Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 6, 2017 9 UNDER THE DOME 4 Players on the 2017 Notre Dame team, mentored by linebackers coach Clark Lea, that entered the Oct. 28 weekend as the team's top four tacklers: junior Te'von Coney (53), and senior captains Nyles Morgan (51), Drue Tranquill (41) and Greer Martini (39). Tackle totals were first recorded in 1956, and this could be the first time the top four all played in the middle of the defense (Tranquill is listed as a rover). In 1997, four of the top five tacklers on the Irish were linebackers — Jimmy Friday, Bobbie Howard, Kory Minor and Lamont Bryant — but lineman Melvin Dansby was second. 11 Ranking of USC when it was crushed 49-14 by Notre Dame Oct. 21. That was the highest-rated opponent defeated in Notre Dame Stadium in head coach Brian Kelly's eight seasons, besting the previous high of No. 14 Stanford in 2014 (17-14) and Georgia Tech in 2015 (30-22). The Fighting Irish have not defeated a top-10 team at home since Sept. 11, 2004, a 28-20 conquest of No. 8 Michigan. This year's triumph against the Trojans resulted in Kelly getting selected as the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week. It honors the football coach whose programs embody the three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity, while also having success on the playing field the previous week. 12 Former Notre Dame women's basketball All-American KAYLA MCBRIDE will become the 12th member to join the Notre Dame Ring of Honor Nov. 11, after helping the Irish to four straight Final Fours during her career. She will join Ruth Riley, Skylar Diggins- Smith, Niele Ivey and Beth (Morgan) Cunningham among the women. The men have former head coach Digger Phelps, the late Tom Hawkins, Austin Carr, Adrian Dantley, David Rivers, Troy Murphy and Luke Harangody. 16 Ranking of the University of Notre Dame in a WalletHub survey to deter- mine the top-performing schools at the lowest possible costs to undergradu- ates. Analysts compared nearly 1,000 higher-education institutions in the U.S. across 26 key measures. The data set ranges from student-faculty ratio to graduation rate to post-attendance median salary. The top five were the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton, Harvard, Stanford and the California Institute of Tech- nology. The only other Football Bowl Subdivision schools between Stanford and Notre Dame were Duke (No. 7), Rice (No. 10) and California (No. 11). 18-1 National championship odds for Notre Dame given by Bovada after the 49-14 dismantling of USC Oct. 21, a significant up- surge from the previous 33-1. Only five schools had better odds entering the Oct. 28 weekend: Alabama at 5-6, Ohio State at 5-1, Penn State at 7-1, and Clemson and Georgia at 10-1. 20-1 Odds of Notre Dame junior running back Josh Adams win- ning the Heisman Trophy, according to Bovada entering the Oct. 28 game versus North Carolina State. That tied him for fifth nationally with Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts. The four ahead of them were Penn State running back Saquon Barkley (4-11), Stanford running back Bryce Love (3-1), Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield (12-1) and Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett (14-1). Since 1967, only three Notre Dame running backs have finished in the top 10 of the Heisman voting: Vagas Ferguson in 1979 (fifth), Allen Pinkett 1985 (eighth) and Reggie Brooks in 1992 (fifth). 100,000,000 Dollars of unrestricted contribution received by Notre Dame Oct. 24 from aviation industry businessman Kenn Ricck and his wife, Pamela. The 1978 Notre Dame graduate who lives in the Cleveland area and used to play the trumpet for the Notre Dame Marching Band, made the gift through a Philanthropic Succession Partnership, and it is the largest unrestricted philanthropic gift in the school's history. BY THE NUMBERS ✦ Sponsored by: NotreDameTickets.com PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND