Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 19, 2024 23 .807 Winning percentage (60-14-1) for the Fighting Irish in games coming off a bye week since 1950, per Notre Dame media relations. The Irish have won 16 of their last 17 such games since 2012 and are now 4-0 after a bye under current head coach Marcus Freeman. 1st Career catch for senior center Pat Coogan. Senior quarterback Riley Leon- ard had a pass deflected at the line of scrimmage, but Coogan grabbed it out of the air and rumbled 11 yards for an Irish first down. 2 Multiple-sack games for graduate student defensive tackle Howard Cross III during his Irish career. He notched 2 sacks on one drive early in the second quarter against Stanford. The last and only other time he recorded mul- tiple sacks in a contest came when he had 2 in a 55-0 win over Georgia Tech on Nov. 20, 2021. 3 Receptions for 16 yards, on 5 targets, for Stan- ford star receiver Elic Ayomanor. He entered the game with 24 catches for 317 yards and had a touch- down reception in each of his last three outings. The Irish limited the Cardinal to just 10 comple- tions and 87 passing yards for the game. 6 Touchdown passes for Leonard in his last three games, including a season-high 3 in three quarters of action against Stanford. It is his best three-game stretch since he had 9 for Duke from Nov. 12-26 during the 2022 season. 10.4 Yards per pass attempt for Leonard, who completed 16 of 22 passes for 229 with no interceptions against the Cardinal. In the process, he connected with nine different receivers. It marked just the third time in his college ca- reer that Leonard averaged at least 10 yards per pass attempt in a game against a Power Four/Five opponent). The previous two came against North- western during his time at Duke. 15-1 Record for Notre Dame all time on Oct. 12. The Irish have now won 14 in a row on that date. The lone loss in program history on Oct. 12 was a 2-0 defeat at Northwestern in 1901. 46.6-17.0 Is the average margin of victory for Notre Dame in its last five wins against Stanford. The Fighting Irish have won five of their last six against the Cardinal, with the lone defeat a 16-14 setback in 2022. The Irish have posted 49-7, 56-23, 45-14, 45-24 and 38-17 wins over the Cardinal during that stretch. 49 Unanswered points for the Fighting Irish against the Cardinal after they fell behind 7-0 in the first quarter. 200 Total yards surrendered by Notre Dame against Stanford. The Cardinal drove 63 yards for a touchdown on their first offensive possession, but were limited to just 137 yards and 0 points the rest of the way. It marked is the fourth time this season the Fight- ing Irish defense held the opposition below 250 total yards. This season (2024) marks the fifth since 2018 that the Irish defense has accomplished this feat (holding four opponents to less than 250 total yards). It also is the 12th time during the Freeman era. 229 Yards rushing for the Fighting Irish against the Cardinal, who entered the game allowing on 88.2 yards per game on the ground (12th in the nation). The previous high sur- rendered by Stanford was 150 versus Clemson in a 40-14 loss Sept. 28. BY THE NUMBERS BY STEVE DOWNEY 53 Yards on the con- nection between graduate student wide receiver BEAUX COLLINS and senior quarterback Riley Leonard in the third quarter. It marked the longest pass play pf the season for the Fighting Irish. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER