Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 10, 2022 11 UNDER THE DOME 1 Fighting Irish player was named to On3's Preseason True Freshman All- America Team: cornerback Jaden Mickey. "The 5-foot-11½, 176-pounder has impressed with his ability in coverage since arriving on campus," On3 director of scouting and rankings Charles Power noted. "This is a continuation of what he showed as a high school pros- pect at Corona [Calif.] Centennial. He's a technically sound corner with ball skills and athleticism. Mickey, who doesn't turn 18 years old until after Notre Dame's third game, is ranked as the No. 148 overall prospect in the On300." 2nd Nationally was where Pro Football Focus ranked Notre Dame's of- fensive line heading into the season. The only school listed ahead of the Irish was opening-week opponent Ohio State. 4 Notre Dame players were named to the Preseason Associated Press All-America Team: graduate student center JARRETT PATTERSON (first team), senior defensive end Isaiah Foskey (first team), junior tight end Michael Mayer (second team) and senior safety Brandon Joseph (second team). Only Alabama (6) and Ohio State (5) placed more players on the prestigious squad, while Georgia (4) matched the Irish. Patterson also received preseason first-team honors from PFF and CBS Sports, while Joseph got a first-team nod from CBS Sports and a second-team selection from PFF. Mayer also picked up second-team accolades from CBS Sports and PFF, while Foskey landed on CBS Sports' second team. 5.6 Is the average ranking in the final College Football Playoff poll from 2014-21 for the team that was ranked No. 5 in the pre- season Associated Press poll, which was where Notre Dame was slotted to begin the 2022 season. The No. 5 team in the preseason AP poll has gone on to earn a spot in the four-team College Football Playoff five times over the last eight years, including last year's champion Georgia. Only the preseason No. 1 team has made more CFP ap- pearances, achieving that feat seven times. All told, teams ranked No. 1 through No. 7 in the preseason AP poll have combined for 24 of the 32 CFP appearances. 6th Was where Notre Dame appeared on StubHub's list of the top in-demand college football teams, released in mid-August. For the first time ever, Ohio State topped the list, dethroning last year's No. 1, Alabama. Here is the full top 10: 1. Ohio State 2. Alabama 3. Texas 4. Georgia 5. Texas A&M 6. Notre Dame 7. Michigan 8. Penn State 9. Auburn 10. LSU The matchup between the Fighting Irish and Buckeyes Sept. 3 was second on the Stub- Hub's list of the top in-demand college football games of 2022. In addition, Notre Dame's showdown with Clemson Nov. 5 checked in at No. 7 on the list. Here is the full top 10: 1. Alabama at Texas on Sept. 10 2. Notre Dame at Ohio State on Sept. 3 3. Texas A&M at Alabama on Oct. 8 4. Oregon vs. Georgia in Atlanta on Sept. 3 5. Michigan at Ohio State on Nov. 26 6. Auburn at Alabama on Nov. 26 7. Clemson at Notre Dame on Nov. 5 8. West Virginia at Pitt on Sept. 1 9. Oklahoma at Nebraska on Sept. 17 10. Florida State vs. LSU in New Orleans on Sept. 4 22 / 1 Odds for Notre Dame to reach the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, per BetOnline as of Aug. 23. On Sept. 1, the Fighting Irish were being given 40/1 odds to win the national champi- onship by BetOnline, tied with Miami for the ninth-best odds nationally and behind only Alabama (2/1), Ohio State (7/2), Georgia (5/1), Clemson (11/1), USC (22/1), Oklahoma (25/1) Texas A&M (25/1) and Texas (33/1). $848,000 Was junior tight end Michael Mayer's On3 NIL Valuation — the industry's leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes — as of Sept. 1. That figure ranked Mayer 17th among college football players and 30th in the NIL 100, which includes high school and college athletes in both basketball and football. Mayer and his teammate, senior defensive end Isaiah Foskey (36th on the college football list and 56th in the NIL 100), both received a significant bump after they took part in Notre Dame's Shamrock Series uniform reveal video, which was a parody of the 2009 movie "The Hang- over" and filmed in Las Ve- gas alongside head coach Marcus Freeman. Prior to the spoof, Fos- key's valuation was sitting at $336,000. It's now up to $608,000, an 81 percent in- crease since Aug. 2. Social media following also plays a role in the valuation, and Foskey has 21,000 followers across Instagram and Twit- ter. Mayer's NIL valuation saw a 47 percent increase from the $575,000 it was at in July. The All-Amer- ican tight end, who has 39,000 followers across Instagram and Twitter, inked NIL deals with Rhoback and Levi's over the summer. ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER