Blue and Gold Illustrated

April 2014 Issue

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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FINAL FOUR MOST IMPRESSIVE STATS 1. PASS BLOCKING — It would not be a stretch to call it the best in Notre Dame history based on the amount of passes tossed, limited mobility at quarterback and defenses being able to play "11 on 10" because of a lack of a running threat at QB. The Irish surrendered a mere eight sacks in what is listed as 429 attempts. Only Toledo was better with 361 at- tempts yielding only six sacks in its 12 games against lesser competition. 2. FOUR FUMBLES LOST — This tied five other teams for the fewest in the na- tion. Two were by the most reliable threat on offense, senior captain TJ Jones (after a catch at Pitt and on a punt in the Pinstripe Bowl). Only two lost fumbles by the running backs and none at quarterback is extraor- dinary. 3. 14.66 YARDS PER COMPLETION — The 10th-best figure in the country even though quarterback Tommy Rees didn't possess superior arm strength. This figure was the highest at Notre Dame since quarterback Jarious Jack- son and Co. averaged 14.9 in 1999. 4. NINE BOWL TEAMS — Three went to the BCS, highlighted by a victory over Rose Bowl champ Michigan State, and five won at least 10 games. HIGHS & LOWS A review of Notre Dame's final 2013 stats BY LOU SOMOGYI Senior Tommy Rees' average of 14.66 yards per completion was the best by an Irish signal-caller since Jarious Jackson and Co. averaged 14.9 in 1999. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA FINAL FOUR MOST DISAPPOINTING STATS 1. RED-ZONE OFFENSE — Notre Dame tied for 77th because it entered the op- ponent's 20-yard line 45 times and came away with a score on 36 of them, an .800 percentage. However, only 24 were touchdowns. Just like in 2012 when Notre Dame was tied for 71st in red-zone offense, it had to rely heavily on

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