Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME THE 'UNTOUCHABLES' During the week of preparation for Stanford, Notre Dame had coach Brian Kelly confirmed that Stanford is expected to remain one of the three mainstays — along with USC and Navy — on Notre Dame's schedule. While longtime rivalries with Big Ten schools such as Purdue, Michigan State and Michigan will have its share of hiatuses in the coming decade to make room for Notre Dame's obligatory five games per season versus Atlan- tic Coast Conference foes, the Cardinal, Trojans and Midshipmen remain the "untouchables." CHARTING THE IRISH OUTSTANDING OCTOBERS Through the ups and downs of Notre Dame football the past decade, most of the squads have been successful in the month of October. During head coach Brian Kelly's first four years in South Bend (2010‑13), the Irish went 13‑3 in October, with two of those losses coming in his inaugural season. Notre Dame went 21‑9 for a .700 winning percentage the past eight Octobers despite an overall team winning percentage of .618 during that time. Even Bob Davie (1997‑2001) went 17‑3 in October despite the university firing him after five seasons. This year, October arguably presented Notre Dame's most difficult stretch of the season, beginning with a home matchup against Stanford, a program that had beaten the Irish in four of the past five seasons; North Carolina and its explosive offense; and a trip to Tallahassee, Fla., for a tilt with Florida State, the defending national champions. November has typically been regarded as Kelly's best month during his time at Notre Dame, with an .800 winning percentage. That figure falls just short of his .813 mark in October during his first four seasons in charge of the Irish. One of the annual benefits for the team in October is Notre Dame's bye week typically scheduled around mid‑semester break, not to mention Kelly's track record after bye weeks at Notre Dame. Follow‑ ing the week off, the Irish are 5‑1, with the most recent contest a 31‑15 win against Syracuse Sept. 27. For those looking ahead to 2015, Notre Dame has a pair of marquee matchups in October, with a trip to Clemson (Oct. 3) and a visit from USC (Oct. 17). NOTRE DAME'S RECORD IN OCTOBER THE PAST 10 YEARS Win % 100 80 60 40 20 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013