Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/881912
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 9, 2017 27 2 Times this season that junior running back Josh Adams has scored a touchdown on the game's second play from scrimmage. He tallied from 37 yards in the opener against Temple and tore off a 73- yard run against Miami (Ohio) on play number two. This also marked the second straight week Notre Dame was ahead 14-0 at least 4:27 into the game. Adams moved up to No. 7 on the all-time Fighting Irish rushing list with 2,426 yards. The all-time lead- ing rusher is his position coach, Autry Denson, who had 4,318 from 1995-98 (not including bowl games). 3 Catches for 55 yards by Miami (Ohio) senior tight end Ryan Smith, who is the grandson of Notre Dame 1953 Heisman Trophy winner John Lattner. 9.01 Yards per carry averaged by Adams this season with his 73 carries for 658 yards. He has had five runs that covered at least 59 yards. The Notre Dame single-season record for yards per carry (minimum 100 attempts) is 8.11 by George Gipp in 1920 followed by Reggie Brooks' 8.04 in 1992. Adams currently is No. 2 on the all-time career chart (150 minimum) at 6.97, behind Brooks' 7.6. 10 Touchdowns scored by Notre Dame after the 11 turnovers it has forced this season. The Irish have outscored their opponents 70-3 this season off turnovers. Last year, the Irish defense generated only 14 turnovers in 12 games and had another 14 in 13 contests in 2015. 12 Years since Notre Dame has won three straight games by a minimum of 20 points: Boston College (49-20), Michigan State (38-18) and Miami (Ohio) (52-17). The last time that occurred was in head coach Charlie Weis' first season in 2005: 41-21 versus Tennessee Nov. 5, 42-21 against Navy Nov. 12 and 34-10 versus Syracuse Nov. 19. It also is the first time since 2006 that Notre Dame tallied 38 points in three consecutive contests. In 2006, it was 45 versus North Carolina, 39 at Air Force and 41 against Army on Senior Day. 21-3 Record under eighth year head coach Brian Kelly when not having a turnover, and 2-0 this year with the back-to- back wins over Michigan State and Miami (Ohio). Notre Dame was 0-3 last year in games where it did not have a turnover. 22-22 The Fighting Irish have scored on all 22 of their possessions in the red zone (the opponent's 20-yard line), keeping them tied for No. 1 nationally. Particularly im- pressive is 20 of them have been touchdowns, a .909 percentage. Notre Dame tallied touchdowns on all three opportunities versus the RedHawks. 60-15-1 Record of Notre Dame against first-time visitors to Notre Dame Stadium, which opened in 1930. Miami (Ohio) was the 76th such team and the second this year, after Georgia (Sept. 9). North Carolina State Oct. 28 will be the third. 301.2 Rushing yards per game aver- aged by Notre Dame during its 4-1 start this season. At this pace that would be the most since the school-record 350.2 by the 1973 national champions. 900 All-time victories in football for Notre Dame after the conquest of Miami (Ohio). The Fighting Irish became the second Football Bowl Subdivision team to reach 900, with Michigan the first. Unfortunately, the elephant in the room is the NCAA has informed Notre Dame it must vacate its 21 wins from the 2012-13 seasons because of the use of ineligible players. The ruling is under appeal by Notre Dame, but should it re- main, then the victory total will be reduced by 21. BY THE NUMBERS BY LOU SOMOGYI 84.3 Percent of games won by the late Ara Parseghian as the head coach at his alma mater, Miami (Ohio), from 1951-55 (39-6-1) and then Notre Dame from 1964-74 (95-17-4), highlighted by consensus national titles in 1966 and 1973. Parseghian's widow and wife of 69 years, Katie, presented the colors before the game prior to the National Anthem. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA