Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1507383
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 16, 2023 25 1st Career touchdown reception for junior tight end Davis Sherwood. The Greensboro, N.C., native hauled in a 10-yard score from graduate stu- dent quarterback Sam Hartman to give the Fighting Irish a 31-17 lead with 11:38 remaining in the game. 7.5 Yards per play (456 yards on 61 plays) for the Notre Dame offense, the third straight contest it has reached that mark (it also averaged 7.8 against Navy and 8.8 versus Tennessee State). The Irish only achieved that once last season (7.8 in a 38-27 loss to USC in the regular-season finale). 10 Penalties for 82 yards on the Fighting Irish, after committing just 5 for 46 in their first two games. Five of Notre Dame's penalties gave NC State a first down. Three of those five instances occurred on the Wolfpack's first touchdown drive, and another led to a field goal. 16 Consecutive games — the longest active streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision — holding opponents to less than 30 points by NC State, prior to Notre Dame's 45-24 victory in Raleigh, N.C. The last time the Wolfpack surren- dered more than 30 points was a 45-42 road loss to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Nov. 13, 2021. That Wake Forest squad was also led by cur- rent Irish quarterback Sam Hartman. 29 Straight regular-season victories — 14 of which have come on the road — for Notre Dame against ACC competition. Per ESPN Stats Info, that matches the conference record set by Florida State from 1992-95. 30 Seconds is how long it took Notre Dame to complete its second touchdown drive of the game. Like the previous week against Ten- nessee State, when the Irish went 80 yards over 6 plays in just 38 seconds and hit paydirt with just 15 seconds left before halftime, Sam Hartman and company ran the two-minute drill to perfection. Against the Wolfpack, the Irish needed only 3 plays to traverse 78 yards and reach the end zone with just 40 seconds remaining in the first half. It marked the third straight game the Irish scored in the final minute of the first half. In the opener, the Irish went 80 yards in 9 plays in 1:42 to score 13 seconds before halftime. Those three two-min- ute drives took a combined 2:50 off the clock, an average of only 57 seconds. 54 -Yard field goal by graduate student kicker Spencer Shrader — a new school record for longest field goal in a game. The previous record was 53 by Kyle Brindza in a 37-34 win over Arizona State on Oct. 5, 2013, and Dave Reeve in a 31-10 victory versus Pittsburgh on Sept. 11, 1976. 80 -Yard touchdown run by Audric Estimé on the first play following the 105-minute weather delay. It is the longest rush of Estimé's career and longest of the season for the Irish. It is also the longest by an Irish ball carrier since Kyren Williams' sprinted 91 yards for a score in a 44-34 triumph over North Carolina in South Bend on Oct. 30, 2021. 286 Passing yards for Notre Dame gradu- ate student quarterback Sam Hart- man against NC State. That pushed his career total 13,698, which moved him past — among others — former Wolfpack signal-caller Philip Rivers (13,484 from 2000-03) into 11th place on the NCAA's all- time list. In addition, Hartman's 4 touchdown passes brought his career total to 120, which ranks 10th all time. BY THE NUMBERS BY STEVE DOWNEY 115 Receiving yards on 4 catches for Notre Dame sophomore tight end HOLDEN STAES. Among those 4 grabs, he tallied touchdowns of 40 and 35 yards. He is the first Irish pass catcher to eclipse 100 receiving yards this season. He entered the game with 2 career catches for 15 yards and 1 touchdown. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP