Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/94187
UNDER THE DOME Walton as the lone Irish players to be- come finalists for the Nagurski. that the most ever in one season by a Notre Dame linebacker, but it also ranked second overall in the FBS this year. The lone FBS linebacker to record more inter- ceptions since 2001 was Georgia's Tony Taylor with seven in 2006. 6 Interceptions by senior Manti Te'o during the 10-0 start. Not only is 40 USC since the advent of the Associated Press poll in 1936 that one or the other — if not both — was ranked in the top five. That doesn't even include 1973, when No. 8 Notre Dame ended No. 6 USC's 23-game unbeaten streak to propel it to the national title. With a victory over Wake Forest, this will be the first time Notre Dame will be ranked in the AP top five going into the USC game since 1993, when the No. 2 Irish recorded a 31-13 vic- tory at home versus the Trojans. Times out of a possible 63 meet- ings between Notre Dame and 1946 in the NCAA in scoring defense, yield- ing only 2.7 points per game during its run to the national title. The 1966 na- tional champions finished No. 2 with a 3.8 average, while the 1973 and 1988 Irish football champions were No. 3 with 6.6 and 12.3 scoring defense averages, respectively. Notre Dame was tied with Alabama for No. 1 in scoring defense en- tering the weekend of Nov. 17 with an average of 11.1 points allowed per game. Eight of the last 11 NCAA FBS national champions have ranked in the top eight in scoring defense. The lone season Notre Dame finished No. 1 this team go down, it's a big year for all of us. I'm scared to death. I can't predict who will win. I've had my heart eatened out before. I just know the fans are thrilled like I am that we're here." Notre Dame alumnus Regis Philbin on ESPN.com "After 20 years of eating crow and watching THEY SAID IT the most bizarre byproducts the lame duck BCS has ever created. Notre Dame, of movies, books and generations of gushing prose, with its own network television contract, can't get its message out to steal votes from two programs with limited histories and marginal media markets. … The depths of this vortex are almost incomprehensible, of course, but we're going to try to sort through most of the madness." — Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports "What can't be denied is that this juxtaposition is one of oatmeal really believe that the powers that be in the BCS would set up Oregon and Kansas State if Notre Dame-Anybody were a live option? The game is still going to be televised, right?" — Charles Pierce, Grant- land.com "Does any person smart enough to spoon his own "You ask any Heisman winner that wasn't a national champion what they would rather be, and I think they would rather be the latter, a national champion. So that's what I want. I rather be holding a crystal ball than a bronze statue. That's just me." — Notre Dame senior linebacker Manti Te'o book is on ABC Family tonight … What!? What time?" — Former Notre Dame offensive guard Trevor Robinson, hours after making first career start for the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday @trobinson78: "A special edition of The Note- TWEET OF THE WEEK