2011 Champs Sports Bowl Media Guide

BRIAN KELLY

Head CoachThird-winningest coach since 2001

MICHAEL FLOYD

Wide ReceiverMost prolific receiver in Notre Dame history

TYLER EIFERT

Tight EndFirst Team All-AmericanMackey Award finalist

MANTI TE’OLinebackerSecond Team All-AmericanButkus Award finalistLott Trophy finalist

2011 CHAMpS SpORTS BOWL MEDIA GUIDE

Wins in 27 games played in either November or December since 2006.

Consecutive games won when holding the opposition to less than 20 points.

Times honored as national coach of the year. Selected the Division II coach of the year by Schutt Sports in 2001 and by the AFCA in 2002 and 2003. Named FBS coach of the year by Schutt Sports in 2008 and Home Depot coach of the year in 2009.

The only three-time recipient of BIG EAST Coach of the Year. Kelly was honored from 2007-09.

Brian Kelly … By The NumbersBrian Kelly … By The Numbers

Wins in 19 postseason games (.737). Kelly was 11-4 in NCAA Division II playoffs (won national championships in 2002 and 2003) and is 3-1 in bowl games.

1414110110

2424

5757

5533

The only coach in Notre Dame history to win a bowl game in his first season as head coach of the Fighting Irish.

Victories since the start of the 2001 season. Among active FBS head coaches, only Bob Stoops and Mack Brown have more wins.

11

1NOTRE DAME vs. FLORIDA STATE

MEDIA INFOGAME NOTES

THE FIGHTING IRISHCOACHES & STAFF

2011 SEASON REVIEWBOW

L HISTORYTHIS IS NOTRE DAME

MEDIA INFORMATIONTable of Contents/Credits ...................................................................1Media Information ......................................................................... 2-3Notre Dame Athletics Media Relations .............................................3Game Facts .........................................................................................4

GAME NOTESGame Info/Countdown to Kickoff......................................................5Series History vs. Florida State ....................................................... 6-9Team Notes ................................................................................10-26Notre Dame’s Record When .............................................................11National Rankings ............................................................................12Probable Starting Lineup .................................................................13Starter Sheet ....................................................................................14Career Starts by Position ..................................................................14Milestones Within Reach .................................................................15Money Plays .....................................................................................15Irish Among National Leaders .........................................................16Eye on Notre Dame Records Book .............................................17-37Offensive Notes ..........................................................................26-46Single-Game Highs ...................................................................38-46Defensive Notes .........................................................................46-53Notre Dame By The Numbers ..........................................................47Special Teams Notes ...................................................................53-55Miscellaneous Notes ..................................................................55-562011 Honors and Awards ................................................................57The Last Time .............................................................................58-60Depth Chart ......................................................................................61Roster Information .....................................................................62-63Pronunciation Guide ........................................................................63

THE FIGHTING IRISHStudent-Athlete Profile Updates ...............................................65-92

COACHES & STAFFHead Coach Brian Kelly ..............................................................93-96Coordinators ...............................................................................97-98Assistant Coaches ....................................................................99-106Support Staff ..........................................................................107-110

2011 SEASON RECAPSouth Florida ..................................................................................111Michigan ........................................................................................112Michigan State ...............................................................................113Pittsburgh.......................................................................................114Purdue ............................................................................................115Air Force .........................................................................................116USC .................................................................................................117Navy ...............................................................................................118Wake Forest ....................................................................................119Maryland ........................................................................................120Boston College ...............................................................................121Stanford ..........................................................................................122Season Results ...............................................................................123Team Statistics ...............................................................................123Individual Stats ......................................................................123-125Game-by-Game Starters ...............................................................126Game-by-Game Participation .......................................................127

Notre Dame Game-by-Game Statistics .........................................128Opponent Game-by-Game Statistics ............................................1293rd Down/4th Down/Time of Possession .....................................130Red Zone Statistics .........................................................................131Notre Dame and Opponent Scoring Drives ...................................132Game-by-Game Comparison ........................................................133Game-by-Game Individual Statistics ......................................133-37Miscellaneous Stats .................................................................138-39Notre Dame Superlatives ...............................................................140Opponent Superlatives ..................................................................141

BOWL HISTORYBowl Summaries....................................................................142-143Bowl Records .........................................................................144-1451925 Rose Bowl .............................................................................1461970 Cotton Bowl ..........................................................................1471971 Cotton Bowl ..........................................................................1481973 Orange Bowl .........................................................................1491973 Sugar Bowl ...........................................................................1501975 Orange Bowl .........................................................................1511976 Gator Bowl ............................................................................1521978 Cotton Bowl ..........................................................................1531979 Cotton Bowl ..........................................................................1541981 Sugar Bowl ...........................................................................1551983 Liberty Bowl .........................................................................1561984 Aloha Bowl ...........................................................................1571988 Cotton Bowl ..........................................................................1581989 Fiesta Bowl ...........................................................................1591990 Orange Bowl .........................................................................1601991 Orange Bowl .........................................................................1611992 Sugar Bowl ...........................................................................1621993 Cotton Bowl ..........................................................................1631994 Cotton Bowl ..........................................................................1641995 Fiesta Bowl ...........................................................................1651996 Orange Bowl .........................................................................1661997 Independence Bowl .............................................................1671999 Gator Bowl ............................................................................1682001 Fiesta Bowl ...........................................................................1692003 Gator Bowl ............................................................................1702004 Insight Bowl .........................................................................1712006 Fiesta Bowl ...........................................................................1722007 Sugar Bowl ...........................................................................1732008 Hawaii Bowl .........................................................................1742010 Sun Bowl ..............................................................................175

THIS IS NOTRE DAMEUniversity of Notre Dame ........................................................176-77University Leadership ..............................................................178-79Notre Dame Tradition .....................................................................180

2011 NOTRE DAME

CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL

MEDIA GUIDE

2011 NOTRE DAME CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL MEDIA GUIDE CREDITS

The 2011 Notre Dame Champs Sports Bowl Media Guide is a copyright production of the University of Notre Dame Athletics Media Relations Department, Joyce Center, Notre Dame, IN 46556.

This publication was compiled, written and edited by director of football media relations Brian Hardin, assistant media relations director Michael Bertsch, senior associate athletics director John Heisler and media relations assistant Russell Dorn with assistance from student assistants Andrew Bartolini, Nick Bucholtz and Aaron Horvath.

Cover designs and page layout by Dave Scholtes of Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, Ind.

Special thanks to Mike and Sue Bennett plus everyone at Lighthouse Imaging, Michael Binnette, Bill Panzica, Joe Raymond, and Marcus Snowden for their photographic contributions. Thanks also to Chuck Cealka of Ave Maria Press.

Printing by Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, Ind.

© University of Notre Dame, Athletics Media Relations Department, 2011. All rights reserved.

2 2011 CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL MEDIA GUIDE

MEDIA INFORMATION

CREDENTIALSOutlets that covered the participating teams on a season-long basis are eligible for credentials.

All media attending the Champs Sports Bowl must apply for media and photo credentials by visiting the “Media” page at www.FCSports.com. FCSports will ask the media relations directors of the participating schools to review the list of applicants on all credential requests with applica-tions subject to final approval by the FCSports staff.

Media registration will be located at the Green Room on the first floor of Rosen Plaza Hotel. At registration, media who have been approved to cover the game will receive their credential, parking pass (if applicable) and a media gift. No credentials will be mailed. Registration hours are noon to 5 p.m. on Dec. 26 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 27 and 28. Gameday media will call is located on the second floor of the Citrus Centre in the south end of Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then at the Gate A ticket window in the northwest corner of the stadium two hours prior to kickoff. The game day credentials must be worn at all official bowl week functions.

MEDIA RELATIONS REPRESENTATIVESNotre DameBrian Hardin, Director of Football Media RelationsCell: 574-532-4134 Email: [email protected] Bertsch, Assistant Media Relations DirectorCell: 574-532-4154 Email: [email protected] Heisler, Senior Associate A.D. for Media/Broadcast RelationsCell: 574-532-0293 Email: [email protected]

Champs Sports BowlGreg Creese, Director of Communications (Media Requests/Interviews)Office: 407-423-2476 x117 Email: [email protected] Ann Robinson, Communications Assistant (Credentials/Parking)Office: 407-423-2476 x105 Email: [email protected] Clarity, Communications Intern (Media Hotel/Registration)Office: 407-423-2476 x119 Email: [email protected]

NOTRE DAME TEAM HEADQUARTERSRosen Shingle Creek Resort9939 Universal Blvd.Orlando, Fla. 32819407-996-9939

MEDIA HEADQUARTERSRosen Plaza Hotel9840 International DriveOrlando, Fla. 32819407-996-9700

The media hotel for the Champs Sports Bowl is the Rosen Plaza Hotel. The room rate for ap-proved media staying at the hotel is $85 per night plus applicable taxes. Reservations for the hotel may only be made online when applying for credentials. To apply for credentials and to book a room, visit the media page at www.FCSports.com. Deadline to reserve a room in the media block is Friday, Dec. 16.

Media Hospitality RoomThe media hospitality room will be located at the Rosen Plaza Hotel, suite 253. Beverages and

snacks will be available in the room which is intended to serve as a “pregame hospitality room” for guests heading out to enjoy Orlando’s many nightlife and entertainment options. Media hospital-ity will be open from 6 to 11 p.m. Dec. 27-28 and from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Dec. 29.

GAME WEEKPractices

Notre Dame’s practices from Dec. 25-27 will occur at McCracken Field at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium complex. On Dec. 28, the team will have a walk-thru practice at the Florida Citrus Bowl. Practice is closed to the public and media all week with the exception of the first 20 minutes of practice on Dec. 26 when media may attend for B-roll purposes.

To get to McCracken Field from the media hotel, start by going south on International Drive for one-half mile and make a U-turn at Convention Way onto International Drive, heading north. Merge onto I-4 East toward Orlando for 6.8 miles. Merge onto US-441 North/US-17-92/South Orange Blossom Trail via Exit 80B for two miles. Turn left onto Long Street for 0.3 miles then turn right onto Rio Grand Ave South. The Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium will be on your left.

InterviewsNotre Dame student-athletes will be available immediately following practice on Dec. 25 and

Dec. 26 at McCracken Field. Players will also be available at the “Day for Kids” event on Dec. 27. Fighting Irish coordinators and assistant coaches will be available only after practice on Dec. 25. To request a specific player or coach, please email Brian Hardin at least 24 hours before the proposed interview ([email protected]). Head coach Brian Kelly will be available upon arrival at the team hotel on Dec. 23, following practice on Dec. 26 and at the kickoff luncheon press conference on Dec. 28. See the media opportunities on the schedule below for details on time and locations.

NOTRE DAME 2011 CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL MEDIA SCHEDULE (All times local and subject to change)

FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY234:45 p.m. – Arrival of coaches and administrators buses to Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel – Brian Kelly available upon arrival

24No availability

254:00 p.m. – Requested players and assistant coaches available (McCracken Field)

261:45-2:05 p.m. – Media viewing of practice (McCracken Field) 3:15 p.m. – Brian Kelly and requested players available (McCracken Field)

279-10:45 a.m. – Select players available at “Day for Kids” event (Give Kids the World, 210 S. Bass Rd., Kissimmee)

2811:00 a.m. – Brian Kelly at Kickoff Luncheon Press Conference (Lake Eola Room, Hilton Orlando Hotel)

29Champs Sports Bowl Postgame


MEDIA INFO

GAME NOTESTHE FIGHTING IRISH

COACHES & STAFF2011 SEASON REVIEW

BOWL HISTORY

THIS IS NOTRE DAME MEDIA INFORMATION

GAMEDAYMedia Shuttle

Media members are encouraged to utilize the media shuttle on gameday. The media shuttle will depart the Rosen Plaza Hotel in approximately 30-minute intervals and return to the stadium in similar shifts. The shuttle will depart the hotel in the parking lot just outside of media registration from 2 to 4:30 p.m. After the game, the shuttle will leave by Gate D from 9:30 p.m. to midnight.

Florida Citrus Bowl StadiumFlorida Citrus Bowl Stadium is located on at 1 Citrus Bowl Place, Orlando, Fla., 32805.

Press BoxThe press box at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium is equipped with wireless internet. Media will be

given a passcode for use on gameday. Statistics will also be accessible from any laptop in the press box. A website will be distributed prior to the game for those interested in utilizing this technology.

Postgame CeremoniesImmediately following the game, a Champions Trophy will be awarded to the winning team

on the field. A Most Valuable Player Award will be given to one player and media in attendance will vote on the MVP award. The winning team will receive champions hats and t-shirts on the field. The losing team will be given a Participation Trophy in the locker room following the game.

Postgame InterviewsPostgame interviews will be conducted in the Varsity Club located directly across the concourse

from each locker room. The head coach and one player from the losing team will be interviewed first, immediately followed by the winning coach and two players (including game MVP). Notre Dame’s locker room will remained closed following the game and additional players will be made available in the concourse outside the locker room. Per Champs Sports Bowl policy, no interviews are permitted on the field after the game, with the exception of the ESPN broadcast and live radio that has paid broadcast rights fees.

WEBSITESNotre Dame Athletics

All Notre Dame football information is available to the media on the internet at UND.com. Game notes, depth chart, player biographies, transcripts to press conferences and conference calls plus much more can be found on the official website of University of Notre Dame athletics.

Champs Sports BowlThe official Champs Sports Bowl website is champssportsbowl.com. Most information media

members need can be found on the website in the Media section. Press releases are available on this page as well. The site contains general information about tickets, parking and Champs Sports Bowl week events.

NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONSJohn HeislerSenior Associate Athletic Director For Media and Broadcast RelationsWork Phone: 574-631-7516; Home: 574-277-3523 Cell: 574-532-0293e-mail: [email protected]

Bernadette CafarelliAssistant Athletics Director/Media Relations DirectorWork Phone: 574-631-8458; Home: 574-273-2390 Cell: 574-532-0249e-mail: [email protected]

Brian Hardin (Football Contact)Director of Football Media RelationsWork Phone: 574-631-9471 Cell: 574-532-4134e-mail: [email protected]

Tim ConnorAssociate Media Relations DirectorWork Phone: 574-631-7519; Home: 574-273-1038 Cell: 574-532-0274e-mail: [email protected]

Chris MastersAssociate Media Relations DirectorWork Phone: 574-631-8032; Home: 574-273-1728 Cell: 574-532-4166e-mail: [email protected]

Michael Bertsch (Football Contact)Assistant Media Relations DirectorWork Phone: 574-631-8642 Cell: 574-532-4154e-mail: [email protected]

Sean CarrollAssistant Media Relations DirectorWork Phone: 574-631-2664 Cell: 574-340-2177e-mail: [email protected]

Alan GeorgeAssistant Media Relations DirectorWork Phone: 574-631-3397 Cell: 574-340-3977e-mail: [email protected]

Russell DornMedia Relations AssistantWork Phone: 574-631-4780Cell: 574-340-2851e-mail: [email protected]

Brent HenningfeldMedia Relations AssistantWork Phone: 574-631-1762 Cell: 574-286-0161e-mail: [email protected]

Susan McGonigalSenior Administrative AssistantWork Phone: 574-631-6453e-mail: [email protected]

Carol CopleySenior Staff AssistantWork Phone: 574-631-7517e-mail: [email protected]


GAME FACTS

GENERAL INFORMATIONLocation ................................................................................Notre Dame, Ind.Founded ..................................................................................................1842Enrollment ...................................... 8,372 (undergraduates), 11,816 (total)Nickname ...................................................................................Fighting IrishConference .................................................................................................................... IndependentColors ...........................................................................................................................Blue and GoldStadium ............................................................................................................Notre Dame StadiumCapacity .................................................................................................................................. 80,795Year Opened ...............................................................................................................................1930Surface ...................................................................................................................................... GrassPresident ................................................................................................. Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.Alma Mater (Year) ................................................................................................ Notre Dame (’76)Athletics Director ....................................................................................................... Jack SwarbrickAlma Mater (Year) ................................................................................................ Notre Dame (‘76)

HISTORYFirst Year of Football ...................................................................................................................1887All-Time Record .............................................................................................................853-299-42Bowl Appearances (including 2011) ...................................................... 31 (Last, 2010 Sun Bowl)Bowl Record .............................................................................................................................15-15

TEAM INFORMATIONOffensive Formation ...............................................................................................................SpreadDefensive Formation .................................................................................................................... 3-42011 Overall Record ..................................................................................................................... 8-4Home Record ............................................................................................................................... 4-2Road/Neutral Record ................................................................................................................... 4-2

COACHING STAFFHead Coach ........................................................................................ Brian Kelly (Assumption, ‘83)Record at Notre Dame (Year) .........................................................................16-9 (Second season)Record Overall (Year) ..................................................................................187-66-2 (21st season)Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers ............................................................... Bob Diaco (Iowa, ’95)Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks .......................................... Charley Molnar (Lock Haven, ’84)Wide Receivers ..............................................................................Tony Alford (Colorado State, ’92)Cornerbacks ..................................................................................................Kerry Cooks (Iowa, ’00)Tight Ends .........................................................................Mike Denbrock (Grand Valley State, ’87)Defensive Line/Special Teams Coordinator ..........................................Mike Elston (Michigan, ’98)Running Backs ..................................................................................Tim Hinton (Wilmington, ’82)Safeties/Recruiting Coordinator ...........................................................Chuck Martin (Millikin, ’90)Offensive Line/Run Game Coordinator ......................................... Ed Warinner (Mount Union, ’84)Defensive Graduate Assistant .......................................................... Jon Carpenter (Cincinnati, ’08)Defensive Graduate Assistant ............................................... Michael Painter (Bowling Green, ’06)Offensive Intern ...................................................................................Scott Booker (Kent State, 03)Offensive Intern ....................................................................... Bill Brechin (Grand Valley State, ’06)Director of Football Strength and Conditioning .............................. Paul Longo (Wayne State, ’83)Director of Football Operations......................................................... Chad Klunder (Wartburg, ’95)Director of Football Personnel ...................................................... Tim McDonnell (Holy Cross, ’05)Director of Football Development ............................................... Dave Peloquin (Notre Dame, ’03)Director of Football Administration ......................................................... Beth Rex (Cincinnati, ’96)

2011 SCHEDULE AND RESULTSDate Opponent Location ........................................... ResultSept. 3 USF Notre Dame, Ind. .................................................L, 23-20Sept. 10 at Michigan Ann Arbor, Mich. .................................................L, 35-31Sept. 17 Michigan State Notre Dame, Ind. ............................................... W, 31-13Sept. 24 at Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pa. ................................................... W, 15-12Oct. 1 at Purdue West Lafayette, Ind. .......................................... W, 38-10Oct. 8 Air Force Notre Dame, Ind. ............................................... W, 59-33Oct. 22 USC Notre Dame, Ind. .................................................L, 31-17Oct. 29 Navy Notre Dame, Ind. ............................................... W, 56-14Nov. 5 at Wake Forest Winston-Salem, N.C. ........................................ W, 24-17Nov. 12 vs. Maryland Landover, Md. (FedEx Field) ............................. W, 45-21Nov. 19 Boston College Notre Dame, Ind. ............................................... W, 16-14Nov. 26 at Stanford Stanford, Calif. .....................................................L, 28-14

GENERAL INFORMATIONLocation .............................................................................. Tallahassee, Fla.Founded ...............................................................................................1851Enrollment ............................................................40,838 (as of Fall, 2010)Nickname .................................................................................... SeminolesConference ................................................................................................Atlantic Coast ConferenceColors ....................................................................................................................... Garnet and GoldStadium ...................................................................................................... Doak Campbell StadiumCapacity .................................................................................................................................. 82,300Year Opened ...............................................................................................................................1950Surface ...................................................................................................................................... GrassPresident ..................................................................................................................Dr. Eric J. BarronAlma Mater (Year) .................................................................................................Florida State (73)Athletics Director .....................................................................................................Randy SpetmanAlma Mater (Year) ..................................................................................... Air Force Academy (‘76)

HISTORYFirst Year of Football ...................................................................................................................1949All-Time Record .............................................................................................................471-235-17Bowl Appearances (including 2011) ...........................................39 (Last, 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl)Bowl Record ......................................................................................................................... 22-14-2

TEAM INFORMATIONOffensive Formation ...............................................................................................................Pro SetDefensive Formation .................................................................................................................... 4-32011 Overall Record ..................................................................................................................... 8-4Home Record ............................................................................................................................... 5-2Road/Neutral Record ................................................................................................................... 3-2

COACHING STAFFHead Coach ..................................................................................Jimbo Fisher (Salem College, ‘89)Record at Florida State (Year) ........................................................................18-8 (Second season)Record Overall (Year) .....................................................................................18-8 (Second season)Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends....................................................James Coley (Florida State, 97)Quarterbacks/Recruiting Coordinator .............................................Dameyune Craig (Auburn, ’02)Passing Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers ......................... Lawrence Dawsey (Florida State, ’91)Defensive Ends .......................................................................................... D.J. Eliot (Wyoming, ’99)Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator/Running Backs .Eddie Gran (Cal Lutheran, ’87)Defensive Line ..............................................................................Odell Haggins (Florida State, ’93)Assistant Head Coach Defense/Linebackers ..................................Greg Hudson (Notre Dame, ‘90)Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs .....................................................Mark Stoops (Iowa, ’89)Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line .....................................................Rick Trickett (Glenville, 72)Offensive Graduate Assistant ............................................................Dan Gayton (Florida State, 09)Defensive Graduate Assistant ................................................. Mikhal Kornegay (Florida State, ‘07)Director of Football Strength and Conditioning ..............................................Vic Viloria (SMU, ’02)Director of Football Operations............................................................Erik Korem (Texas A&M, ‘03)Player Personnel .........................................Bob LaCivita (Indiana University of Pennsylvania, ‘71)

2011 SCHEDULE AND RESULTSDate Opponent Location ........................................... ResultSept. 3 Louisiana-Monroe Tallahassee, Fla. ...................................................W, 34-0Sept. 10 Charleston Southern Tallahassee, Fla. ................................................ W, 62-10Sept. 17 Oklahoma Tallahassee, Fla. ..................................................L, 23-13Sept. 24 at Clemson Clemson, S.C. ......................................................L, 35-30Oct. 8 at Wake Forest Winston-Salem, N.C. ..........................................L, 35-30Oct. 15 at Duke Durham, N.C. .................................................... W, 41-16Oct. 22 Maryland Tallahassee, Fla. ................................................ W, 41-16Oct. 29 North Carolina State Tallahassee, Fla. ...................................................W, 34-0Nov. 3 at Boston College Chestnut Hill, Mass. .............................................W, 38-7Nov. 12 Miami Tallahassee, Fla. ................................................ W, 23-19Nov. 19 Virginia Tallahassee, Fla. ..................................................L, 14-13Nov. 26 at Florida Gainesville, Fla. ....................................................W, 21-7


MEDIA INFOGAM

E NOTESTHE FIGHTING IRISH


BOWL HISTORY

THIS IS NOTRE DAME Game Notes

WHAT TO WATCH FORuNotre Dame will look for its third consecutive victory in a bowl game (on the heels of a nine-game losing streak in bowl games).uSecond-year head coach Brian Kelly will look to become the first Irish coach in school history to register bowl victories in each of his first two seasons on the Notre Dame sidelines.

IRISH BOWL HISTORYu This year’s appearance in the Champs Sports Bowl will be the 31st bowl appearance by the Irish, whose first bowl outing was in the 1925 Rose Bowl.u Notre Dame has fashioned an overall record of 15-15 in postseason play and has participated in 13 different bowl games. The Irish have never previ-ously participated in the Champs Sports Bowl.u Notre Dame will make its ninth bowl appear-ance in the state of Florida. The Irish have made five appearances in the Orange Bowl and sport a 2-3 mark. Notre Dame has also registered a 1-2 record in its three Gator Bowl trips to Jacksonville. u This marks Notre Dame's sixth bowl game against a current member of the ACC - after a 19-18 win over Boston College in the 1983 Liberty Bowl, followed by losses to Florida State in the 1996 Orange Bowl (31-26) and Georgia Tech (35-28) and North Carolina State (28-6) in the 1999 and 2003 Gator Bowls, respectively. The Irish knocked off Miami (Fla.), 31-17, in last season's Hyundai Sun Bowl.u After winning 13 of its first 19 bowl appearances, Notre Dame lost its next nine postseason games until its record setting 49-21 victory over Hawai'i in the 2008 Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl.u Notre Dame made its first bowl appearance in 1925 when Knute Rockne took his famed Four Horsemen backfield across the country to meet Stanford in the Rose Bowl.u Due to school policy, the Irish did not appear in a bowl game again until the 1970 Cotton Bowl.u Notre Dame has appeared in 13 different bowl games: Rose (1925), Cotton (1970, 1971, 1978, 1979, 1988, 1993, 1994), Orange (1973, 1975, 1990, 1991, 1996), Sugar (1973, 1980, 1991, 2007), Gator (1976, 1999, 2003), Liberty (1983), Aloha (1984), Fiesta (1989, 1995, 2001, 2006), Independence (1997), Insight (2004), Hawai’i (2008), Sun (2010) and Champs Sports (2011).

u Some of the most memorable moments in Notre Dame history have occurred in bowl games, including National Championship clinching victo-ries at the 1973 Sugar Bowl (24-23 over No. 1 Alabama), 1978 Cotton Bowl (38-10 over No. 1 Texas) and 1989 Fiesta Bowl (34-21 over unbeaten No. 3 West Virginia).u The “Ice Bowl” or “Chicken Soup Bowl” was played in 1979 when Notre Dame, led by future NFL Hall of Famer Joe Montana, scored 23 points in the final 7:37 to shock Houston (temperature at kickoff was 20 degrees with a wind chill of minus-six, hence the “Ice Bowl”; Joe Montana missed a por-tion of the game due to a lower than normal body temperature and sipped chicken soup to warm up, hence “The Chicken Soup Bowl”).u In the 1983 Liberty Bowl, Notre Dame pre-vented the Doug Flutie-led Eagles a chance at a 10-2 record and spot among the nation’s top 10 with a 19-18 victory.u Notre Dame denied Texas A&M a shot at the national title in the 1993 Cotton Bowl, routing the unbeaten Aggies 28-3.

DATEuThursday, December 29, 2011

TIMEu5:31 p.m. EST

SITE (CAPACITY)uFlorida Citrus Bowl (65,438); Orlando, Fla.

TICKETSuNotre Dame has played in front of sellout crowds in 280 of its previous 316 games, including 121 of its last 157 games away from the friendly confines of Notre Dame Stadium dating back to the start of the 1986 season (includes matchup with Florida State which is sold out).

TELEvISIOnuESPN national telecast with Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analysis), Holly Rowe (sideline), Steve Ackels (producer) and Jeff Evers (director).

RADIOuIMG College Sports is the exclusive national rights-holder for Irish football radio broadcasts. IMG College manages, produces and syndicates the Irish national football radio network. Notre Dame games will be broadcast by Don Criqui (play-by-play), former Irish great Allen Pinkett (analysis) and Jeff Jeffers (sideline). This broadcast can be heard live on both SIRIUS and XM Satellite Radio (channel 129).uAll Notre Dame home games may be heard in South Bend on Sunny 101.5 FM and Newsradio 960 WSBT-AM.uESPN Radio with Mike Gleason (play-by-play) and John Congemi (analysis).

WEB SITESuNotre Dame (UND.com), Florida State (Seminoles.com)

POLLSu Notre Dame is not ranked in the Associated Press poll or USA Today Coaches' poll, but the Irish are receiving votes in each poll. Florida State is ranked No. 25 in both polls.

REAL-TIME STATSuLive in-game statistics will be provided through CBS College Sports GameTracker via UND.com.

SERIES InFOuNotre Dame and Florida State will meet for the seventh time on Dec. 29 with the Seminoles hold-ing a 4-2 advantage in the series. This will be the second meeting between the two foes in a bowl game. Florida State rallied past the Irish, 31-26, in the 1996 Orange Bowl (additional series informa-tion on pages 2-4).

10 For the first time in 10 years, Notre Dame’s defense has allowed fewer than 21 points per game in consecutive seasons. (Page 46)9 The Champs Sports Bowl marks the ninth postseason bowl game for the Irish in Florida – the most of any state. This will also serve as a homecoming of sorts as nine scholarship players are Floridians – tied with California and Ohio for most on Notre Dame. (Page 8)8 The Irish defense has allowed only eight rushing TDs this season – tied for fifth in the nation behind Alabama, LSU, TCU and Utah. Of the eight rushing TDs allowed by Notre Dame’s defense, only three have been by running backs. (Page 48)7 In the seven years the NCAA has published Graduation Success Rate (GSR) numbers, Notre Dame’s football team has ranked in the top three every year. The Irish have graduated the highest percentage of football players each of the last three years, according to the NCAA GSR. (Pages 55-56)6 Senior WR Michael Floyd owns six career or single-season Notre Dame receiving records. Floyd owns career records in recep-tions (266), receiving yards (3,645), receiving TDs (36), receiving yards per game (86.8) and games with at least 100 receiving yards (17). He also owns the single-season school record for receptions (95). (Pages 34-38)5 Notre Dame tallied over 500 yards of total offense five times this year. In the five seasons prior to 2011, the Irish recorded 500 yards in a game on just five occasions. (Page 27)4 The Irish are playing a fourth team from the ACC this year and will look to go to 4-0 with a win against Florida State. It would be the first time Notre Dame defeated four schools from the same conference in one season since 1993. (Page 11)3 Junior Cierre Wood and senior Jonas Gray are one of three running back tandems with at least nine rushing TDs apiece. The other running back duos play at Oregon and Oklahoma State. (Pages 30-31)2 Junior LB Manti Te’o was named a sec-ond-team All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation and was selected to the Capital One Academic All-America second team. (Pages 50-51)1 Notre Dame’s defense ranks first in the nation in fewest points allowed in the third quarter this year. The 13 points allowed by the Irish are the fewest permitted in any quarter by an Irish defense since 1982. (Page 21)0 Head coach Brian Kelly has not been defeated as a head coach in the last 57 games when his team has allowed fewer than 20 points. The last time a Kelly-coached team gave up less than 20 points and lost was the 2001 NCAA Division II national championship game (lost to North Dakota 17-14). (Page 19)

