Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM JANUARY 2023 13 UNDER THE DOME PHOTOS BY CHAD WEAVER TOP TWEETS THEY SAID IT THEY SAID IT "You want to play big games, big-time opponents. When we have a team as good as we do, you want to see what you're made of and go battle against great teams." — Notre Dame graduate student guard Cormac Ryan prior to leading the Irish to a 70-52 win over No. 20-ranked Michigan State Nov. 30 PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS 7th Was where the Notre Dame-Ohio State game Sept. 3 was ranked on the list of the 10 most-watched college football games of 2022, per SportsMediaWatch.com: Rk. Game (TV Network) Viewers (Millions) 1. Michigan-Ohio State (FOX) 17.1 2. Tennessee-Georgia (CBS) 13.1 3. Alabama-Tennessee (CBS) 11.6 4. LSU-Georgia/SEC Championship (CBS) 10.9 5. Purdue-Michigan/Big Ten Championship (FOX) 10.7 6. Alabama-Texas (FOX) 10.6 7. Notre Dame-Ohio State (ABC) 10.5 8. Kansas State-TCU/Big 12 Championship (ABC) 9.4 9. Alabama-Ole Miss (CBS) 8.7 10. Ohio State-Penn State (FOX) 8.3 Here's how the Irish fared with total viewers during the rest of the regular season schedule, per SportsMediaWatch.com: Opponent Date Channel Viewers (Millions) Marshall Sept. 10 NBC 2.48 California Sept. 17 NBC 2.91 North Carolina Sept. 24 ABC 3.46 BYU Oct. 8 NBC 2.53 Stanford Oct. 15 NBC 2.15 Syracuse Oct. 22 ABC 2.34 Clemson Nov. 5 NBC 3.22 Navy Nov. 12 ABC 2.07 Boston College Nov. 19 NBC 1.27 USC Nov. 26 ABC 6.68 Note: Numbers for the game versus UNLV streaming exclusively on Peacock were not available. 76 Years ago was the last time a first-year Notre Dame football head coach claimed four victories against teams ranked in the Associated Press poll at the time of the game. In 1954, Terry Brennan led the Fighting Irish to wins against No. 4 Texas (21-0), No. 15 Navy (6-0), No. 19 Iowa (34-18) and No. 17 USC (23-17). If Notre Dame can knock off No. 20 South Caro- lina — which is also No. 19 in the College Football Playoff rankings and the AFCA Coaches Poll — in the Gator Bowl Dec. 30, Marcus Freeman can match that feat. Earlier this season, he led the Irish to triumphs over No. 16 BYU (28-20), No. 16 Syra- cuse (41-24) and No. 5 Clemson (35-14). The last time the Irish defeated four ranked teams in a season was 2018. He's our voice, he's our vibe, he's our emotion. He just sets the tone for us." — Notre Dame men's basketball head coach Mike Brey on Cormac Ryan Like all really, really good guards, I think she senses the tempo of the game. She kind of dictates where she wants the ball to go, and there is very little that you can do. There are only so many things you can prepare defensively. 'OK, let's see if we can take away this. Let's see if we can take away that.' But for every little thing you take away, she finds — and obviously you need a supporting cast — but she finds whoever it is that you left open to help compensate for her. She did a great job today of not just getting her own shot but distributing to her team- mates who made big shots, too." — UConn head coach Geno Auriemma on OLIVIA MILES