Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/542018
UNDER THE DOME Brian Kelly Now The Corbett Family Head Football Coach Richard Corbett, a 1960 Notre Dame alumnus who served as the class president that year, gifted Notre Dame $35 million this spring. The largesse is split two ways, first with $25 million underwriting con- struction on a 280,000 square-foot building that will bear his family's name and house the anthropology and psychology departments on the east side of Notre Dame Stadium, with the top three floors including premium seat- ing and a press box. CHARTING THE IRISH AVERAGE PRESEASON RANKINGS Analyzing three different preseason rankings from major publications and media outlets indicates that, on average, Notre Dame is rated higher than all but one team on their schedule entering 2015. The Irish are ranked No. 7 by Lindy's, No. 12 by Athlon and No. 18 by ESPN's Football Performance Index as of July 7 (which is based on prior years' efficiency, information on returning starters, recruiting and coaching tenure), for an average ranking of 12.3. Southern California (9.7) holds a slight advantage over Notre Dame, while Clemson (14.0) and Georgia Tech (18.7) come in just behind the Irish. USC turned in the highest individual ranking in any one of the three polls, with Athlon slotting the Trojans at No. 6. Clemson is the only other team besides Notre Dame to earn a spot in the top 10, with Lindy's forecasting the Tigers at No. 9. The averages play out to predict that the Irish could face four top-25 teams this year, while nine of the 12 opponents on the schedule are expected to be among the top half of the Football Bowl Subdivision. LINDY'S ESPN'S FPI ATHLON AVERAGE USC 11 12 6 9.7 Notre Dame 7 18 12 12.3 Clemson 9 19 14 14.0 Georgia Tech 15 22 18 18.3 Stanford 26 16 24 22.0 Texas 34 30 33 32.3 Pittsburgh 53 43 41 45.7 Temple 68 49 62 59.7 Boston College 57 71 56 61.3 Virginia 63 64 61 62.7 Navy 62 85 54 67.0 Wake Forest 78 89 82 83.0 Massachusetts 115 97 92 101.3