Tom Zbikowski was 8 years old when he went to his first Notre Dame football game, a 44-0 drubbing of Pittsburgh.

The fans rose early that day, like most on fall Saturdays in South Bend, Ind., tailgating in the parking lots surrounding campus. It’s common to see a bagpipe player roaming the streets, tooting the sounds of the Notre Dame victory march.

This was Notre Dame football circa 1993. Tradition. Lore. Prominence. A century-long tradition of winning effectively, convincingly and, most importantly, consistently.

This is not Notre Dame now. Tomorrow the Fighting Irish face Syracuse at the Carrier Dome at 1 p.m. as a 5-6 team scrapping for a bowl spot but unlikely to land one, even with a win. With a loss, Notre Dame would endure one of the worst five-year stretches in its history, going 31-26 in that span.

‘The most disappointing, of course, is our start,’ Notre Dame head coach Tyrone Willingham said. ‘We didn’t get off to a good start. But the most rewarding part has been the way that our guys have hung in there. They have never stopped working. They have never stopped being focused on winning.’

After an embarrassing 24-7 loss to Rutgers, Syracuse returns to the Dome, where SU is 4-2 this year.

Zbikowski will be there, too. Now a freshman cornerback on the Fighting Irish, Zbikowski joined during the fall of Notre Dame from perennial national contender, a team that won despite scheduling the toughest schedule in the country, to one that’s now using that as an excuse for its struggles.

‘Our goal is always to win,’ Zbikowski said. ‘I mean, don’t forget, we play the toughest schedule in the country. So I wouldn’t say we’ve fallen off. We’re rebuilding right now.’

A five-year rebuilding plan is unacceptable by Notre Dame’s lofty standards.

The luster Notre Dame once had is gone. Its downfall follows an embarrassing path – like the false resume George O’Leary submitted before being hired – and disappointment – two losing seasons over the last three years with a loss tomorrow.

Backup quarterback Carlyle Holliday, a senior, remembers former coach Bob Davie mentioning the pride of the gold helmets, Touchdown Jesus and fan support as early as four years ago, when he was a high school senior.

‘That’s what attracted me here,’ Holliday said. ‘I came from a winning program in high school. They expected you to win. That’s why I chose Notre Dame.

‘(The losing) hurts me because I feel bad for my teammates. They expect so much more around here.’

But Zbikowski, who grew up a die-hard Notre Dame fan, said that while Willingham recruited him, the coach hardly mentioned the lure of playing for a storied program like Notre Dame.

‘I think with me, because I’m a Midwest kid, it just goes without saying,’ said Zbikowski, whose hometown is Buffalo Grove, Ill. ‘But (Notre Dame’s lure) might be fading around the country. Midwest kids will always know. But kids from Texas or Florida might not be as attracted to Notre Dame anymore.’

Said Willingham: ‘Winning helps (recruiting). I think guys like to see themselves and believe that they have got an opportunity to score a lot of points and do a lot of things. So from that standpoint it does. But more than anything else, you want to see the win.’

Winning is something Notre Dame now struggles to do.

An institution once guaranteeing coaches contracts for life has its third coach in three years. And already there are calls for Athletics Director Kevin White to fire Willingham, who seemed on track to turn the program around after last year’s 10-3 finish.

Syracuse, too, is dealing with the possibility of a coaching change. After another disappointing season – one in which SU is likely to miss a bowl game for the third time in four years – head coach Paul Pasqualoni may be on his way out. Speculation about Pasqualoni’s job security has swirled all week.

To win, SU must stop Notre Dame running back Julius Jones, who has three 200-yard games to his credit, including a 23-carry, 218-yard outing Saturday in a 57-7 Notre Dame win over Stanford.

‘(Julius) is a quality, big-time player,’ Pasqualoni said. ‘There is no question about it. He is very impressive. Julius Jones runs very hard.

‘They are playing very well right now. They really rolled over Stanford big time. They are playing their best football of the year right now. It will be a big challenge for us.’

Published on December 4, 2003 at 12:00 pm