Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com DECEMBER 2017 9 UNDER THE DOME 3 Five-stars in Notre Dame's 2018 men's lacrosse recruiting class accord- ing to Recruiting Rundown — Jose Boyer of New York, a post-graduate student who was ranked No. 14 in the class of 2017; Quentin Buchman of California, the No. 4 prospect in the class of 2018; and Griffin Westlin of New Jersey, the No. 15 player in the senior class. 3 Finalists for the 2017 Outland Trophy, with Notre Dame senior left guard QUENTON NELSON joining Oklahoma junior left tackle Orlando Brown and Houston sophomore defensive tackle Ed Oliver, per the Football Writers Association of America. Notre Dame fifth-year senior left tackle Mike McGlinchey was among the six semifinalists before the list was pared down to three. The winner will be announced Dec. 7 at the Home Depot College Football Awards that will be telecast on ESPN. Three former Notre Dame players have been awarded the Outland: George Connor won it in its inaugural year in 1946 when the Irish captured the national title, followed by Bill "Moose" Fischer in 1948. The most recent was defensive end Ross Browner in 1976, when he recorded a single-season school- record 28 tackles for loss. 4 Notre Dame's most visible sports ranked in the top 15 at the same time entering Thanksgiving weekend. Hockey was No. 4 in the USCHO.com poll while sporting a seven-game winning streak, women's basketball was No. 6 in the Associated Press poll, football was No. 8 in the College Football Playoff rankings and men's basketball came in at No. 13 in the AP poll. Ohio State was the only other athletics program to have as many as three (football, hockey and women's basketball), but the Irish stood alone with four. 10 This November, senior forward Bonzie Colson be- came the 10th Notre Dame player to score at least 1,300 points and grab 700 rebounds in his career. The other to achieve it were, chronologically: Tom Hawkins (1956-59), Bob Arnzen (1966-69), Bob Whit- more (1966-69), Collis Jones (1968-71), Adrian Dantley (1973-76), LaPhonso Ellis (1988-92), Pat Garrity (1994-98), Troy Murphy (1998-2002) and Luke Harangody (2006-10). 13 Years of existence of The Wuerffel Tro- phy, an award given annually to the college football player "who best combines ex- emplary community service with athletic and aca- demic achievement." Notre Dame senior rover Drue Tranquill was one of the three finalists selected with Arkansas State's Blaise Taylor and Kentucky's Courtney Love, also seniors. The award will be among the first pre- sented during the Dec. 7 Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN. 102 Consecutive starts at left tackle in Brian Kelly's eight seasons at Notre Dame by either a first-round pick or projected first-round selection, following this year's game at Stanford. Zack Martin started all 52 games at the position from 2010-13, followed by 26 straight from Ronnie Stanley in 2014-15 and 24 in a row by Mike McGlinchey in 2016-17, with the bowl game still ahead. It has been one of the greatest eight-year runs of durability and consistent excellence at one position in college football since 2010. 1,000 Games coached at Notre Dame by 2017 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Muffet McGraw when her Fighting Irish take on No. 1 Connecticut on the road Dec. 3. McGraw entered her 31st season at Notre Dame with a career record of 765-227 (.771), and opened this season 3-0, highlighted by a 72-67 victory at No. 18 Oregon State Nov. 19 to push her up to 995. During Thanksgiving weekend the Irish were slated to play three games at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. — with a potential matchup against reigning national champ South Carolina — and then travel to Michigan Nov. 29 for the ACC-Big Ten Challenge before the game at Hartford against the UConn dynasty, which will be telecast on ESPN. BY THE NUMBERS ✦ Sponsored by: NotreDameTickets.com PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL