Yes, this isn’t a National Championship season for Notre Dame in an official sense. But it could’ve been and maybe should’ve been depending upon whom you ask. For certain, 1993 was an unexpected success for Notre Dame but ended in frustration and agony for a season of ultimate what-could-have-been regrets.
Let’s rearrange things for a championship and have some fun.
Pre-Season Top 4
#1 Florida State
#2 Alabama
#3 Michigan
#4 Texas A&M
Florida State was coming off their first season in the ACC where they went unbeaten and 11-1 overall with only a close loss to rival Miami as their only blemish. Big things were expected of senior quarterback Charlie Ward who finished 6th in the Heisman in 1992.
The Crimson Tide were defending National Champions and in the midst of a school-record unbeaten streak that would extend into 1993. A couple years later, the NCAA made Alabama forfeit games due to a player signing with an agent so officially they would finish 1-12 in ’93.
Michigan did the unthinkable in 1992, they won the Big Ten and Rose Bowl. However, under 4th-year head coach Gary Moeller it would be the beginning of a decline for the Wolverines in 1993.
The Aggies nearly won their own title in 1992 but were defeated in the Cotton Bowl by Notre Dame to ruin their perfect season. Sorry!
Our Fighting Irish were a more modest #7 in the pre-season due to a bevy of personnel losses including Rick Mirer, Jerome Bettis, Tom Carter, Irv Smith (all 4 in the first round), Demetrius DuBose, Reggie Brooks, and 3 others who were all picked in the NFL Draft.
Do We Need Expansion to Fit in Notre Dame?
No, but just barely. A team from the SEC would finish the regular season undefeated but was barred from participating in post-season play due to probation.
Drama Level: 9.5/10
Multiple undefeated teams, the Game of the Century, epic upsets, this season had it all.
September
Florida State faced a couple tough tests in the ACC in the middle of a 4-0 start but was never seriously challenged. A week after embarrassing Clemson 57-0, the Noles beat Mack Brown-led North Carolina 33-7.
Alabama didn’t look great in a close win at Vanderbilt but otherwise cruised through September. Michigan lost in the Big House to Notre Dame, the Irish have only achieved that feat on the road once since (gross). Texas A&M looked strong in a 24-0 opener against LSU but turned around and got blasted 44-14 at Oklahoma.
Miami jumped up a couple spots with a very good September, including a 23-7 win at Boston College and a tough win at Colorado.
New Top 4: 1) Florida State 2) Alabama 3) Miami 4) Notre Dame
October
Florida State’s month of October seemed to provide evidence that they could run the table wire-to-wire. In between out-scoring Wake Forest and Georgia Tech 105-0 they beat rivals No. 3 Miami 28-10 and No. 15 Virginia 40-14.
Alabama started looking shaky in October. In between close wins over South Carolina and Ole Miss, the Tide tied Tennessee at Legion Field. We already mentioned Miami’s loss which was their only blemish among blowouts over Georgia Southern, Syracuse, and Temple.
Notre Dame used October to begin looking like a juggernaut, scoring 226 points over a 5-game span to remain undefeated. Ohio State also went 5-0 in this month with road wins at No. 25 Michigan State and No. 12 Penn State while Nebraska entered the national conversation by capping off a perfect first two months with a 21-17 win at Colorado.
New Top 4: 1) Florida State 2) Notre Dame 3) Ohio State 4) Miami
November
***Game of the Century incoming***
Of course, the second week of November–and 1993 as a whole–was defined by Notre Dame’s triumphant 31-24 win over Florida State. What followed the next week was the Irish losing to No. 17 Boston College in the regular season finale while the Seminoles destroyed NC State 62-3 and then beat No. 7 Florida 33-21.
Nebraska remained unbeaten with a near collapse against sub-.500 Kansas (21-20 win) and more comfortable victories over Iowa State and No. 16 Oklahoma.
Pre-season unranked West Virginia was steadily climbing up the polls all season then defeated No. 4 Miami and No. 11 Boston College, both by 17-14 score lines, to finish November.
Auburn also started the season unranked and kept climbing. Under first-year coach Terry Bowden, the Tigers finished the regular season undefeated following a 22-14 win in the Iron Bowl. But, despite being 1 of 3 unbeaten teams after the regular season they were on probation and unable to participate in the post-season.
New Top 4: 1) Florida State 2) Nebraska 3) West Virginia 4) Notre Dame
What If There Were Conference Title Games?
ACC
No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 12 North Carolina
FSU won the regular season matchup handily and wouldn’t lose a rematch.
Big EastÂ
No. 3 West Virginia vs. No. 10 Miami
I’m not entirely convinced the Mountaineers were this good as they played a weak schedule and got exposed in their bowl game. I think Miami wins the rematch.
Big Eight
No. 2 Nebraska vs. No. 17 Colorado
This was the beginning of the Nebraska Death Star run and they already proved they could beat Colorado on the road in a hostile environment.
Big Ten
No. 9 Wisconsin vs. No. 11 Ohio State
This was the best Barry Alvarez team in his early tenure in Madison. As such, we have to give them the rematch over the Buckeyes when the team’s previously tied.
Pac-10
No. 14 UCLA vs. No. 16 Arizona
This wasn’t a good season out west. Everyone except Arizona finished with at least 4 losses when it was over. Even though UCLA won the regular season game over the Wildcats by 20-points we’ll give the revenge to Arizona.
SEC
No. 8 Florida vs. No. 18 Alabama
This was actually a real conference title game, the 2nd ever SEC Championship. Florida won by a couple touchdowns.
Southwest
No. 7 Texas A&M vs. Texas
The Aggies just finished up the season beating Texas so a quick re-match would’ve been interesting. Still, no one in the Southwest Conference was in A&M’s stratosphere this year.
New Top 4: 1) Florida State 2) Nebraska 3) Notre Dame 4) Florida
New York Six Bowls & Playoffs
*We’ll use the 2019-20 bowl system for placement.
Peach Bowl: #1 Florida State vs #4 Florida
Fiesta Bowl: #2 Nebraska vs #3 Notre Dame
Cotton Bowl: #8 Miami vs. #11 Penn State
Orange Bowl: #6 West Virginia vs. #12 Fresno State
Rose Bowl: #9 Arizona vs. #7 Wisconsin
Sugar Bowl: #10 Tennessee vs. #5 Texas A&M
Of course, everyone wants to see the Notre Dame-Florida State rematch for all the marbles. The greatest question is if either team wins their semi-final matchup?
I think Florida State gets it done, they were legitimately one of the best teams of the 1990’s and had already defeated the Gators in the Swamp.
Nebraska would’ve been a major challenge for Notre Dame. With sophomore quarterback Tommie Frazier their offense was starting to get scary but we’ll give the nod to the more veteran Irish squad who found a strong offensive identity after the first few weeks and a playmaking defense.
If you recall, the bad taste in most of the country’s mouth following 1993 spurred the beginnings of real playoff talk among the media and fans alike. Florida State desperately wanted a rematch with Notre Dame but would never get it. Instead, in real life they beat No. 2 Nebraska during their bowl game and grabbed Bobby Bowden’s first National Championship.
I’ve always thought winning the rematch for the Irish would’ve been really tough away from home. Despite losing the head-to-head matchup, a case could be made FSU was better overall. Their schedule was a bit tougher (.575 vs. .517) and they were 5-1 against winning teams with a +51 point differential while Notre Dame finished 4-1 against winning teams with a +30 point differential.
The Irish sitting out conference title weekend while Florida State–then in just their 2nd year in the ACC–having to face North Carolina could’ve been the edge Notre Dame needed. FSU would’ve came into the title game against the Irish having faced Notre Dame twice, North Carolina, and Florida twice in the span of 6 games in our simulation. A slightly more rested Irish would’ve finished with their own epic run going FSU win, BC loss, Nebraska win, and FSU win again for the National Title.
I generally think rematches are stupid, but it would’ve been interesting to see how Bobby Bowden adjusted to Lou’s full-on MANBALL assault in the first meeting. I suspect Bowden didn’t think the Irish could outmuscle his team in the trenches to that degree, and perhaps he would’ve changed things up a bit on the defensive end.
ND was robbed in ’93.