Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 NOV. 9, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Siona Chisholm — Cross Country The senior from Antigon- ish, Nova Scotia, notched a team-best 12th-place indi- vidual finish Oct. 19 at the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals, a high-profile meet that marks the beginning of the cross country postseason. Chisholm covered the 6-kilometer course at the University of Wisconsin in 19:38.8 to lift the No. 4 Irish to a fifth-place team finish in the event. It marked her first sub-20 6K time since the 2023 ACC Championship race. Ellie Hodsden — Soccer What a week for the star freshman forward from Drip- ping Springs, Texas, who tal- lied her first career hat trick in a 5-2 win over No. 25 Cal Oct. 17. Then, three nights later, she scored the final goal of the night in a 3-0 statement victory for the No. 12 Irish over No. 6 Stanford. Hodsden has found the back of the net eight times in her first eight games with Notre Dame. Cole Knuble — Hockey The sophomore forward from Grand Rapids, Mich., continued the torrid start to his season when he re- corded 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist) in a 4-1 Irish win at home in Game 1 of a week- end split with Alaska Fair- banks Oct. 18-19. He scored the first goal of the game early in the first period, and from then on Notre Dame never trailed. The goal was Knuble's fourth of the season, which led the Irish through four contests. Carter Solomon — Cross Country The graduate student from Canton, Mich., got his sea- son off to a solid start with a team-best 12th-place indi- vidual finish at the Wiscon- sin Pre-Nationals Oct. 19 in Madison, Wis. Solomon covered the 8-ki- lometer course in 23:07.4 in helping the Irish to a seventh-place team finish in this highly competitive race that attracts some of the best programs in the country. TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom ✦ GIMME FIVE If graduate student safety Xavier Watts keeps this up, he's going to accomplish something no one has done at Notre Dame in three decades. Watts was named a midseason All-American by the Associated Press, Sporting News, The Athletic and CBS Sports. If he earns consensus All-America status after the 2024 season is over, he'll be the first two- time consensus All-American at Notre Dame since offensive lineman Aaron Taylor did it in 1992 and 1993. Watts was a unanimous All-American last season, along with since-departed offensive tackle Joe Alt. If he manages that again, he'll be the fifth two-time unanimous All-American in program history and the first since defensive end Ross Browner did it in 1976 and 1977. In his first full year as a starter last season, Watts picked off 7 passes, tying for the national lead. He won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the country's best defensive player, but Watts decided to come back to school. Watts has 3 interceptions already and hasn't missed an opportunity for a pick yet, but more than that, his man-to-man coverage ability is drastically im- proved. He's also gotten much better at tackling, which was the one knock on his game a year ago. Before Taylor, Notre Dame had three two- time consensus All-Americans on its 1990 de- fense: defensive lineman Chris Zorich, defen- sive back Todd Lyght and linebacker Michael Stonebreaker. Linebacker Bob Crable did it in the early '80s. — Jack Soble CHARTING THE IRISH If you ask this writer, analytics have gone exactly far enough. On Oct. 17, ESPN writer Bill Connelly found a way to quantify having that "dog in him" — a phrase essentially meaning toughness and grit — at the quarterback position. Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard had the eighth-highest "DOG IN HIM" percentage through Week 7 this season, and Ian Book ranked 11th among all signal-callers over the past 10 years. Connelly did not reveal the exact DOG IN HIM formula, but he said on social media that it essentially combines "A) Doing stuff, B) Taking hits and C) Be- ing good." Stats that factor into the formula include total quarterback rat- ing, adjusted net yards per attempt, the percentage of plays in which the quar- terback takes contact, the percentage of plays in which the quarterback throws outside the pocket, the percentage of plays in which the quarterback scram- bles and sack-adjusted rushing yards. Leonard's "DOG IN HIM" percentage is 92.6. The 2024 leader, Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia, sits at 99.4. Book, mean- while, earned a "DOG IN HIM" percent- age of 93.9 over the course of 47 games and 35 starts. The leader over the past 10 years is former Alabama and Okla- homa quarterback Jalen Hurts at 98.4. From Leonard's elite rushing ability to Book's fearless style of play, never let it be said that Notre Dame quarterbacks don't have that dog in them. They now have the numbers to back it up. — Jack Soble TOP 10 QUARTERBACKS IN ESPN'S "DOG IN HIM" METRIC THIS SEASON Through Week 7 Rk. Quarterback School DIH% 1. Diego Pavia Vanderbilt 99.4 2. Blake Horvath Navy 99.4 3. Gio Lopez South Alabama 96.5 4. John Mateer Washington State 96.4 5. Kevin Jennings SMU 96.1 6. Bryson Daily Army 95.1 7. Tyler Huff Jacksonville State 93.7 8. Riley Leonard Notre Dame 92.6 9. Garrett Greene West Virginia 92.5 10. Darian Mensah Tulane 92.4 NOTRE DAME'S LAST FIVE TWO- TIME CONSENSUS ALL-AMERICANS Player, Pos. Years Aaron Taylor, OL 1992-93 Chris Zorich, DL 1989-90 Todd Lyght, DB 1989-90 Michael Stonebreaker, LB 1988, '90 Bob Crable, LB 1980-81 Senior quarterback Riley Leonard had the eighth-highest "DOG IN HIM" percentage — which takes into account "A) Doing stuff, B) Taking hits and C) Being good" — through Week 7 of the 2024 season. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER