Watching the replay on NBCSN. ND’s 10 minute drive in the fourth quarter, all on the ground, mostly between the tackles was a thing of beauty. Haven’t seen a more punishing ND OL and stable of rb’s (Rocket, Watters, Johnson, Culver, Brooks) ever since. Football the way it should be played! 21-6 final.
that is as talented or more talented than you, you better have a QB that can run and pass. Handing it to the running backs against the equally matched games does not work all the time.
Certainly, the result is what every ND fan would love to see. However, after watching those games, I really wander how those same players would have fared against the front 7 of today's Clemson, Georgia, LSU, and Alabama teams. After all, it was Colorado they faced, and the front seven of all four of those teams are to the man significantly bigger, stronger, faster, quicker, and more talented than that Colorado team. We will never know, but it makes me appreciate what these ND players of today have accomplished over the past decade under what a portion of our fan base is absolutely certain the worst coaching staff in Div. 1 football. 😉
...and I'd bet dollars to dimes, that the Lou Holtz / Joe Moore linemen could have handled any of today's defensive fronts.
Back then, the average size of a Division I offensive lineman was about 280 lbs, give or take. If you were a 300 lb lineman, then you were considered "huge."
These days, in the college ranks, a 300 lb offensive lineman is considered "athletic."
Every starter during that era had excellent technique, and I remember their neutralizing a good number of future early round NFL draft picks, including NFL stalwarts the likes of Sean Gilbert, Sam Adams, etc., often times one on one.
