Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 OCT. 14, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME ✦ GIMME FIVE In the Heisman Trophy's 88-year history, only 16 winners returned to school the following season. Of those 16, USC's Caleb Williams will be the sixth to face Notre Dame. The most recent returning Heisman winner Notre Dame played against was Florida State's Jameis Winston, who beat the Irish 31-27 in a game that was tied after three quarters in 2014. Winston threw for 273 yards (8.8 yards per attempt) with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. The Irish shut down the Seminoles' run game, limiting star back Dalvin Cook to 20 yards on 12 carries, but Winston gave FSU just enough. In 2005, reigning Heisman winner Matt Leinart and his two-time defending national champion USC team visited South Bend and won a 34-31 barnburner that became known as the "Bush Push" game. Running back Reggie Bush — who wound up winning the Heisman that season — shoved Leinart over the goal line to beat Notre Dame with only 3 seconds to play. Leinart threw for 301 yards with no touchdowns and 2 interceptions, but Bush was the real star. He carried 15 times for an astounding 160 yards and 3 scores. The three other defending Heisman winners to face Notre Dame: Navy quarterback Roger Staubach in 1964, SMU running back Doak Walker in 1949 and Army fullback Doc Blanchard in 1946. Notre Dame beat Staubach 40-0 and Walker 27-20, but the Irish fought Blanchard's Black Knights to a 0-0 tie. — Jack Soble Siona Chisholm — Cross Country The junior from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, posted a per- sonal-best 5K time of 16:26.4 and paced the Irish with a fifth-place individual finish in the Joe Piane Notre Dame In- vitational Sept. 29. Chisholm helped No. 4 Notre Dame to a runner-up team finish behind only perennial power and top-ranked NC State. Those two cross country powers will meet again in the ACC Championship Oct. 27 at Tallahassee, Fla. Meg Mrowicki — Soccer The freshman forward from Arlington Heights, Ill., wasted no time recording the first goal of the game at only the 2:28 mark against Louisville in a 3-0 shutout win at home over the Cardinals Sept. 30. She later assisted on another goal early in the second half that put No. 10 Notre Dame up 2-0. Through 12 games, Mro- wicki was tied for second on the team with 4 goals and was fourth with 11 points. Matthew Roou — Soccer The junior forward from Germantown, Wis., tallied the game-tying goal in the 49th minute early in the second half, spark- ing No. 15 Notre Dame's 3-1 comeback win at North Caro- lina State 1 Oct. 1. With the victory, the Irish moved into sole possession of first place in the ACC Coastal Division with a 3-0-1 league mark. Through 10 games this season, Roou led the Irish with 7 goals, 15 points and 12 shots on goal. CJ Singleton — Cross Country The sophomore distance star from Butler, Pa., posted a personal-best five-mile time of 23:45.9 to claim a 13th-place individual finish. He finished second on the team behind senior Josh Methner, helping secure a first-place team finish at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invita- tional Sept. 29. Singleton, who redshirted last season, set 10 school records, won five state titles and was a three-time All-American during his time at Butler (Pa.) Area High School. TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom CHARTING THE IRISH BALL SECURITY Notre Dame graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman had a reputation for throwing more in- terceptions than the average quarterback during his time at Wake Forest. He threw 12 in 2022 and 14 in 2021, the latter representing the second most in the country, but his top-tier efficiency and touchdown totals earned him status as a top-10 college football signal-caller. Through six games in 2023 with the Irish, Hartman had yet to be picked off. With only 2 lost fumbles, Notre Dame was one of four Football Bowl Subdivision teams with 2 or fewer turnovers through Week 5 this season. Lost fumbles versus Tennessee State in Week 1 and at North Carolina State in Week 2 are the only 2 giveaways. Graduate student running back and kickoff returner Devyn Ford dropped the ball when a Tennessee State kickoff coverage player concussed him, while Hartman was stripped of the ball on a sack versus the Wolfpack in Raleigh, N.C. Notre Dame is tied with Air Force — which rode its top-tier ball security to a surprising 5-0 start — for No. 3 in the nation in fewest giveaways. Two undefeated College Football Playoff contenders sat alone at the top entering Week 6: Penn State and Oregon. The Nittany Lions suffered their first turn- over of the season when star running back Nicholas Singleton fumbled the opening kickoff in a 41-13 victory versus Northwestern Sept. 30. The Ducks' lone giveaway was an interception thrown by fifth- year senior and dark-horse Heisman Trophy candi- date Bo Nix in a 42-6 win against Colorado Sept. 23. The Fighting Irish's Week 7 opponent USC is tied for fifth in the country with only 3 turnovers. The Trojans were tied for first nationally with East Caro- lina in fewest giveaways (7) in 2022. — Jack Soble COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAMS WITH 2 OR FEWER TURNOVERS LOST Through Week 5 Rk. Team Turnovers Lost 1. Penn State 1 Oregon 1 3. Notre Dame 2 Air Force 2 USC quarterback Caleb Williams w i l l b e t h e s i x t h r e i g n i n g Heisman winner to face Notre Dame the year after he won the award. PHOTO BY MEG OLIPHANT THE LAST FIVE DEFENDING HEISMAN TROPHY WINNERS TO FACE NOTRE DAME Player Team Year* Result Jameis Winston Florida State 2014 L, 31-27 Matt Leinart USC 2005 L, 34-31 Roger Staubach Navy 1964 W, 40-0 Doak Walker SMU 1949 W, 27-20 Doc Blanchard Army 1946 T, 0-0 * Year they played Notre Dame after winning the Heisman