Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/216396
Under the Dome two points worth of support in each of the AP and coaches polls, and wonder where all of this is really headed. … The problem with looking ahead to 2014, though, is it brings with it far more uncertainty than the current incarnation, which could just as easily roll into a surprise season as it could one that looks progressively less like the 2012 run." — South Bend Tribune beat writer Eric Hansen on the 2013 Irish "One thing that may never come back is the primacy of college football Saturday afternoons. Back in 1993, a game like Florida State-Notre Dame could make it seem like time was standing still. Depending on whose criteria you accept, there were nine 'Game(s) of the Century' in the 90-plus years before that. Some people argue the 2006 regular-season game between Michigan and Ohio State, and especially the Rose Bowl contest at the end of the 2005 season between Texas and USC for the national championship, were worthy of the same moniker for the 21st century. "What's clear is that whether those games are deserving or not, the intensity of the argument has waned. The audience has a shorter attention span, recruiting has become a season unto itself, and with so many games on TV, the focus has been diffused. Being designated the 'Game of the Week' is enough for most fans now." — Associated Press writer Jim Litke, looking back at the 1993 Notre Dame-Florida State classic 20 years later Tweet Of The Month ➤ @DocNation_7: "I stand TALL for my crew day in and day out. Love my ND brothers. #blessed #opportunities" Notre Dame junior defensive end Stephon Tuitt ✦ Gimme Five The consistency of senior wide receiver TJ Jones has been well documented, but his durability at 5-11, 195 pounds has sometimes been overshadowed. Nowhere is that more evident than his school-record 37 consecutive games catching a pass for the Irish, dating back to the 2010 Sun Bowl his freshman year. The more we researched it, the more we found out how difficult it is to stay healthy or to make one catch in each game over the long haul. Even luminaries such as 1987 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown, who didn't catch a pass in the 58-7 season-ending debacle at Miami in 1985, or 1990 Heisman runner-up Raghib "Rocket" Ismail, sidelined in the 1990 Stanford loss, saw their consecutive games with a catch streak interrupted. All-time Irish receiving leader Michael Floyd was shelved in the 2010 loss versus Navy. Here is what we found in our research from the past 60 years on players with the most consecutive catches, including bowls, without missing a game: Player (Years) Games 1. TJ Jones (2010-13) 37* 2. Ken MacAfee (1975-77) 35 3. Tom Gatewood (1969-71) 27 4. Jeff Samardzija (2004-06) 26 5. Derrick Mayes (1993-95) 25 * Denotes prior to Nov. 23 game against BYU