Blue and Gold Illustrated

February 2023

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

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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com FEBRUARY 2023 23 1 Player — Notre Dame sophomore quarterback Tyler Buchner — in the FBS over the last 25 seasons has produced 2 passing touchdowns, 2 rushing touchdowns and 2 pick-sixes in any game, bowl or otherwise, per ESPN Stats & Info. Buchner accounted for 335 yards of total offense and 5 touchdowns, and posted career highs for passing attempts (33), passing yards (274) and touch- down passes (3), while matching his career high in completions (18) en route to being named the Gator Bowl's Most Valuable Player. 1st Loss this season for South Carolina in games in which it scored first. The Gamecocks had been 7-0 in such games before falling to the Irish. 3 Touchdowns by South Carolina in the first quarter — a Gator Bowl record — came on offense (wide receiver Xavier Legette's 13-yard reception), special teams (holder Kai Kroeger's 23-yard pass to long snapper Hunter Rogers on a fake field goal) and defense (a 47-yard interception return by defensive back DQ Smith). 4-1 Record for Notre Dame in its series with South Carolina. The Irish's last victory versus the Gamecocks prior to their 45-38 win in the Gator Bowl was a 30-6 triumph in 1983 in Columbia, S.C. They also beat South Carolina 18-17 in South Bend in 1979 and 13-6 in Columbia in 1977. The Game- cocks' lone victory in the series was a 36-32 win in South Bend in 1984. 14 Point deficits — 21-7 in the first quarter and 24-10 in the second quarter — set the stage for Notre Dame's largest bowl comeback since a 13-point rally against Florida in the 1992 Sugar Bowl. The Irish trailed the Ga- tors 13-0 in that one but rallied for a 39-28 victory behind game MVP Jerome Bettis' school-bowl-record 150 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. The comeback against the Gamecocks is the second-best bowl game rally for the Irish, behind only the 22-point come-from-behind victory over Houston in the 1979 Cotton Bowl. The Irish trailed that one 34-12 heading into the fourth quarter before quarterback Joe Montana rallied them to a 35-34 win. 20 All-time bowl victories for Notre Dame. In picking up their first post- season win since the 2019 Camping World Bowl (a 33-9 victory versus Iowa State), the Irish now have a 20-21 (.488) all-time record in bowl games. The victory versus the No. 19 Gamecocks also marked Notre Dame's first bowl win against a ranked opponent since a 21-17 triumph over No. 17 LSU in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1, 2018. 36:39 Time of possession for Notre Dame, for a 13:18 advantage against South Carolina. The Irish finished the season 8-0 in games in which it possessed the ball for 30 or more minutes. 46 Years between Gator Bowl victories for the Fighting Irish. Prior to this year's 45-38 triumph over South Carolina, Notre Dame topped Penn State 20-9 on Dec. 27, 1976. The Irish are now 2-2 in the Gator Bowl, with the two defeats coming against Georgia Tech (1998) and North Carolina State (2002). 83 Combined points by Notre Dame and South Carolina set a record for the highest-scoring Gator Bowl in the 78-year history of the event. The previous high was 73 in West Virginia's 38-35 win over Georgia Tech on Jan. 1, 2007. The Irish and Gamecocks also combined for the highest-scoring first quarter (28 points) in Gator Bowl history (24 by Michigan and Mississippi State in 2011 was the previous high). 264 Yards rushing for the Fighting Irish, compared to only 75 for the Gamecocks. The 189-yard ground advantage was the third highest of the season from Notre Dame, behind only the Boston College (+225, 281-56) and North Carolina (+221, 287-66) games. 67,383 Was the largest Gator Bowl crowd in 11 years, since 68,325 watched Mississippi State beat Michigan in 2011 and the largest of the 34 bowl games played through Dec. 30 — topping the 63,912 that watched the Orange Bowl between Tennessee and Clemson. BY THE NUMBERS BY STEVE DOWNEY 75 Yard touchdown con- nection between soph- o m o re q u a r te r b a c k Tyler Buchner and sophomore running back LOGAN DIGGS marked the longest play from scrimmage for the Fighting Irish during the 2022 season. It is the longest career TD pass for Bu- chner and the longest career TD recep- tion for Diggs, and it was the longest by an Irish running back since C.J. Prosise's 78-yarder versus Navy in 2014. It also is the longest by a non-wideout and second longest in Irish bowl history, behind an 81-yard scoring hookup be- tween quarterback DeShone Kizer and wide receiver Will Fuller in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER

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