Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 NOV. 27, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Korbin Albert — Soccer The freshman midfielder from Grayslake, Ill., helped Notre Dame start its NCAA Tournament in fine fashion by defeating SIU Edwards- ville 4-0 Nov. 14. She scored two goals and added an as- sist. Albert has had a break- out first season with the program. Heading into the Irish's second-round game, she ranked sec- ond on the team in goals (11) and total points (26), trailing only graduate student midfielder Sammi Fisher in both categories. Maddy Denner — Cross Country Notre Dame won the Great Lakes Regional Nov. 12 in Evansville, Ind. That was made possible by a pair of Notre Dame runners finishing first and second place in the event. Denner, a senior from El Dorado Hills, Calif., won with a 6K time of 19:55.8. She crossed the line just ahead of Irish junior Olivia Markezich, who finished with a time of 19:57.7. Denner, Markezich and two other Irish runners earned All-Region honors. Matthew Galajda — Hockey Notre Dame swept Wisconsin at Compton Family Ice Arena Nov. 12-13, and the graduate student goaltender was a major rea- son why. He turned away 24 Badgers shots in a 5-1 win and registered the 21st shut- out of his career in a 3-0 win. That mark is tied for third most in NCAA history. Gala- jda, a transfer from Cornell, was named the Big Ten Third Star of the Week for stopping 46 of 47 Wisconsin shots. Dawson McCartney — Soccer Notre Dame won its first ever ACC Tourna- ment championship Nov. 14 due in large part to the play of the graduate student from Voorhees, N.J. He scored both of Notre Dame's goals in a 2-0 vic- tory over Duke in the title match. McCartney's brace was the first in an ACC final since 2011. McCartney, the tournament MVP, upped his season-long goal total to seven, just one tally behind senior Jack Lynn for the team lead. TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom ✦ GIMME FIVE Don't count Notre Dame out of the College Football Playoff picture just yet. In fact, it might be time to get your hopes up if you're an Irish fan. Multiple reputable outlets forecasted the odds that teams toward the top of the rankings had for getting into the playoff through Week 11, and Notre Dame fared favorably. According to Pro Football Focus, Notre Dame had a 55 percent chance to make the playoff after its 9-1 start. That was the fourth-best percentage of any team in the country per PFF behind Georgia (99), Alabama (62) and Ohio State (58). Notre Dame was trailed closely in that hierarchy by Cincinnati (48) who beat the Irish in South Bend Oct. 2. ESPN released a similar percentage-points-based playoff predictor. Notre Dame came out looking even better in the that ranking. It gave the Irish a 60 percent chance to make the CFP. Only Georgia (96) and Alabama (64) had better marks. Notre Dame has risen in each of the last two College Football Playoff rankings releases. The Irish started at No. 10 in the first reveal and climbed to No. 9 after beating Navy 34-6 and watching No. 9 Wake Forest lose to North Carolina. Then Notre Dame handled Virginia 28-3 on the road and watched Oklahoma fall to Baylor. That allowed the Irish to climb one spot yet again. Going along with that theme, Notre Dame doesn't quite control its own destiny. There's a world in which an 11-1 Fighting Irish team does not qualify for the CFP. There are plenty of scenarios, however, in which head coach Brian Kelly's team does hit that 11-1 mark and makes itself a playoff semifinalist for the third year in the last four. ESPN'S CHANCES TO MAKE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF THROUGH WEEK 11 Rk. Team % Chance to Make CFP 1. Georgia 96 2. Alabama 64 3. Notre Dame 60 4. Ohio State 50 5. Cincinnati 46 CHARTING THE IRISH ONLY GEORGIA HAS BETTER STRENGTH OF WINS THAN NOTRE DAME Notre Dame's schedule hasn't exactly been flashy from a rankings standpoint. The Irish beat Wisconsin while it was still ranked, and Purdue has been in and out of the rankings in the second half of the season despite the Boilermakers not being ranked when Notre Dame beat them in September. The Irish lost their one true chance at an eye-popping rankings win when Cincin- nati took them down in South Bend Oct. 2. The Bearcats have been ranked in the top five of most polls since then. Still, Notre Dame has put together a solid résumé through Week 11. According to college football analyst Phil Steele, only one team in the country — No. 1 Georgia — has a better strength of wins figure than Notre Dame. Steele calculates strength of wins by as- signing one point to an FBS team for all of the FBS teams it has beaten. The number in the win column indicates how many strength of wins points are up for grabs if another team were to beat it in a game. For instance, Notre Dame beat Virginia Nov. 13. At the time, Virginia had six wins. That's six more points for Notre Dame's strength of wins total. If Virginia wins another game, Notre Dame gets an- other point for its total. And so on. Through Week 11, Georgia had a strength of wins total of 43. Notre Dame had a mark of 38. Those were the top two totals in the country to that point in the season. To that end, it's no wonder ESPN ranked Notre Dame's strength of record No. 3 in the country behind Georgia and Alabama through Week 11. And Alabama didn't even show up in Steele's top 10. — Tyler Horka STRENGTH OF WINS ACCORDING TO PHIL STEELE Rk. School Strength Of Wins 1. Georgia 43 2. Notre Dame 38 3. Michigan 34 4. Wisconsin 33 Oregon 33 6. Boise State 32 7. Ohio State 31 Wake Forest 31 Baylor 31 10. Oklahoma State 30 Iowa 30 Notre Dame's odds to make the College Football Playoff for the third time in the last four years under head coach Brian Kelly might be better than most people think. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER