Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 OCT. 26, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Maddy Bante — Golf The freshman from Den- ver helped Notre Dame to a fifth-place team finish — its best of the 2024 fall season — with a fifth-place individual finish in the Evie Odom Invitational Oct. 4-6 at Virginia Beach, Va. Bante concluded the three-round event with a team-best 1-over-par 211 for the best show- ing of her early career. She carded a 2-under 68 in the first round — the low round of the tournament for the Irish. Kasey Choma — Lacrosse Playing as a member of the U.S. National Sixes Train- ing Team, the 2024 Notre Dame graduate helped the U.S. squad to two easy wins with 9 points in the USA La- crosse Experience Oct. 11-12 in Indianapolis. The Manorville, N.Y., native scored 2 goals with 2 assists in a 35-1 win over Columbia Oct. 11, then tallied 4 goals and 1 assist in a 27-9 win over Puerto Rico Oct. 11. Cole Knuble — Hockey The sophomore forward from Grand Rapids, Mich., scored 3 goals over two games to help Notre Dame start its season 2-0. He scored twice in a 4-1 win over St. Lawrence Oct. 11, then added another goal in a 5-2 victory over Clarkson Oct. 12. Through two games, Knuble led the Irish with 3 goals and 12 shots, and was tied for the team lead with 4 points. Matthew Roou — Soccer The senior forward from Germantown, Wis., scored the only goal of the game for the Irish in a 1-1 draw versus No. 7 North Carolina Oct. 11 in a sold-old Alumni Stadium. He scored his goal on a rebound chip shot that gave the Irish a 1-0 lead that they couldn't hold on to. The goal was the 12th of the season for Roou, which led the nation through games of Oct. 11. — 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 loves to play in NFL stadiums. By the end of 2026, a quarter of the league will have hosted the Irish since 2021. Head coach Marcus Freeman took his group down to Atlanta in Week 8 for their first trip to Mercedes- Benz Stadium — the home of the Falcons — which opened in 2017. He said Oct. 14 that a domed facility would be a wrinkle for his players, who have not played indoors since Oct. 8, 2022, in Las Vegas. "I think this week is a little bit different, being indoors," Freeman said. "You've got to continue to remind them that there's NFL numbers on the field. I think those are things that are important. Crowd noise probably can be a factor in an indoor stadium, and so those are things that you have to remind them as you go into this game before the game." N F L sta d i u m s h ave treated the Irish well, as they're set to visit an- other in Week 9 in East Rutherford, N.J. There, they'll take on Navy at MetLife Stadium, the home of the New York Giants and Jets. Notre Dame finished its 2022 season with a 45-38 win over South Carolina at in the Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium in Jackson- ville, Fla., hosted by the Jaguars. M&T Bank Stadium is the site of the Baltimore Ravens' home games, and the Irish took on Navy there in 2022 and won 35-32. Earlier that season, Notre Dame beat BYU 28-20 in its Shamrock Series game at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders. Freeman's first game as the head coach in South Bend came at the Arizona Cardinals' facility, State Farm Stadium, in Glendale, Ariz. The Irish lost 37-35 to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl. As defensive coordinator, he also traveled to Chicago to face Wisconsin and pummel the Badgers 41-13 at Soldier Field, home of the Bears. Notre Dame will head to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., for its first game of the 2026 season, also against Wisconsin. — Jack Soble CHARTING THE IRISH RUNNING THE RED ZONE For Notre Dame's offense to succeed over the long term, it needs to make more trips to the red zone. But once it gets there, defenses have little hope of stopping it. The Irish have scored touchdowns on 15 of their 18 red-zone trips, good for a red-zone efficiency rate of 83.33 percent. That ranked fifth in the country through Week 7, behind Nevada at No. 4, Army at No. 3, Ohio State at No. 2 and Navy — Notre Dame's Week 9 opponent — at No. 1. The Midshipmen have scored touchdowns on all 18 of their red-zone trips and are the only team in the nation with a 100.00 percent efficiency rate. The Irish also face Army later this season, traveling to Yankee Stadium to take on the Black Knights Nov. 23. Much of Notre Dame's red-zone success can be attributed to the rushing prowess of senior quarter- back Riley Leonard. The Irish have often been content to hand him the ball on zone reads, QB sweep or QB counter with a pulling guard and sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love as a blocker. Leonard has scored 6 of Notre Dame's 15 red-zone touchdowns on the ground, and he picked up 3 of them through the air in a 49-7 win over Stanford Oct. 12. Love has also rushed for 2 red-zone scores, and junior running back Jadarian Price has 1. Two others happened in garbage time against Purdue, with junior quarterback Steve Angeli finding graduate student tight end Kevin Bau- man from 8 yards out and sophomore signal- caller Kenny Minchey scoring on a run from the 5-yard line. Notre Dame's final red-zone touchdown — through Week 7 — came from freshman running back Aneyas Williams on a 19-yard run. — Jack Soble NOTRE DAME'S LAST FIVE GAMES IN NFL STADIUMS Date Opponent Host Result Dec. 30, 2022* South Carolina Jacksonville Jaguars W, 45-38 Nov. 12, 2022 Navy Baltimore Ravens W, 35-32 Oct. 8, 2022 BYU Las Vegas Raiders W, 28-20 Jan. 1, 2022^ Oklahoma State Arizona Cardinals L, 37-35 Sept. 25, 2021 Wisconsin Chicago Bears W, 41-13 * Gator Bowl; ^ Fiesta Bowl TOP 10 FBS TEAMS IN RED-ZONE EFFICIENCY Through Week 7 Rk. School RZ Trips TD Percent 1. Navy 18 18 100.00 2. Ohio State 26 24 92.31 3. Army 25 22 88.00 4. Nevada 25 21 84.00 5. Notre Dame 18 15 83.33 6. Indiana 37 30 81.08 7. TCU 26 21 80.77 8. Alabama 24 19 79.17 9. Texas 33 26 78.79 10. Georgia Southern 23 18 78.26