Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 NOV. 5, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom Sammi Fisher — Soccer The sophomore from Simi Valley, Calif., almost single- handedly won Notre Dame's Oct. 21 matchup with Pitt, scoring both goals in the 2-0 Irish victory. The markers for Fisher came at the 12:53 mark of the first half and the 56:38 mark in the second half. Through Oct. 24, Fisher was tied for second on the team in goals (four) and was third in points (10). Bobby Nardella — Hockey The senior from Rosemont, Ill., was named the Big Ten's First Star of the Week and the NCAA's Third Star of the Week Oct. 22 after scoring two goals and adding four assists in a two-game series against Nebraska-Omaha. He contributed a career-best five points in the 8-2 victory versus the Mavericks Oct. 20. Heading into the final weekend of October, Nardella was tied for the NCAA lead with 10 points (three goals and seven assists). Duncan Turnbull — Soccer The junior from Geneva, Ill., recorded the second shutout of his Irish career Oct. 23 when No. 23 Notre Dame and No. 6 Virginia battled to a 0-0 draw in Charlottesville, Va. He faced a season-high 14 shots and made a season-best four saves. Through Oct. 24, Turnbull boasted a 2-0-1 record, a 0.50 goals against average and a .818 save percentage in four games played (all starts). Jemma Yeadon — Volleyball The junior from Mercer Island, Wash., led the way for Notre Dame in a 3-1 win at Virginia Oct. 21, rack- ing up 18 kills and a .317 hit- ting percentage. In the third set, she notched her 1,000th career kill to become just the 23rd player in program his- tory to reach that mark. Yeadon led the Fighting Irish in kills (236) and ranked fourth in blocks (45) through 20 matches this season. TOP OF THE CLASS ✦ GIMME FIVE In 1982, Notre Dame along with the rest of college football, began separating quarterback sacks as a different category from "tackles for loss." Thus, even though Justin Tuck (2002-04) is recognized as Notre Dame's career sacks leader with 24.5, in reality Ross Browner (1973, 1975-77) lapped the field in earlier years. Browner was credited with 77 tackles for loss in his career, of which we estimate about 50 were sacks. A distant second in tack- les for loss is 1995-98 outside linebacker Kory Minor with 44.5. Sacks are not the end-all, be-all to measure effective pass pressure or affecting the quar- terback. Entering the Oct. 27 game versus tri- ple-option foe Navy, Notre Dame ranked 58th nationally in sacks with 16, yet Pro Football Focus graded out the Fighting Irish — when including pressures and hits — as the top team in that department. Nevertheless, senior defensive tackle Jerry Tillery's seven sacks put him on pace to be- come the sixth Notre Dame player to reach at least 10 sacks since 1982. Here are the top five: Player (Year) QB Sacks 1. Justin Tuck (2003) 13.5 2. Stephon Tuitt (2012) 12 3. Victor Abiamiri (2006) 10.5 4t. Bert Berry (1996) 10 4t. Mike Gann (1984) 10 Getting To Know … SENIOR LINEBACKER TE'VON CONEY Hometown: "Palm Beach Gardens, Fla." High School: "Palm Beach Gardens." Major: "Philosophy." Favorite Food: "Chicken." Favorite Place To Eat In South Bend: "Buf- falo Wild Wings." Favorite Music: "Hip hop." Favorite Musician: "Kodak Black." Favorite Movie: "'Remember The Titans.'" Favorite TV Show: "'Martin.'" Favorite Part About Playing For Notre Dame: "The tradition and the brotherhood. Those are two things you can't get at any u n i vers i t y, n o t to - gether. Having those t w o t h i n g s m a ke s this experience really special. You have the tradition behind you, and you want to go out and continue that tradition. You want to bring another champi- onship here." Toughest Player You've Lined Up Against: "I would say my freshman year when I got a few snaps against [former Ohio State and current Dallas Cowboys running back] Ezekiel Elliott. He's the most talented guy I ever had to try to bring down." CHARTING THE IRISH IRISH MEN'S BASKETBALL TO FACE CHALLENGING SCHEDULE IN 2018‑19 Being part of the Atlantic Coast Conference typically provides the Notre Dame men's basketball program with a challenging schedule. This year, the ACC had seven teams listed in the preseason Associated Press poll that was released Oct. 22. There are high expectations for the ACC as a league during the 2018‑19 season, with three squads ranked among the top eight. Duke and its star‑ studded freshmen lead the way at No. 4, while Virginia checked in at No. 5 and North Carolina was No. 8. The Irish will play a total of nine games against their seven ranked league foes, plus they have a pair of games away from home against top‑25 non‑conference opponents. Notre Dame will play at No. 21 UCLA Dec. 8 and will face No. 24 Purdue in the Crossroads Classic Dec. 15 at Indianapolis. Here is a breakdown of how the Fighting Irish have fared against their preseason ranked opponents since joining the ACC in 2013‑14: Rk. School Irish Record Since 2013-14 4 Duke* 5-5 5 Virginia# 1-6 8 North Carolina& 3-7 15 Virginia Tech# 5-1 16 Syracuse* 2-3 17 Florida State& 4-3 21 UCLA& 0-0 22 Clemson* 5-1 24 Purdue^ 1-1 * Game to be played in South Bend; & road game for the Irish; # home and away; ^ neutral site MOVING? Let us know! Call 1-800-421-7751