Lou Holtz...

ags beat the poop out of ND in the 88 cotton bowl
I'm drinking a thermos of barnburners in the stands, yelling at lou , as his heisman winner gets toasted.

he was king of the deprecating sound bite
 
Sorry to hear that. He was a hell of a coach.

Holtz pulled off one of the greatest upsets in college bowl history against one of Barry Switzer's greatest teams, led by Billy Sims, in the 1978 Orange Bowl. OU was a 24-point favorite and was ranked #2 in the country. Texas had been #1, but had lost earlier in the day, so all OU had to do was win and they could add another national title.

Holtz pulled one of his favorite stunts, suspending three players, including his two best, for rules violations during the week before the game. No one in Oklahoma knows how to this day, but Arkansas not only won, they pounded the Sooners 31-6. Switzer was one of the greatest motivators who ever lived. I don't recall another time in all the years Switzer was at OU when the Sooners were not fired up for a big game, but somehow Holtz had his team more ready to play.

Holtz was his usual self all week, talking up how great the Sooners were and how Arkansas would try, but they just didn't have to talent to beat a team like OU.

Holtz was one of the greatest of all time and he was at his best when he was a big underdog
 
Last edited:
TahoeLegend said:
Sorry to hear that. He was a hell of a coach.

Holtz pulled off one of the greatest upsets in college bowl history against one of Barry Switzer's greatest teams, led by Billy Sims, in the 1978 Orange Bowl. OU was a 24-point favorite and was ranked #2 in the country. Texas had been #1, but had lost earlier in the day, so all OU had to do was win and they could add another national title.

Holtz pulled one of his favorite stunts, suspending three players, including his two best, for rules violations during the week before the game. No one in Oklahoma knows how to this day, but Arkansas not only won, they pounded the Sooners 31-6. Switzer was one of the greatest motivators who ever lived. I don't recall another time in all the years Switzer was at OU when the Sooners were not fired up for a big game, but somehow Holtz had his team more ready to play.

Holtz was his usual self all week, talking up how great the Sooners were and how Arkansas would try, but they just didn't have to talent to beat a team like OU.

Holtx was one of the greatest of all time and he was at his best when he was a big underdog
Click to expand...
Great memory, thx for sharing.
 
My family and I are huge Notre Dame fans and Lou is the best. My oldest brother saw Notre Dame beat West Virginia for the National Title in 1988 and ran into Lou at the airport after the game. He was a total class act. Growing up I was able to attend an event in PA where he was the guest speaker. I was in high school at the time. He wasn't talking about football, but just life in general and I was ready to run through a brick wall, lol. He was a master motivator and has some of the greatest quotes out there. It's easy to see why his teams were so dominant during his era at Notre Dame....Marcus Freeman is the closest thing to Lou Notre Dame has had as a coach since and it's not even close.
 
Bandit779 said:
My family and I are huge Notre Dame fans and Lou is the best. My oldest brother saw Notre Dame beat West Virginia for the National Title in 1988 and ran into Lou at the airport after the game. He was a total class act. Growing up I was able to attend an event in PA where he was the guest speaker. I was in high school at the time. He wasn't talking about football, but just life in general and I was ready to run through a brick wall, lol. He was a master motivator and has some of the greatest quotes out there. It's easy to see why his teams were so dominant during his era at Notre Dame....Marcus Freeman is the closest thing to Lou Notre Dame has had as a coach since and it's not even close.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing...

Rewatching Catholics vs Convicts after OSU Miami game this year was a good stroll down memory lane and I really concentrated on the part where Holtz ultimately came to ND. Pivotal point in their football history.
 
An all-time classic for what happened on and off the field for that game.

The Notre Dame students had put Jimmy Johnson's unlisted phone number on a billboard in South Bend prior to that game was one that comes to mind. 🤣
 
Bandit779 said:
My family and I are huge Notre Dame fans and Lou is the best. My oldest brother saw Notre Dame beat West Virginia for the National Title in 1988 and ran into Lou at the airport after the game. He was a total class act. Growing up I was able to attend an event in PA where he was the guest speaker. I was in high school at the time. He wasn't talking about football, but just life in general and I was ready to run through a brick wall, lol. He was a master motivator and has some of the greatest quotes out there. It's easy to see why his teams were so dominant during his era at Notre Dame....Marcus Freeman is the closest thing to Lou Notre Dame has had as a coach since and it's not even close.
Click to expand...

I agree with you about how Holtz had a way with quotes.

One year Arkansas qualified for the Orange Bowl and the crowd threw oranges onto the field at the end of the game. The reporters asked Holtz about it and he said, "I'm just glad we aren't playing in the Gator Bowl."
 
I never heard Holtz speak at conferences but friends who did said you were ready to walk through a wall upon completion of his speech.

His last public appearance in November at the Orlando Touchdown Club.

RIP

Screenshot 2026-03-04 at 6.58.53 PM.png
 
RIP Coach Holtz. You will be missed. Amazing football coach but even a better person.

Don't go thru life and be a spectator remember WIN: W.hat's I.mportant N.ow​

If you...
EVALUATE the past,
FOCUS on the future,
IT TELLS you what you have to do in the present.

~Lou Holtz
 
He wasn't my favorite, but there's no doubt he's an icon of the sport and is one of the first people I think of when I think about college football in my lifetime. Those late 80s ND teams with Rocket Ismail are some of the first teams I remember hating lol. I've heard he was an awesome guy. He was the member host for one of my friends that got to play Augusta National a few years ago and he said he couldn't have been a more gracious host. RIP
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top