Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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54 OCT. 2, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED D uring the 1961 Major League Baseball season, the asterisk was introduced into sports as a means of demarcation. The sacrosanct single-season home run record of 60 set by Babe Ruth in 1927 was getting challenged by fel- low New York Yankees Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, with Maris even- tually finishing with 61. However, commissioner Ford Frick added the much debated * to Maris' record because his fete was achieved during a 162-game season (Maris played in 161), while Ruth's was ac- complished during a 154-game cam- paign (with Ruth playing in 151). My understanding of this concept didn't fully hit until 2002, when the NCAA decided it would no longer exclude bowl-game statistics for ei- ther a team or individual. It counts as a part of the season, so why should it be omitted? After all, NCAA Tour- nament games always had been in- cluded for basketball players as part of their data. That year (2002) in a 28-6 loss to North Carolina State in the Gator Bowl, Notre Dame wideout Arnaz Battle caught 10 passes to raise his season total to 58. It was then publi- cized as the third-most catches ever by a Notre Dame receiver in a season. What was omitted was that Ken MacAfee caught 54 passes during an 11-game regular season — and then four more in the Cotton Bowl for the 1977 national champions. However, bowl game stats weren't retroactive, so MacAfee's stats couldn't be in- cluded because they didn't occur in 2002 or after. This would come into play again for MacAfee in 2010-12 when All- American Fighting Irish tight end Ty- ler Eifert racked up 16 catches for 182 yards in three separate bowl games. Thus, he is "officially" listed ahead of MacAfee for most career receiving yards by a tight end with 1,840 to 1,759. But if you included MacAfee's two bowl games — as you should now — then he would be No. 1 at 1,882. When Jeff Samardzija caught six passes during the 2006 Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State, it was heralded as tying Thom Gatewood's single- season record of 77 receptions set in 1970. Yet not included were Gatewood's two catches — including a 26-yard touchdown — before getting injured in Notre Dame's 1971 Cotton Bowl win versus No. 1 Texas. That would have given him 79, not the 77 that remains in the Fighting Irish record books because bowls were not in- cluded back then. It can be included for one person, but not another because of timing. How is that fair? This topic was rekindled the week after this year 's Boston College game when junior running back Josh Adams became the "17th player in school history" to reach 2,000 career rushing yards, which was especially notable because he achieved it with the fewest carries (316). While going through the record books, though, I noticed three play- ers from the Lou Holtz era who should actually raise the total to 20 players (not 17) and be in the career 2,000-yard club. • Running back Mark Green (1985-88), a captain for the 1988 na- tional champs, is listed with 1,977 rushing yards. But if you include his two bowl games — as you now should — it would be 2,053. • Quarterback Tony Rice (1987-89) is at 1,921 rushing yards, but if you include his three bowls — as you now should — it would be 2,049. • Jerome "The Bus" Bettis' totals add up to 1,912 rushing yards, but if you include his three bowls — as you now should — it would be 2,164. Those games were played and not counted as exhibitions, correct? We all know Vagas Ferguson "of- ficially" holds the single-season rush- ing record at Notre Dame with 1,437 in 1979, and that was without even playing in a bowl. Nevertheless, if we included Reggie Brooks' 115- yard output in the 1993 Cotton Bowl win over Texas A&M — as we now should — he would be just above at 1,458. Allen Pinkett's 1,515 in 1983 would top both if you included his 111 yards in the Liberty Bowl. And what about Jerome Heavens (1975-78)? He rushed for 994 yards during the 1977 regular season for the national champs and then led the team in rushing in the 38-10 Cotton Bowl win with 101. He too should be listed as a 1,000- yard rusher in one season (1,095), but is not — all because of timing. As a freshman, Heavens rushed for a then frosh school-record 756 yards, without playing in a bowl. Darius Walker as a frosh rushed for 743 in the 2004 regular season — and then 43 in a bowl loss to Oregon State, which then gave him 786 and "broke" Heavens' standard (both to be eclipsed by Adams in his own bowl in 2015). This is not to mitigate the marvel- ous achievements of anyone, but merely to point out the imbalance. We're all aware of the trite saying of how records are meant to be broken. Hopefully some fairness and context can also be added when they are. ✦ ND Records Should Have Their Own * Or Updates THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com Junior running back Josh Adams is officially listed as the 17th player in school history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards, but if bowl games were factored in for all players then more would be in that club. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL