BREAKING: Marcus Freeman Would Be The Sixth Notre Dame Coach To Win A National Title

At a time when the watercooler served as a destination for conversing about current events, a certain college football game kept the workplace buzzing. It was mid-October 1988 and the “Catholics vs. Convicts” matchup in South Bend between No. 4 Notre Dame and Jimmy Johnson’s top-ranked Miami Hurricanes.

In an era prior to the implementation of overtime in the college game, a 32-31 Irish win was sealed thanks to defensive back Pat Terrell knocking down Steve Walsh’s two-point pass attempt with less than a minute to play. It was a play that would have blown up his phone had it happened today. As it was, the victory in a clash of titans launched the Fighting Irish to their most recent national title.

Thirty-six years after Lou Holtz added a championship to the storied history of Notre Dame football, Marcus Freeman has an opportunity to do the same. The 39-year-old, at the end of his third season under the shadow of Touchdown Jesus, could become the sixth head coach in program history to win a national title. Beginning with Holtz and his 1988 team, here are the other five, who combined for 11 consensus national championships

Lou Holtz 1988

There was no letdown following the headline-grabbing encounter against Miami that improved the Fighting Irish’s mark to 6-0 and No. 2 in the country. The 51-year-old Holtz had his team playing at its best the final two weeks of the season when, as the top-ranked team, it defeated No. 2 USC (27-10) in the regular-season finale and No. 3 West Virginia (34-21) in the Fiesta Bowl.

Notre Dame had a 9-0 lead on the Mountaineers after one quarter and led 23-6 at the half. Quarterback Tony Rice attempted only 11 passes during the game. He connected on seven for 213 yards, good for an eye-opening 30 yards per completion. He threw touchdown passes to the electric Rocket Ismail and tight end Frank Jacobs, the latter’s only career TD.

Dan Devine 1977

The 53-year-old Devine capped his 19^th season as a head coach, and third of six at Notre Dame, with a 38-10 Cotton Bowl win over what was No. 1 Texas. The Irish, quarterbacked by junior Joe Montana, entered the game No. 3 in the nation before taking advantage of six turnovers by Fred Akers’ team. Running back Vegas Ferguson found the end zone three times.

Earl Campbell, UT’s bruising Heisman-winning running back, needed 29 carries to rush for 118 yards against a defense led by the likes of linebacker Mike Golic (17 tackles!), end Ross Browner and defensive back Luther Bradley.

The only defeat in an 11-1 season was at Ole Miss in the season’s second week. Otherwise, Notre Dame won nine of its games by at least 10 points and rolled in its last three matchups by a combined 135-20.

Ara Parseghian 1966 | 1973

The 41-year-old Parseghian arrived in South Bend following an eight-year run at Northwestern. He took over for Hugh Devore, who went 2-7 in 1963 in his fourth and final stint as either an assistant or head coach at his alma mater before becoming associate athletic director. Parseghian immediately turned things around with his team going 9-1 in 1964 and what would have been a national title if not for a season-ending loss at USC.

Two years later, in 1966, the Irish ascended to No. 1 following a 38-0 win at No. 10 Oklahoma that upped their mark to 5-0. Parseghian’s squad continued to dominate the opposition until a 10-10 tie in the “Game of the Century” at No. 2 Michigan State. A week later, and still as the nation’s top-ranked team, a 51-0 rout of the Trojans in the Coliseum cliched an undefeated season (9-0-1) and the national championship. The Fighting Irish allowed 38 points in 10 games.

Notre Dame was No. 3 AP/No. 4 UPI heading into its 1973 New Year’s Eve Sugar Bowl matchup at Tulane Stadium against No. 1 Alabama and Bear Bryant. Bob Thomas’ 19-yard field goal with 4:26 remaining in the game made the difference in a 24-23 win for the 11-0 Irish.

Parseghian retired following the 1974 season.

Frank Leahy 1943 | 1946 | 1947 | 1949

Leahy spent two seasons at Boston College before taking over for Elmer Layden in 1941 at age 33. Though the 1943 campaign ended with a loss to Great Lakes Navy, the 9-1 Irish were crowned the nation’s top team. With World War II raging, Angelo Bertelli played only six games (10 TD passes) before he was activated by the Marine Corps. Bertelli was in the Corps when he learned that he won the Heisman Trophy.

Leahy had another Heisman winner in 1947 with quarterback Johnny Lujack, who took over for Bertelli in 1943 before spending two years in the service. He returned in 1946 and led the Irish to consecutive national titles. For Leahy, who played for Knute Rockne, the two championships made it three straight under his guidance. Like Lujack, the coach spent two years serving in the war while Ed McKeever (1944) and Hugh Devore (1945) took over in his absence.

After the Irish went unbeaten (9-0-1) and were ranked No. 2 in 1948, they won their third national title in four years in 1949. It was their fourth straight undefeated (10-0) season, one that produced yet another Heisman winner in 6-foot-5 and 260-pound tight end Leon Hart. The closest encounter was a 27-20 win against Doak Walker and the SMU Mustangs in Dallas.

Knute Rockne 1924 | 1929 | 1930

After serving as an assistant to Jesse Harper, for whom he played, Rockne took over the Notre Dame sideline in 1918. His 1924 championship team was known for the Four Horsemen backfield of quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, halfbacks Don Miller and Jim Crowley and fullback Elmer Layden. It was a season that concluded with a 27-10 victory over Pop Warner and Stanford in the Rose Bowl.

The 1929 title was clinched in a season-ending 7-0 win over Army in front of 80,000 at Yankee Stadium. Jack Elder’s 96-yard interception return was the only score.

The teams met late in the 1930 season, which was another close call for Notre Dame, a 7-6 win played in front of 100,000 at Chicago’s Soldier Field. All-American Marchy Schwartz’s 56-yard touchdown run proved to be enough. A week later, the Irish completed a 10-0 season with a 27-0 win at USC. It was the final game for Rockne, who was killed in a plane crash in March 1931. He was 43.