Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1507383
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 16, 2023 11 UNDER THE DOME 0 Pressures allowed in 53 pass block snaps for Notre Dame junior of- fensive tackle Joe Alt during Notre Dame's first two contests, per Pro Football Focus. 3 Top-100 NFL players for Notre Dame — Dallas Cowboys offensive guard Zack Martin (No. 25), Indianapolis Colts offensive guard Quenton Nel- son (No. 59) and Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith (No. 97) — in CBS Sports' Pete Prisco's rankings, tied for the seventh most among all colleges. Alabama led the way with nine, followed by Ohio State (seven), Clemson (six), Oklahoma (five), LSU (five) and Florida State (four). Georgia, Texas A&M, Cincinnati, Penn State, Oregon, Iowa, Mississippi State and Ole Miss joined the Irish with three players each. 4 Passing touchdowns for Sam Hartman on throws of 20+ yards through Sept. 4, per Pro Football Focus. That ranked first among Football Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks. According to Sports Info Solutions (SIS), Hartman's 234 air yards — the total distance, measured in yards, that the football travels through the air from the line of scrimmage to the target on all pass attempts — ranked fourth among Power Five signal-callers, behind only Washington's Michael Pennix Jr. (267), USC's Caleb Williams (258) and Vanderbilt's AJ Swann (255). Last year, Hart- man led the country with 2,656 air yards, per SIS. 10 Consecutive seasons — and 11 of the last 12 — Notre Dame has spent at least one week ranked among the top 10 of the Associated Press poll. The Fighting Irish went from No. 13 to No. 10 after their 2-0 start. Four times during this current stretch, they have finished the season in the top 10: 2012 (No. 4), 2018 (No. 5), 2020 (No. 5) and 2021 (No. 8). 31 Different players made their college football debuts during the Fight- ing Irish's first two games of the season, including 16 true freshmen: quarterback Kenny Minchey; running back Jeremiyah Love; wide receivers Rico Flores Jr., Jaden Greathouse and Braylon James; tight end Cooper Flanagan; offensive lineman Sullivan Absher; defensive linemen Boubacar Traore and Brenan Vernon; line- backers Jaiden Ausberry, Drayk Bowen and Preston Zinter; and defensive backs Micah Bell, Christian Gray, Adon Shuler and Luke Talich. 34 Former Fighting Irish football players — not including Irish soccer alum Brandon Aubrey, who won the Dallas Cowboys' placekicking job — began the 2023 NFL season on an active roster as of Sept. 7, tied with Penn State for the eighth most among all colleges. Here is the full top 10: Rk. School Active NFL Players 1. Alabama 57 2. Georgia 49 3. Ohio State 48 4. LSU 43 5. Michigan 38 6. Clemson 37 7. Florida 35 8. Notre Dame 34 Penn State 34 10. Oklahoma 32 74.9 Percent of Notre Dame junior running back AUDRIC ESTIMÉ'S rushing yards (158 of 211) through two games came after contact, per Sports Info Solutions (SIS). The 158 yards after contact are the most among all Power Five ball carriers. Only Troy running back Kimani Vidal had more (166 of his 255 yards in his one game played). SIS credited Estimé with 8 broken tackles and 7 missed tackles forced, both of which are also the most among Power Five ball carriers. +1800 Odds for Sam Hartman to win the Heisman Trophy, per VegasInsider, following his near-flawless first two games with the Fighting Irish. It's a slight bump from where things stood in the preseason, after Hartman connected on 33 of 40 passes (82.5 percent) for 445 yards with 6 touchdowns and no interceptions. He was tied for fifth with Oregon's Bo Nix, behind only USC's Caleb Williams (+400), Florida State's Jordan Travis (+600), Washington's Michael Pennix Jr. (+900), Michigan's J.J. McCarthy (+1600) and Colorado's Travis Hunter (+1600). ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER