Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/871976
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 18, 2017 27 2-0 Since the turn of the 20th century, Geor- gia became only the sixth team to win their first two meetings against Notre Dame, with the first coming in the Jan. 1, 1981 Sugar Bowl to clinch the national title. The other five schools since 1900 were Iowa (1921, 1939 and 1940 for a 3-0 start), Michigan (which started 8-0 from 1887-1908), North Carolina State (2002 Gator Bowl and 2016), Oregon State (2000 Fiesta Bowl and 2004 Insight Bowl), and Wisconsin (3-0 from 1900-05). 5 Last year during its 8-5 season, Georgia won five games (North Carolina, at Missouri, at Kentucky, Auburn and TCU in the bowl game) in which it trailed or was tied in the fourth quarter. Conversely, Notre Dame in 2016 lost a school- record five games when it led in the fourth quarter (Texas, Duke, Stanford, Navy and Virginia Tech), and also fell in a sixth in which it was tied (North Carolina State). The trend continued when Georgia fell behind 19-17 in the fourth quarter at Notre Dame before pulling out the conquest. 7 Georgia became the seventh different op- ponent to play at Notre Dame Stadium in a night game. Michigan has the most such appear- ances (five), followed by USC (three), Michigan State and Stanford (two apiece) and then one by both Miami and Texas. The Fighting Irish all-time record in home night games — with the first versus Michigan in 1982 — now is 10-5. 9-9 Represents Sept. 9 (ninth month, ninth day), which has become infamous in Notre Dame Stadium history for the invasion of "Sea of Red" by the opposition. On Sept. 9, 2000, No. 1 Nebraska eked out a 27-24 overtime victory against the No. 23 Fighting Irish, with an estimated 25,000 or so Cornhuskers fans in attendance chant- ing "Huskers Home Game." Seventeen years later on Sept. 9, 2017 , Georgia's No. 15-ranked Bulldogs' Sea of Red contingent invaded in similar (if not greater) droves, while their team rallied to a 20-19 triumph. 17 Consecutive games — including the road outing at Boston College Sept. 16 — in which Notre Dame failed to win back-to-back con- tests, which ties the school record. Two wins in a row have not been achieved since November 2015 when the Fighting Irish defeated Wake Forest (28-7) and Boston College (19-16), both of which finished 3-9, to improve to 10-1. Since then the Irish have gone 16 straight contests without con- secutive wins, and Boston College next week will make it 17 — the final two of 2015, all 12 in 2016 and the first three in 2017. The original record of 17 was achieved during the 1958-59 seasons, the last eight games of the Terry Brennan regime in 1958 and the first nine under Joe Kuharich in 1959. 75 Different opponents who have played at Notre Dame Stadium since its opening in 1930, with Georgia becoming the most recent. The Fighting Irish are 59-15-1 against first-time visitors to the edifice — and the Bulldogs became the sixth team since 2009 to win in their initial appearance at Notre Dame Stadium. The others were UConn (2009), Tulsa (2010), South Florida (2011), Louis- ville (2014) and Virginia Tech (2016). 2010 The last time Notre Dame defeated a first-time visitor ranked in the Asso- ciated Press poll after just missing in the 20-19 loss to No. 15 Georgia. In Brian Kelly's first season back in 2010, the 4-5 Irish defeated No. 15 Utah 28-3. BY THE NUMBERS BY LOU SOMOGYI 1 Georgia freshman Jake Fromm, replacing the injured Jacob Eason, became the first quar- terback in history to defeat the Fighting Irish in Notre Dame Stadium in his first collegiate start. In last year's opener at Texas, the Longhorns' Shane Buechele also had his first start in college versus the Irish, but that 50-47 double-overtime victory was at home. Joining Fromm and Buechele as freshmen quarterbacks who have started in wins over Notre Dame are three others since 2009: Michigan's Tate Forcier (38-34) and USC's Matt Barkley (34-27) — both in 2009 — and Louisville's Reggie Bonnafon in 2014. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA