Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com FEBRUARY 2017 15 UNDER THE DOME ✦ GIMME FIVE In late December, former Notre Dame offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Mike Denbrock left of his own volition to become the offensive coordinator at the University of Cincinnati under new head coach Luke Fickell. Denbrock had been at Notre Dame in each of head coach Brian Kelly's first seven seasons from 2010- 16, and he also was on Tyrone Willingham's Fighting Irish staff from 2002-04. That made him one of a few to be a Notre Dame football assistant at least 10 seasons. Current recruiting coordinator/linebackers coach Mike Elston is expected to be at Notre Dame for an eighth straight season in 2017. That would tie him with Greg Mattison (1997-2004) and Kirk Doll (1994- 2001) for the second-longest stint at Notre Dame since offensive line coach Joe Moore's nine-year stay from 1988-96 under Lou Holtz. Here are the five longest terms by on-the-field Notre Dame football assistants — with all coaching under Ara Parseghian, three of them throughout his 11-year term (1964-74): Coach Position) Years 1. Joe Yonto Defensive Line 19 (1964-80, 1986-87) 2. George Kelly Linebackers 17 (1969-85) 3. John Murphy Freshmen/Defense 16 (1959-74) 4t. Brian Boulac O-Line/Tight Ends 13 (1970-82) 4t. Paul Shoults Defensive Backs 13 (1964-76) Notes: Kelly and Boulac moved into athletics administration at Notre Dame after coaching football … John Druze (1941, 1946-55), Wally Ziemba (1943-53) and Tom Pagna (1964-74) coached 11 years apiece. Getting To Know … JUNIOR HOCKEY FORWARD JAKE EVANS Hometown: "Toronto, Ontario." Major: "Business." Favorite food: "Pizza." Favorite movie: "Anchorman." Favorite music: "Country." Favorite musician: "Kenny Chesney." Favorite TV show: "'The Office.'" Favorite pro hockey team: "Toronto Maple Leafs." Favorite part about play- ing for Notre Dame: "It's kind of everything that is given to you here. Your aca- demics are great here, and also the rink, the fans and the hockey here is great, so it's kind of hard to nitpick on one thing, really." Who's the best player you've ever lined up across from?: "Playing here, I recently went against [Boston College forward] Colin White. He was on the world juniors. He's definitely a tough player to play against. He's a 200-foot player, he's a fast guy, and he's definitely hard to play against." CHARTING THE IRISH RANKING THE BEST HOOPS CONFERENCES Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey has repeatedly lauded the strength of the Atlantic Coast Conference this season. He has a point, and this year it's not up for debate: the ACC is the best basketball league in the country. According to KenPom.com, the ACC has seven teams among the nation's top 25, 10 in the top 50 and 13 in the top 100. Only Georgia Tech (No. 143) and Boston College (No. 161) fell outside the top 100 in the 15-team basket- ball league. But even those teams have good wins: Georgia Tech beat North Carolina (No. 5) Dec. 31, while Boston College defeated Syracuse (No. 52) and Providence (No. 74). ACC play kicked off for Notre Dame Dec. 31 — a 78-77 overtime road vic- tory at Pittsburgh. In their first five conference games this season, the Irish will face Pitt (No. 53), Louisville (No. 10), Clemson (No. 24), Miami (No. 36) and Virginia Tech (No. 42). Due to the strength of the league, the ACC could threaten the Big East's record of 11 NCAA Tournament teams. The Big East accomplished that feat in 2011, when then-league member Notre Dame was a No. 2 seed. MOVING? Let our customer service department know your new address! Call us 1-800-421-7751 KENPOM.COM CONFERENCE RANKINGS Through Jan. 9 Conference Top-25 Teams Top-50 Teams Top-100 Teams 1. ACC 7 10 13 2. Big 12 3 8 10 3. Big East 4 5 9 4. Big Ten 3 6 11 5. Pac-12 3 5 7 6. SEC 2 5 11 7. American 1 3 6 8. West Coast 2 2 3 9. Atlantic 10 0 2 5 10. Missouri Valley 1 1 2 NOTRE DAME 2017 Football Calendars *Please add sales tax if shipping to: IN (7%), MI (6%), and NC (7.5%) 11x14 Wall Calendars Ship Within Cont. U.S. Only BLUE AND GOLD ILLUSTRATED PO BOX 2331 • DURHAM, NC 27702 800-421-7751 www.BlueGoldOnline.com ITEM #6451 Reg. $21.95 $ 14 95 FREE S&H