Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MAY 2018 11 UNDER THE DOME 4 Frozen Four appearances by Notre Dame hockey under head coach Jeff Jackson in the 11-season stretch from 2008-18 (2008, 2011, 2017 and 2018). Only Boston College and North Dakota with five apiece have had more in that span. 4.48 Time posted in the 40-yard dash by Notre Dame junior running back JOSH ADAMS at Notre Dame's Pro Day held on campus for 58 NFL scouts representing 32 teams March 22. Only four running backs at the NFL Combine held a month earlier timed faster: North Carolina State's Nyheim Hines (4.38), Penn State's Saquon Barkley (4.40), Arizona State's Kalen Ballage (4.46) and San Diego State's Rashaad Penny (4.46). In addition, Adams' 6.75 in the three-cone drill would have been the fastest among the running backs at the NFL Combine, his 11.31 in the 60-yard shuttle would have been second, and his 10-foot, two-inch broad jump would have been fifth. 5 Ranking of Notre Dame in ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) out of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams. The top four were comprised of Clemson, Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State, with the first three each making the four-team College Football Playoff last year. The FPI is a measure of team strength, and projected results are based on 10,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI. Notre Dame's "win-out percentage" probability of 10.0 was third, behind Clemson (19.2) and Alabama (10.1). Among the 2018 Fighting Irish opponents, the FPI ratings were Michigan (11), Stanford (13), USC (15), Florida State (18), Virginia Tech (22), Northwestern (31), Wake Forest (38), Pitt (57), Syra- cuse (58), Vanderbilt (76), Navy (78) and Ball State (124). 7 Saves recorded by freshman relief pitcher Cole Kmet — who also plays tight end for the foot- ball team — of the nine Notre Dame had through the weekend of April 20-22. Four of Kmet's saves have come against opponents ranked in the top 10: LSU, Florida State, Clemson and North Caro- lina State. His 38 innings pitched were the fourth most on the team, and he was 0-4 overall with a 4.50 ERA, 31 strikeouts and 20 walks. Through April 22, Notre Dame was 17-23 overall and 8-13 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. 50/1 College Football Playoff title odds, per Las Vegas SuperBook, for Notre Dame, as of April 20. Sixteen teams were given better odds, led by Alabama at 7/4 to repeat as the national champions and to capture their sixth such title in the past 10 years. Rounding out the "Final Four" are Clemson (5/1), Georgia (7/1) and Ohio State (8/1). Fellow Big Ten members Penn State and Michigan — Notre Dame's opening opponent Sept. 1 — are next at 12/1, despite the Wolverines finishing 8-5 last season. Oklahoma and Washington are 20/1, Auburn and Florida State 25/1, LSU, Texas and Wisconsin 30/1, and Miami, USC, Virginia Tech and West Virginia 40/1. Joining the Fighting Irish at 50/1 is Sept. 29 opponent Stanford, which has won four in a row in the series. 51 Years since Notre Dame has had an offensive guard taken in the first round of the NFL Draft: Tom Regner with the No. 23 overall pick in 1967. That streak is expected to end this month with Quenton Nelson. Cur- rent Pro Bowl player Zack Martin (2009-12) and former Lombardi Award winner Aaron Taylor (1990-93) both played or are playing guard in the NFL and were first-round selections as well. However, both lined up at left tackle in their senior seasons at Notre Dame, while Nelson was at left guard. 1,632/900 Points and rebounds accumulated, respectively, by senior forward Bonzie Colson in his 125 games at Notre Dame. He joined four other Fighting Irish players to total at least 1,600 points and 900 rebounds. Chronologically, they are: Tom Hawkins (1,820/1,318 from 1956-59), Bob Arnzen (1,665/944 from 1966-69), Troy Murphy (2,011/924 from 1998-2001) and Luke Harangody (2,476/1,222 from 2006-10). ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL