Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 NOV. 27, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME UNDER THE DOME MOVING? Call us at 1-800-421-7751 Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom Bo Brauer — Hockey The senior from Edina, Minn., scored No. 4 Notre Dame's lone goal in its 1-0 win over Penn State Nov. 11. The victory gave the Irish the series sweep over the Nittany Lions and kept them un- defeated in Big Ten play. The goal was Brauer 's second in as many games, and his first ca- reer game-winner. The assist on the goal came from sophomore Mike O'Leary. Dawson Cook — Hockey The senior from Cadillac, Mich., was one of three Irish players to re- cord a goal and an assist in No. 4 Notre Dame's 5-3 victory over Penn State Nov. 10. His goal came at the 11:41 mark in the third period and gave the Irish a 4-3 lead it would not relinquish. Through 10 games, Cook had already equaled his career high in goals (three). Sam Fry — Volleyball The senior from Cincinnati was named Player of the Match in Notre Dame's 3-0 win over Virginia Nov. 12. She took full advantage of her opportunities, recording nine kills on just 15 swings for a hitting percentage of .600. This marked the fourth match of the season that Fry has registered a hitting percentage of .500 or higher. Through 27 matches, she led the team with a .330 hitting percentage. Lexi Nicholas — Soccer The senior from Pleasanton, Calif., pitched a shutout in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Nov. 11, paving the way for a 5-0 Irish victory over IU- PUI. She shut down the limited opportunities the Irish defense allowed, re- jecting all four shots IUPUI sent her way. In her first 10 starts through mid-November, Nicholas had recorded three shutouts while posting a 5-3-2 record and 1.34 goals- against average. TOP OF THE CLASS ✦ GIMME FIVE Through the first 10 games of the 2017 foot- ball season, junior Equanimeous St. Brown and sophomore Chase Claypool were the top Notre Dame receivers with 26 catches apiece, or an average of 2.6 per game. At that rate and with only three more games projected to remain on the schedule, this could be the first football season for the Irish since 2001 in which the leading receiver snared less than 40 passes. That year, Bob Davie's last as the head coach at Notre Dame, Javin Hunter paced the receiving crew with 37 receptions. In fact, no top receiver had totaled less than 50 for the Irish in the nine seasons from 2008-16. Since the start of the Ara Parseghian era in 1964 when the pass actually became a much more legitimate and consistent weapon for the Irish, here were the top five fewest catches by the top receiver in a season (bowl games are included where applicable). NOTRE DAME'S LEADING RECEIVERS FOR A SEASON WITH THE FEWEST CATCHES SINCE 1964 Rk. Player (Year) Catches 1. Nick Eddy (1965) 13 2. Ricky Watters (1988) 16 3t. Tim Brown (1985) 25 3t. Willie Townsend (1972) 25 4t. Tony Hunter (1980) 26 4. Ken MacAfee (1975) 26 Getting To Know … GETTING TO KNOW … JUNIOR SAFETY NICK COLEMAN Hometown: "Dayton, Ohio." High School: "Archbishop Alter." Major: "Management consulting." Favorite Food: "Chicken and rice made by my mom." Favorite Place To Eat In South Bend: "Rocky River." Favorite Movie: "'The Dark Knight.'" Favorite Music: "R&B." Favorite Musician: "Chance The Rapper" Favorite TV Show: "'House Of Cards.'" Favorite Pro Sports Team: "The Boston Celtics." Favorite Part About Playing For Notre Dame: "I would definitely say the guys in the locker room. We work so hard every day, in season and in the offseason, and the bond that I've built with a lot of people is really the reason why I play." Who's The Best Player You've Ever Lined Up Across From: "I would say [wide receiver] Mi- chael Thomas from Ohio State was a pretty good guy. He was a good guy to go against." CHARTING THE IRISH NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL WINNING STREAKS AGAINST OPPONENTS Notre Dame has a history of sustaining double-digit win streaks against op- ponents. Navy is all too familiar with that, with the Irish reeling off 43 straight victories over the Midshipmen from 1964-2006. Navy broke the streak in 2007 with a 46-44 triple overtime win in South Bend. Notre Dame is the only team in college football history to go 40-plus con- tests without a loss to a particular opponent. The next closest is Nebraska's 36-game streak over Kansas from 1969-2004. Both series were uninterrupted, with the teams playing every year during those periods. The Irish have put together some other impressive streaks over the years. Here is a look at their longest ones over Football Bowl Subdivision programs: 1. Navy 2. Army 3. Indiana 4. Northwestern 5. Air Force 6. Miami (Fla.) 7. Pittsburgh 8. USC 9. Purdue 10. Illinois * Uninterrupted series; # active streak 43 (1964-2006)* 15 (1965-2016)# 14 (1908-49) 14 (1965-94) 11 (1964-81) 11 (1967-80) 11 (1964-74)* 11 (1983-93)* 11 (1986-96)* 10 (1938-68)# LONGEST IRISH WIN STREAKS OVER OPPONENTS Opponent Win Streak