Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 2, 2017 27 2 Consecutive victories posted by Notre Dame after defeating Boston College (49-20) and Michigan State (38-18). That was a first since No- vember 2015, when the Fighting Irish defeated Wake Forest (28-7) and Boston College (19-16) to improve the record to 10-1. Since then, Notre Dame went 17 straight games without winning back-to- back contests, tying the school record set in 1958-59 (last eight games of 1958 and the first nine of 1959). 4 Times Notre Dame has played Michigan State on Sept. 23 — including this year — and in each of the previous three the Irish went on to play in a major bowl. The first was in 1989 (a 21-13 vic- tory), when Notre Dame defeated No. 1 Colorado in the Orange Bowl. The most recent was 2006 (40-37) when the Irish fell to LSU in the Sugar Bowl. In between was a 27-21 loss at Michigan State in 2000, but Notre Dame still finished the regular sea- son 9-2 and was invited to the Fiesta Bowl, where it lost to Oregon State. 5-2 Record for Notre Dame in its last seven visits to Spartan Stadium, dating back to 2002, including 2-1 under head coach Brian Kelly. The Irish lost 34-31 in overtime in 2010 under Kelly on a fake field goal in overtime, but won in 2012 (20-3) and this year to give him a 4-2 ledger overall against the Spartans. The two teams aren't scheduled to meet again in a home-and-home series until 2026-27. 18 Games that had passed since Notre Dame last scored a touchdown on defense — until sophomore cornerback Julian Love's 59-yard interception return early in the first quarter. The most recent defensive score by a Fighting Irish player was defensive end Andrew Trumbetti's 28- yard interception return in the 28-7 win versus Wake Forest on Nov. 14, 2015. The most recent interception return for a score by a Notre Dame defensive back was Bennett Jackson on a 34-yard tally at Purdue in a 31-24 victory on Sept. 14, 2013. 19-19 Represents the number of trips and scores by Notre Dame in the red zone this year. It remained perfect against Michigan State by scoring four touchdowns all four times it penetrated the Spartans' 20-yard line. The Irish were tied for No. 1 nationally in that depart- ment entering the game, but especially impressive is that 17 of the 19 scores have been touchdowns. The Irish were 6 of 6 a week earlier at Boston Col- lege, with all of them touchdowns. 124 Ranking of Notre Dame among 129 Foot- ball Bowl Subdivision teams in passing efficiency (94.60) entering the Michigan State game. The only teams behind the Irish were BYU, Rice, Charlotte, Georgia Southern and Army West Point. That statistic should rise appreciably in the coming weeks, beginning with junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush's 14-of-20 performance for 173 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions against the Spartans that resulted in almost a 160 rating. 1983 The last season in which Notre Dame recorded back-to-back victories by at least 20 points in another team's home stadium — until the 29- and 20-point conquests of Boston Col- lege and Michigan State the past two weeks. Head coach Gerry Faust's third Fighting Irish unit in 1983 recorded consecutive victories at Colorado (27-3) and South Carolina (30-6) — and then would defeat Army the ensuing week on a neutral field, 42-0. BY THE NUMBERS BY LOU SOMOGYI 11 Running plays this year by Notre Dame through four games that have gained at least 30 yards, including 32- and 30-yard scampers by junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush and junior running back JOSH ADAMS, respectively, at Michigan State. The Irish totaled only seven runs of at least 30 yards all of last year in 12 games. Plus, five of the 11 such runs this year also covered at least 60 yards. There were only two in 2016, both by Adams in the final two contests. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA