Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1293421
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 10, 2020 11 UNDER THE DOME 1 Pro Football Focus' ranking of Notre Dame's offen- sive line through the first three weeks of the col- lege football season (through the Sept. 19 games). Without the SEC, Big Ten or Pac-12 playing yet, the next four after the Irish were Brigham Young, North Carolina State, Appalachian State and Marshall. Headlining the charge for Notre Dame was fifth- year senior left tackle LIAM EICHENBERG, whose 91.1 pass-blocking grade was second only to Oklahoma State's Teven Jenkins' 91.7. Eichen- berg, who could potentially become Notre Dame's fifth straight first-round pick at left tackle since 2014, was also the lone player in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 85- plus grades in run blocking and pass blocking. 2 Florida teams visiting Notre Dame this season to play foot- ball, a first in school history. South Florida made its second trek ever to South Bend Sept. 19, while Flor- ida State is scheduled to make its fourth trip to Notre Dame Oct. 10. The Fighting Irish also played two Florida schools during the 1981 sea- son, when FSU made its initial trip here and won 19-13. Notre Dame then lost in the regular-season fi- nale at Miami (37-15) to finish 5-6, but that game was on the road. The 2024 schedule has the Irish facing both Miami and Florida State at home. 3 Games postponed, if not canceled, in Notre Dame football annals since 1919: This year's Wake Forest game slated for Sept. 26 was moved to Dec. 12 because of a rash of COVID-19 positive tests on the Fighting Irish football team. The previous such outing was the Sept. 15, 2001 game at Purdue that shifted to Dec. 1 following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Somerset County, Pa. There also was the Nov. 23, 1963 game at Iowa, the day after the assas- sination of President John F. Kennedy. Notre Dame offered to return Dec. 7 (the Irish played at Yankee Stadium versus Syracuse on Nov. 28, Thanksgiving Day), but Iowa declined. In Knute Rockne's debut season as head coach in 1918, Notre Dame had the entire October schedule erased because of the Spanish Influenza that ravaged the world. The Irish finished 3-1-2 that season. 4 Consecutive games at home to start a football season at Notre Dame after the Sept. 26 trip to Wake Forest was postponed and rescheduled to be played Dec. 12. There is an Oct. 3 bye, and then the Fighting Irish are slated to host Florida State (Oct. 10) and Louisville (Oct. 17) before their trip to Pittsburgh (Oct. 24). The first two contests were at home against Duke (Sept. 12) and South Florida (Sept. 19). The last time Notre Dame opened a season with four straight home games was 1934 under first-year head coach Elmer Layden. During the 3-9 cam- paign in 2007 it played five in a row at home prior to the season finale at Stanford. 74 Days of "Christmas vacation" for Notre Dame students this year. The first semester concludes Nov. 20, and the second is not scheduled to begin until Feb. 3. That means the winter sports, most notably the basketball teams, will have pretty much all of December and January to themselves on campus. 84 Yards on a touchdown reception by 2016-19 Notre Dame standout Chase Claypool during the Pittsburgh Steelers 26-21 victory versus Denver Sept. 20. The score by the 2019 MVP and second-round pick is, per our research, tied for the second longest by a Notre Dame alumnus in the NFL. Michael Floyd (2008-11) snared a 91-yard touchdown for Arizona versus Jacksonville in 2013 for the longest. Jack Snow (1963-65) also had an 84-yard reception in a 1966 game for the Los Angeles Rams. ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS