one of the most powerful tactics that Coach Holtz, and the rest of the coaching staff, employed to prepare us for the game – it was a matter of pacing ourselves for the emotion that would undoubtedly build in week two. In week one, there was no hype – it was back to basics, Football 101.

However, as the bye week came to a close his strategy began to unfold. Coach Holtz normally played to the media, giving them the sob story of how every team has a legitimate chance at beating us each week; in internal discussions, however, he was always adamantly clear that we would win without a shadow of a doubt. Strangely, as the game with Florida State approached, the message to the media and the team was fairly similar – Florida State was faster and more athletic than we were. We wondered why he felt the need to remind us of this fact so frequently. But as we continued through our daily practice schedule it slowly became clear that it was Florida State’s speed and athleticism that would eventually be their downfall. The new offensive schemes for FSU were based on misdirection and cutbacks – “let their whole team swarm to the ball and over pursue, then we’ll go the other way.” Our offensive linemen had dark visors added to their helmets to give them an advantage on eyeing angles and gaps without being noticed – even the slightest advantage would equate to a magnitude of success. Slowly we began to see the total picture of the plan – and we now believed we could win.

As week two began the media circus and the buzz on campus was at full swing. Local and national media wanted any angle they could get, even to the point where they interviewed walk-ons, like me. (I had never been asked my opinion before, and come to think of it, have never been asked my opinion since.) Dorms were holding their own pep rallies and the parking lots were already filled with campers and RVs. Tickets were in high demand and everyone on the team had lots of new "friends" calling them. The hype was at a fever pitch. Inside the walls we continued to focus on execution of the script – angles, cutbacks, misdirection – and trying to keep our emotions in check. Until Wednesday, that is...

Coach Holtz often repeated the phrase “games are won on Monday through Friday, not on Saturday.” He was an avid believer that "you practice like you play." He demanded focus and perfection every day, on every play. Unfortunately, the Wednesday before the Florida State game was a practice that, if translated into game execution, would have resulted in an embarrassing loss to the Seminoles. For some reason our timing was off – the execution of the new strategy was simply not there. Coaches were frustrated and the confidence that we were beginning to build was turning into doubt.

Suddenly, the legendary offensive line coach, Joe Moore -- as old-school and rugged a football coach as there ever was -- lost his cool. He had had enough of misdirection and cutbacks – he was tired of the thought of playing Florida State football in order to beat Florida State. Yes, there would be the time and place to employ this strategy in order to keep them off-balance, but he believed that the best way to beat Florida State football was to play Notre Dame football. In the middle of practice Coach Moore huddled with Coach Holtz...and then exploded. “Get me the managers! Get these f*cking visors off these f*cking helmets! We don’t need this bullsh*t! We’re going to look them right in the eye, tell them where we’re running the ball, and kick their f*cking asses all over the f*cking field!”

We beat Florida State on that Wednesday – the rest was just for show!

The hype kept building as over 25,000 people tried to attend the Friday night pep rally at the JACC (capacity 11,500). I nearly missed the pep rally due to the fact that security locked the doors and I couldn’t convince them that I actually was on the team. Had it not been for one of the coaches randomly walking past the door, I would have missed the pep rally and most likely not been allowed to dress for the game for violating team rules (that would have been a terrible end to the story!) This pep rally was like no other: it was deafening inside and the enthusiasm was electric.

The team went through the usual post-rally schedule: returning to the Loftus Center for a team meeting and then into our relaxation routine. Our team meetings on Friday night were more administrative than anything, covering logistics for the weekend and so forth. Additionally, we would always watch a short film comprised of highlights from the previous week’s game and highlights from the previous year’s game vs. the upcoming opponent. However, with no game over the bye week and having not played Florida State in several years, there really wasn't anything to show. At least that’s what we thought.

Instead of a game film, Coach Holtz had arranged to show highlights of the 1988 Miami game. As music pumped through the speakers and highlights of Zorich, Stonebreaker, Rice and Rocket filled the screen, we began cheering for the players whose performance influenced us to join ND in the first place. We started to think about the magnitude of the event at hand. We began to realize that we were about to write another chapter in the history books. Then, the music stopped, the screen went blank, and a picture of the 1988 National Championship Ring went up... and the team went crazy! The sounds of the pep rally were silent compared to the uproar that filled the meeting room at Loftus – it was literally an out-of-body experience.

On Saturday morning it was all business. We attended the team mass at 7:00 AM and then proceeded to the team breakfast at the North Dining Hall. After breakfast we all walked to the stadium. Despite the chaos, the thousands of fans that formed a human tunnel from the Basilica to the Dining Hall and from the Dining Hall to the stadium, there were very few words said amongst the players. Occasionally you would hear a whisper or two, but mostly it was quiet. The team went through normal pre-game activities, stretching, position drills, and the like, and it remained all-business.

But then the Seminoles ran out the tunnel -- and right through our warm-up drills. It was a sign of disrespect – only adding fuel to the emotional fire and dramatically breaking the silence of every man on the team. Returning to the locker room we were in a rage. Nobody disrespects us on our own field – nobody - and the coaches struggled to contain our emotion. Coach Holtz tried to keep the team in check. He patiently waited to give his pre-game talk and awaited word that Florida State had taken the field. Unfortunately, the Seminoles refused to leave their locker room until after we took the field, forcing us, by rule, to take the field so as to not delay the start of the game. Holtz was in a fury about this second show of disrespect as he began his pre-game speech.

As was designed, the game would be about execution, Holtz said. Florida State could not win if we executed the game plan. It was simple: hit them in the mouth and get them on their heels, then we’ll work misdirection, and they will be lost. Holtz then talked about what the media believes, what the critics believe -- and how none of that matters. Inside these walls and inside your hearts was a belief that victory was imminent. Then he said: “Let there be no doubt... this sucker doesn’t have to be close!” And with that, we stormed out of the locker room.

The third and final sign of disrespect was Florida State’s decision to meet us in our own tunnel, rather than wait in their locker room. I had the fortunate (or unfortunate) experience of being in the front lines of the ensuing melee. Had it not been for the Indiana State Police and some very courageous assistant coaches, the game would have never been played.

Well, we all know what happened on that unseasonably warm November Saturday. It was a great game against two pretty evenly-matched, albeit very different teams. This “Game of the Century” definitely delivered on the hype. The game, though, was not won simply on Saturday. The foundation had been laid by Coach Holtz over the previous two weeks: a skillful balance of gameplanning and emotional management that made us believe we could beat the #1 team in the country. Notre Dame catapulted to the top of the college football world on that Saturday, but the game had been won long before kickoff.

[KnightNoles]

Florida State Vs. Notre Dame, The Historical: The 1993 Rematch That Wasn't

By C.J. Schexnayder - College Football Contributor

http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2011/12/28/2661603/notre-dame-fsu-football-history-champs-sports-bowl-2011

In 1993, No. 1 Florida State played No. 2 Notre Dame in South Bend for a contest most predicted would be an elimination game for the national championship. Things didn't work out that way.

Dec 28, 2011 - When Florida State and Notre Dame met on Nov. 13, 1993, it was billed as the Game of the Century. The winner of the rare matchup of the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country was expected to have the fast track to the national championship. But almost before the final whistle had sounded the cry had arisen for a rematch in the title game.

By 1993 Bobby Bowden had Florida State at the top of the college football world. Since he took over in Tallahassee in 1976, the fortunes of the Seminoles football program had turned around completely. It had been six years since the team earned fewer than 10 wins in a season and more than a decade since the last season without a bowl invitation. The national championship, though, had remained frustratingly out of reach.

In 1992 the Florida State abandoned their independent status and joined the ACC and promptly won the conference championship. But for a loss to No. 2 Miami, the Seminoles would have gone unbeaten and, likely, earned a shot at the title. Ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls, Florida State was the prohibitive favorite to win it all in 1993.

Expectations were not quite so high in South Bend on the eve of the regular season. The 10-1-1 record from 1992 demonstrated that Lou Holtz’ Notre Dame squad was still a dominant unit but the loss of no less than nine key players to the pros tempered expectations somewhat. While the Fighting Irish were ranked No. 6 in the preseason polls, the consensus was the unit would take a step back and aim for the 1994 campaign.

Yet as September unfolded the two teams proceeded to tear through their schedules with authority. It was October before anyone managed more than one touchdown against the powerful Seminole defense, and the Irish offense kept putting up bigger margins of victory every week.

When No. 2 Alabama was tripped up with a tie to arch-rival Tennessee in the Third Saturday in October, the defending national champions fell to fifth in the polls and the path was cleared for a titanic clash between Florida State and Notre Dame less than a month later.

The buildup to the game was immense. Every utterance by the coaches and players was broken down and scryed for meaning by the opposition. ESPN's College GameDay - in just its third year of live gameday broadcasts - made its first appearance in South Bend even thought NBC held rights to the game due to its contract with the school. Lee Corso picked the Seminoles to win 31-30.

Face value for tickets was $27, but on gameday sidewalk scalpers were demanding – and getting – hundreds of dollars for even the most inconveniently located seats. Needless to say the opening kickoff was beheld by a Notre Dame Stadium sellout crowd of more than 59,000. On television, it would prove to be the most-watched college football game since the Auburn Alabama clash 12 years prior that had earned Paul W. Bryant his record-setting 315th victory.


The game started as the pundits predicted with Florida State overwhelming the Irish with a 10-play, 89-yard drive that culminated with a 12-yard pass from Ward to Kevin Knox. 7-0 Seminoles. Then a funny thing happened on the way to the win column.

Notre Dame proceeded to reel off 24 straight points and almost completely shut down the vaunted Florida State offense. The Seminoles wouldn’t find the end zone again until a full 32 minutes of play had elapsed. Scores in the fourth quarter put the game at 31-17 as the game entered its final four minutes.

