COLLEGE FOOTBALL / DAILY BOWL REPORT : COTTON BOWL : Irish Coaching Ranks Thin Again

For the third time in three years, Notre Dame’s coaching staff is at less than full strength entering a bowl game after defensive coordinator Rick Minter left to assume the head coaching position at the University of Cincinnati.

“There’s no doubt it makes it more difficult,” said Irish Coach Lou Holtz, who has been spending more time with the defense than usual in workouts this week in preparation for Saturday’s game at Dallas.

Entering the 1992 Sugar Bowl, defensive coordinator Gary Darnell left for a similar position at Texas, and entering the ’93 Cotton Bowl, assistant head coach Ron Cooper left to become head coach at Eastern Michigan.

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This will be Notre Dame’s seventh Cotton Bowl appearance since it began reappearing in bowl games in 1970. Among the host Southwest Conference teams, only Texas, with nine, has more Cotton Bowl appearances since then.

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While coaching Arkansas in the Southwest Conference for seven seasons in 1977-83, Holtz’s Razorbacks never earned a berth in the Cotton Bowl. This is his third Cotton Bowl appearance with the visiting Irish.