Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546785
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 3, 2026 9 UNDER THE DOME ✦ BY THE NUMBERS 1 Team in the country appeared in the top six of both the scoring defense and rushing defense rankings through Week 3 while having played two Power Four opponents: Notre Dame. The Irish were tied for fourth nationally in scoring defense (7.7 points allowed per game) and were sixth in rushing defense (58.3 yards given up a contest). Only five teams near the top of those lists have faced two Power Four op- ponents (Notre Dame, LSU, Miami, Alabama and Pittsburgh), and the three teams ahead of the Irish in scoring defense have each played one or zero Power Four foes. 2nd Was where ESPN's Bill Connelly ranked Notre Dame among the 35 remaining unbeaten teams, behind only No. 1 Georgia, heading into Week 4 of the college football season. "The Fighting Irish were my national title pick heading into the season," Connelly noted, "but I had the same major question of them as I had for Georgia: Will they make enough big plays and score enough easy points? Answers weren't incredibly favorable to start, but against what I'm guessing will be a very stubborn and frustrating Michigan State team, CJ Carr found Micah Gilbert for completions of 28, 39 and 61 yards. Very encouraging. I'm more worried than I expected about the run game, but my trust level for the Irish is still quite high." 3 Wins against the country's No. 1-ranked team for Notre Dame men's soccer in program history: Date Opponent Score Aug. 31, 2007 vs. No. 1 UCLA 2-1 in overtime Alex Yoshinaga scored the winning goal in overtime in a match played at Bloomington, Ind. Nov. 11, 2015 at No. 1 Wake Forest 1-0 Thomas Ueland scored in the 60th minute in the ACC Tournament semifinals Sept. 20, 2026 at No. 1 Stanford 3-1 It marked the first time the Cardinal allowed 3 goals in a match since losing 3-1 to UCLA on Sept. 28, 2023; it was also the first regular-season loss at home for Stanford since Nov. 1, 2024. 4 Players since 1972 have amassed at least 170 receiving yards in their first career 100-yard game for the Fighting Irish, with ju- nior wide receiver Micah Gilbert joining that exclusive club Sept. 19 against Michigan State. His 8-catch, 170-yard performance ranks as the fourth-highest debut 100-yard game. Rk. Player Date Opponent Yards 1. Bobby Brown Nov. 13, 1999 Pitt 208 2. Chase Claypool Nov. 4, 2017 Wake Forest 180 3. Maurice Stovall Sept. 27, 2003 Purdue 171 4. Micah Gilbert Sept. 19, 2026 Michigan State 170 5 Notre Dame players were tabbed by ESPN this past sum- mer as the best players all time at their respective jersey numbers: safety Xavier Watts (2020-24) at No. 0, quarterback/ halfback/defensive back Johnny Lujack (1943, '46-47) at No. 32, end Leo Hart (1946-49) at No. 82, wide receiver Jim Seymour (1966-68) at No. 85 and defensive end ROSS BROWNER (1973, '75-78) at No. 89. Eleven other Irish players were listed as finalists in the "three others" section: quarterback Joe Montana (1975-78) behind Southern Cal quarterback Carson Palmer (1998-2002) at No. 3; running back Jeremiyah Love (2023-25) behind Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson (2014-16) at No. 4; running back Je- rome Bettis (1990-92) behind Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield (2013-17) at No. 6; wide receiver Rocket Ismail (1988-90) behind Oklahoma running back Tommy McDonald (1954-56) at No. 25; quarterback Angelo Bertelli (1941-43) behind Kansas running back Gale Sayers (1962-64) at No. 48; defensive tackle Chris Zorich (1987-90) behind Illinois linebacker Dick Butkus (1962-64) at No. 50; linebacker Jim Lynch (1964-66) behind Minnesota center Greg Eslinger (2002-05) at No. 61; wide receiver Tim Brown (1984-87) and defensive tackle George Connor (1946-47) behind Tulsa wide receiver Howard Twilley (1963-65) at No. 81; wide receiver Jeff Samardzija (2003-06) behind Southern Cal line- backer Richard Wood (1972-74) at No. 83; and tight end Dave Casper (1971-73) behind Penn State defensive end Courtney Brown (1996-99) at No. 86. 50th Was the ranking for Notre Dame football's remaining schedule heading into Week 4, according to ESPN Analytics. 51 Years ago was the last time a Notre Dame defense opened the sea- son by holding its first three opponents to an average of fewer than 200 total yards per game, until it happened in 2026. Wisconsin, Rice and Michigan State could only muster a combined 579 yards (193.0 per game) against the Irish during their 3-0 start this season. The last time that happened was when the 1975 Irish began the season by only surrendering a combined 568 total yards (189.3 per game) versus Boston College, Purdue and Northwestern during a 3-0 start. 100th Career win for Irish women's soccer head coach Nate Norman with the Fighting Irish's 2-1 victory over No. 24 Clemson Sept. 11. He is now 102-44-23 at Notre Dame in his nine seasons at the helm of the program. 790 Points scored by former Notre Dame and current Minnesota Lynx point guard Olivia Miles during the 2026 WNBA season. That broke the league's single-season rookie scoring record, surpassing Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (769 in 2024). Miles' 19.8 points per game is the fourth-highest scoring average by a rookie behind only Cynthia Cooper (22.2 in 1997), Seimone Augustus (21.9 in 2006) and A'ja Wilson (20.7 in 2018). — Steve Downey PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS