Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 OCT. 31, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED ✦ GIMME FIVE Notre Dame's 12-7 victory over Louisville Oct. 17 marked the fewest points scored by the Fighting Irish in a win since 1990, a 10-6 victory at USC in the regular-season finale at the Los Angeles Coliseum. In the 80 years since 1940, the fewest points Notre Dame scored while winning was a 3-0 deci- sion over No. 7-ranked LSU at home on Nov. 21, 1970. The Fighting Irish also defeated Navy 6-0 in 1954 and had several wins with just seven points, most notably the 7-0 shutouts on the road of Oklahoma in 1957 — ending the Soon- ers' NCAA-record 47-game winning streak — and No. 5 Alabama in 1980. Now in his 11th season as Notre Dame's head coach, Brian Kelly's win over Louisville improved his record to 10-14 when scoring less than 20 points. Here are Kelly's five victories with the Irish with the fewest points. Rk. Game (Year) Score 1. Louisville (2020) 12-7 2. Michigan (2012) 13-6 3. USC (2013) 14-10 4. Pitt (2011) 15-12 5. Boston College (2011) 16-14 Note: There is a three-way tie for sixth place with 17 against BYU (17-14 in 2012), Michigan State (17-13 in 2013) and Stanford (17-14 in 2014). The next lowest two were 19 versus Boston College in 2015 (19-16) and Pitt in 2018 (19-14). UNDER THE DOME Nate Clurman — Hockey The junior from Boulder, Colo., was named Notre Dame's captain for the 2020-21 season, which will be his first wearing a letter on his jersey. Clurman was a 2019-20 Academic All-Big Ten selection, and had nine assists and a plus-8 rating in 37 games. The Colorado Avalanche made Clurman a sixth-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. He has played in 76 career games through two years and has 12 assists. Nancy Kane — Volleyball The sophomore setter from Chicago had 31 digs over two matches against No. 10 Pitt. In a 3-1 win on Oct. 16, she compiled 12 digs to go with an assist. In a 3-1 loss to the Panthers on Oct. 18, she had a team- best and career-high 19 digs along with two kills. Kane, who appeared in 39 sets and had three digs as a freshman last year, stood fourth on the team with 48 digs through five matches this season. Ellie Ospeck — Soccer The freshman forward from Danville, Calif., scored her first career goal in No. 14 Notre Dame's 2-1 loss to fourth-ranked Clemson on Oct. 18. It came in the 46th minute off an assist from se- nior midfielder Sammi Fisher and tied the score at 1-1. Ospeck was a 2019 USA To- day All-USA second-team selection and played in the 2019 Allstate All-American Game. Kyren Williams — Football The sophomore from St. Louis was named the ACC Rookie of the Week after piling up 127 rushing yards in Notre Dame's 12-7 win over Louisville. He had a 24-yard run on third-and-five on the Irish's game-sealing drive that ran nearly eight minutes off the clock. It was Williams' third 100-yard game in four tries this year. Through games played Oct. 17, he ranked sixth nationally with 121.5 rushing yards per game. TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom CHARTING THE IRISH THE TRIFECTA EFFECT For the third time in the last four seasons, Notre Dame football was ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press poll. While a team's ranking at the end of season matters most, this is still a significant achievement in the college football world, especially because the Fighting Irish have never begun the season higher than No. 9 during that stretch. During that time span, 11 other teams have reached No. 3 in the AP poll and just five of them have accomplished this feat in multiple seasons with the Irish: Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State and Oklahoma. Two 2020 Notre Dame oppo‑ nents were ranked No. 3 or higher in the last four seasons: Clemson and Florida State. For at least one week since 2017, Clemson was ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. Mean‑ while, Florida State was No. 3 in the 2017 preseason AP poll, but has yet to win more than seven games in a season since. Fellow ACC member Miami reached No. 2 in the 2017 AP poll after defeating Notre Dame 41‑8 on Nov. 11, only to lose to an un‑ ranked Pittsburgh team 24‑14 two weeks later. TEAMS RANKED IN TOP THREE IN AP POLL IN LAST FOUR SEASONS School Seasons High Ranking Alabama 4 No. 1 Clemson 4 No. 1 Georgia 4 No. 2 Ohio State 4 No. 2 Notre Dame 3 No. 3 Oklahoma 2 No. 2 Florida 1 No. 3 Florida State 1 No. 3 LSU 1 No. 1 Miami 1 No. 2 Penn State 1 No. 2 Wisconsin 1 No. 3 Notre Dame's defense led the way for a 12-7 victory against Louisville on Oct. 17, the lowest Notre Dame point total in a win since closing the 1990 regular season with a 10-6 conquest at USC. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS