Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 FEBRUARY 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Notre Dame Finishes No. 5 In AP Poll For the second time in three years, 10‑2 Notre Dame finished No. 5 in the Associated Press college football poll. It's not often that such a high rating can be achieved when the final two games of the sea‑ son saw the Fighting Irish lose by 24 and 17 points. However, this was hardly an ordinary year with the COVID‑19 pandemic that had significantly abbreviated campaigns in both the Big Ten and Pac‑12, and overall in the sport. The two defeats came to No. 3 Clemson (34‑10) in the ACC Championship and No. 1 Alabama (31‑14) in the College Football Playoff semifinal in the Rose Bowl. Notre Dame limited the Crimson Tide to their lowest point total since the end of the 2018 season and played them closer than No. 2 Ohio State and No. 4 Texas A&M — who lost by identical 52‑24 scores to head coach Nick Saban's juggernaut that captured its sixth national title in the last 12 years. The No. 5 final placement was the highest by a two‑loss Irish outfit since 1969 (8‑2‑1), also No. 5. We should note that in the 1974 UPI Coaches' poll, Notre Dame finished No. 4 with a 10‑2 record (No. 6 in AP) when in Parseghian's final game it defeated 11‑0 and No. 1‑ranked Alabama 13‑11 in the Orange Bowl. — Lou Somogyi WALT SAHM: 1943-2011 Walt Sahm, a record‑setting basketball cen‑ ter at Notre Dame from 1962‑65, died Jan. 5 at age 78. Per his daughter Joanna in a report by The Indianapolis Star, Sahm suffered two heart attacks after he was admitted to the hospital for COVID‑19. An Indiana All‑Star basketball player at In‑ dianapolis Cathedral, the 6‑9 Sahm averaged a double‑double in all three of his varsity seasons with the Fighting Irish from 1962‑65 while helping them to advance to the NCAA Tournament twice when only 23 to 25 teams were invited. He finished his career with 1,077 points, averaging 15.8 points per game, but where he was most prolific and a student of the game was as a rebounder, averaging 16.9 boards per contest during his career — a school record that is certain to never be broken. Sahm was one of 25 players selected to Notre Dame's All‑Century team in 2003 that celebrated the program's first 100 years. — Lou Somogyi S a h m a v e r a g e d a s c h o o l - r e c o r d 1 6 . 9 rebounds per game during his career at Notre Dame from 1962-65. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS Rk. School (Record) Points 1. Alabama (13‑0) 1,525 2. Ohio State (7‑1) 1,463 3. Clemson (10‑2) 1,378 4. Texas A&M (9‑1) 1,324 5. Notre Dame (10-2) 1,279 6. Oklahoma (9‑2) 1,243 7. Georgia (8‑2) 1,144 8. Cincinnati* (9‑1) 1,074 9. Iowa State (9‑3) 1,035 10. Northwestern (7‑2) 893 11. BYU (11‑1) 862 12. Indiana (6‑2) 773 13. Florida (8‑4) 764 Rk. School (Record) Points 14. Coastal Carolina (11‑1) 725 15. Louisiana (10‑1) 664 16. Iowa (6‑2) 581 17. Liberty (10‑1) 576 18. North Carolina* (8‑4) 532 19. Texas (7‑3) 485 20. Oklahoma State (8‑3) 417 21. USC* (5‑1) 306 22. Miami (8‑3) 284 23. Ball State (7‑1) 183 24. San Jose State (7‑1) 80 25. Buffalo (6‑1) 51 * 2021 Notre Dame opponent Former Notre Dame assistant basketball coach Ryan Ayers (2016‑20) was charged Jan. 5 in St. Joseph County (Ind.) with three counts of voyeurism and one count of domestic battery. Per court documents, two charges are Level 6 felonies, and two are mis‑ demeanors. A Level 6 felony in Indiana carries between six months and two and a half years in prison, and a fine of up to $10,000 if convicted. Records show Ayers, 34, was arrested and booked into St. Joseph County Jail on Jan. 7, with bond set at $1,000 cash. His next court appearance was set for Jan. 20. The charges came from Ayers' relationships with two women over a four‑ year span. One of the women also accused him of hitting her in the face during a fight in his car in July. South Bend attorney Peter J. Agostino issued a statement on behalf of Ayers: "Ryan denies the allegations. His defense team is coming together and will vigorously defend him. Ryan looks forward to clearing his name of these false charges." Ayers left the team on Sept. 21, with Notre Dame providing a three‑ sentence statement as its sole comment. The statement said Ayers was "pursuing other opportunities" and was "no longer a member of the Notre Dame men's basketball program." Text messages left for Ayers by BlueandGold.com after his departure were not returned. Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey released a statement shortly after the charges: "The university and I decided that Ryan was unable to continue in his role to be a leader of young men, so it was necessary to make the staffing change a few months ago. This is a personal issue for Ryan, and we won't elaborate any further." A Philadelphia‑area native, Ayers spent four years on Brey's staff. He played for Brey and Notre Dame from 2005‑09, averaging 6.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 117 career games. He was an assistant at Bucknell before returning to Notre Dame. — Lou Somogyi The Fighting Irish limited No. 1 Alabama to its low- est point total since the end of the 2018 season, and played the Crimson Tide closer than No. 2 Ohio State and No. 4 Texas A&M. PHOTO COURTESY COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RYAN AYERS CHARGED WITH FELONIES AND MISDEMEANORS FINAL 2020 ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL