Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 NOV. 28, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME UNDER THE DOME Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom Bonzie Colson — Basketball In Notre Dame's season-opening win over Bry- ant, the junior from New Bed- ford, Mass., scored a team- high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and a 6-of-6 performance from the free throw line. It was the third time in his Irish career that Colson has scored 20 or more points. He added nine rebounds, two blocks, one assist and a steal in the victory. Through two games, Colson was averaging a team-high 19.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per contest. Ryann DeJarld — Volleyball The sophomore from Chicago became the fourth player in Notre Dame volleyball history to record 500 digs in a single season with a 32-dig performance in the Irish's 3-2 loss to visiting Virginia Nov. 13. Through 28 matches this season, DeJarld had recorded a team-high total of 507 digs (5.02 per set). She also led the team with 36 service aces. Monica Flores — Soccer The junior defender from Livingston, N.J., is representing the Irish in the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. She is a part of team Mexico, which opened up play in the tournament Nov. 14 with a 2-0 win over South Korea. Flores helped Notre Dame to its first-ever ACC regular season champion- ship team this fall. She started 15 contests and contributed four assists. Arike Ogunbowale — Basketball The sophomore from Milwaukee was named ACC Player of the Week Nov. 14. In Notre Dame's sea- son-opening win over Central Michigan Nov. 11, she scored 30 points, 15 of which came from her 5-of-5 mark from the three-point line. She was 12 of 13 overall. This is the second time she has been recognized as the league's Player of the Week. Ogunbowale was Notre Dame's leading scorer with an average of 20.3 points per con- test during the team's 3-0 start. TOP OF THE CLASS ✦ GIMME FIVE Now in his 17th season as Notre Dame men's basketball head coach, Mike Brey is in some elite Hall of Fame company when it comes to longest tenures at a Power Five school. Hired on July 14, 2000 from the University of Delaware to succeed the one-year run by Matt Doherty, who returned to coach his alma mater (North Carolina), Brey's staying power of nearly two decades at one school is rare. Both Nai- smith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee George Keogan (1923-43) and Digger Phelps (1971-91) coached exactly 20 years with the Fighting Irish, and Brey seems well on his way toward matching and even eclipsing that figure. With 359 career wins at Notre Dame, Brey is on pace to surpass Phelps' mark of 397 during the 2017-18 campaign. Entering this season, here are the five longest tenures (or at least a tie for fifth) among Power Five men's coaches: Coach (School) Year Hired 1. Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) 1976 2. Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) 1980 3. Tom Izzo (Michigan State) 1995 4. Mike Brey (Notre Dame) 2000 5t. Rick Pitino (Louisville) 2001 5t. Jay Wright (Villanova) 2001 Getting To Know … SOPHOMORE WIDE RECEIVER EQUANIMEOUS ST. BROWN Hometown: Anaheim, Calif. High School: Servite. Major: "Business, but I'm not decided exactly." Nickname: EQ. Favorite Food: "Lobster." Favorite Movie: "'Avatar.'" Favorite Music: "Hip Hop/ R&B." Favorite Musician: "Michael Jackson." Favorite TV Show: "'The Flash.'" Favorite part about playing for Notre Dame: "I like the people on the team, and the coach- ing staff a lot. They're all great people. That's my favorite part about being on the team." Who's the best player you've ever lined up across from?: "Probably [former Servite and current Northern Arizona cornerback] Maurice Davidson in high school. He was on my team." CHARTING THE IRISH POWER SUCCESS RATE Notre Dame's offense has been inconsistent at times this season, but the Irish have thrived in one area in particular. Power Success Rate — the percentage of runs on third or fourth down, two yards or less to go, that achieved a first down or touchdown — is a metric used to determine how well a team does in short- yardage situations. Through 10 games, Notre Dame was ranked fourth in the country in Power Success Rate, converting 84.4 percent of such plays, which also includes runs on first-and-goal or second-and-goal from the 2-yard line or closer. In recent weeks, Notre Dame has been particularly effective on such plays. In games against Stanford, Miami, Navy and Army, Notre Dame is a combined 10 of 12 in power plays, the only two failures being against Miami. The teams ranked ahead of the Irish in Power Success Rate are Ohio State (88.7 percent), Toledo (88.2) and Arizona State (85.7). Notre Dame's massive offensive linemen are the main piece of that statistic. The Irish starting offensive line averages 6-5.1 and 315 pounds. That's bigger than nine teams that made the 2015 NFL playoffs. Sophomore running back Josh Adams is also a powerful runner, and junior quarterback DeShone Kizer has shown his ability to scramble for yardage. Conversely, Notre Dame's defensive line is ranked 40th in Power Success Rate, allow- ing opponents to convert on 63.3 percent of short-yardage runs on third and fourth down. The top defensive team in the coun- try in that category is Kansas State (46.4). Last season, Notre Dame finished 58th in the country in Power Success Rate, con- verting just 66.7 percent of its short runs on third and fourth down. In 2014, that ranking was slightly better at 69.4 percent (44th in the country). Moving? Let us know! Call 1-800-421-7751 POWER SUCCESS RATE Through Nov. 17 1. Ohio State 88.7 2. Toledo 88.2 3. Arizona State 85.7 T4. Notre Dame 84.4 T4. Kentucky 84.4 T4. South Florida 84.4