Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com DECEMBER 2021 9 UNDER THE DOME 1 Team in the country that has had two games with multiple defensive touchdowns against Power Five opponents this season — Notre Dame. 2nd C o n s e c u t i ve s e a s o n t h e N o t re Dame hockey team has swept the No. 1-ranked team in the nation on the road. The Irish skated to 3-2 and 5-4 overtime victo- ries versus the top-ranked Michigan Wolverines Nov. 19-20 in Ann Arbor. Last season, Notre Dame posted 3-2 and 3-2 wins over then-No. 1 Minne- sota on Jan. 15-16, 2021. 5 Straight matches, spanning 470 minutes, not allowing a goal for the Notre Dame men's soccer team after its 3-0 victory over Villanova in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Nov. 21 in South Bend. The Fighting Irish recorded clean sheets in nine of their last 11 outings en route to reaching the NCAA's round of 16 for the 11th time in program history. 6 Players on Notre Dame's women's basketball team scored in double figures in a 94-35 vic- tory over Bryant Nov. 21. That marked the first time the Fighting Irish achieved that feat since Dec. 16, 2018. The Irish were led by sophomore forward Maddy Westbeld's 19 points, while se- nior guard Dara Mabrey and freshman guard Olivia Miles each tallied 14, freshman guard Sonia Citron had 13, sophomore forward Natalija Mar- shall scored a career-high 11 points, and senior guard Abby Prohaska added 10 points off of the bench in the winning effort. Miles also dished out a career-high 14 assists in the victory. 26.6 Points point per game was Notre Dame football's average margin of victory in their five wins from Oct. 30 to Nov. 20. During that time, the Fighting Irish's odds to make the College Football Playoff improved from 100/1 to 33/1, which were the fifth best nationally be- hind Georgia (4/5), Ohio State (3/1), Alabama (4/1) and Cincinnati (22/1) per BetOnline. 34 Game streak of double-digit scoring per- formances for Paul Atkinson Jr. through Nov. 23. Atkinson hit double figures in all 30 games he played at Yale in 2019-20, and his first four games with Notre Dame this season. The last time Atkinson did not score double figure points was in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, when he was held to nine points against LSU. 80th In the country was where Notre Dame ranked in passing efficiency through Week 6. From Weeks 8-12, though, the Fighting Irish were fifth nationally in that metric, per Pro Football Focus. 82.3 Receiving grade for junior run- ning back Kyren Williams through Week 12, which ranked sixth nationally among Power Five running backs. His 40 receptions through 11 games are the fourth most by an Irish running back in a single season, behind only Darius Walker (56 in 2006), Armando Allen Jr. (50 in 2008) and Darius Walker (43 in 2005). Williams' 76 career receptions rank third all time among Irish running backs, behind only Allen (119 from 2007-10) and Walker (109 from 2004-06). 187:23 Minutes of game time without allowing a touch- down for the Notre Dame defense, starting against North Carolina Oct. 30 in the fourth quar- ter of the Irish's 44-34 victory, and spanning wins against Navy, Virginia and Georgia Tech the first three weekends of November. With two touch- downs and a safety, the Irish defense outscored the opposing offenses 14-9 over that span. ✦ BY THE NUMBERS 15 Different Notre Dame defenders have recorded a sack through 11 games this season. The Fighting Irish ranked fourth nationally with 38 sacks, their most in a single season in 18 years (39 in 2003). PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL