Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 23, 2019 9 UNDER THE DOME 2 Notre Dame graduates named among the six captains for the 2019 Dallas Cowboys: All-Pro right guard Zack Martin and rising star linebacker Jaylon Smith. Martin joined quarterback Dak Prescott for that honor on offense, while Smith and end DeMarcus Lawrence represented the defense, with two others on special teams. 5.6 Million viewers, per ESPN's Press Room, for the Labor Day night opener between Notre Dame and Louisville, the second-largest figure that college football weekend. Only the Saturday night Oregon-Auburn clash with nearly seven million drew a higher rating. Overall, the nearly 5.6 million viewers for the Fighting Irish-Cardi- nals game was also the most-viewed television program on Sept. 2 for the ages 18-24 and 18-49 demographics. 6 Players from Georgia on Notre Dame's 2019 ros- ter while the Fighting Irish prepared for their first trip to Athens, Ga., to play the No. 3-ranked Georgia Bulldogs Sept. 21. Alphabetically they are: senior walk-on run- ning back Mick Assaf (Atlanta), freshman linebacker JD Bertrand (Roswell), sophomore running back C'Bo Flemister (Williamson), freshman safety KYLE HAMILTON (Atlanta), sophomore tight end Tommy Tremble (Johns Creek) and freshman cornerback KJ Wallace (Atlanta). Back in August, sophomore safety Derrik Allen (Marietta) transferred to Georgia Tech. The Peach State has become a priority in Notre Dame's recruiting in recent years. With three players apiece signed from there in 2018 and 2019, it marked two straight years Georgia had either the most or tied for the most represen- tation from a state in a Fighting Irish recruiting cycle. Notre Dame doesn't have any verbal commitments from the Peach State in 2020, but has one so far in 2021 with tight end Cane Berrong (Hartwell). 7 Preseason ranking of Notre Dame men's basketball in the 15-team Atlantic Coast Conference by Athlon. The youth-laden and injury-riddled Fighting Irish finished last in the ACC in 2018, but an appreciable improvement is projected this season. However, Athlon — the first college basketball yearbook to hit the newsstands — had only six ACC teams getting invited to the 2020 NCAA Tournament, with Notre Dame not among them. 19.1 Scoring average by Dallas Wings rookie and Notre Dame alumnae Arike Ogunbowale to finish third in the 12-team WNBA, behind only Phoenix's Brittney Griner (20.7) and Washington's Elena Delle Donne (19.5). The Wings finished 10-24 and in a 10th-place tie, but Ogunbowale's 11 consecu- tive 20-plus points efforts was a rookie record. Furthermore, this season she tied Maya Moore as the only two WNBA players to have four consecutive games of scoring at least 30 points and five overall in one season (Moore holds the record with 12 in 2014 when she was named the league's MVP). 760 Yards of total offense — and nine touchdowns — produced by 2021 Notre Dame quarterback recruit Tyler Buchner in a 71-42 victory for La Jolla (Calif.) The Bishop's School versus Chula Vista (Calif.) Mater Dei Catholic (not be confused with powerhouse Mater Dei in Santa Ana) Sept. 7. Although original stats had Buchner with 714 yards of total offense, upon further game tape review by The Bishop's School's coaching staff, the final numbers for him were 24-of-36 passing for 465 yards with five touchdowns, and 295 yards and four scores on 20 rushing attempts. The total was one yard short of the 761-yard state record set by Los Angeles Hawkins High quarterback Jorge Amaya (739 passing) during a victory in 2014. Later that year Amaya was declared ineligible, forcing Hawkins to forfeit five games. The most yards ever recorded by Notre Dame in a game occurred 50 years ago with 720 during a 49-0 victory against Navy on Nov. 1, 1969. ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER