Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 27, 2021 9 UNDER THE DOME 1 Member of the Fighting Irish's coaching staff — offensive coordinator TOMMY REES — was among the 59 nominees listed for the Frank Broyles Award, which is given to the best assistant coach in college football. The award began in 1996 and 19 of the 25 previous winners have gone on to become head coaches. The group of nominees will be narrowed down to five finalists who will get an invite to Little Rock, Ark., for a two- day event culminating in the ceremony Dec. 7. The last Notre Dame assistant to win the Broyles Award was defensive coordinator Bob Diaco in 2012. Current Irish offensive line coach Jeff Quinn also won the award in 2009 while serving as the offensive coordi- nator on head coach Brian Kelly's staff at Cincinnati. 5 Finalists for the Paul Hornung Award — which is given to the most versatile player in major college football — were named Nov. 17. Included on that short list was Notre Dame junior running back Kyren Wil- liams. The other four players are Michigan sophomore run- ning back/return specialist Blake Corum, Ball State senior wide receiver/ return specialist Justin Hall, Houston senior cornerback/return specialist Marcus Jones and Michigan State ju- nior wide receiver/return specialist Jayden Reed. Heading into the matchup with Georgia Tech Nov. 20, Williams led the Irish in all-purpose yards (1,327), rushing yards (872) and total touchdowns (13), and was second on the team in recep- tions (36). He ranked 18th in the NCAA in total touchdowns and 19th in the country with 132.70 all-purpose yards per game, and had been named to the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll five times this season. The winner of the Hornung Award will be announced on Dec. 8. Williams is looking to be the first winner for the Irish since the award was introduced in 2010. Some of the past winners include DeVonta Smith of Ala- bama in 2020, Saquon Barkley of Penn State in 2017, Jabrill Peppers of Michigan in 2016, Christian McCaffrey of Stanford in 2015 and Odell Beckham Jr. of LSU in 2013. 7 Conference championships in program history for the Notre Dame men's soccer program, following the Fighting Irish's 2-0 win over Duke in the ACC title game Nov. 14. That marked the pro- gram's first ACC title. They also won three Big East crowns and three Midwestern Collegiate championships. 14th Is where Notre Dame sophomore Michael Mayer ranked among tight ends nationally in Pro Football Focus' grad- ing system through Week 11. Mayer boasted an overall offensive grade of 79.4, plus an 80.1 receiving grade and 66.7 run-blocking grade. Mayer earned a spot on PFF's Team of the Week fol- lowing Notre Dame's 28-3 win at Virginia Nov. 13. He received a 92.9 receiving grade after hauling in all seven of his targets for 84 yards and a touchdown. 15.3 Points and 7.0 rebounds per game for graduate transfer Maya Dodson in her first three outing at Notre Dame. Both fig- ures ranked second on the team. Dodson scored a career-high 25 points in her official Irish debut during a 105-69 win over Ohio Nov. 9, shattering her previ- ous personal best of 16 set in December 2018 while at Stanford. 21 Points scored by freshman guard Blake Wesley in his Notre Dame debut during a 68-52 win over Cal State Northridge Nov. 13. He became just the second freshman of the Mike Brey era to post 20 or more points in his debut. Guard Chris Thomas tallied 24 points against New Hampshire in 2001. 21-0 Scoring run by the Fighting Irish women's bas- ketball team over the final 8:06 of their ACC opener at Syracuse Nov. 14. Sophomore forward Maddy Westbeld tallied nine of those points, while senior guard Dara Mabrey added six, to help the Irish put away the Orange in an 82-56 victory. 31-0-1 Record for the Notre Dame women's soc- cer program in its last 32 home NCAA Tournament games following its 4-0 victory versus Southern Illinois University Edwardsville a first-round matchup Nov. 14. The Fighting Irish have not lost a postseason game in South Bend since a 1-0 loss to Michigan in a second-round game on Nov. 16, 2003. 95.35 Percent (41 of 43) success rate for Notre Dame hockey's penalty kill unit through 11 contests. That figure ranked No. 1 in the country through games played Nov. 17. ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER