Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1313320
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com DEC. 5, 2020 7 UNDER THE DOME 5 Notre Dame players who accepted in- vitations to play in the Senior Bowl at Hancock Whitney Stadium on Jan. 30, 2021 in Mobile, Ala.: quarterback IAN BOOK, offensive tackles Robert Hainsey and Liam Eichenberg, and defensive ends Daelin Hayes and Adetokunbo Ogundeji. Although all could have applied for an extra season in 2021, they have instead exercised the option to begin their aspiring NFL careers. 8 Senior or fifth-year senior walk-ons who are expected to be introduced on Senior Day at Notre Dame Dec. 5: quarterback J.D. Carney, running back Cameron Ekanayake, tight ends Xavier Lezynski and Jack Henige, linebacker Gregory Reed, defensive backs John Mahoney and Patrick Pelini, and kicker Dawson Goepferich, a graduate transfer from Brown University. 9 Fifth- or sixth-year seniors on scholarship who will be playing their final home game versus Syracuse Dec. 5 — although the NCAA does permit them to apply for one more season in 2021 given the COVID-19 circumstances of 2020: quarter- back Ian Book, wide receivers Javon McKinley and Ben Skowronek, offensive linemen Liam Eichenberg and Tommy Kraemer, defensive ends Daelin Hayes and Adetokunbo Ogundeji, and cornerbacks Shaun Crawford (who is in his sixth year) and Nick McCloud. We would be a tad surprised if anyone listed above returns in 2021. 14 Fourth-year seniors on scholarship who will be introduced on Senior Day versus Syracuse Dec. 5: wide receivers Jafar Armstrong and Avery Davis, tight end Brock Wright, offensive linemen Robert Hainsey, Aaron Banks, Josh Lugg, Dillan Gibbons and Colin Grunhard, defensive linemen Kurt Hinish and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, middle linebacker Drew White, safety/rover Isaiah Pryor and kicker Jonathan Doerer. Other than Owusu-Koramoah, who is projected as a potential first-round pick next spring, Hainsey and possibly Banks up front, we could see most use their available fifth-year option at Notre Dame next season. 14 Consecutive years Notre Dame posted the top NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for all student-athletes, per the data released Nov. 17. This year's GSR figure was 98 for Notre Dame, which rates first among the football- playing institutions (tied with Northwestern and Duke) in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A). The 2020 NCAA figures are based on entering classes from 2010 through 2013. Nineteen of 22 Irish athletic programs analyzed posted GSR figures of 100 percent, and 11 produced federal rate scores of 100. Notre Dame's GSR figure for male student-athletes has ranked No. 1 in eight of the past 11 years (top three this year at 96). Using the federal formula, Notre Dame graduated a four-year average of 92 percent of its student-athletes, behind only Stanford at 93. The Fighting Irish finished tied for first among female student-athletes at 100. 15-12-3 All-time regular-season record of Notre Dame in games played in December. The first was played on Dec. 6 1888 — a 20-0 win over Harvard Prep that is the program's initial official victory. The most recent regular-season December game was a 38-12 loss at Syracuse on Dec. 6, 2003. The Orange also happen to be Notre Dame's opponent on Dec. 5, the first of what is expected to be three straight December games for the Fighting Irish. When one includes bowl games in December, Notre Dame is 22-16-3 because of the 7-4 record in the postseason. This is led by the 4-1 mark in December bowls by current head coach Brian Kelly, plus 1-0 under Charlie Weis and Dan Devine, 1-1 with Gerry Faust, and 0-1 under Bob Davie and Kent Baer, the interim coach in 2004 in place of the deposed Ty Willingham. ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS