Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/204831
Under the Dome 4 By The Numbers Freshman combinations at Notre Dame that caught a touchdown pass apiece in the same game — not the three reported in the Nov. 4 edition. In addition to Corey Robinson and Will Fuller (Air Force, 2013), Duval Kamara and Golden Tate (Purdue, 2007), and Derek Brown and Raghib "Rocket" Ismail (Purdue, 1988), the omitted tandem was Michael Floyd and Kyle Rudolph (Stanford, 2008). 6-2 Notre Dame's record after eight games 17 times since the start of the Associated Press poll in 1936. The only three years out of those 17 that Notre Dame wasn't ranked by the AP were 1940, 1951 and 2013 (although the Irish were 25th in both the USA Today coaches poll and the BCS this year). In 1940 and 1951, though, the AP ranked only a top 20. In the other 14 years, Notre Dame's lowest ranking with a 6‑2 record was No. 19 (2009). 7 The highest AP ranking Notre Dame ever had with a 6-2 record. That occurred in 2005, Charlie Weis' first year as a head coach, "highlighted" by the 34-31 loss to No. 1 USC that helped lead to a 10-year contract extension. 14 Minimum final ranking Notre Dame needs in the Bowl Championship Series poll to be eligible for a BCS bowl. The only chance the Irish would have is to finish 10-2. Since the start of the BCS era in 1998, Notre Dame finished the regular season 10-2 twice: 2002 and 2006. It did not receive a BCS bid in 2002 while finishing ninth in the BCS rankings, but did in 2006 with an 11th-place finish in AP poll. In each of those years, there were only four BCS bowls, whereas now there are five. 60 Players who participated for Notre Dame during its 45‑10 victory at Air Force Oct. 26. According to head coach Brian Kelly, that number represented the highest volume in his four seasons with the Fighting Irish. A total of 73 players were taken on the trip. Among the freshmen who plan to be redshirted this season and took the trip but didn't play were Mike linebacker Michael Deeb, offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey and quarterback Malik Zaire.