Irish & Tide History

Earlier this year when the Irish were preparing to play Oklahoma, we drew numerous comparisons between these great programs.  Facing Alabama for the BCS National Championship in Miami on January 7^th will pair two of the most storied programs in college football history.

	Notre Dame	Alabama
First Season	1887	1892
Heisman Winners	7	1
Consensus All Americans	96	47
National Championships*	13	14
College Football Hall of Fame Players	44	11
College Football Hall of Fame Coaches	6	4
Pro Football Hall of Fame Players	10	7
Wins	864	826
Notable Icons	Knute Rockne, George “The Gipper” Gipp, The Four Horsemen, Frank Leahy, Paul Hornung, Ara Parseghian, Lou Holtz, Johnny Lujack, Leon Huarte, Tim Brown, and easily dozens more	Paul “Bear” Bryant, Gene Stallings, Cornelius Bennett, Don Hutson, Ozzie Newsome, Mark Ingram, Derrick Thomas, Joe Namath, Bart Starr, and Ken Stabler

 

*Individually recognized and/or claimed; not necessarily universally recognized.

All year, the Irish have respected Notre Dame’s history while maintaining that it does not pertain to how they play the game.  This matchup should be no different.  Although the Irish and the Tide may not have the long history of some other rivalries, there have been some big games that may draw comparisons.  Even though I agree with the notion that none of what happened in the past will affect the play on the field, I thought I would share some highlights of matchups past.

1973: top-ranked and unbeaten Alabama lost 24-23 to second-ranked and unbeaten Notre Dame at old Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, LA in the Sugar Bowl.

1975: The 11-0 Tide were ranked number one, while the Irish were 9-2 and rated eighth (both UPI rankings). Notre Dame won that game 13-11.

Overall, Notre Dame is 5-1 against Alabama.