Former Notre Dame Fighting Irish Coach Lou Holtz retired with a 249-132-7 record as the coach of the South Bend, Indiana-based college football powerhouse, which claimed the national championship with a 12-0 record in 1988.
On Friday, Holtz offered his innermost thoughts on Notre Dame’s chances of being a great team in 2024-2025, including the first and second reasons he believes the Irish meet that criteria.
Holtz, who coached the Irish for 11 seasons, claimed he is in good health at the age of 87, although he has generally avoided the public limelight.
“I think this would be a great team for Notre Dame for several reasons,” Holtz said. “Number one, they have nine starters back on defense, and they were like seventh of the country last year.” The Fighting Irish rose to the fifth slot in the newest 2024-2025 Associated Press rankings after an outstanding yet painful 23-13 victory over Texas A&M football in College Station, Texas last weekend. Holtz also loves the Irish this season because of Duke transfer Riley Leonard, a dual threat quarterback the likes of which the Irish haven’t had in quite some time.
Notre Dame will face the Northern Illinois Huskies on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., with Leonard calling the shots from beneath and behind center. “They have the quarterback from Duke who’s very good,” says Holtz. “They always have good running backs and offensive lines…”The schedule is not particularly difficult,” Holtz noted.
