Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1290311
14 SEPT. 26, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME ✦ GIMME FIVE From 1964-96, capacity or sellout crowds at Notre Dame were the norm, typically listed at 59,075. An exception was the 1973 Thanksgiving Day contest versus Air Force (57,236) during the march to the national title that season. In 1997, Notre Dame Stadium was expanded to a seating capacity of 80,225, and eventually went as high as 80,795. The opening of Campus Crossroads in 2017 reduced it to 77,622. Last year versus Navy and Boston College, the sellout streak dating back to 1974 "officially" ended. Prior to 1964, though, sellouts were hardly the norm. Only 41,306 were in attendance for the final home game of 1963 when the Irish finished 2-7. In head coach Frank Leahy's debut in 1941 versus Arizona, only 19,567 showed up. This year because of COVID-19, some new record-low attendance figures could be set inside Notre Dame Stadium, especially versus Syracuse Dec. 5, when the students no longer will be on campus (the first semester ends Nov. 20). Here are the five lowest attendance figures at Notre Dame Stadium, with almost all coming during The Great Depression: Rk. Year Opponent Attendance 1. 1932 Drake 6,663 2. 1932 Haskell 8,369 3. 1933 Kansas 9,221 4. 1936 Washington (Mo.) 9,879 5. 2020 Duke 10,097 CHARTING THE IRISH U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT'S BEST COLLEGES After reaching No. 15 in the U.S. News & World Report's list of Best Colleges last year, Notre Dame fell four spots to No. 19 in 2021. Still, the Fighting Irish are ahead of ev- ery program on their 2020 football sched- ule except for No. 12 Duke. The only other Power Five programs ahead of Notre Dame are No. 6 Stanford, No. 9 North- western and No. 14 Vanderbilt. Overall, the average rank of all ACC schools is 54, which is tops amongst all Football Bowl Subdivision conferences, with six other teams in the top 50: No. 26 Virginia, No. 28 North Carolina, No. 28 Wake Forest, No. 35 Boston College, No. 35 Georgia Tech and No. 49 Miami. The only ACC program ranked outside the top 100 is No. 176 Louisville, which is also the lowest ranked team on the Fight- ing Irish schedule. Next is No. 103 South Florida, followed by Clemson at No. 76. Pittsburgh, Florida State and Syracuse are all tied for No. 58. Three teams formerly on Notre Dame's schedule are also in the top 50: No. 6 Stan- ford, No. 24 USC and No. 42 Wisconsin. MOVING? Let our customer service department know your new address! Call 1-800-421-7751 THE ACC IN THE BEST COLLEGES RANKINGS Rk. School 12. Duke* 19. Notre Dame 26. Virginia T28. North Carolina* T28. Wake Forest* T35. Boston College* T35. Georgia Tech* 49. Miami T58. Florida State* T58. Syracuse* T58. Pittsburgh* T74. Clemson* T74. Virginia Tech 80. North Carolina State 176. Louisville* * Plays Notre Dame in football in 2020 (South Florida, the lone non conference opponent on the Irish's 2020 schedule was ranked No. 103) Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom Keagan McLaughlin — Soccer The senior from Zanes- ville, Ohio, had a career- high four saves in Notre Dame's season-opening 1-0 win over Kentucky on Sept. 17. He has not allowed a goal in any of his five career ap- pearances. The shutout win over Kentucky was his fourth career win in as many starts in goal. Charley Niego — Volleyball The junior outside hitter was named to the 2020 preseason All-ACC Volleyball Team, one of two Irish players to earn the honor. She started all 29 matches in 2019, posting a team-high 410 kills and a career-high 326 digs. The Chicago native was a first-team All-ACC selection last year and had 14 double-doubles, tied for the 10th most in a single season in program history. Zoe Nunez — Volleyball The junior setter from Rockford, Ill., joined Niego as a preseason All-ACC Vol- leyball Team honoree. She had a career-high 1,219 as- sists in 115 sets in 2019 and had eight matches with at least 50 assists. At the end of last season, she was named to the U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team Gold roster. Notre Dame was picked to finish fourth among 15 teams in this year's ACC preseason poll. Kyren Williams — Football Williams was the first- ever Irish player to earn a conference weekly award when he was named ACC Running Back of the Week after his 205-yard debut in a 27-13 win vs. Duke. The sophomore from St. Louis, Mo. ran for 112 yards and two touch- downs on 19 carries, while adding 93 receiv- ing yards. Last year, he played in only four games and produced 64 all-purpose yards (35 on kick returns, 26 rushing and three receiving). TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS