The word ELITE is defined as "a select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of a group or society."
So, in ND' case does Elite QB = NC?
NO ONE KNOWS.
But here's HISTORY'S CASE:
1913
7-0-0
Mythical NC winner if there’d been one.
Beat major powers Army, PSU and Texas on the road.
QB – Gus Dorais – All American (AA)/CFHOF
1919 and 1920
18-0-0
Unclaimed mythical NC winners both years
Leading Passer and Rusher – George Gipp – AA/CFHOF. Gipp WAS ND’s offense.
1924
10-0-0
Mythical NC winner
QB – Harry Stuhldreher – Three-time AA/Four Horseman/CFHOF
1929 and 1930
19-0-0
Mythical NC winners both years
QB – Frank Carideo – Two-Time AA/CFHOF
1938
8-1-0
Unclaimed NC though picked #1 by the Dickinson system.
QB – Steve Sitko – 1939 All Polish-American team (Seriously)
1943
9-1-0
National Champion
QB – Angelo Bertelli – Two-Time AA/Heisman winner/CFHOF AND Johnny Lujack – Two-Time AA/Heisman Winner/CFHOF
1946 and 1947
17-0-1
National Champion both years
QB – Johnny Lujack – Two-Time AA/Heisman Winner/CFHOF
1949
10-0-0
National Champion
QB – Bob Williams – Two-Time AA/CFHOF
1953
9-0-1
Picked #1 by 10 different polling and rating systems.
QB – Ralph Guglielmi – AA/CFHOF
1964
9-1-0
Picked #1 by 3 different polling and rating systems.
QB – John Huarte – AA/Heisman winner/CFHOF
1966
9-0-1
National Champion
QB – Terry Hanratty – Two-Time AA/Baugh Award Winner
1967
8-2-0
Incorrectly picked #1 by the Dunkel System, but it is what it is.
QB – Terry Hanratty – Two-Time AA/Baugh Award Winner
1970
10-1-0
Picked #1 by three rating systems.
QB – Joe Theismann – AA/CHOF
1973
11-0-0
National Champion
QB – Tom Clements – AA
1977
11-1-0
National Champion
QB – Joe Montana – NO POSTSEASON AWARDS
1988
12-0-0
National Champion
QB – Tony Rice – AA/Unitas Award
1989
12-1-0
Picked #1 by four rating systems.
QB – Tony Rice – AA/Unitas Award
1993
11-1-0
Picked #1 by two rating systems.
QB – Kevin McDougal – No post-season awards
2012
12-1-0
Picked #1 by one source.
QB – Everett Golson – No postseason awards
BOTTOM LINE: If you accept that AA, Heisman, Baugh and Unitas winners satisfy the definition of ELITE – of the 22 ND – CLAIMED AND UCLAIMED – NC TEAMS I’ve listed, 16 had AA QB’s; 3, Heisman winners; one, a Baugh winner; and one, a Unitas winner.
And to top it off, NINE ARE IN THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME.
And while not all of these QB’s won their various awards in championship seasons – though most did – they still were the starting QB’s of those teams.
One team, 1943, had TWO starting QB’s who were both Two-Time AA’s and Heisman winners and who are both in the CFHOP – Bertelli who cut short his season to enter the service; and Lujack who replaced him but then entered the service himself in 1944 and 1945, only to be replaced by Frank Dancewicz who also then won AA honors, though not on a championship team.
Then there was Gipp who, while not a QB per se, was the leading passer on the 1919 and 1920 teams.
So, while CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION, it can SURE AS HELL HELP, and as the evidence points out, ND championship teams TEND TO BE LED BY ELITE QB’s.
The question then becomes how prevalent is that correlation throughout the rest of CFB, particularly in recent years. The answer to that will say even more about the issue than ND’s history alone which covers a number of extremely dissimilar eras.
