Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1028333
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 24, 2018 9 UNDER THE DOME 1-58 Record in Wake Forest's history against teams ranked in the As- sociated Press top 10 at the time of the game. Notre Dame was ranked No. 8 entering last weekend's contest at home versus Vanderbilt as a two-touchdown favorite. The Demon Deacons' lone such victory occurred on Oct. 26, 1946, against No. 4 Tennessee. The Fighting Irish were in the AP top five each of the last three times it faced Wake Forest, with all the games at home in November: No. 3 in 2012 (38-0), No. 4 in 2015 (28-7) and No. 3 in 2017 (48-37). 3 Notre Dame players from the state of North Carolina who will be heading back home to the Tar Heel State for the Wake Forest outing in Winston-Salem: sophomore kicker Jonathan Doerer (Charlotte), junior drop end JULIAN OKWARA (Charlotte) and freshman running back Jahmir Smith (Sanford). 7 Ranking of Notre Dame in Forbes' annual "Most Valuable Teams" in terms of revenue and profit generated by college football operations. Texas A&M was No. 1 at $144 million, with $107 million profit, followed by Texas ($133 and $87 million, respectively), Michigan ($127 and $75 million), Alabama ($127 and $59 million), Ohio State ($120 and $69 million), Oklahoma ($118 and $72 million) and Notre Dame ($112 and $72 million), which was tied for fourth in profits and second in profit margins. Notre Dame reportedly receives $15 million per year from its exclusive NBC deal for home games. As a private school, not all of Notre Dame's net gains are reported, and the data doesn't account for ticket lottery contributions made directly to the school. According to Forbes, nearly the entirety of Notre Dame's athletics profits, which totaled $72 million last year, go back to supporting the university's academic mission. 1,199 College football players competing this year for their schools have already received their undergraduate degree, according to the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, and are working toward a second degree. This is led by the 835 among the 125 Football Bowl Subdivi- sion teams. UAB has the most with 19 on its roster who already have received their undergraduate degree. Notre Dame has nine: Offensive linemen Alex Bars, Sam Mustipher and Logan Plantz, tight end Nic Weishar, defensive linemen Jonathan Bonner and Jerry Tillery, linebackers Te'von Coney and Drue Tranquill, and punter Tyler Newsome. Among 2018 Fighting Irish op- ponents with the most are Pitt (16), Northwestern (14) and Michigan (10). $15,000,000 Dollars given the past 30 years to more than 6,700 deserving college students by the Page Education Foundation, named after 1964-66 Notre Dame defensive end All-American Alan Page and his wife, Diane. Recognizing the former Minnesota Super Court justice's work and service, the NFL Players Association this season has begun the Alan Page Community Award. Each week the NFL names a Community MVP for service in his hometown. At the end of the season one will receive the award for his work throughout the year and receives money to donate to the charity of his choice. Last year, the Minneapo- lis school district renamed a building "Justice Page Middle School." Following a superb college career in which he helped Notre Dame win a consensus national title (1966) and another shared one (1964), Page became a nine-time Pro Bowl choice and the 1971 NFL MVP. Page and 1987 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown share the most Pro Bowl honors by a Notre Dame graduate, followed by the eight apiece by Joe Montana and George Kunz. ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL