Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM DECEMBER 2022 9 UNDER THE DOME 5 Straight games with 35 or more points for Notre Dame, following its 44-0 demolition of Boston College Nov. 19. The 2022 squad is just the second Fighting Irish team to accomplish that feat, joining head coach Frank Leahy's 1943 national champions. Only eight other teams in the program's 134-year history — 1900, 1912, 1969, 1991, 1992, 1996, 2006 and 2019 — managed to string together four straight 35-point performances. Leahy's troops — who were ranked No. 1 starting with their third game — outscored their opponents 228-25 during their five-game tear to open the season. Their streak was snapped with a 33-6 win over No. 3 Navy. The Irish went on to beat No. 3 Army (26-0), No. 8 Northwestern (25-6) and No. 2 Iowa Pre-Flight (14-13), before falling to Great Lakes (19-14). Despite the defeat the 9-1 Irish were crowned national champions. Here is a comparison between the 1943 and 2022 teams' streaks: 1943 2022* Record during streak of games with 35+ points 5-0 5-0 Points per game during streak 45.6 39.8 Points allowed per game during streak 5.0 18.2 Scoring average in other games 22.4 23.7 Final record 9-1 8-3 * Entering the game at USC Nov. 26 The 2022 Irish won't collect any championship hardware this season, but they were trying to become the first-ever Notre Dame team to score at least 35 points in six consecutive games when they took on Southern Cal Nov. 26. 15 Times during Notre Dame's first three games in the month of No- vember, per Pro Football Focus, an opposing quarterback targeted freshman cornerback Benjamin Morrison when the Fighting Irish were in press coverage. Morrison allowed only 5 catches (33.3 percent completion percentage) while forcing 2 incompletions and intercepting 4 passes. After his 3-pick performance and 91.9 grade versus Boston College Nov. 19, he was tabbed as PFF's True Freshman of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks. Through Week 12, Morrison was the only freshman in the country with 5 interceptions. He was one of eight players tied for second nation- ally, behind three players with 6 picks. 28.7 Points and 267.0 yards was what the Fighting Irish football team averaged in the first half of their first three No- vember contests. In contrast, their opponents managed only 4.3 points and 116.3 yards during the first 30 minutes of those three games. 50-3-1 Record (a .935 winning percentage) for the Notre Dame women's soccer team in home games over 28 NCAA Tournament appearances, after the Fighting Irish outscored the opposition 11-0 while winning their first three NCAA contests at Alumni Stadium this fall. In the process, the Irish extended their unbeaten streak to 12 matches and were on the verge of their 13th trip to the College Cup (national semifinals). 136 Tackles for Notre Dame 2023 line- backer commit Drayk Bowen of Mer- rillville (Ind.) Andrean through 13 games this season. He also had 19 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 2 intercep- tions, 4 passes broken up, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 1 blocked punt. Prior to Andrean (10-3) playing in the Indiana Class 2A championship game Nov. 25, Bowen was named one of five finalists for the high school Butkus Award, which is given to the nation's top linebacker. 1,619 Pass block snaps without a sack allowed by graduate stu- dent left guard Jarrett Patterson during his Notre Dame career heading into the regular-season finale at Southern Cal Nov. 26, per Pro Football Focus. 2 , 001 Career receiving yards for junior tight end MICHAEL MAYER, after he hauled in 5 receptions for 64 yards against Boston College Nov. 19. He is the 18th FBS tight end since 1996 to reach that yardage total — but is the only one to do it in three seasons. Mayer is the first Irish tight end and the 13th Irish pass catcher to reach the 2,000-yard milestone. Rk. Player (Years) Rec. Yds. Yards/Game 1. Michael Floyd (2008-11) 3,686 85.7 2. Golden Tate (2007-09) 2,707 73.2 3. Jeff Samardzija (2003-06) 2,593 52.9 4. Will Fuller (2013-15) 2,512 78.5 Derrick Mayes (1992-95) 2,512 57.1 6. Tim Brown (1984-87) 2,493 58.0 7. TJ Jones (2010-13) 2,429 47.6 8. Tom Gatewood (1969-71) 2,283 76.1 9. Rhema McKnight (2002-06) 2,277 44.6 10. Maurice Stovall (2002-05) 2,195 47.7 11. Chase Claypool (2016-19) 2,159 48.0 12. Jim Seymour (1966-68) 2,113 70.4 13. Michael Mayer (2020-present) 2,001 57.2 ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER