Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1170354
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 30, 2019 25 3-0 Georgia became the first team since Iowa in 1940 to have such a series advantage against Notre Dame, and the fourth overall since 1900. The Bulldogs clinched their lone Associated Press national title with a 17-10 victory against the Fighting Irish in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 1981, and then won 20-19 at Notre Dame Stadium on Sept. 9, 2017. Each game came down to the final series for the Irish, which either resulted in a turnover or a missed "Hail Mary" pass. 7 Offside or motion penalties called against Notre Dame in the raucous environment that helped stall drives or take away some momentum. 8 Different Southeastern Conference venues Notre Dame has played in after debuting in Sanford Stadium This refers only to when the opponent actually was in the SEC (i.e., Texas A&M in 2001 doesn't count because it was in the Big 12). The six in chronological order were Georgia Tech (1938), Tulane (1945) — this duo dropped out in the mid-1960s — LSU (1971), Ole Miss (1977), Tennessee (1979) and Vanderbilt (1996). Technically, Alabama in 1980 and 1986 don't count because the games were in Birmingham instead of the on-campus site in Tuscaloosa but it was still an SEC home field. 11 Straight losses Notre Dame has versus a top-five opponent at the time of the game, dating back to the 17-10 conquest at No. 3 Michigan on Sept. 10, 2005. That 14-year span is the longest such drought for the Irish. It previously was eight years from 1958-65 while going 0-7. Five of the current losses have been under 10th-year head coach Brian Kelly. During the week, ESPN noted that since 2000 the worst winning percent- ages versus top-five teams at the time of the game are Wake Forest (0-16), Vanderbilt (0-15) and Indiana (0-13), while Boston College and Notre Dame were both 1-17. With the loss to Georgia, the Fighting Irish are now 1-18 for an .053 winning percentage. 17 Consecutive games Notre Dame has held its opponent to 30 or fewer points. Among 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, only the Irish and Washington have achieved that feat in that span. For the Irish it began with a 21-17 Citrus Bowl win versus LSU on Jan. 1, 2018, and included the 30-3 defeat last December to Clemson in the College Football Playoff. During the 2018 regular season, Notre Dame and Fresno State were the only two teams not to permit more than 27 points in a game. 93,246 The No. 1 attendance total ever at Sanford Stadium with the addition of temporary seats. This is a Football Bowl Subdivision-leading 10th different college football stadium in which the Fight- ing Irish hold the attendance record, and the second in as many trips this year (58,187 at Louisville Sept. 2). The other eight college home stadiums include Air Force, Brigham Young, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, USC, plus Miami's Hard Rock Stadium for the 2013 BCS National Championship Game versus Alabama and the Sun Bowl (UTEP), where Notre Dame played Miami in December 2010. Notre Dame also holds the attendance record for a college football game at six different pro stadiums: Soldier Field (Chicago), Fenway Park (Boston), Aviva Stadium (Ireland), Meadowlands Stadium (New Jersey), Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia) and Yankee Stadium (New York). BY THE NUMBERS BY LOU SOMOGYI 9 Receptions for 108 yards and a score by junior tight end Cole Kmet. The catch total ties the single-game Notre Dame record by a tight end set by 1977 Walter Camp Award winner Ken MacAfee, who snared nine for 114 yards and a score in a 31-24 victory at Purdue in which third-team quarterback Joe Montana rescued the Irish from a 24-14 fourth-quarter deficit and began the march toward the national title. PHOTO BY A. HARRISON/WPG