Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 OCT. 24, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Shaun Crawford — Football The sixth-year senior from Lakewood, Ohio, was named to the Pro Football Focus de- fensive team of the week for his performance against Florida State Oct. 10. Crawford started at corner after playing the first two games at safety and had a goal-line intercep- tion to go with two passes broken up. PFF gave him an 88.7 overall defensive grade in the game, best among Notre Dame defenders. Keagan McLaughlin — Soccer Notre Dame's senior goalie had four saves in a 1-0 shut- out of Syracuse Oct. 11, which was the first ACC win for the Irish (2-2, 1-2 ACC). McLaughlin, a Zanesville, Ohio, native had 13 saves and five goals allowed in Notre Dame's first four games this season. He has posted shutouts in each of Notre Dame's two wins. Jarrett Patterson — Football Notre Dame's starting center was named to initial watch list of about 70 candidates for the Rimington Trophy, which goes to college foot- ball's best center. The junior from Laguna Hills, Calif., has started every game at center for Notre Dame since the be- ginning of the 2019 season. As of mid-October, Patter- son had the second-highest run-blocking grade among Football Bowl Subdivision centers. Landon Slaggert — Hockey The Chicago Blackhawks drafted Slaggert in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft Oct. 7, using the 79th overall pick. The freshman for- ward and son of Irish associ- ate head coach Andy Slag- gert is one of eight drafted players on Notre Dame's roster. Teammate Ryder Rolston, another freshman forward, was drafted in the fifth round by the Colorado Avalanche. The Irish season could begin as soon as Nov. 13, though a specific schedule had not been released as of Oct. 15. TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom CHARTING THE IRISH NOTRE DAME BOASTS THE NATION'S LONGEST ACTIVE WIN STREAK, BUT IT DOESN'T CRACK PROGRAM'S TOP 16 With a victory over Florida State Oct. 10, Notre Dame won its ninth straight game. Heading into week seven of the college football season, this was tied for the longest in the nation with Air Force. Where does this rank in Fighting Irish history? As it turns out, Notre Dame has 16 double-digit win streaks, with the longest spanning 23 games from 1988-89 and, in three other instances, the Fighting Irish have won at least 20 games in a row. However, only two of Notre Dame's double-digit win streaks have taken place in the 2000s — one in 2012 (with those wins technically vacated by the NCAA) and the other in 2017-18. A win against Louisville Oct. 17 would give the Fighting Irish their third such streak since the turn of the century. It's worth noting that the program technically has much longer unbeaten streaks, which includes ties. From 1946-50, the program went 39 games without a loss. NOTRE DAME'S LONGEST WIN STREAKS (10-GAME MINIMUM) ✦ GIMME FIVE While preparing for the matchup versus Louisville Oct. 17, No. 4-ranked Notre Dame was present in the Associ- ated Press top 25 a 51st consecutive week, per the Notre Dame media rela- tions department. That is the fourth-longest current streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision, behind Alabama (202 weeks), Clemson (91) and Georgia (55). Behind the Fight- ing Irish are Florida (34), Auburn (23) and Cincinnati (17). Also, since the start of the AP poll in 1936, it is the fourth-longest streak in Notre Dame's football history as well. What must be put into context is that from 1962-68, the AP ranked only a top 10, and then from 1969-88 it had only a top 20. It did not begin ranking 25 teams until 1989. Here are the top five longest streaks of consecutive weeks ranked by the AP, per Notre Dame: Rk. Weeks Years 1. 124 1987-94 2. 97 1969-75 3. 75 1942-50 4. 51 2017-current 5. 46 1952-56 Head coach Brian Kelly's Fighting Irish currently own the fourth-longest streak of being ranked in the AP poll, and also the fourth-longest at the school since 1936. PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER Rk. Year(s) Win Streak 1. 1988-89 23 2. 1946-48 21 3. 1919-21 20 1929-31 20 5. 1992-93 17 6. 1923-25 16 1912-14 16 8. 1921-22 14 Rk. Year(s) Win Streak 9. 1908-09 13 2017-18 13 1973-74 13 12. 2012 12 13. 1954-55 11 1949-50 11 1937-38 11 16. 1977 10