Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/95140
UNDER THE DOME honoring the country's best defensive player. Notre Dame senior linebacker Manti Te'o is on both lists, and the winners will be an- nounced at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show Dec. 6. Te'o joins quarterbacks Collin Klein (Kansas State) and Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M) on the Maxwell list. Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (South Carolina) and linebacker Jarvis Jones (Georgia) are his competition for the Bednarik. Te'o also is one of five finalists for the Butkus Award, presented to the nation's top linebacker. Joining him and Jones are Dion Jordan (Oregon), Kevin Minter (LSU) and C.J. Mosley (Alabama). 3 Award, Lott IMPACT Trophy and Lombardi Award. Te'o could re- alistically match, if not eclipse, that number this season in what promises to be a major hardware show this December. 4 National college awards won in 2011 by former Boston Col- lege linebacker Luke Kuechly: Butkus Award, Bronko Nagurski 8.848 50 yards on 66 plays). That is the most in a game by Notre Dame through at least the past 15 years, edging the 8.833 average (530 yards on 60 plays) in the 37-30 overtime victory against Washington in 2009. Yards per play that Notre Dame averaged during its 38-0 victory against Wake Forest Nov. 17 (584 Finalists named for both the Maxwell Award, presented to the nation's top college player, and the Chuck Bednarik Award, most games against the Fighting Irish in the final game of the regu- lar season is Miami with 10, and then Stanford and Marquette (last contest in 1921) with five apiece. USC also used to play at Notre Dame Stadium in November until second-year Trojans head coach John McKay had the policy changed to facing the Fighting Irish in October when traveling to northern Indiana. Times Notre Dame has played USC in the regular-season finale after this year's Nov. 24 meeting. A distant No. 2 for poll ended up the national champion. That was the Brigham Young Cougars, coached by LaVell Edwards, after a Holiday Bowl victory versus a 6-5 Michigan team. The 1981 Clemson Tigers also pulled off the feat after finishing 6-5 a year earlier. Notre Dame this year was not ranked by the AP in the preseason but reached No. 1 the weekend of Nov. 17-18 with an 11-0 record. 1984 The most recent season in college football when an unranked team in the preseason Associated Press