Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME ✦ GIMME FIVE Now in his 12th season as an FBS head coach, Brian Kelly ranks sixth in winning percentage among 65 coaches at Power Five schools that have faced at least 10 AP top-25 teams. Kelly is 9-9 through his first five years at Notre Dame, pending the Sept. 19 game with Georgia Tech, which began the year No. 17 in the AP poll. He also was 10-3 at Cincinnati (2007-09) and 0-1 at Central Michigan (2004-06). That overall mark of 19-13 is rounded off to a .594 winning percentage, barely be- hind current Alabama head coach Nick Saban (.598) for sixth place. Kelly is one of only 12 coaches at bowl eligible schools who have faced at least 10 AP-ranked teams at their current job and is at minimum .500 against them. Here are the top five overall who have faced at least 10 such opponents. Best Career Winning Percentages Against AP Top-25 Teams Minimum Of 10 Games Coach (School) Record (Pct.) 1. Urban Meyer (Ohio State) 30-12 (.714) 2. Jimbo Fisher (Florida State) 12-6 (.667) 3. Bob Stoops (Oklahoma) 50-27 (.649) 4. David Shaw (Stanford) 15-9 (.625) 5. Nick Saban (Alabama) 55-37 (.598) 6. Brian Kelly (Notre Dame) 19-13 (.594) Five Captains Selected For 2015 For the third time ever, the Notre Dame football team has a record five captains representing it. Head coach Brian Kelly initially had a list of 10 players that he thought would make worthy 2015 captains, nearly one-eighth of the roster. Then, he whittled it down to seven, six and then finally decided upon the five players. Fifth-year senior center Nick Martin and senior defensive lineman Shel- don Day return as captains from 2014, while fifth-year seniors Joe Schmidt and Matthias Farley, and junior Jaylon Smith earned the honor as well. "I really had a hard time," Kelly explained after the Aug. 27 practice. "I ac- From left to right: senior defensive linemen Sheldon Day, fifth-year senior defensive back Matthias Farley, fifth-year senior center Nick Martin, fifth-year senior linebacker Joe Schmidt and junior line- backer Jaylon Smith will serve as Notre Dame's 2015 captains, marking the third time in program history the Irish have honored five players with captaincy. PHOTOS COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS