Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 NOV. 29, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Amaya Aramini — Cross Country T h e s o p h o m o re f ro m Reno, Nev., claimed the in- dividual title in a dominat- ing performance that helped the Irish cruise to the team title in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Nov. 14 at Angel Mounds Historic Site in Evansville, Ind. Aramini ran the 6K course in 19:37.97 on a day that Notre Dame scored five runners in the top 10. The Irish returned to action at the NCAA Championships Nov. 22 in Columbia, Mo. Ethan Coleman — Cross Country The senior from Tumwa- ter, Wash., finished third individually to lead Notre Dame to the team champi- onship in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Nov. 14 at Angel Mounds Historic Site in Evansville, Ind. Coleman covered the 10K course in 29:45.14. Next up is the NCAA Championships Nov. 22 in Columbia, Mo., when the Irish will try to improve on their 10th-place finish from last season. Tessa Knapp — Soccer The freshman forward Bay Village, Ohio, scored the first goal for the Irish against the University of Illinois Chicago Nov. 15, which jump-started Notre Dame to a 4-0 win in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament at Alumni Sta- dium. She scored 6:59 into the match and helped the Irish out-shoot the Flames 40-5 in the victory. In 20 games this season, Knapp had 3 goals for the Fighting Irish. Jacob Modleski — Golf The junior from Noblesville, Ind., was named to the final fall season watch list for the Haskins Award, an honor given to the top male U.S. Collegiate Golfer, on Nov. 11. Through five tournaments this fall, he ranked No. 37 nationally and boasted a stroke average of 68.1 in his 15 rounds. Modleski finished in the top 10 in all five fall tournaments, including two top-five showings, to earn his place as one of 25 Haskins hopefuls. TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom ✦ GIMME FIVE ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper dropped his updated 2026 big board Nov. 13, and the top non- quarterback on it is Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. Love is No. 3 on Kiper's big board, behind Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. "Love reminds me a lot of Reggie Bush," Kiper wrote. "The 20-year-old has vision and burst between the tackles and to the outside, and he can break tackles with ease (48 forced missed tackles on the season). Once he gets into space, he can take it to the house with his breakaway speed too." It's important to note that this is a big board, not a mock draft. Positional value will likely knock Love out of the top five, which is typically reserved for quarterbacks, offensive tackles, wide receivers, defensive linemen and de- fensive backs. However, Love's pass-catching ability will likely boost his stock with teams that don't just want a normal running back. "But Love isn't only an outstanding runner," Kiper wrote. "He also is a high-impact pass catcher. An NFL team will be able to flank him out wide and create a whole other dimension of the offense." While Love is far and away Notre Dame's top NFL Draft prospect this year, several other Irish should hear their names called in late April. Kiper mentioned four other Notre Dame players in his updated position rankings. — Jack Soble CHARTING THE IRISH HISTORY IN THE MAKING? At his current 13-game pace, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love is on track to break a program record that has stood for 45 years. Through 10 games, Love had 1,135 rushing yards. That's the 13th-best rushing season in program history, passing his own 2024 season and Kyren Williams' 2020 campaign (1,125). But if he maintains his pace through 13 games — and bear in mind, the Irish could obviously play more than that — Love will reach 1,475 yards. The all-time Notre Dame record for rushing yards in a single season is 1,437, set by Vagas Ferguson in 1979. Love is doing this despite opposing defenses doing everything they can to stop him. Notre Dame's opponents have stacked the box and brought their safeties as close to the line of scrimmage as they can get without looking like a goal-line formation. That has opened up opportunities for the Irish in the passing game, but Love has still managed to rip off touchdowns of 94, 48 and 56 yards in his past three games. Irish head coach Marcus Freeman was most impressed with a 22-yard gain on fourth-and-2 in Love's most recent outing, a 147-yard performance in a 37-15 win over Pitt Nov. 15. He encountered two un- blocked defenders at the point of at- tack, and he simply ran around them and turned the corner. " That fourth-down play, there's no defensive call that can stop what happened there," Freeman said. "He got outside of the defender that was supposed to be outside, and he gets them a first down." Love could go down as the greatest running back in the history of Notre Dame football, an incredible accom- plishment given all those who came before him. The single-season rushing record would strengthen his case. — Jack Soble NOTRE DAME'S SINGLE-SEASON RUSHING YARDAGE LEADERS Rk. Player, Year Yards Games/Attempts 1. Vagas Ferguson, 1979 1,437 11/301 2. Josh Adams, 2017 1,430 13/206 3. Allen Pinkett, 1983 1,394 11/252 4. Reggie Brooks, 1992 1,343 11/167 5. Audric Estimé, 2023 1,341 12/210 6. Julius Jones, 2003 1,268 12/229 Autry Denson, 1997 1,268 12/264 8. Darius Walker, 2006 1,267 13/255 9. Darius Walker, 2005 1,196 12/253 10. Vagas Ferguson, 1978 1,192 11/211 MEL KIPER JR.'S TOP NOTRE DAME PRO PROSPECTS Player Position Rank Jeremiyah Love No. 1 RB (No. 3 overall) Jadarian Price No. 3 RB Eli Raridon No. 5 TE Billy Schrauth No. 8 IOL Boubacar Traore "Just missed" OLB