Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1158434
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2019 11 UNDER THE DOME .72684 Football winning percentage for the Fighting Irish, which ranks No. 3 all time despite the NCAA mandate to vacate the 21 victories from 2012 (12) and 2013 (nine), which otherwise would have them at the top. At No. 1 is Michigan (.72952), with Ohio State at No. 2 (.72731). Per our research, there is merely .00542 separation between the Wolverines at the top and No. 6 Oklahoma (.72410). 3 Sophomores on Notre Dame's hockey team — forward Cam Burke, defenseman Spencer Stastney and forward Alex Steeves — named All-American Scholars July 30 by the American Hockey Coaches Associa- tion. Players must achieve at least a 3.6 grade point average (4.0 scale) in both semesters while playing in at least 40 percent of their team's games. Notre Dame's three honorees led the Big Ten, which had 12 named 2018-19 All-American Scholars. The trio helped the Fighting Irish to their second straight Big Ten championship while combining for 12 goals and 18 points. 8 Opponents on this year's football schedule that have a bye the week prior to facing Notre Dame. It begins with Louisville in the season opener on Labor Day Sept. 2, but also includes New Mexico (Sept. 14), Bowling Green (Oct. 5), USC (Oct. 12), Virginia Tech (Nov. 2), Duke (Nov. 9), Navy (Nov. 16) and Boston College (Nov. 23). Notre Dame's two byes this season will be Sept. 14 and Oct. 19, the latter sandwiched in between the USC and Michigan games. 14 / 1 Senior safety A LO H I G I L M A N'S odds, per MyTopSportsBook.com, to win the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back. That places him No. 6 overall, and the highest among any Notre Dame player in consideration for a postseason award. 36 Different states Notre Dame's football team will have played in among the United States' 50 when it opens the 2019 season at Louisville Sept. 2. It will be the program's first game in the state of Kentucky (see pages 80-81). Alphabetically, the 14 states the football team has yet to play in are: Alaska, Arkansas (where Notre Dame is scheduled to play the Razorbacks in 2025), Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wyoming. 45/1 Senior quarterback Ian Book's odds to win the 2019 Heisman Trophy, per MyTopSportsBook.com. A year earlier Notre Dame starter Bran- don Wimbush was at 33/1 before Book took over as the starter in game four. Book was among the top 14, which featured nine other quarterbacks (including the top six). Clemson's Trevor Lawrence is the favorite at 11/2 while Alabama's Tua Tago- vailoa is No. 2 at 6/1. Among Notre Dame opponents were Georgia's Jake Fromm at No. 5 (16/1) and Michigan's Shea Patterson, who was tied with Book at No. 13 (45/1). In addition, USC's JT Daniels was No. 17 (60/1). 59-61-83 Ranking of Notre Dame alumni Zack Martin (59), Jaylon Smith (61) and Harrison Smith (83) in the NFL Network's annual top 100 players in the league, as voted on by the players. Right guard Martin has made the Pro Bowl all five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and is also a three-time first-team All-Pro selection. Teammate and linebacker Smith last year was named Pro Football Focus' Breakout Player of the Year. Safety Smith of the Minnesota Vikings has been a four-time Pro Bowl pick, and a second-team All-Pro. Alabama and LSU had the most player representation with six apiece. ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL