Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 NOV. 7, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED ✦ GIMME FIVE While Ian Book might finish his career at Notre Dame behind Brady Quinn (2003-06) in most of the all- time passing statistics, what has been somewhat overshadowed is how productive and effective he has been as a dual-threat figure with his running skills. Entering the Oct. 31 game at Geor- gia Tech, Book already was No. 2 on the all-time quarterback rushing chart at Notre Dame, one of five sig- nal-callers in Fighting Irish annals who has surpassed 1,000 yards. The rushing total by Tony Rice (1987-89) will be difficult to eclipse — even if Book wanted to return in 2021 (al- lowed by the NCAA) and the coach- ing staff agreed to it. Here are the top five career rush- ing numbers by a Notre Dame quarterback, with bowl games also included for all of them. Rk. Player (Years) Att. Yards Avg. TD 1. Tony Rice (1987-89) 412 2,049 5.0 23 2. Ian Book (2017-current)* 287 1,198 4.2 13 3. Brandon Wimbush (2015-18) 215 1,156 5.4 16 4. Tom Clements (1972-74) 302 1,148 3.8 12 5. Joe Theismann (1968-70) 328 1,091 3.3 16 * Stats through the Oct. 24 game at Pitt UNDER THE DOME Liam Eichenberg — Football The fifth-year senior left tackle from Cleveland was named the ACC Offensive Line- man of the Week for his per- formance in Notre Dame's 45-3 win at Pittsburgh on Oct. 24. Notre Dame ran for 115 yards against one of the na- tion's top run defenses, and Eichenberg earned the highest Pro Football Focus run-blocking grade among the five offensive linemen at 78.8. He was the Fighting Irish's highest-graded player on offense heading into the final weekend of October, with an elite 93.0 overall mark. Aubrey Hamilton — Volleyball The freshman outside hit- ter from Hartland, Wis., had a career-best 20 kills in No. 5 Notre Dame's four-set win at Boston College on Oct. 24. She had four straight kills in the third set and the match- clinching kill in the fourth set. Hamilton's career high came a day after she had seven kills in a 3-0 win, also against Bos- ton College. She finished the seven-match fall schedule third on the team in kills per set (2.96). Mattie Interian — Soccer The junior goalie from Pasadena, Calif., was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week after she posted a shutout in Notre Dame's 1-0 win over No. 13 Louisville on Oct. 25. She had three saves, including two in the final 10 minutes, to seal the win. Interian posted four shutouts in Notre Dame's first seven contests, and had a 1.16 goals against average and .704 save percentage. Jack Lynn — Soccer The junior from St. Louis scored his third goal in as many games in Notre Dame's 2-1 double-overtime victory over Virginia on Oct. 24. His goal came in the 54th minute on a header, tying the score at 1-1, and was one of his team- high seven shots. Lynn was Notre Dame's leading scorer with six points despite missing one of the team's five games. TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom CHARTING THE IRISH EXCELLING ON THE FIELD AND IN THE CLASSROOM Notre Dame is the fourth-best college for student-athletes in America, according to rankings from Niche.com, which were calculated by looking at the "top-ranked colleges that have both elite academic programs and competitive sports programs that support student-athletes on and off the field." N o t re D a m e i s ahead of all but one of its 2020 ACC op- ponents. Coming in at No. 1 on this list is Duke, followed by Stanford and USC. One spot behind the Irish is No. 5 Flor- ida. Next is Notre Dame's Nov. 27 op- ponent North Carolina. No other ACC opponents on Notre Dame's 2020 schedule are in the top 20, with Florida State coming in at No. 21. Clemson — Notre Dame's Nov. 7 opponent — is No. 23, followed closely by No. 26 Boston College, No. 27 Wake Forest and No. 34 Georgia Tech. Syracuse cracks the top 50 at No. 48. The lowest ranked of Notre Dame's 2020 ACC opponents are Louisville at No. 64 and Pittsburgh at No. 69. Ian Book already ranks No. 2 in career rushing yards (1,198) by a quarterback in Notre Dame history. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS Rk. School 1. Duke 2. Stanford 3. USC 4. Notre Dame 5. Florida 6. North Carolina 21. Florida State Rk. School 23. Clemson 26. Boston College 27. Wake Forest 34. Georgia Tech 48. Syracuse 64. Louisville 69. Pittsburgh BEST COLLEGES FOR STUDENT-ATHLETES IN AMERICA Per Niche.com