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The Devine Numbers

  • http://notredame.247sports.com/Article/The-Devine-Numbers-33265

    Blueandgold.com lists 10 reasons why Dan Devine has earned a statue outside Notre Dame Stadium that will be dedicated Oct. 7.

    Lou Somogyi ●

  • Good for Dan!!

    signature image signature image

    2 time POTW winner on some dates I can't remember from 2yrs ago at BNG, POTW: 1/3/11- 1/9/11, 6/20/11-6/26/11

    IrishBob

  • Lou, it is a shame he was never really appreciated by the younger fans. I thought it was rather cruel of Luther Bradley making those comments during an interview. It is strange that despite the records of both Kuharich and Devore there was never a public comment made by any of his players. I guess in those days the old rule was"if you can't say anything nice about a person don't say anything at all.
    Reading your work is most enjoyable and informative. Thank You.

    IAM4nd

  • Not really a Devine fan. Minus Montana, what would / could he have accomplished?? Probably not much.

    PLACT

  • PLACT said...

    Not really a Devine fan. Minus Montana, what would / could he have accomplished?? Probably not much.

    Ara minus Clemens, Holtz minus Rice? catfight

    No down-vote please - thank you! No down-vote por favor, gracias ! Gringo Mafia ~ amigo el número cuatro

    kking

  • Good point kking...not to mention the defensive stats Lou just pointed out in this article and you wonder how some Irish fans can be so misinformed about Devine.

    borromini63

  • IAM4ND,

    There was no malice intended by Luther Bradley in his comments. One of the reasons why we had Luther on the "Irish Huddle" is because he is forthright without having an agenda. It was no secret that players often made fun of Devine's idiosyncrasies, from calling plays no one had ever seen or practiced (they may have been from Green Bay or Missouri), to doing interviews in the buff.

    Luther didn't dislike Devine, but he pointed out there was often a disconnect between the players who played for him and the ones who played for Ara because Ara was so dynamic. When I asked him on the show if he thought there would ever be the type of groundswell of support by players (like there was for Leahy and Ara) to build a statue for Dan, he simply provided an honest answer. He also went on to add that he now better appreciates Devine's legacy and even called it a "tragedy" that he isn't recognized with at least some picture or other symbol at Gate A.

    If you've ever read "Talking Irish" by Steve Delsohn, which was released around the turn of the century, there are a lot of unflattering comments in there by players (and administrators) who were around during the Kuharich, Devore, Faust years, and quite a few on Devine. Father Ned Joyce even talked openly about how some people in the administration couldn't stand Devine (although Joyce was very close to him), nor could South Bend sports editor Joe Doyle.

    The perspective that comes with time has been much kinder to Dan Devine.

    Thank you for your kind words and patronage.

    This post was edited by Lou Somogyi on 7/31/2011 at 7:49 AM

    Lou Somogyi ●

  • I tool Bradley's comments as a frank assessment of that player/coach relationship. Thanks for confirming Lou.

    borromini63

  • Nice article Lou, pretty impressive numbers for Devine.

    First time POTW for 4/18/2011-4/24/2011.

    edd1066

  • In my opinion numbers are the bottom line and Coach Devine's numbers are up there with Ara's, Leahy's, and Lou's. We need to leave the personality issues out of it and give Devine his proper recognition.

    frase

  • Popularity contest or production contest?

    Since when does a coach have to warm your heart with personality instead of wins. Let's go with production.

    FBFAN

  • Thank you for the clarification.I did read the "Talking Irish", and it now gives me a reason to re-read. Perhaps age might be why I didn't remember reading it .At age 81 somethings just are no longer in the" memory bank".

    IAM4nd

  • Lou Somogyi said...

    http://notredame.247sports.com/Article/The-Devine-Numbers-33265

    Blueandgold.com lists 10 reasons why Dan Devine has earned a statue outside Notre Dame Stadium that will be dedicated Oct. 7.

    Oct 7 is my bithday. Will be a nice present!

    Sleepyscrapiron

  • This post is for members of BlueandGold only. Join now! 30-Day Free Trial

    jiggafini19

  • Lou,

    I remember that 7-0 win against Alabama on the turf at Birmingham. If memory serves me correctly didn't Bama cross midfield just once?

    That's a game that's often overlooked in the history of big wins. Beating Bama down there, with Bryant as the coach, has to be considered a huge accomplishment. Would love to see that D resurrected this year.

    ClutchCargo

  • ClutchCargo,

    I don't have the play by play in front of me, but I do know 'Bama threatened a couple of times in the second half. On a fourth-down option, Dave Duerson strung out a play beautifully, and then Bob Crable cleaned up for a lost yardage tackle to stop one drive. Alabama missed a field goal on another drive in the second half.

    The odd thing was I was like many ND fans at the time hoping the field goal would be made. That would have made the score 7-3 ... and kept alive the symmetry of ND winning by 1 (24-23) in the 1973 Sugar Bowl, 2 (13-11) in the 1975 Orange Bowl and 3 (21-18) at home in 1976.

    That truly was a remarkable victory down there, one of the more underrated ones in Irish lore, as you state. I think one of the most overlooked ever was winning 21-17 at Clemson in 1977 to keep alive the national title hopes.

    Lou Somogyi ●

  • Wasn't that the only time Bryant was shut out at Legion Field? I have that complete broadcast on DVD (along with every other ND-Bama game), I will have to break it out this week and watch it...one of my favorites from the Devine era.

    My luck w/the Irish 18-6...GO IRISH!!!

    simm

  • Simm,

    In Bryant's 25-year reign with the Crimson Tide, he was shut out five times. Two were road games against Tennessee (24-0 in 1970) and Georgia (21-0), and a third was the 1959 Liberty Bowl against Penn State (7-0).

    He was shut out twice at Legion Field. The first was his first year in 1958 — a scoreless tie with Vanderbilt. The other was the 1980 Notre Dame game. which was his lone shutout loss on Legion Field.

    That was the year ND set the school record for most consecutive quarters (23) without permitting a touchdown. In consecutive games it defeated Army (30-3), at Arizona (20-3, Navy (33-0), tied at Georgia Tech (3-3) and won at Alabama (7-0) before it yielded a TD in the fourth quarter of a 24-10 victory versus Air Force.

    Lou Somogyi ●

  • That '77 game against was Clemson was remarkable. What a roller coaster season that was.

    I was devastated by the loss to Ole Miss. Still not sure how that happened.

    Then, the next week, an even more remarkable 4th quarter comeback against Purdue in WL. Have to admit at that point in the season I surely wasn't thinking national championship.

    ClutchCargo

  • ClutchCargo,

    This will be my 40th year of ND football. My No. 1 all-time game is the 1973 Sugar Bowl victory against Alabama, and No. 2 the 1988 Miami game.

    The two games that I think are most overlooked or unappreciated during that time both came in 1977, the dramatic comebacks against Purdue and Clemson. I saw both on tape a couple of years ago, and it is amazing how close ND was to losing it all that year.

    At Clemson, the Tigers were up 17-7 and had the ball at the Irish 14 before fumbling. That ignited an 86-yard drive that required about 129 yards with penalties and the eventual 21-17 win.

    Lou Somogyi ●

  • lou, i remember listening to the Clemson game on the radio with my dad thinking we were cooked. If i recall, didn't ND face some brutal crowd reaction and throwing of things at the team there? i might be wrong but i thought i remember something like that. That was a very underrated comeback by the Irish. A great win.

    First time POTW for 4/18/2011-4/24/2011.

    edd1066

  • edd1066,

    Most of the "throwing things" occurred on visits to Georgia Tech from 1969-78. In the '78 game, Devine even pulled his team out on to the field toward the end of a 38-21 victory when the team was getting pelted on the field with ice, eggs and even fish (symbolizing the Catholic faith). He also chided them for overreacting when one of the players had to be pulled back from going into the stands and after someone (thus avoiding a Ron Artest-like situation).

    But you are correct in the brutal atmosphere at Clemson. Death threats were made against Devine, and local police even went to his hotel room the night before to check out a reported bomb threat. In the game itself, there were some dubious calls and officiating. On one Clemson TD on fourth down, one official (I don't know if it was inadvertent or not) set a perfect screen on Irish DB Ted Burgmeier that allowed the Clemson running back to score. Devine came out on the field one time to pick up a yellow flag and disdainfully hold it in front of the referee. ND had to convert 2nd-and-31 and 4th-and-2 on the 86-yard drive that cut the deficit to 17-14.

    I specifically remember Bob Golic, who loved an intense atmosphere as much as anyone, say, "Football is just a game. Some of these people here look at it as more than that."

    Lou Somogyi ●

  • Lou,

    I'm right there with you on most favorite game. To this day I still don't see how any true football fan (even non-ND fan) chooses the Bama Penn State game as a better game than the '73 Sugar Bowl. I've seen this often enough to believe there's an anti-ND bias at work. Apart from the goal line stand in Bama PSU the game was boring.

    The '73 Sugar Bowl, by contrast, had all of the exciting elements of a true championship game.

    My second favorite win was probably the '71 Cotton Bowl. Putting the dagger into the heart of Texas fans was sweet. At that time I thought their fans were just as imperious as today's Michigan or OSU fans.

    ClutchCargo

  • Lou, i remember the Devine thing well with the flag. They were describing it on the radio and i remember my father going beserk the whole game about the officiating,lol. The next morning on ND highlights sponsored by Big Boy Restaurants,lol, i remember watching just how bad the officials were that game. It was incredible with all that went on that day that we won. I do remember now the throwing of stuff being Georgia Tech, thanks for the info. Some great ND memories in this thread.

    First time POTW for 4/18/2011-4/24/2011.

    edd1066

  • Lou
    Your comments on the games with Alabama in 1973 and Miami in 1988 certainly brought back memories and concurrence. I was stationed in Hawaii for the 73 bowl game with Alabama and the game was on delayed tape during the evening there. The time difference had the game being played in the afternoon real Hawaii time. I left my house to avoid the temptation of trying to listen on radio or see a score on TV and walked miles and miles around the base before returning to see the game on TV with all the excitement that it offered without knowing the outcome. The Miami game of 88 I recall talking with you and your running mate TP and hearing you opine that the Irish really had a chance. Boosted my spirits during the pre game build-up. A third all time game was the Irish win in Norman Oklahoma that snapped the Sooner win streak. Terry Brennan was the coach of a black and white TV game in my high school days. Still remember the elation of watching Lynch carry the ball into the end zone and then hanging on to the lead till it was over.
    Met Dan Devine later in his life and he seemed like a nice guy. Always hard to be the guy after... Thanks for the article, he deserves recognition for a NC.

    TOG

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