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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sinking Irish hope to get untracked

Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

PASADENA, Calif. – The only other time Notre Dame visited Pasadena, the Fighting Irish left town with a convincing victory and their first undisputed national championship.

Nobody will mistake this Notre Dame team for coach Knute Rockne’s “Four Horsemen,” who defeated coach Pop Warner’s Stanford team 27-10 in the 1925 Rose Bowl.

When coach Charlie Weis and winless Notre Dame face UCLA in the storied stadium today, the Irish (0-5) hope they can avoid sinking even further into futility.

“That’s going to be unbelievable,” Notre Dame tackle Sam Young said. “There’s so much history in there. We play in a lot of stadiums like that, but the Rose Bowl just has this aura about it.”

Weis has been in the Rose Bowl, but this will be his first time as coach.

“It’s a fabulous venue,” he said. “Pasadena is a beautiful city, town, and I think that our players are going to be excited because really it’s a nice place to go.”

It could turn ugly.

Already off to the worst start in school history, another loss would match Notre Dame’s longest losing streak – eight.

The last time the Irish lost eight straight was in 1960, when they won their opener, then didn’t win again until the final game of the season.

Outscored by an average of 36-12 this season, Notre Dame is a three-touchdown underdog against the Bruins (4-1, 3-0 Pac-10).

Then again, maybe the Irish will get lucky and catch UCLA napping, the way Utah did in a 44-6 victory over the then-No. 10 Bruins in the third game of the season.

“We just keep trying to build and come together as a team,” Notre Dame tailback Junior Jabbie said. “We’re just trying to play a complete game and get our first win.”

That’s what Weis wants the team to concentrate on, certainly not the fact they could lose their eighth straight.

“I don’t think they’re worrying about history. They’re trying to get the first win,” he said.

“I don’t think they’re worrying about any games from last year. I don’t think they’re worried about 1960. They’re just trying to get one win, trying to beat UCLA.”

UCLA coach Karl Dorrell considers Notre Dame a dangerous team and he wants to make sure his team is focused, something several of the players said wasn’t the case against Utah.