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Countdown to kickoff: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State only 89 days away

On3 imageby:Patrick Engel06/06/22

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Dan Devine leads Notre Dame onto the field in 1977
Notre Dame coach Dan Devine leads his charges onto the field as the Fighting Irish launch their 1977 campaign. Identifiable are: Luther Bradley (20), Kim Uniacke (96), Willie Fry (94), Terry Eurick (40) Ross Browner (89) and Ernie Hughes (65). (Photo by Bettmann / Contributor)

To preview one of the most anticipated games for Notre Dame this century and the official start of the Marcus Freeman era, BlueandGold.com is counting down the days to the matchup against Ohio State on Sept. 3.

This daily series of 99 stories celebrates by the numbers some of the most notable names, dates, moments and memories related to the past and present of Notre Dame football. 

Today, with 89 days left until kickoff, is a look back at the career of Ross Browner, one of the most decorated defensive players in Notre Dame history.

Maybe no sight put more fear into mid-1970s college quarterbacks than seeing a No. 89 jersey turning the corner when they played Notre Dame. Browner victimized opposing offensive lines like few others in his day. Sacks weren’t an official stat when Browner played from 1973-77, but his brilliance rushing the passer needed no quantification. He resided in backfields too often to miss.

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In all of Notre Dame’s history, there might not be a player who fits the “game-wrecker” label better than Browner. He changed outcomes of games himself. He found his way into backfields with power, speed and a motor than never turned off.

Each year, coaching staffs around the country learn on the first day of spring practice or fall camp there is a freshman (or freshmen) they will have no choice but to play right away, and play often. Notre Dame has had plenty. Blake Fisher, Michael Mayer, Kyle Hamilton, Jaylon Smith, Sam Young – just to name a few recent ones.

Browner was among the first, if not the first. The NCAA allowed freshmen to play in 1972, one season before he arrived. He came to campus and made an instant impression. A rash of attrition only made his path clearer. 

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“We had lost a number of players to injury that we had expected to start for us that season,” then-head coach Ara Parseghian later recalled. “We were in desperate need of two defensive ends, a defensive back and a running back.

“Ross had just arrived on campus, but he played like he had been there for years. It was very apparent that this guy was going to be something special.”

What would that be, exactly? A wire-to-wire dominant run from debut to finale.

Browner went right to work backing up his coach’s claim in the 1973 season opener against Northwestern. He blocked a punt that resulted in a safety. He blew past a blocker for a strip-sack to thwart a first-and-goal. The Irish won that day, 44-0. He was a starter on an 11-0 team that won the 1973 national championship, which Notre Dame captured by defeating No. 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

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His stock kept soaring. Browner posted 28 tackles for loss in 1976, was named a unanimous All-American and won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s best defensive lineman.

As a senior in 1977, Browner won the Maxwell Award, which goes to the country’s best player on either side of the ball. He finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting that year and claimed the Lombardi Trophy as the best lineman, offensive or defensive. Notre Dame again won a national title, this one clinched by dusting No. 1 Texas 38-10 in the Cotton Bowl. Browner recovered a fumble in that game.

Browner still holds program records for tackles by a defensive lineman (340), career tackles for loss (77) and career fumble recoveries (12). His 28 tackles for loss in 1976 remains a Notre Dame single-season record. He twice was named the United Press International Lineman of the Year – the award’s only two-time winner. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

Browner was the No. 8 overall pick in the 1978 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals and played 10 seasons in the pros. He is fifth on the Bengals’ all-time sack list, with 58.

Browner passed away in January at the age of 67.

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