Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1514064
10 FEBRUARY 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME 10th Was where ESPN ranked Notre Dame freshman point guard Hannah Hidalgo among the top 25 players in women's basketball after the first six weeks of the 2023- 24 season. Not surprisingly Iowa star Caitlin Clark was No. 1, followed by Cameron Brink (Stanford), Paige Bueckers (UConn), Alissa Pili (Utah), JuJu Watkins (USC), Rori Harmon (Texas), Kamilla Cardoso (South Carolina), Aneesah Morrow (LSU), Georgia Amoore (Virginia Tech) and Hidalgo. In Notre Dame's 84-47 victory over Western Michigan Dec. 21, Hidalgo tallied 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to become the third Fighting Irish freshman to get a triple-double, joining Olivia Miles (2022) and Marina Mabrey (2015). 36 Times a Notre Dame football player has earned unanimous All- America honors, with junior left tackle Joe Alt and senior safety XAVIER WATTS the latest to join that exclusive club following the 2023 season. That is more than every program in the country except Alabama (41), and Iowa was the only other school to produce two unanimous All-Americans in 2023. Thirty-two Golden Domers have achieved unanimous All-America status, with Frank Carideo (1929-30), Johnny Lujack (1946-47), Johnny Lattner (1952-53) and Ross Browner (1976-77) doing it twice each. Alt and Watts became the first pair of Irish team- mates to earn unanimous All-America accolades in the same season since wide receiver Raghib Ismail, linebacker Michael Stonebreaker and defensive tackle Chris Zorich all did it in 1990. Notre Dame could argue it has the nation's best pair of defensive tackles, top corner- back and top safety returning. And assuming de- fensive coordinator Al Golden also returned for a third season on Marcus Freeman's staff — look out for potential exits as an NFL defensive coordinator — Notre Dame will be able to build on this year's defense that ranked No. 1 in pass efficiency, No. 6 in points surrendered and No. 5 in yards per play allowed. "If Notre Dame can get its offense to a comparable level under incoming coordinator Mike Denbrock, the Irish will be heavily favored to make next year's 12-team College Football Playoff and potentially capable of doing damage in it." — The Athletic's Pete Sampson 85.17 Was the average On3 player performance rat- ing for Notre Dame's six incoming transfers: Duke junior quarterback Riley Leonard, Florida International redshirt junior wide receiver Kris Mitchell, Duke redshirt senior defen- sive end RJ Oben, Arizona State cornerback Jordan Clark, Clemson junior wide receiver Beaux Collins and South Carolina senior kicker Mitch Jeter. Although the Fighting Irish had more than twice as many outgoing transfers (14) as of Jan. 3, they were ranked No. 13 in On3's 2024 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings. This is a big get for Notre Dame. Depending on where you stand, he's arguably the best quarterback in the portal, and it's a big-time year at the position. I would say he's the highest-end talent that's in there among upperclassmen rela- tive to his upside and where you'd view him in the NFL Draft. It's a great piece of clay to work with for Notre Dame's staff. He brings a lot to the table. Notre Dame will have to remake its offensive line a bit, so having a guy with his mobility and escap- ability will help the younger tackles. From a per- sonnel and skill set fit, it's a really good match for what Notre Dame needs right now. He has a ton of potential, and that's about as good as you can do going to the portal for a quarterback." — On3 director of scouting and recruiting Charles Power on former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard committing to Notre Dame 3 Notre Dame defenders in the last 50 years lead the Fighting Irish in tackles in three straight seasons: Bob Crable (187 in 1979, 154 in 1980 and 167 in 1981), Manti Te'o (133 in 2010, 128 in 2011 and 113 in 2012) and JD Bertrand (101 in 2021, 82 in 2022 and 76 in 2023). 509 509 Points scored by Notre Dame during the 2023 season — the most ever in program history. The previous best was 478 by the 2019 squad. The 2023 Irish also eclipsed the 2019 team's single- season touchdown record of 61, crossing the goal line 66 times. The Fighting Irish's 39.2 scoring average ranks second in school history: Rk. Year PPG Points Final Record 1. 1912 48.6 389 6-0-2 2. 2023 39.2 509 10-3 3. 1913 38.3 268 7-0 4. 1968 37.6 376 7-2-1 5. 1992 37.0 409 9-1-1 8 Assists — a career high — for fresh- man point guard Markus Burton in Notre Dame's 76-54 win over Virginia Dec. 30. Burton, who also scored 15 points, earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors as a result. Per Notre Dame, Burton became the first player to dish out 8 assists against the Cavaliers' vaunted defense since Virginia Tech's Justyn Mutts did it on Feb. 4, 2023 — one of only two times that happened all last season. 8 Teams placed three or more players on the Associated Press All-America first and second teams. Only one — Notre Dame — did not win 10 or more regular-season games: Rk. School (Record*) AP All-Americans 1. Alabama (12-1) 5 2. Notre Dame (9-3) 4 Georgia (12-1) 4 4. Iowa (10-3) 3 Missouri (10-2) 3 Oregon (11-2) 3 Texas (12-1) 3 Washington (13-0) 3 * Regular season PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER