Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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16 JANUARY 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME UNDER THE DOME Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom Ryann DeJarld — Volleyball The junior from Chicago racked up a single- season program-record 747 digs this fall. She is now the all-time career record holder at Notre Dame with 1,808 digs. DeJarld — who helped the Irish post a 22-10 re- cord and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament — was named first-team All-ACC, becoming the first Irish player to receive that honor since Notre Dame joined the league in 2013. Jacob Dumford — Track and Field The graduate student from Westerville, Ohio, broke a school record when he recorded a first-place time of 2:21.25 in the 1,000 meters at the Blue and Gold Invitational Dec. 1. The race marked only the third time Dumford has run the 1,000 meters in his career. It was also the first time he competed in it since he ran alongside Jeremy Rae in the race Rae set the previous mark (2:22.07) in 2014. Jordan Shead — Track and Field The senior from St. Charles, Ill., finished in first place in the 400 meters with a time of 54.65 at the Blue and Gold Invitational Dec. 1. The race featured 17 runners and she finished nearly a full two seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, Kier- sten Walker of DePaul. Shead clocked a personal-best time of 54.30 in the 400 meters at the 2016 ACC Indoor Championships. Colin Theisen — Hockey The freshman forward from Monroe, Mich., recorded a point in his third straight out- ing during Notre Dame's 2-0 win at Michigan State Dec. 2. Just 90 seconds into the game, he set up junior for ward Andre Oglevie for what proved to be the game-winning tally. Through Dec. 9, Theisen was tied for third on the team in assists (10), and was tied for fourth in both points (15) and goals (five). TOP OF THE CLASS ✦ GIMME FIVE On Jan. 1, 1925, Notre Dame participated in postseason action for the first time with a 27-10 win over Stanford in the Rose Bowl that clinched the national title. The Irish would not attend another bowl again until after the 1969 season, in good part because it wasn't until 1968 that the Associated Press decided to wait until after bowl games to vote on a national champion. Since then, Notre Dame has had nearly five full decades of participation in the bowl scene, with the 1970s easily the most prosperous. That decade was headlined by five major bowl victories, four of them against No. 1-ranked and unbeaten teams. The Fighting Irish have not won a "major" since the 1993 campaign, and in the past 23 years defeated only one team in a bowl that was actually ranked — No. 22 LSU in the 2014 Music City Bowl (31-28). Here are the results in the postseason for Notre Dame the past five decades. Rk. Decade Record Major Bowl Wins 1. 1970s 6-1 (.857) 5 2. 1980s 3-3 (.500) 2 3. 1990s 3-5 (.375) 3 4. 2000s 1-5 (.167) 0 5. 2010s 3-3 (.500) 0 Getting To Know … JUNIOR GUARD REX PFLUEGER Hometown: "Dana Point, Calif." High School: "Mater Dei." Major: "Business market- ing." Favorite Food: "It's what- ever I'm craving, but I've got to go with chicken tenders." Favorite Movie: " That 's easy. 'The Dark Knight.'" Favorite Music: "I love all types of music, so I'll just say everything." Favorite Musician: "The Weekend." Favorite TV Show: "'Game of Thrones,' defi- nitely." Favorite Place To Eat In South Bend: "It's always nice to go to Chipotle, but you've got to love Ruth's Chris." Favorite Part About Playing For Notre Dame: "Just the history and tradition that I get to rep- resent every single day and every game I get to put on this jersey. It just means the world to me that I'm able to be a part of this special program." Who's The Best Player You've Ever Played Against?: "That's a tough question. In college, I've gotta give that to [former UNC forward] Bryce Johnson. His performances against us were incredible. In high school, I played with a great high school player in [former Arizona forward] Stanley Johnson, and I also played against him." CHARTING THE IRISH NOTRE DAME FARED WELL AGAINST A TOUGH SCHEDULE During the 2017 regular season, Notre Dame faced five teams listed among the top 25 of either the Associated Press poll or the College Football Play- off rankings: Georgia (No. 15), USC (No. 11), North Carolina State (No. 14), Miami (No. 7) and Stanford (No. 21). According to Jeff Sagarin's College Football Ratings system, Notre Dame played the second toughest schedule in all of college football with a rating of 78.56. Maryland, which finished 4-8, played the toughest (80.31). Of the teams in the top 14 of the final College Football Playoff rank- ings, only Notre Dame, Auburn (No. 3), Clemson (No. 8) and Stan- ford (No. 11) played a top-15 sched- ule per Sagarin's rankings. The Irish are also just one of four teams to take down four opponents that finished in the top 30 of Sagarin's rankings — No. 12 USC (49-14), No. 24 North Carolina State (35-14), No. 25 Michigan State (38-18) and No. 29 Wake Forest (48-37). Just 12 teams in the country won at least three games against Sagarin top-30 teams, including four teams on Notre Dame's 2017 schedule (Georgia, USC, Miami and Michigan State). Moving? Let us know! Call 1-800-421-7751 MOST WINS VERSUS SAGARIN TOP-30 TEAMS Rk. Team (Strength of Schedule) Record 1. Clemson (No. 8) 7-0 2. Oklahoma (No. 29) 5-1 3. Ohio State (No. 28) 4-2 4. Notre Dame (No. 2) 4-3 t5. Miami (No. 25) 3-1 t5. Georgia (No. 37) 3-1 t5. Wisconsin (No. 50) 3-1 t5. Alabama (No. 56) 3-1 9. USC (No. 16) 3-2 t9. Penn State (No. 46) 3-2 11. Auburn (No. 3) 3-3 t11. Michigan State (No. 13) 3-3