Taylor's Tidbits

1993 QB Kevin McDougal Shares His BC Thoughts

Fri, 10/12/07

Editor’s Note: While his name isn’t etched in Irish quarterback lore alongside the likes of Paul Hornung, Joe Montana, Rick Mirer and Brady Quinn, Kevin McDougal left Notre Dame as one of the most successful passers in Irish history. In his only season as a starter in 1993, McDougal directed Notre Dame to an 11-1 record and a final No. 2 ranking. In addition to authoring a thrilling 31-24 win over top-ranked Florida State in “The Game of the Century”, McDougal led a 24-21 win over Texas A&M in the 1994 Cotton Bowl. The last Irish quarterback to win a bowl game, McDougal also holds school records for career completion percentage (.622) and career pass efficiency rating (154.4). Legends of South Bend caught up with McDougal this week to reflect on his time at Notre Dame … including his lone career loss, a 41-39 heartbreaker to Boston College in the regular season finale.
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Hey there Irish fans. Aaron gave me the opportunity to check in with you guys this week, as the Irish prepare to take on a real tough Boston College team. Of course, whenever the Irish play Boston College, talk turns to that tough, tough loss we had to them in my senior year, in my last game at Notre Dame Stadium.

The memory of our 41-39 loss to the Eagles is still pretty fresh for me. The game was incredibly exciting, but it also hurt a lot. We battled back from a big hole, and that really showed the resiliency our team had. It ended up in a loss, but we recovered from that and we won our bowl game.

That was one of many great games in a great season for all of us. For me, it was really exciting, because right before the season started, it looked like I wasn’t going to get the chance to start at quarterback. That would have been really tough, since it was my senior year, and I felt like I had earned a shot to lead the team after backing up Rick Mirer for three years. I think every time except one I went in there for Rick, we scored a touchdown or a field goal. That was a big confidence-builder for me, and I felt like I was ready to be the guy by the time 1993 rolled around.

Ron Powlus was highly touted coming out of high school, and I guess Coach Holtz felt he was the future, and I only had one year left. Coach Holtz definitely wanted Ron to start. I battled back pretty hard, and I felt I had earned the position, but Coach Holtz felt Ron should be the starter.

It worked out for me in the end, though. You hate to see a player get hurt, but it did give me a chance to show what I can do. We had a great season, and I think it will be remembered forever. The Boston College loss messed it up a bit, but it was still a great season.

People always ask me if I expected to have so much success right out of the gate. I always tell them that I did. I expected to be successful playing quarterback for Notre Dame, starting around my sophomore year, when I really started catching on to the offense. We had a lot of different facets to our offense. We ran the option, drop back, shotgun, everything. So it was a lot to learn. It was real tough for a quarterback to jump right in. Even Rick said he had a lot of trouble getting it all his freshman year.

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Comments

ND-BC 1993 - a real ND moment !!!

the 93 game hurt a lot but honestly it was also one of my best nd memories. after the loss, the entire senior section stayed behind because the band left and never played our "last" alma mater. people were heartbroken enough with the game, but as seniors, we had no way to say a final farewell to four unbelievable years of games in that stadium. the whole place was growing quiet as people left in stunned silence except for the obnoxious bc fans dancing on the field. seniors just hugged in preparation for the alma mater as the band and the players walked off. who could blame them? then out of absolutely nowhere in the last row, some girl, definitely a soprano and likely a member of the choir just starting singing alone... her voice carried over the crowd and everyone swayed as usual. when she finished, i had chills up and down my spine and the true meaning of ND came out. never know who that girl was... but think about that moment everytime i think of our school.

GO IRISH, BEAT FREDO !

by the way, kevin, glad to see you are well. you may not remember me but we played bookstore together that year along with ray zellars, herb gibson and lake dawson from flanner hall. good times ! all the best !

Written by tacski11 | Sat, 10/13/07

New Comment

I never attended Notre Dame, but I've been a fanatic since my second grade teacher,Mrs. Madigan, announced there would be no homework for the year if Notre Dame went unbeaten.The nuns completely agreed.I never did any homework until Dale Samuels and Purdue upset the Irish in 1950.It was a dark day.

Written by South Side Irish 47 | Fri, 10/12/07

The 1993 BC game

was won in the third quarter of the 1992 BC game. ND was leading something like 37-7 when the ND punter went into punt formation, only it was a fake punt and he ran for a first down. After that there were some camera shots of him having a laugh with his teammates on the sideline and then a shot of the BC players watching on the other side. THAT is when the 1993 game was lost. The gallant ND comeback, surely one for the ages, made the loss that much more galling. The loss was PAYBACK on a grand scale. If you beat the snot out of a team that is all well and good but if you rub their nose in it you canNOT avoid the payback.

Florida State won the National Championship that year because the week after losing to Notre Dame in a highly charged pro-Irish atmosphere (is there any other?) they went into an equally charged atmosphere at Florida U and beat them on their own turf. At the same time Notre Dame couldn't defend its own turf the next week against an unranked BC team with revenge on its mind.

FYI - I went to ND (didn't graduate) I remember listening to the 1966 USC game while stationed in Turkey on the short-wave when the Irish won 51-0 and legend has it that John McCay the SC coach at the time said "I'll never lose to that Armenian b.....d (Parseghian) again."

FYI #2 - in the third quarter of the 1993 game while the rout was going on and the comeback was yet to start, commentator Chris Collinsworth made the same point I did, in fact that is where I got it.

FYI #3 - bc sux

Written by Uncle Max | Fri, 10/12/07

Infectious confidence

One of my vivid memories from that fantastic ’93 season occurred the week before “The Game of the Century.” ND had a bye and Florida State was playing Maryland (I think). Some friends and I went down to our dorm’s TV lounge and there were fellow residents Kevin McDougal and Greg Lane watching the FSU game. We all watched for a while and during one of the pauses we asked, “So Kevin what do you think?” He turned and with that quiet confidence said, “they’re beatable.” No arrogance or false bravado, just confidence. My friends and I left believing that ND would prevail in the game next week. And, as we know, they did.

Thanks Aaron and Kevin for a great run that year.

Written by sf-95 | Fri, 10/12/07

1993 National Championship

Notre Dame definitely should have won the Nat'l Championship in 1993. It was a sympathy vote for Bobby Bowden that gave it to Fl. State, and Bowden campained for it while Lou didn't...I wish Lou had. Any other logical vote always give the nod to "head to head" competition, and it still ticks me off that didn't happen. Another example of anti-Notre Dame sentiment by the coaches and some wirters! So it wasn't BC that made us lose the title...it was the voters.

Written by Joe Thilman | Fri, 10/12/07