How this Notre Dame team could finally end program’s painful 31-year major bowl losing skid

NEW ORLEANS — About three inches in diameter, the blue metal pin-back button is still safely kept in the Jacksonville home of Marc Edwards, the treasured item only unearthed for special occasions.

Scrawled around the edges of its face are four words, all in capital letters: NOTRE DAME NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. At its center is a green shamrock emblazoned with the school’s trademark logo — ND — and a year: 1993.

Notre Dame did not win the national title in 1993. But the Irish came close enough that then-coach Lou Holtz distributed the metallic buttons to players following a win in the Cotton Bowl that, they believed, would result in, at the very least, a split national championship with Florida State. The very next day, the Seminoles finished No. 1 in the AP and coaches’ rankings despite losing to the Irish in the regular season.

“I’m still pissed off about that,” bemoaned Edwards, a freshman fullback on that team.

The pin-back button stands as a reminder, not only in the near-miss of winning it all, but in an all-together baffling skid: That 1993 team was the last Notre Dame team to win a major bowl game.

“It’s not like the ’72 Dolphins where you break open the champagne,” said Aaron Taylor, an analyst for CBS and a Notre Dame senior offensive lineman in 1993.

On Wednesday night, within the New Orleans Superdome, the Irish are presented with another opportunity to end the streak. No. 7 seed Notre Dame (12-1) meets No. 2 Georgia (11-2) in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal hosted by the Sugar Bowl.

Notre Dame, led by quarterback Riley Leonard (left) and head coach Marcus Freeman, are just three wins from a national championship. (Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports)

For many, the streak is quite unbelievable. It spans 31 years, 10 major bowl games, eight different opponents and six Notre Dame head…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-12-31 14:28:00

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