Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME 'Rudy' Returns On the 40th anniversary of Notre Dame's "Rudy Game," the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame And Museum is releasing its Rudy bobble- head. On Nov. 8, 1975, 27-year-old senior walk-on Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, whose pipe dream was to attend school and play football at Notre Dame, was inserted in the final seconds of the 24-3 victory versus Georgia Tech and recorded a sack. His background and story is the stuff that Hollywood scriptwriters dream about producing — and did in 1993 with the film "Rudy." Orders for the Rudy Bobblehead can be placed at www.bobbleheadhall. com/product/rudy. — Lou Somogyi CHARTING THE IRISH BIG PLAYS ALLOWED Notre Dame's defense performed fairly steady in points allowed through the first seven games of 2015. The Irish allowed only three points to Texas in the season opener, but in the six games that followed gave up no fewer than 22 points (versus Georgia Tech Sept. 19) and no more than 31 points (against USC Oct. 17). If there's one statistical area on defense to eye for improvement to finish out the season, it might be big plays allowed. Through seven games, the Irish had given up 86 plays of 10 yards or longer, which ranked 34th nationally. However, the three plays of 70 yards or more surrendered by the Irish ranked 116th in the country. Several of the longest plays allowed have come from trick plays. In the second game of the season, Virginia completed a 42-yard touchdown throw on a reverse pass. Then in the USC game, the Trojans completed a 75-yard touchdown via a double pass, initiated by a lateral behind the line of scrimmage. Staying disciplined and just not giving up the occasional lengthy play would work wonders for improving Notre Dame's overall defensive production for the remainder of 2015. Some help could be on the way thanks to the remaining schedule. Through seven games, Pittsburgh ranked 93rd nationally with 29 plays of 20 yards or more from scrimmage, and Boston College was 118th with 25. Both Stanford (47th with 37 plays) and Wake Forest (50th with 35 plays) rank a bit above average. NOTRE DAME'S BIG PLAYS ALLOWED Through seven games Category Plays Allowed National Ranking 10+ Yards 86 34th 20+ Yards 30 52nd 30+ Yards 18 92nd 40+ Yards 10 90th 50+ Yards 6 103rd 60+ Yards 4 107th 70+ Yards 3 116th