Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 SEPT. 23, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom Kiara Schmidt — Volleyball The freshman from Murrieta, Calif., was tabbed as the ACC Freshman of the Week for her play in victories over No. 18 Purdue and Valparaiso. She recorded a game-high 20 digs versus Valparaiso in a sweep and 19 against Purdue in a 3-2 Irish victory. Schmidt racked up 58 digs in 21 sets of play to open the 2019 campaign. Hunter Ostrom — Golf The senior from Eagle, Idaho, posted an impressive runner-up finish in the Badger In- vitational after carding an 11-under-par 205 — tying the second-lowest 54-hole score in program his- tory. He carded a 66 in the third and final round, which tied the second-lowest round in program history. Ostrom finished 4-under on the front nine, which in- cluded an eagle on the par-four seventh. He led the Irish to the team title by an impressive 14 strokes. Maddy Denner — Cross Country The sophomore from El Dorado Hills, Calif., took home first-place honors at in the Crusader Classic at Valparaiso University Sept. 6, helping the No. 11 women's team to the overall team title. D e n n e r r a n t h e f i v e - kilometer race in a time of 17:03.2, which was 37 sec- onds ahead of second-place finisher Jocelyn Long, her sophomore teammate. Overall, Notre Dame took the top three places and five in the top 10. Zach Kreft — Cross Country The sophomore who hails from Sunbury, Ohio, outpaced the competition at the Cru- sader Classic Sept. 6 with a first-place overall finish. His No. 9 Irish cruised past the competition in the six-kilome- ter race for a team score of 25 points, which was ahead of second-place Loyola (Chi- cago) who had 43. Kreft's winning time of 18:09.9 was 17 sec- onds faster than his nearest competitor. TOP OF THE CLASS ✦ GIMME FIVE Notre Dame's meeting with Georgia Sept. 21 at Sanford Stadium marks the third time that the two schools will meet in football. Among schools in the Southeast Conference at the time Notre Dame played them, that will be tied with Vanderbilt for the sixth-most contests by the Fighting Irish versus an SEC foe. The original SEC that was formed in 1932 in- cluded Georgia Tech and Tulane. Georgia Tech withdrew from the SEC in 1964, and Tulane followed suit in 1965. Notre Dame played Missouri four times from 1970-84, but the Tigers were in the Big Eight back then. It also faced Texas A&M five times from Jan. 1, 1988 (Cotton Bowl) through 2001, but that was when the Aggies were either in the Southwest Conference (dissolved in 1996) or the expanded Big 12. Here are the most games Notre Dame has faced an SEC team when those foes were actu- ally members of the SEC: Rk. Team Series Record Last Meeting 1. LSU 7-5 Jan. 1, 2018 2. Georgia Tech 8-2 Nov. 7, 1959 3. Tennessee 4-4 Nov. 5, 2005 4. Alabama 5-2 Jan. 7, 2013 5. Tulane 6-0 Oct. 14, 1950 Current SEC teams Notre Dame has never faced are Arkansas (scheduled for Sept. 12, 2020), Auburn, Kentucky and Mississippi State. CHARTING THE IRISH PULLING RANK Every year, U.S. News & World Report releases its list of best colleges, which ranks the 399 "National Universities" in order from first to last. These are the institutions that offer a "full range of undergraduate majors, plus master's and Ph.D. programs." This is an important list for top- tier universities like Notre Dame be- cause it allows the school to see how it stacks up amongst the rest. This year, Notre Dame was tied for the 15th-best university in the country. Several 2019 Irish football oppo- nents also appear near the top of the list. The highest is Stanford tied at No. 6, followed by Duke tied at No. 10. USC, which was enveloped in an admissions scandal this offseason, appeared at No. 22 on this list. The highest-ranked public univer- sity that the Irish play is Michigan at No. 25. In total, Notre Dame has four programs in the top 25 on its schedule and seven in the top 50. The lowest-ranked university on the Irish schedule is Bowling Green at No. 246. MOVING? Call us at 1-800-421-7751 U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT'S TOP NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES NOTRE DAME VS. ITS OPPONENTS School National Rank Stanford T-6 Duke T-10 Notre Dame T-15 USC 22 Michigan 25 Virginia 28 Boston College 37 Georgia 50 Virginia Tech 74 Louisville 192 New Mexico 218 Bowling Green 246 Note: The United States Naval Academy does not fall in the "National Universities" cat- egory and is instead ranked as the No. 17 National Liberal Arts College. Getting To Know … FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER CHRIS FINKE Hometown: Dayton, Ohio High school: Archbishop Alter Major: Finance for un- dergrad and Master of Sci- ence in Finance for graduate studies Favorite food: Croutons Favorite movie: "Catch Me If You Can" Favorite music: Alternative and country Favorite musician: The Band Camino and Midland Favorite TV show: "Curb Your Enthusiasm" Who is your idol: Jesus Christ Greatest football memory: "It has got to be when Tony Jones Jr. scored the winning touchdown at USC in 2018. It not only capped a perfect 12-0 season for us, but it sealed our first every playoff berth." Favorite part about playing for Notre Dame: "It has got to be my teammates." Toughest player you've ever faced: "I tried to block a defensive end on a delayed QB kneel against Northwestern and he put a really good move on me and I was like, 'Wow that would be tough to deal with every single play.'"