Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 NOV. 15, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Jessica Kovalcik — Tennis The freshman from Plain- field, Ill., was one of three Irish players to compete at the Battle for the Boot Open Oct. 23-25 in Fort Worth, Texas. She went 2-1 in singles and 3-2 in doubles to lead the way for Notre Dame at the nine-team event. Kovalcik's tournament included singles wins over players from Rice and Nebraska, and dou- bles victories over teams from Baylor, TCU and BYU. Jordan Levitt — Golf The freshman from Bedford, N.Y., finished her fall season with a 28th-place overall fin- ish at the Jim West Challenge Oct. 19-20 in San Marcos, Texas. She fired a 4-over-par 220 score over three rounds for 12th-place Notre Dame. Levitt shot a 2-under 70 in the opening round, an even-par 72 in round 2 and a six-over-par 78 in the final round. Danny Nelson — Hockey Despite a two-game week- end sweep for Michigan over Notre Dame in South Bend Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, the junior forward from Maple Grove, Minn., enjoyed a terrific in- dividual performance. He scored 1 goal and added 2 assists in a 5-3 loss to the Wolverines in the opener, then tallied Notre Dame's only goal in a 2-1 overtime loss in the series finale. Through eight games, Nelson was tied for sec- ond on the Irish with 3 goals. Nate Stevens — Golf The senior from Northfield, Minn., won individual honors for Notre Dame at the Wil- liams Cup Oct. 19-21 in Wilm- ington, N.C. He closed out his fall season with a 7-under par 209 in the three-round event, including a tournament-low 5-under 67 in the second round, which also featured his third career collegiate hole-in-one. Stevens' effort helped Notre Dame to a fifth- place finish in the 15-team event. TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom ✦ GIMME FIVE The announcement of a home-and-home football series for Notre Dame with Auburn in the 2027 and 2028 seasons leaves the Irish with just six power conference schools on the "never played/not scheduled" list. Arkansas and Group of Five power Boise State were first-time Notre Dame opponents in 2025. Who should be next? Here are the top five in order of priority: 1. TCU — There's brand recognition to like here as well as a trip to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, where Notre Dame has been strong in recruiting. The Big 12 tie-in, when it comes to comparing résu- més, for the College Football Playoff would be a good refresher, given how infrequently the Irish play Big 12 teams. The last regular-season game against a current Big 12 team was 2022 versus BYU, but that was before the Cougars had been integrated into the conference. The last actual regular-season game against a Big 12 team was in 2016 at Texas, before the Longhorns joined the SEC. 2. Mississippi State — The upcoming Alabama and Auburn series make this less pressing, but the SEC brand is powerful, even when you're not playing its top-tier teams. Comparative scores matter. Seeing Notre Dame deal with SEC speed well matters. And getting to the deep South for recruiting is a bonus. 3. UCF — Since the CFP expanded to 12 teams, playing in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Fla., would be a signal that you've fallen short of your season goals. So, why not add a trip to Orlando without the stigma. A huge recruiting hotbed is an obvious benefit. And seeing in person the statue erected in 2016 of a former Notre Dame coach whose regime lasted less than a week — George O'Leary — might be a fun bonus. 4. Kentucky — See Mississippi State, but subtract some travel time, humidity and the charm or lack of it of Starkville. 5. Texas Tech — The Red Raiders win out over Kansas State in part because of their intriguing surge into national relevance. Is it sustainable? That's the caveat — along with a road trip to Lubbock, Texas. — Eric Hansen CHARTING THE IRISH A NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER? After Brian Kelly won his last 17 successive Notre Dame games coached in November and a rare December regular-season game in the pandemic-affected 2020 season, Marcus Freeman won 10 of his first 12 post-October regular-season games. Beating Navy Nov. 8 would nudge Freeman out of a second-place tie with coaching legend Frank Leahy (.833) in those later-season con- tests, and the fourth-year Irish head coach's revised .846 win percentage would put him behind only Jesse Harper, Notre Dame's first- ever full-time head football coach. Harper fashioned a 19-2 post-October mark in his five seasons leading the Irish (1913-17) for a .905 winning percentage. Harper, who was Knute Rockne's head coach as a player as well as his Irish coaching predecessor, was 34-5-1 (.863) overall. Coaching icon Rockne followed with an .831 post-October mark, right behind Leahy in fourth place. Among the 10 coaches who've roamed the sidelines for Notre Dame since 1963, Ara Par- seghian comes in at No. 2 behind Freeman at .791. Kelly, who after the 2017 season was 21-13 (.618), finished out at .745. Lou Holtz was fourth at .705, with Dan Devine fifth at .674. The lower five since 1963 bottoms out with interim coach Hugh Devore, who lost all four of his post- October games in 1963 in a 2-7 campaign. But Devore is remembered fondly by history for bringing the Notre Dame spirit back after Joe Kuharich reportedly sucked the life out of it during his oppressive and unsuccessful four-year run (17-23). Parseghian's hiring for the 1964 season followed Devore's one-year interim stint. Next from the bottom in the modern era group was Gerry Faust at .421, then Charlie Weis at .476, Tyrone Willingham at .500 and Bob Davie at .632. Weis started a strong 9-3 in such games, but lost eight of his last nine, including his last six. — Eric Hansen — Todd Burlage NOVEMBER COACHES TO REMEMBER Here are how the Notre Dame head football coaches of the past six decades rank in post-October regular-season games: Rk. Head Coach Record Win% 1. Marcus Freeman* 10-2 .833 2. Ara Parseghian 33-8-2 .791 3. Brian Kelly 38-13 .745 4. Lou Holtz 27-11-1 .705 5. Dan Devine 15-7-1 .674 6. Bob Davie 12-7 .632 7. Tyrone Willingham 6-6 .500 8. Charlie Weis 10-11 .476 9. Gerry Faust 8-11 .421 10. Hugh Devore 0-4 .000 * Heading into last Saturday's game with Navy NEXT IN LINE The top potential Power Four opponents for Notre Dame: Rk. School Conference 1. TCU Big 12 2. Mississippi State SEC 3. UCF Big 12 4. Kentucky SEC 5. Texas Tech Big 12