“The secret is to work less as individuals and more as a team. As a coach, I play not my eleven best, but my best eleven.”
“On the road we're somebody else's guests - and we play in a way that they're not going to forget we visited them.”
“At home we're the hosts, and I never liked the idea of being embarrassed in front of our friends.”
“It isn't necessary to see a good tackle. You can hear it.”
“Show me a good and gracious loser and I'll show you a failure.”
Bonus Quote:
"I'm afraid we're going to take a beating from Southern California next Saturday in Los Angeles. I am willing to wager we will not be defeated by four touchdowns, as some Los Angeles newspapermen have predicted, but if we can hold the Trojans to a two-touchdown difference we'll go home feeling pretty good." – Coach Rockne on the upcoming December 6, 1930 matchup vs. USC.
Coach Rockne was using gamesmanship and deception for Notre Dame’s final game of the 1930 season vs. the USC Trojans. The game was played December 6, 1930. Coach Rockne fooled everyone into thinking his starting fullback would be Dan Hanley, a player who had seen limited action all season. Instead, when the game started, at fullback was Notre Dame’s fastest player, Paul (Bucky) O'Connor.
Coach Rockne had figured that Notre Dame’s short reverse plays to the fullback O’Connor could turn normally short gains into very large ones due to his speed. Coach Rockne was right. Notre Dame outrushed USC by 331-89 and won by a score of 27-0.
(This couldn’t happen today because of the rules on reporting players in correct numbered jerseys.)
Coach for a Nation: The Life and Times of Knute Rockne
