Davie Turns the Corner with Fiesta Bowl Bid
UHND.com - Frank Vitovitch
December 5, 2000

Notre Dame, Ind - It took him three seasons of frustration to get the program turned around, but with a 9-2 regular season record and an invitation to play in the Fiesta Bowl against Oregon State, Bob Davie completed the turn around he promised after the 1996 season when he was named head coach.

The road to get here was bumpy to say the least for Davie.  In his first season he saw his team start off 1-4.  He ended up finishing that year 7-6, but took a beating in the Independence Bowl at the hands of LSU, a team his Irish beat 24-6 earlier in the year in Louisiana.  That season saw Ron Powlus graduate and it proved that no matter how bad Davie wanted a pro-style offense, he was stuck with a running team.

In 1998 Davie started the year with an upset win over the defending national champion, only to be embarrassed on national television the next week at the hands of Michigan State.  He rallied his troops however and the Irish went on to win seven in a row heading into the USC game.  Without Jarious Jackson though we all know what happened.  Notre Dame settled for the Gator Bowl, but lost with a gimpy Jarious Jackson.

Last season was the year that could have been.  If Notre Dame holds on and beats Michigan and IF they score to beat Purdue maybe the season turns out different, but the reality of it was a disastrous 5-7 season that had people calling for Davie's head. 

Facing a world of adversity, what did Bob Davie do?   He went out and turned his special teams unit into one of the best in the nation.   He took over play calling duties on defense and turned the defense from a source of blame to a source of praise.  He kept his team confident after losing their starting quarterback and possibly their best defender in Grant Irons.  He also turned a 5-7 laughing stock into a 9-2 Fiesta Bowl team.

This year's Irish team was not only the most talented under Davie, it was also the most confident.  They went out every week believing they were going to win which is not something that could be said of all of Davie's other teams.  

Davie is getting recognition from the media as well on his accomplishments this year.  He is one of three finalists for the coach of the year award along with former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz who turned around the South Carolina program and Bob Stoops who has his Oklahoma team in the national championship game.

Whether Notre Dame fans want to admit it or not, Bob Davie turned in a hell of a performance this year and has his team ready for the big time in 2001.  With losing his starting quarterback and having to start a quarterback with no college snaps, Davie had a lot of excuses, but he did not use any of them this year.   Instead, Davie said that expectations remained the same, to get in a BCS Bowl game.   He believed in the team and they believed in him.

By taking this team to the Fiesta Bowl though he will now have extremely high expectations for this team next year.  After going to a BCS Bowl game fans are going to be expecting a title run out of Bob and the Fighting Irish. 

The job that Davie did this year was very good, but his work is far from done.  He, the players, and the millions of fan world wide will not be happy until Notre Dame wins another National Championship.  The drought has reached 12 years now since the last National Championship and it is definitely time for another trophy to be added to Notre Dame's mantle.