Florida State’s Charlie Ward – who would go on to win the Heisman Trophy that season – propelled the Seminoles to a final desperate rally to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. A 99-second, 49-yard drive was capped with a miracle 4th-and-20 pass attempt that was tipped by the Notre Dame defender in the end zone and caught by Florida State’s Kez McCorvey for the score.

The Seminoles stopped the Irish’s subsequent drive and got the ball back on their own 31 with 51 seconds on the clock and no timeouts. Trailing by a touchdown, Ward again led his team down the field 49 yards and Florida State had reached the 14-yard-line with three seconds on the clock.

Ward took the snap and scrambled left. Spotting tailback Warrick Dunn in the end zone he unleashed the pass and watched helplessly as Irish cornerback Shawn Wooden batted it to the ground. Notre Dame players and fans rushed the field. The Irish had beaten the No. 1 team in the land 31-24.

Florida State's Knox was unbowed by the defeat and, in the locker room after the game, indicated that the outcome would very likely be different if the two teams met again.

"Hopefully, we can come back to haunt Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl," he said. While a trip to Tempe wasn't in the cards for either team, the Seminoles would certainly return to haunt the Irish in the post-season.

The next day the Bowl Coalition ranking, which employed a combination of the AP and USA Today/CNN polls to determine the teams that would vie for the national championship, put Notre Dame at No. 1 and Florida State at No. 2. The ensuing furor of a possible rematch to determine the 1993 champions became inescapable.

Three other undefeated teams in the country found themselves on the outside looking in -- Nebraska and West Virginia, due to suspect schedules in the eyes of the poll voters, and Auburn, due to NCAA probation.

Sports Illustrated, in their recap of the Florida State vs. Notre Dame game, titled the story simply "Round 1 To The Irish."(link) Bowden was unapologetic at the opportunity it presented. "I sure hope it’ll motivate my boys," he told reporters when the Bowl Coalition numbers were released.

Motivation wasn’t expected to be an issue for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame was slated to finish the regular season against a Boston College team they had destroyed 54-7 the season prior. But after dropping the first two games of the season, Tom Coughlin’s Eagles were on a seven-game win streak going into South Bend.

It turned out they were peaking at the perfect moment. A 41-yard field goal on the final play of the game gave Boston College a 41-39 victory and chaos enveloped the Bowl Coalition.

The Irish plummeted to No. 5 in the poll, eliminating them from contending for the national championship. Nebraska assumed the No. 1 position and Florida State edged undefeated West Virginia in the bowl poll to snare the No. 2 spot and the opportunity to meet the Cornhuskers for the title in the Orange Bowl.

The Seminoles would go on to edge Nebraska 18-16 in Miami on New Year’s Eve to claim the title. The Irish bested Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl 24-21 and earned the No. 2 spot in the final poll for their efforts. Nebraska rounded out the final top three.

Columnists immediately began dissecting the results. Many defended the system as the most fair to all the teams involved, others derided the system for crowning a champions over a team that had bested it in the regular season. Others tried to stand above the fray and envision something better.

"The whole thing," bemoaned L.A. Times columnist Gene Wojciechowski. "Is enough to make you wish for a playoff plan that actually worked."

[FedEx227]

Have I outgrown college football as a whole?

I should be hyped for this matchup and I almost completely forgot the game was today. I also haven't watched a single bowl game yet.

[FirstTimer]

Florida State Vs. Notre Dame, The Historical: The 1993 Rematch That Wasn't

By C.J. Schexnayder - College Football Contributor

http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-footbal...orts-bowl-2011

Nice article. People were also offering vacation in Orlando as well as BMW's for tickets.

I still say ND got hosed and I was shocked that they didn't go to one of the larger bowl games that season and ended up in the Cotton Bowl against A&M. Thenext season they made the Fiesta Bowl at 6-4-1.

:whut:


Between the 1989 and 1993 seasons ND should have had one more NC. What worked for Miami in 1989 worked "against" ND in 1993. Lame. I still say everyone was just looking for a reason to give Bowden his first championship.

I watched the replay of that game last night and honestly the dirty secret about that matchup is that it wasn't nearly as close as the final score and drive indicated. Notre Dame dicated the tempo of that game the entire time and Ward was lucky he didn't throw 4 interceptions that game. He hit Jeff Burris in the hands or chest about 3 or 4 times alone plus the gift TD to bring it to 31-24 after Ward hit yet another ND player square in the hands.After FSU punted down 14-7 in the 1st quarter they didn't have the ball again within one score until very late in the 4th quarter.

[Jayrock]

Cheer up FT!

[Senser81]

I think in retrospect, we can see that Notre Dame was just as talented as FSU in 1993, and probably a bit moreso. ND was downgraded because they went from Rick Mirer at QB to Kevin McDougal, but Holtz's system always worked better with a mobile QB, anyways. Guys like Charlie Ward and Tamarick Vanover were probably given more credit than they deserved. In those days, FSU never really played anyone all year, so it was difficult to gauge the team from year-to-year, because they would be 10-2 regardless of talent level. I think people just assumed FSU was better than ND.