Blue and Gold Illustrated

Sept. 17, 2022

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 17, 2022 25 0-3 Record for Marcus Freeman as Notre Dame's head coach. Freeman is the first head coach in school history to lose his first three games with the Fighting Irish. Prior to Freeman this year, the last Irish head coach to start his inaugural season at Notre Dame 0-2 was Lou Holtz in 1986. 1st Loss to an unranked team for Notre Dame in nearly six years. The Fighting Irish had won an NCAA-best 42 straight contests against unranked opponents. The last such defeat was a 34-31 setback vs. Virginia Tech in South Bend on Nov. 19, 2016. The loss to Marshall also represents Notre Dame's first defeat at the hands of an unranked Group of Five team since a 28-27 loss to Navy on Nov. 5, 2016 in Jacksonville, Fla. 2 Victories versus top-10 teams for Marshall in its program's history. Prior to the Thundering Herd's 26-21 upset of No. 8-ranked Notre Dame, the only other such win they had was a 27-20 triumph at No. 6-ranked Kansas State on Sept. 20, 2003. Marshall, which joined the FBS in 1997, is now 2-9 all time against Associated Press top-10 foes and 4-21 versus AP top-25 opponents. 2 Defeats at home against a Group of Five op- ponent for Notre Dame in the past calendar year. The Irish had their 26-game home winning streak snapped by Cincinnati on Oct. 2, 2021. The defeat at the hands of Marshall is the Fight- ing Irish's first as an AP top-10 team against an unranked squad that is not currently in a Power Five conference since they lost 20-17 to Air Force in South Bend on Oct. 19, 1996. 3 Teams since 2000 have started the season as a preseason top-five team in the AP poll and lost its first two games of the season: Michigan in 2007, Florida State in 2017 and Notre Dame in 2022. 4 Of the 15 full-time Irish head coaches since Notre Dame Stadium opened in 1930 have lost their debut game there. Freeman joins a list that includes Charlie Weis (a 44-41 overtime loss to Michigan State in 2005), Holtz (a 24-23 loss to No. 3 Michigan in 1986) and Elmer Layden (a 7-6 defeat vs. Texas in 1934). 5 -Game winning streak for the Fighting Irish against teams making their first visit to Notre Dame Stadium was snapped with their loss to Mar- shall. The Irish had beaten Toledo in 2021; Virginia, New Mexico and Bowling Green in 2019; and Ball State in 2018. The last first-time visitor to Notre Dame Stadium to earn a victory prior to Marshall was Georgia (20-19) in 2017. The Irish are now 19-7 (.731 win- ning percentage) in such games since 1990. 8 Times in its history Notre Dame has played on Sept. 10, and they now have a 5-3 record. The most recent victory on that date remains the Irish's 39-10 triumph over Nevada in 2016. 10 Consecutive victories in home open- ers at Notre Dame Stadium will remain the school record. The Irish, who had won 10 straight from 2012-21, had a chance to set a new school record with a win over Marshall but fell short. The Irish also were victorious in 10 consecutive openers in "The House That Rockne Built" from 1964-73. The Irish are now 75-16-2 (.817) in home open- ers at Notre Dame Stadium and 109-19-4 (.841) in home openers overall. 14-5 Record for Fighting Irish quarter- backs in their Notre Dame Stadium starting debuts since 1998. The last eight had led their team to victory, dating back to 2010. With his loss to Marshall, sophomore Tyler Buchner joins a group that includes Brady Quinn (vs. USC in 2003), Demetrius Jones (vs. Georgia Tech in 2007), Jimmy Clausen (vs. Michigan State in 2007) and Evan Sharpley (vs. USC in 2007). 2011 Was the last time that Notre Dame started a season with a 0-2 record. That year, the Fighting Irish were upset 23-20 at home by South Florida on Sept. 3, 2011, and fell 35-31 at Michigan on Sept. 10, 2011. In the process, Notre Dame became the first team to start 0-2 while being ranked in the AP top 10 in both games since Ohio State in 1986. BY THE NUMBERS BY STEVE DOWNEY 163 Yards rushing and 1 touchdown on 31 carries for Marshall sixth- year senior running back Kha- lan Laborn. That marks the most rushing yards by an Irish opponent since Navy 's Will Worth had 28 carries for 175 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Midshipmen's win over Notre Dame in 2016. Laborn is a former five-star recruit from Virginia Beach, Va., who prior to this season had not played in a college football game since 2019 when he was with Florida State. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER

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