Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1307521
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 14, 2020 25 5 Meetings in a row at Notre Dame Stadium the past 32 years against the No. 1-ranked opponent that basically came down to the final play: 1988 Miami (a 31-30 conquest), 1993 Florida State (a 31-24 victory), 2000 Nebraska (a 27-24 overtime defeat), 2005 USC (a 34-31 setback) and now this double- overtime triumph versus the Clemson Tigers. 9 Wins Notre Dame has in its history over the No. 1-ranked team since the start of the Associated Press poll in 1936 (9-15-1 overall). That ties it with the University of Miami, while Alabama has had 10. It was the first for the Fighting Irish since Nov. 13, 1993 versus Florida State, but the longest drought was 34 years from 1936 (against Northwestern) until ending top-ranked Texas' 30-game winning streak in the 1971 Cotton Bowl. Notre Dame is 4-5 at home versus No. 1. 10 Consecutive victories by Notre Dame in the month of November after going unbeaten in both 2018 (4-0) and 2019 (5-0). It is the longest such streak at the school since 10 from 1953-55 — and the Irish have not produced three straight unscathed Novembers since 1947-49 (it did have a tie with USC in 1948, but that was in December). Amazingly, from 2013-17 under head coach Brian Kelly the Irish were only 9-12 in November. 11 Straight ACC games won by Notre Dame, 5-0 last year and 6-0 so far this season. The most recent defeat was to Clemson (30-3) in the 2018 College Football Playoff. The streak began with a pulsating 21-20 victory versus Virginia Tech last Nov. 2, and continued with the breathtaking win versus the top-ranked Tigers. 13 Wins in a row by Notre Dame while extending the nation's longest cur- rent winning streak. The current skein is tied for the third longest at the school since 1950, behind the school record 23 in 1988-89 and 17 from 1992-93. Winning out in the regular season at Boston College (Nov. 14), at North Carolina (Nov. 27), Syracuse at home (Dec. 5) and at Wake Forest (Dec. 12) would tie the latter mark for second place. The other 13-game winning streaks in the last 70 years were in 1973-74 and 2017-18. 17 Points scored by senior kicker Jonathan Doerer on four field goals and five extra points. That ties the school record first set by Craig Hentrich in a 29-20 victory versus Miami in 1990 when he tallied five field goals and two extra points. 23 Home games won in a row by Notre Dame dating back to September 2017. It is only five away from the school-record 28 set from 1942-50. The Fighting Irish close out the home slate this season Dec. 5 versus 1-7 Syra- cuse to get to 24. The first five next season "for the record" are Toledo (Sept. 11), Purdue (Sept. 18), Cincinnati (Oct. 2) — head coach Brian Kelly's previous stop from 2007-09 — USC (Oct. 23) and North Carolina (Oct. 30). 36 Regular-season games in a row Clemson had won (not including three ACC title games that are counted as part of the postseason). That was exactly the same number No. 1 Miami had when it lost 31-30 to Notre Dame on Oct. 15, 1988 — with the win helping propel the Fighting Irish to their most recent national title. 43 Years since Notre Dame had most recently defeated Clemson, a heart- stopping 21-17 victory at Death Valley in the first meeting in football between the two schools. That victory on Nov. 12 continued the Fighting Irish march to the 1977 national title. Will another such pulsating triumph in No- vember against Clemson help reap a similar outcome? 90 Percent of starts won by fifth-year quarterback Ian Book at Notre Dame with his 27-3 record. The only other two Fighting Irish signal-callers above 90 percent with a minimum of 20 starts are John Lujack (20-1-1, .932) in 1943 and 1946-47, and Tony Rice (28-3, .903) from 1987-89. BY THE NUMBERS BY LOU SOMOGYI 439 Yards passing by Clemson freshman quar- terback D.J. UIAGALELEI, breaking the single-game record against Notre Dame of 425 that USC's Carson Palmer set versus the Irish in 2002. Palmer was 32 of 46 in the 44-13 victory. Uiagalelei was 29 of 44. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS