Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 OCT. 29, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom Emma Albrecht — Golf The senior from Ormond Beach, Fla., led the way for Notre Dame in the Bettie Lou Invitational Oct. 5‑7 in Lexington, Ky. She fired a 3‑under‑par 213 over three rounds to tie for fourth place individually, while the Irish finished fourth out of 10 teams. It marked Albrecht's eighth career top‑10 finish and was the second time in three tournaments she led the way for the Irish. John Felitto — Golf The junior from Mountain‑ side, N.J., carded a 13‑under‑ par 200 in the Fighting Irish Classic Oct. 7‑8 in South Bend, breaking the 54‑hole record for the tournament, Warren Golf Course and Notre Dame men's golf pro‑ gram. His record‑breaking performance placed him third individually in the tournament and helped Notre Dame finish fifth out of 15 teams. Felitto now boasts two top‑five finishes and three top‑10 showings in his career. Karin Muya — Soccer The fifth‑year senior from London, England, scored Notre Dame's lone goal in a 2‑1 home loss to No. 3 North Carolina Oct. 4. The marker was her team‑ best fourth of the 2018 cam‑ paign, which equaled her sin‑ gle‑season career‑best total. Muya, who missed her sophomore and senior campaigns due to in‑ jury, ranked second on the team with nine points through 14 contests and has now tallied 10 goals during her Irish career. Thomas Ueland — Soccer The senior from Lexington, Ky., played a huge role in No. 15 Notre Dame's 2‑1 overtime win over No. 6 Louisville Oct. 6. He scored a goal that staked the Irish to a 1‑0 lead, and later created a penalty kick in overtime that led to the game‑winning marker. Through 11 matches, Ueland was tied for second on the team in goals (three) and was third in points (seven). TOP OF THE CLASS ✦ GIMME FIVE The two‑week stretch of defeating then‑ No. 7 Stanford at home (38‑17) followed by then‑No. 24 Virginia Tech (45‑23) on the Hok‑ ies' home field was noteworthy in Notre Dame football annals. The win over Stanford was the largest margin of victory at home by Notre Dame over a team ranked in the Associated Press top 10 since defeating No. 5 USC by a 38‑10 margin in 1995. A week later, the 22‑point win in Lane Sta‑ dium versus Virginia Tech was Notre Dame's largest margin of victory against any AP‑ranked team on the road since the 51‑0 whitewash of No. 10 USC to clinch the national title on Nov. 26, 1966. In fact, upon further research, it is the fifth‑ highest margin of victory by Notre Dame against any AP‑ranked foe on its home field since the poll began in 1936. This does not include neutral site games, a la defeating No. 1 Texas 38‑10 in the 1978 Cotton Bowl to win the national championship. Here are the top five: Team (Year) Ranking Score 1. USC (1966) 10 51‑0 2. Oklahoma (1966) 10 38‑0 3. USC (1947) 3 38‑7 4. Michigan (1943) 2 35‑12 5. Virginia Tech (2018) 24 45‑23 Getting To Know … FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN SAM MUSTIPHER Hometown: "Owings Mills, Md." High School: "Good Counsel." Major: "Engineering." Favorite Food: "Cheeseburgers." Favorite Place To Eat In South Bend: "Chivo's, a pizza place out by the air‑ port. I love it. That's a good pie." Favorite Movie: "'Heat' with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino." Favorite Music: "Rap." Favorite Musician: "J. Cole." Favorite TV Show: "'The Flash.'" Favorite Professional Sports Team: "NBA it's the Miami Heat, NFL is the Atlanta Falcons and baseball is the Baltimore Orioles." Favorite Part About Playing For Notre Dame: "The guys. It's a family. It's a brother‑ hood. Even the guys who move on still keep in touch with me. Even guys I wasn't here playing with look out for me. It's truly a family." Who's The Best Player You've Ever Lined Up Across From? "[Former Notre Dame defensive lineman] Sheldon Day was pretty tough. He's probably the best one I've had to face." CHARTING THE IRISH POWER FIVE UNBEATENS When it comes to the College Football Playoff, strength of schedule and strength of record are two components of the criteria used by the committee to determine the four best teams in the country. Through the first six weeks of the season, eight Power Five teams re- mained unbeaten — five at 6-0 (Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson and Notre Dame) and three at 5-0 (West Virginia, Colorado and North Carolina State). Of those eight teams, only four faced a slate of teams that had combined record above .500. Clemson (19- 14, .576 winning percent- age) and Notre Dame (20- 15, .571) had the toughest schedules to date, while West Virginia (11-16/.407) and Colorado (9-23/.281) had the easiest paths to staying unbeaten thus far. The Mountaineers, how- ever, have a much tougher stretch of games to finish the season, with their remaining opponents boasting a 23-11 mark (.676 winning percentage). Georgia (24-12, .649) and Clemson (19-12, .613) also face difficult stretch runs. Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish (17-16, .515) and Buckeyes (16-15, .516) have the "easiest" remaining schedules. UNDEFEATED POWER FIVE TEAMS' STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE Opponents Combined Record Rk.* Team (Record) First Six Weeks (Win Pct.)/ Remaining (Win Pct.) 1 Alabama (6‑0) 16‑18 (.471)/19‑13 (.594) 2 Georgia (6‑0) 17‑15 (.531)/24‑13 (.649) 3 Ohio State (6‑0) 15‑19 (.441)/16‑15 (.516) 4 Clemson (6‑0) 19‑14 (.576)/19‑12 (.613) 5 Notre Dame (6-0) 20-15 (.571)/17-16 (.515) 6 West Virginia (5‑0) 11‑16 (.407)/23‑11 (.676) 19 Colorado (5‑0) 9‑23 (.281)/20‑14 (.588) 20 North Carolina State (5‑0) 16‑12 (.571)/21‑18 (.538) * Ranking in the Associated Press poll released Oct. 7 Note: Three Group of Five programs — No. 10 Central Florida (5-0), No. 23 South Florida (5-0) and No. 25 Cincinnati (6-0) — also were unbeaten through six weeks.