Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 OCT. 28, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Ethan O'Brien — Soccer The graduate student midfielder from Bellevue, Wash., scored the game- winning goal in No. 11 Notre Dame's 1-0 win for over No. 14 Duke Oct. 7 in South Bend. He scored on a high, arcing shot from the top of the box that stayed just out the reach of a leaping Blue Devils goalkeeper. O'Brien's goal — his first of the season — came in the 13th minute of the first half. Sydney Palazzolo — Volleyball The junior outside hitter from Shelby Town- ship, Mich., continued her strong season with a match-high 19 kills in a thrilling 3-2 victory at North Carolina Oct. 8. The trans- fer from High Point also notched 10 digs to help the Irish even their ACC record at 3-3. Through 14 matches, Pala- zzolo easily led the Irish with 228 kills and was second on the team with 111 digs. Rocco Salvitti — Golf The freshman from Canonsburg, Pa., finished tied for seventh individually with a 2-under- par 208 in the three-round Fighting Irish Classic Oct. 1-2 at Warren Golf Course on the Notre Dame campus. Salvitti shot even par 70s in his first two rounds then carded a 2-under 68 — with 7 birdies — on his third round to help the Irish to a fourth-place finish in the 14-team event. Kiki Van Zanten — Soccer The graduate student midfielder from Buffalo Grove, Ill., scored 2 goals to lift the No. 11 Fighting Irish to a 7-2 blow- out home win over Miami Oct. 8. She put Notre Dame up 3-0 with her first goal in the first half and then gave the Irish a 5-1 advantage midway through the second half with her other. Through 13 contests, Van Zanten was tied for the team lead in goals (6) and points (13). — Todd D. Burlage TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom ✦ GIMME FIVE Notre Dame revealed its alternate uniforms for its Oct. 8, 2022 matchup with BYU at Alle- giant Stadium in Las Vegas with a video parody- ing the 2009 movie "The Hangover." There was no hangover, however, from an open date the week prior as the Irish took down the Cougars 28-20. Then-junior tight end Michael Mayer had his best game of his final season at Notre Dame, catching 11 passes (the next-best total was 3) for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Irish moved to 3-2 at the time, breaking the .500 mark for the first time that season. The win over BYU was Notre Dame's fourth straight victory after a bye week, dating back to Oct. 10, 2020. The Irish will try for No. 5 when they host Pittsburgh Oct. 28 in South Bend. In 2021, Notre Dame hosted USC after its bye week and beat the Trojans 31-16. Star running back Kyren Williams went off, rushing 25 times for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Irish dropped their rival to 3-4. Notre Dame had two bye weeks in 2020, due to a pandemic-shortened season. Their first post-bye game came after two weeks' rest, because active COVID-19 cases forced the Atlantic Coast Conference to postpone a Sept. 26 matchup against Sam Hartman's Wake Forest team. The Irish won both their post-bye games that year, 42-26 over Florida State and 31-17 over North Carolina, respectively. The last defeat after an open date for the Fighting Irish came on Oct. 26, 2019, when Michigan beat them 45-14. — Jack Soble CHARTING THE IRISH WINNINGEST NOTRE DAME HEAD COACHES THROUGH 20 GAMES Marcus Freeman won the most games against ranked teams out of any Notre Dame head coach in their first 20 games since 1964. He had five, with four in 2022 (No. 16 BYU, No. 16 Syracuse, No. 4 Clemson and No. 19 South Carolina in the Gator Bowl) and one in 2023 (No. 17 Duke). In terms of win-loss record through the first 20 games at the helm in South Bend since 1964 — the year legendary coach Ara Parseghian started his decade-long run with the Irish — Freeman ranks fourth. His 14-6 mark was 2.5 games behind Parseghian, who still leads at 16-3-1. At No. 2 is Charlie Weis, whose tenure included 19 wins in his first two seasons (2005-06) before a steep drop-off in 2007. Weis won 16 of his first 20 games, only a half-game behind Parseghian. Weis picked up four ranked wins, tied with Lou Holtz and Tyrone Willingham for second behind Freeman. Just ahead of Freeman overall, Dan Devine went 15-5 in his first 20 matchups. One season later, in 1977, he won a national champion- ship. Just behind Freeman is another national title-winning coach, Lou Holtz. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day's arch- nemesis went 5-6 in his first season, 1986, but won eight of his first nine in 1987. Like Devine, Holtz won his cham- pionship in Year 3. Bob Davie (13-7), Brian Kelly (12-8), Tyrone Willingham (12-8) and Gerry Faust (11-8-1) round out the list. Kelly was the most successful of those four by far, finishing with a 92-40 record at Notre Dame. NOTRE DAME'S LAST FIVE POST-BYE WEEK GAMES Date Opponent Result Oct. 8, 2022 BYU W, 28-20 Oct. 23, 2021 USC W, 31-16 Nov. 27, 2020 North Carolina W, 31-17 Oct. 10, 2020* Florida State W, 42-26 Oct. 26, 2019 Michigan L, 45-14 * Had two weeks' rest after Sept. 26 game postponed due to COVID-19 WINNINGEST NOTRE DAME COACHES THROUGH FIRST 20 GAMES SINCE 1964 Rk. Coach Record Ranked Wins 1. Ara Parseghian 16-3-1 1 2. Charlie Weis 16-4 4 3. Dan Devine 15-5 2 4. Marcus Freeman 14-6 5 5. Lou Holtz 13-7 4 5. Bob Davie 13-7 3 7. Brian Kelly 12-8 2 7. Tyrone Willingham 12-8 4 9. Gerry Faust 11-8-1 3 All-American Michael Mayer led Notre Dame to a 28-20 win over BYU after a bye week in 2022. PHOTO BY DAVID BECKER