CountdownTo Kickoff

Game-13notre Dame (8-4) vs. #25/25 Florida State (8-4)

Bowl (date) Opponent Result1925 Rose (1.1) Stanford W, 27-101970 Cotton (1.1) (9) Texas (1) L, 17-211971 Cotton (1.1) (6) Texas (1) W, 24-111973 Orange (1.1) (12) Nebraska (9) L, 6-401973 Sugar (12.31) (3) Alabama (1) W, 24-231975 Orange (1.1) (9) Alabama (2) W, 13-111976 Gator (12.27) (15) Penn State (20) W, 20-91978 Cotton (1.2) (5) Texas (1) W, 38-101979 Cotton (1.1) (10) Houston (9) W, 35-341981 Sugar (1.1) (7) Georgia (1) L, 10-171983 Liberty (12.29) Boston College (13) W, 19-181984 Aloha (12.29) (17) SMU (10) L, 20-271988 Cotton (1.1) (12) Texas A&M (13) L, 10-351989 Fiesta (1.2) (1) West Virginia (3) W, 34-211990 Orange (1.1) (4) Colorado (1) W, 21-61991 Orange (1.1) (5) Colorado (1) L, 9-101992 Sugar (1.1) (18) Florida (3) W, 39-281993 Cotton (1.1) (5) Texas A&M (4) W, 28-31994 Cotton (1.1) (4) Texas A&M (7) W, 24-211995 Fiesta (1.2) Colorado (4) L, 24-411996 Orange (1.1) (6) Florida State (8) L, 26-311997 Indep. (12.28) LSU (15) L, 9-271999 Gator (1.1) (17) Georgia Tech (12) L, 28-352001 Fiesta (1.1) (10) Oregon State (5) L, 9-412003 Gator (1.1) (11) NC State (17) L, 6-282004 Insight (12.28) Oregon State L, 21-382006 Fiesta (1.2) (5) Ohio State (4) L, 20-342007 Sugar (1.4) (11) LSU (4) L, 14-412008 Hawai'i (12.24) Hawai'i W, 49-212010 Sun (12.31) Miami (Fla.) W, 33-17

The number in front of the opponent name indicates Notre Dame’s ranking in the AP poll coming into the game. The number following the opponent name indicates its ranking.

notre DameBowl History

6

Game Notes

2011 CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL MEDIA GUIDE

FLORIDA STATE HEAD COACH JIMBO FISHER A veteran of 22 seasons as a college assistant, including three as FSU's offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher succeeded Bobby Bowden - the second winningest coach in major college football - as the Seminoles' ninth head coach and first new one in 35 years. In just over a year, he has helped deliver Florida State back to a place of national prominence. Boasting a final ranking of No. 16 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, Fisher led his team to the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl Championship with a 26-17 win over then No. 19 South Carolina. His first season also included a sweep of in-state rivals Miami and Florida, an ACC Atlantic Division title and the program's first 10-win season since 2003 as the Seminoles finished 10-4. In just his first season as a head coach, Fisher won the most games (10) by a first-year coach in FSU history and the third-most by a rookie coach in ACC history. He was named the 2010 Football Writer's Association of America's Freshman All-America Team Coach. Fisher carried the success of his first season onto the recruiting trail as he put together a 2011 recruiting class ranked either first or second nationally by ESPN.com, Scout.com and Rivals.com. Fisher has not wasted any time putting his stamp on the Seminoles. From assembling a staff of energetic, ambitious assis-tants, to dramatically overhauling the program's infrastructure, he has left no stone unturned. His attention to every aspect of the pro-gram - from strength & conditioning, nutrition, mental training, academic support, talent evaluation and recruiting, player develop-ment and peer mentoring among teammates - is centered on establishing an unshakable foundation that emphasizes the whole development of each player. Fisher has carefully crafted his vision for the Seminoles through 19 seasons as a college assistant. Nick Saban and Bobby Bowden, each of whom have won two national championships and authored perfect seasons, have been the most influential coaches in his career. After a one-semester stop at Clemson, where he was going to play baseball, Fisher returned home to Salem College in West Virginia. He starred for three seasons at quarterback, establishing a school and conference record for career passing yardage. A two-time conference player of the year and an All-American in his final season at Salem, Fisher transferred to Samford College in Birmingham, Alabama for his final season of eligibility. He enjoyed a record-setting season in 1987 with the Bulldogs, earning NCAA Division III National Player of the Year honors, which he parlayed into a season with the Chicago Bruisers of the Arena Football League. In 1993, Fisher joined the staff at Auburn and over the next 14 seasons, including stops at Cincinnati and LSU, he built a reputation as a keen play-caller whose development of quarterbacks was sec-ond-to-none in major college football. His list of standout pupils included record-setters Stan White, Patrick Nix and Dameyune Craig, who is the lone 3,000-yard passer in Auburn history. After guiding Cincinnati to one of its most prolific seasons in a one-year stint, he joined Saban's staff at LSU. Over the course of a seven-year run with the Tigers, quarterbacks Josh Booty, Rohan Davey, Craig Nall, Matt Mauck, JaMarcus Russell and Matt Flynn were selected in the NFL Draft. Russell, who was the first player selected in the 2007 NFL Draft, and Davey remain the only 3,000-yard passers in LSU history. LSU made seven consecutive bowl appearances, won two SEC titles, posted a 70-20 record and won the 2003 BCS National Championship with Fisher as its offensive coordinator. He was a finalist for the 2001 Frank Broyles Award, presented to the nation's top assistant coach. Fisher accepted Bobby Bowden's invitation to join the Florida State staff as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in January 2007 and by the end of his first year, was tabbed as Bowden's successor upon retirement. The quick ascent followed a similar arc to the Seminoles' offense, which has improved statisti-cally in each of his four seasons.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE SEMInOLES LAST TIME OUTGAINESVILLE, Fla. – No offense? No problem. Despite only gaining 95 yards, the Florida State football team rode its opportunistic defense to a 21-7 victory over rival Florida. In doing so, the Seminoles (8-4) not only won a game in the Swamp for the first time since 2003 but they also claimed a second-consecutive state championship. FSU hadn't defeated both Florida and Miami in back-to-back seasons since doing so in 1998 and '99. If that's not enough, the win marks head coach Jimbo Fisher's 18th triumph since taking over for legendary coach Bowden – a feat that makes him the winningest coach in the first two years of his head-coaching tenure in Seminoles history. FSU's defense only gave up 184 yards and one late score after a Jermaine Thomas fumble, but it was the Seminoles' ability to force turnovers and turn the Gators' giveaways into points. The Seminoles intercepted four passes – three off starter John Brantley and one off his replacement, Jacoby Brissett – and while the first two were quickly followed by FSU scores on short fields, it was senior Terrance Parks' 29-yard pick-six that put the visitors on top 21-0 and the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter. Parks also lead the Seminoles with six tackles and two for loss. Greg Reid had two interceptions and Mike Harris had one of his own. Senior Shawn Powell did his part, too. The nation's No.-1 ranked punter kept the Gators pinned back in their own territory all evening with nine punts for an average of 44.4 yards per kick. Powell also served as the sod captain; the player responsible for bringing back so turf to bury in the program's storied sod cementary. Offensively, EJ Manuel was 6-of-13 for 65 yards. Devonta Freeman finished the night with 44 yards to break Warrick Dunn's record for most rushing yards as a freshman in Florida State history. Freeman, who now has a team-high 531 yards rushing this year, had two one-yard touchdown runs against UF. For Florida, Brantley threw for 104 yards before FSU's Brandon Jenkins knocked him – and consequently himself – out of the game late in the second quarter. Gators speedsters Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey combined for 36 yards rushing on 19 carries. After fielding the opening kickoff, the Gators gave it away when Reid read Brantley's eyes, jumped the route and intercepted the ball to put FSU in scoring position. Manuel was then stopped on 3rd-and-1 after leading the 'Noles to the goal line but after the play UF's Ronald Powell was flagged for a personal foul. The fresh set of downs lead to a Freeman one-yard carry for an early 7-0 score. The Seminoles' second score would then play out much like the first. With UF threatening in FSU territory, Harris intercepted the football before returning it 89 yards. Harris' play marked the seventh-longest interception return in school history and set up another Freeman one-yard dash. FSU would get another Reid interception and then stuffed the Gators on 4th-and-1 later inside their own red zone to preserve a 14-0 lead heading into halftime despite gaining just 39 total yards on offense through the first two quarters. The second half began without much offense by either side. FSU appeared to catch a break midway through the third quarter when Reid returned a punt deep into UF territory. But a Karlos Williams penalty pushed ball back 15 yards and the offense stalled. Dustin Hopkins then missed a 50-yard field goal attempt as neither team would score in the third quarter. That changed with Parks' interception return for a score. Parks was the beneficiary of a bad throw but it was Cornelius Carradine's pressure on Brissett that lead to the errant toss. Down 21-0 with just a few minutes to play, UF added its lone score of the game after Thomas' fumble. Had the Gators not added that touchdown, it would have been UF's first shut-out since 1988.

Florida State leads 4-2In Notre Dame: Florida State leads 2-1In Tallahassee: Notre Dame leads 1-0Neutral Site: Florida State leads 2-0In Bowl Games: Florida State leads 1-0 (1996, Orange Bowl)Longest Notre Dame Win Streak: 1 (1993, 2002)Longest Florida State Win Streak: 2 (1994-95)Largest Victory: 10 (34-24), 2002 in TallahasseeLargest Defeat: 37 (0-37), 2003 in Notre Dame

Site Year Rank W/L/T ND SU* 1981 -20 L 13 19* 1993 2-1 W 31 24CIT 1994 -8 L 16 23OB 1995 6-8 L 26 31 2002 6-11 W 34 24* 2003 -5 L 0 37OB – Orange Bowl

Sept. 3 vs. Louisiana-Monroe W, 34-0Sept. 10 vs. Charleston Southern W, 62-10Sept. 17 vs. Oklahoma L, 23-13Sept. 24 at Clemson* L, 35-30Oct. 8 at Wake Forest* L, 35-30Oct. 15 at Duke* W, 41-16Oct. 22 vs. Maryland* W, 41-16Oct. 29 vs. NC State* W, 34-0Nov. 3 at Boston College* W, 38-7Nov. 12 vs. Miami* W, 23-19Nov. 19 vs. Virginia* L, 14-13Nov. 26 at Florida W, 21-7

Champs Sports BowlDec. 29 vs. Notre Dame 5:30 p.m. ET

notre Dame vs. Florida StateSeries History

2011 Florida State Results(8-4 Overall, 5-3 ACC)


MEDIA INFOGAM



BOWL HISTORY


InDIvIDUALRushes1. Lee Becton, 26-122, 1 TD; 11.13.19932. Greg Bell, 25-120, 1 TD; 10.10.1981

Rushing Yards1. Lee Becton, 26-122, 1 TD; 11.13.19932. Greg Bell, 25-120, 1 TD; 10.10.1981

Passing Yards1. Carlyle Holiday, 13-21-185, 2 TD; 10.26.20022. Brady Quinn, 20-52-175, 0 TD; 11.1.2003

Receptions1. Derek Mayes, 6-96, 2 TD; 1.1.19962. Omar Jenkins, 5-73, 0 TD; 11.1.2003

Receiving Yards1. Derek Mayes, 6-96, 2 TD; 1.1.19962. Arnaz Battle, 3-77, 1 TD; 10.26.2002

Points Kicking1. Nick Setta, 12 (3 XP, 3 FG); 10.26.20022. Kevin Pendergast, 7 (4 XP, 1 FG); 11.13.1993 Harry Oliver, 7 (1 XP, 2 FG); 10.10.1981

Kickoff Return Yards1. Emmett Mosley, 4-109; 11.12.19942. Emmett Mosley, 3-67; 1.1.1996

Punt Return Yards1. Vontez Duff, 3-26; 10.26.20022. Derrick Mayes, 2-21; 1.1.1996

Touchdowns1. Tom Krug, 3 (passing); 1.1.19962. Ryan Grant, 2 (rushing); 10.26.2002 Carlyle Holiday, 2 (passing); 10.26.2002 Jeff Burris, 2 (rushing); 11.13.1993 Derrick Mayes, 2 (receiving); 1.1.1996

Interceptions1. Eight different players with one

TEAMPoints Scored34 (W 34-24); 2002 in Tallahassee

Points Scored (quarter)17 (W 34-24); 2002 (third) in Tallahassee

Points Scored (half)24 (W 34-24); 2002 (second) in Tallahassee

Points Allowed37 (L 0-37); 2003 in Notre Dame

Points Allowed (quarter)17 (L 0-37); 2003 (first) in Notre Dame17 (L 26-31); 1996 (fourth) in Miami

Points Allowed (half)23 (L 0-37); 2003 (first) in Notre Dame

Top notre DamePerformances Against Florida State

nOTRE DAME FLORIDA STATE# NCAA Category Category NCAA #30.50 43rd Scoring Offense vs. Scoring Defense 4th 15.17424.08 33rd Total Offense vs. Total Defense 6th 274.58166.00 51st Rushing Offense vs. Rushing Defense 2nd 81.83258.08 33rd Passing Offense vs. Passing Defense 18th 192.75132.67 53rd Passing Efficiency Off. vs. Passing Efficiency Def. 32nd 119.1120.92 28th Scoring Defense vs. Scoring Offense 35th 31.67349.25 34th Total Defense vs. Total Offense 73rd 375.75147.08 58th Rushing Defense vs. Rushing Offense 99th 118.08202.17 34th Passing Defense vs. Passing Offense 34th 257.67127.31 56th Passing Efficiency Def. vs. Passing Efficiency Off. 18th 153.0334.04 104th Net Punting vs. Net Punting 1st 42.040.30 120th Punt Returns vs. Punt Returns 34th 10.5023.27 33rd Kickoff Returns vs. Kickoff Returns 21st 23.93-1.08 116th Turnover Margin vs. Turnover Margin t-42nd 0.171.67 79th Sacks vs. Sacks Allowed 111th 3.001.08 17th Sacks Allowed vs. Sacks 9th 3.00

Head-to-HeadStatistical Comparison

nOTRE DAME vS. ACCuNotre Dame is 81-31-2 (.719) against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Irish have had more success against the ACC than any other major conference. The Irish have a .500 or better record against nine of the 11 conference schools (in which they have played).uNotre Dame's 114 games against the ACC ranks as the third-most contests against a conference trailing only the Big Ten (370) and Pac-12 (142).uThe Irish played three ACC schools in the regular season – over three consecutive weeks. Notre Dame upended Wake Forest, 24-17, on Nov. 5, Maryland, 45-21, on Nov. 12 and Boston College, 16-14, on Nov. 19.uNotre Dame played a pair of ACC schools in 2006 and 2008.uIn 2007, Notre Dame played three ACC schools in the same season for the first time since 2002 (Maryland, Florida State and North Carolina State) and just the second time in school history.uNotre Dame had not played three straight games (in as many weeks) against any other conference besides the Big Ten since 1996. The Irish faced Boston College, Pittsburgh and Rutgers (BIG EAST) in three consecutive weeks during the '96 campaign.uNotre Dame has faced Boston College 21 times (12-9), third most of any other ACC school, but 16 of the previous 21 meetings took place with the Eagles in the BIG EAST. The 12 victories are the fourth-most victories for Notre Dame over an ACC foe. The Irish have played Georgia Tech 34 times (27-6-1), Miami 24 times (16-7-1) and North Carolina 18 times (16-2). It should be noted that all but one of Notre Dame's previous meetings with Miami, Fla. occurred prior to their moves to the ACC.uNotre Dame has played a handful of games versus Florida State (2-4), Duke (3-1), Maryland (2-0) and Clemson (1-1). Additionally, the Irish have met three ACC foes just once. They beat Virginia in the '89 Kickoff Classic, lost to NC State in the '03 Gator Bowl and upended Wake Forest, 24-17, on Nov. 5, 2011.uThe Irish took on Duke in 2007 for the first time since 1966. Notre Dame upended the Blue Devils, 28-7, in the home finale.uAfter the Nov. 5 meeting with Wake Forest, Virginia Tech is the only remaining team from the current ACC that Notre Dame has yet to play.uNotre Dame has posted a 36-19-2 (.649) record against current ACC opponents away from Notre Dame Stadium, but many of those meetings came against Boston College and Miami while each were not affiliated with the league. The Irish own a 39-9 (.813) mark when facing a school as an ACC member.

ATLAnTIC COAST COnFEREnCE Home Away Neutral Overall Won Lost Tied Pct. Won Lost Tied Pct. Won Lost Tied Pct. Won Lost Tied Pct.Boston College 7 5 0 .583 3 4 0 .429 2 0 0 1.000 12 9 0 .571Clemson 0 1 0 .000 1 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 .000 1 1 0 .500Duke 3 0 0 1.000 0 1 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 3 1 0 .750Florida State 1 2 0 .333 1 0 0 1.000 0 2 0 .000 2 4 0 .333Georgia Tech 15 3 0 .833 12 2 1 .833 0 1 0 .000 27 6 1 .809Maryland 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 2 0 0 1.000 2 0 0 1.000Miami 8 1 0 .889 6 6 1 .500 2 0 0 1.000 16 7 1 .688North Carolina 11 0 0 1.000 4 2 0 .667 1 0 0 1.000 16 2 0 .889NC State 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 .000 0 1 0 .000Virginia 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 1.000 1 0 0 1.000Virginia Tech 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 .000Wake Forest 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 1.000Totals 45 12 0 .789 28 15 2 .644 8 4 0 .667 81 31 2 .719

8

Game Notes


nOTRE DAME - FLORIDA STATE SERIES HISTORYuFlorida State leads the all-time series with Notre Dame, 4-2, although the teams have split their previous two matchups – each on the others home field and each in decisive fashion. FSU won 37-0 in 2003, while the Irish was victorious, 34-24, in 2002.uNotre Dame and Florida State played one another for the first time in 1981, Gerry Faust's debut season as the Irish head coach. The 20th-ranked Seminoles managed to pull out a 19-13 victory, scoring the winning touchdown with just under eight minutes to play.uNotre Dame and Florida State did not face one another again until 1993, when they collided at Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish came into the game ranked second in the nation, while the Seminoles were the country's No. 1 team. However, it would be Notre Dame which would come out on top, leading almost the entire way and then fighting off a last-ditch FSU rally to win 31-24 in what was termed at the time "The Game of the Century." (more details on this game are available on page 36 of the 2011 Irish football supplement)uFlorida State got its revenge against Notre Dame in 1994, squeezing out a 23-16 win over the Irish at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. The Seminoles actually outgained Notre Dame by more than a two-to-one margin (517 to 221), but the Irish gamely hung with FSU, tying the score at 16-16 with 5:17 to play on an 11-yard TD pass from Ron Powlus to Derrick Mayes. But, the Seminoles drove back down the field and Warrick Dunn scored on a five-yard run at the 2:53 mark to give Florida State the win.uNotre Dame met the Seminoles for the third consecutive season at the 1996 Orange Bowl, with FSU once again coming out ahead, 31-26. The Irish played without Powlus and leading rusher Randy Kinder, which seemingly left Notre Dame at a serious disadvantage. However, Powlus' understudy, Thomas Krug, performed admirably, tossing three touchdown passes, two to Mayes, and steering the Irish to a 26-14 fourth-quarter lead. Still, the Seminoles managed to put together a late comeback, scor-ing 17 points in the final 10 minutes to snatch the victory away from Notre Dame. (more details on this game are available on page 166 of the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl Guide)uAfter a nearly seven-year hiatus in the series, Notre Dame made its first-ever trip to Tallahassee in 2002 and defeated Florida State, 34-24, to run its season-opening win streak to eight games. The Irish turned three Seminole turnovers into 17 points in a span of 2:21 late in the third quarter, breaking a 10-all tie and propelling the visitors to the win. Quarterback Carlyle Holiday completed 13 of 21 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Ryan Grant carried 19 times for 94 yards and two scores.u The 2003 meeting between Notre Dame and Florida State was never in doubt. Chris Rix passed for 327 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Seminoles to a 37-0 victory over the Irish. Craphonso Thorpe had seven catches for 217 yards, including TD catches of 35 and 38 yards to help the Seminoles (8-1) get revenge for the 34-24 loss to the Irish last year. The Irish, held scoreless at home for the first time since 1978, fell to 2-6 for the first time since 1963.

nOTRE DAME - FLORIDA STATE SERIES nOTESuThe matchup marks the seventh meeting between Notre Dame and Florida State, with the Seminoles holding a 4-2 series lead. This will be the second time the teams have met at the Florida Citrus Bowl, with FSU winning in a regular season contest, 23-16, in 1994. It will also mark the second ever game between the two rivals in the postseason. The Seminoles rallied past the Irish, 31-26, in the 1996 Orange Bowl.uFour of the six previous games in the series have been decided by seven points or less, with the outcome of all four games still in doubt until the final minute.uIncluding this year's meeting, at least one of the two combatants has been ranked in the top 25 in every game between Notre Dame and Florida State. The 2011 matchup marks the fifth time in seven games that Florida State will be the higher-ranked team (the Seminoles won in 1981, 1994 and 2003, while the Irish were victorious in 1993).uThe 1993 game between top-ranked FSU and No. 2 Notre Dame (won by the Irish, 31-24) was voted the third-greatest moment in the last century of Irish football as part of Notre Dame's Century of Greatness program that ran throughout the 1999 season. That game also represented the last time Notre Dame was involved in a "No. 1 vs. No. 2" contest.uNotre Dame ranks as the second-winningest team in college football history, based on its current .732 winning percentage (853-299-42). Florida State ranks 12th all-time in terms of winning percentage, sporting a .663 success ratio (471-235-17). The big difference between the two programs is their longev-ity – the Irish are in the midst of their 123rd season of football, while the Seminoles are only in their 65th year on the gridiron.uNotre Dame and Florida State both rank in the top 10 in terms of all-time No. 1 rankings in the Associated Press poll. The Irish are second with 95 appearances, while the Seminoles are seventh with 59 weeks in the No. 1 position since the AP poll first began in 1936.

IRISH In THE SUnSHInE STATEuThe game will mark the eighth game for the Irish in Florida since 1990 and the fifth postseason game in the Sunshine State since '90. The last postseason game in Florida came in the Gator Bowl in 2003 – a 28-6 loss to 17th-ranked North Carolina State. Other recent games in Florida for Notre Dame are the 2002 meeting with Florida State in Tallahassee (#6 Notre Dame 34, #11 Florida State 24), the 2000 game with Navy at the Florida Citrus Bowl (#20 Notre Dame 45, Navy 14), the 1999 Gator Bowl (#12 Georgia Tech 35, #17 Notre Dame 28), the 1996 Orange Bowl (#8 Florida State 31, #6 Notre Dame 26), the 1991 Orange Bowl (#1 Colorado 10, #5 Notre Dame 9) and the 1990 Orange Bowl (#4 Notre Dame 21, #1 Colorado 6).uThe Champs Sports Bowl marks the ninth postseason bowl game for the Irish in Florida – the most of any state. This will also serve as a homecoming of sorts as nine scholarship players are Floridians – tied with California and Ohio for most on Notre Dame.

nOTRE DAME AnD THE SUnSHInE STATEuNotre Dame owns a 19-12-1 (.609) all-time record against schools from the Sunshine State, last playing a Florida school (USF) on Sept. 3, 2011 (a 23-20 defeat). Irish series records vs. teams from Florida include a 1-0 mark vs. Florida, 2-4 vs. Florida State, 16-7-1 vs. Miami and 0-1 vs. USF.uNotre Dame's all-time varsity football roster includes just over 2,700 players who have appeared in at least one career game, with 76 of those hailing from the state of Florida.uNotre Dame's all-time Florida natives include 20 defensive backs, 11 offensive linemen, nine defen-sive lineman, eight tight ends, six linebackers, five quarterbacks, five wide receivers, five running backs, five kickers, one fullback and one long snapper.uThose players include five from Tampa, five from Miami, four from Jacksonville, three from Sarasota, three from St. Petersburg, three from Ft. Lauderdale, three from Coral Springs, two from Clearwater, two from Delray Beach, two from Hollywood, two from Lauderhill, two from Melbourne, two from Pensacola, two from Pompano Beach, two from Tallahasse, two from West Palm Beach and one each from 32 other cities.u20 of Notre Dame's more noteworthy all-time players from Florida include RB Armando Allen Jr. (Opa Locka), NG Ian Williams (Altamonte Springs), TE Oscar McBride (Chiefland), DE Karmeeleyah McGill (Clearwater), OT Sam Young (Coral Springs), SS Greg Davis (Hollywood), FS Brian Magee (Largo), SE Bobby Brown (Lauderhill), RB Autry Denson (Lauderhill), TE Derek Brown (Merritt Island), DT Jeff Kunz (Palm Beach Gardens), C Gene McGuire (Panama City), QB Kevin McDougal (Pompano Beach), LB Maurice Crum Jr. (Riverview), C Jeff Faine (Sanford), LB Courtney Watson (Sarasota), CB Tom Carter (St. Petersburg), FS Pat Terrell (St. Petersburg), C Mike Heldt (Tampa) and K John Carney (West Palm Beach).uTerrell, Heldt, Brown, McGuire, Carter, Denson, Faine, Watson and Young were all drafted in the NFL.uThe 2011 Notre Dame roster includes 10 Florida natives, with scholarship members of that group dispersed fairly evenly among each class: three juniors, three sophomores and three freshmen ... that group is headlined by junior S Zeke Motta (Vero Beach/Vero Beach H.S.), junior P Ben Turk (Davie/St. Thomas Aquinas H.S.) and sophomore NG Louis Nix III (Jacksonville/Raines H.S.) ... other veteran Irish players who hail from Florida include junior LS Jordan Cowart (Plantation/St. Thomas Aquinas H.S.), sophomore OL Bruce Heggie (Sorrento/Mount Dora H.S.) and sophomore CB Lo Wood (Apopka/Apopka H.S.) ... Notre Dame has three freshmen from Florida in DE Aaron Lynch (Cape Coral/Island Coast H.S.), OT Jordan Prestwood (Planty City/Plant City H.S.) and LB Anthony Rabasa (Miami/Columbus H.S.).

SITE SURvEYuNotre Dame has played twice previously at the Florida Citrus Bowl, a 23-16 loss to eighth-ranked Florida State during the 1994 season and a 45-14 rout of Navy in 2000.


MEDIA INFOGAM



BOWL HISTORY


First Quarter12:40 ND Battle 65 yd pass from Holiday (Setta kick), 1-65 0:137:05 FSU Beitia 24 yd field goal, 11-73 5:281:16 ND Setta 39 yd field goal, 11-58 5:44

Second Quarter4:14 FSU Washington 1 yd run (Beitia kick), 20-93 8:21

Third Quarter5:26 ND Setta 35 yd field goal, 4-5 2:024:09 ND Grant 2 yd run (Setta kick), 1-2 0:163:05 ND Jenkins 16 yd pass from Holiday (Setta kick), 3-17 0:54

Fourth Quarter10:14 ND Grant 31 yd run (Setta kick), 2-63 0:511:12 FSU Boldin 5 yd pass from McPherson (Beitia kick), 9-95 3:080:12 FSU Maddox 29 yd pass from McPherson (Beitia kick), 5-51 0:58

RUSHING: Notre Dame-Grant 19-94; Holiday 5-17; Lopienski 1-4; Wilson 7-1. Florida State-Jones 14-34; Rix 10-28; McPherson 3-25; Maddox 2-8; Washington 1-1; Boldin 1-1; Reid 1-minus 4.

PASSING: Notre Dame-Holiday 13-21-0-185. Florida State-Rix 13-32-2-207; McPherson 8-11-0-118.

RECEIVING: Notre Dame-Battle 3-77; Jenkins 3-23; Grant 3-15; Stovall 2-33; Clark 1-37; Wilson 1-0. Florida State-Boldin 9-175; Maddox 4-90; Morgan 4-33; Jones 3-22; Gardner 1-5.

INTERCEPTIONS: Notre Dame-Watson 1-21; Earl 1-0. Florida State-None.

FUMBLES: Notre Dame-Holiday 1-0. Florida State-Washington 2-1; Rix 1-1.

SACKS (UA-A): Notre Dame-Earl 1-0. Florida State-Jackson 2-0.

TACKLES (UA-A): Notre Dame-Earl 5-6; Walton 4-5; Watson 3-7; Sapp 2-5; Bible 2-2; Pauly 2-0; Jackson 2-1; Duff 2-1; Hoyte 2-1; Roberts 0-4; Campbell 1-1; Burrell 1-0; Tuck 1-1; Mays 1-0; Clark 1-0; Curry 1-1; Setta 1-0; Budinscak 1-0; Pierre-Antoine 1-1; Hilliard 1-0; Goolsby 0-2; Thomas 0-1; Beidatsch 0-1. Florida State-Boulware 4-4; Brown 5-1; Hetzel 4-1; Jackson 4-0; Pope 3-2; Benford 2-1; McFadden 2-1; Smith 2-0; Powell 1-2; Womble 1-2; Emanuel 1-2; Hudson 1-1; Dockett 1-1; Jones 1-0; Newton 1-0; Johnson 0-2; Osei 0-2; Ward 0-2; Washington 0-1; Carter 0-1.

ND FSU FIRST DOWNS 13 20RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 32-116 32-93PASSING YDS (NET) 185 325Passes Att-Comp-Int 21-13-0 43-21-2TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 53-301 75-418Fumble Returns-Yards 1-0 0-0Punt Returns-Yards 4-26 2-8Kickoff Returns-Yards 2-44 5-103Interception Returns-Yards 2-21 0-0Punts (Number-Avg) 6-42.0 6-44.8Fumbles-Lost 1-0 3-2Penalties-Yards 4-40 11-98Possession Time 29:07 30:53Third-Down Conversions 6 of 14 8 of 17Fourth-Down Conversions 0 of 0 1 of 1Red-Zone Scores-Chances 5-5 4-4Sacks By: Number-Yards 1-9 2-9

Oct. 26, 2002 • Tallahassee, Fla. • Doak Campbell StadiumScore by Quarters 1 2 3 4 FNotre Dame 10 0 17 7 34 Record: (8-0)Florida State 3 7 0 14 24 Record: (5-3)

First Quarter10:42 FSU Beitia 40 yd field goal, 7-49 4:188:01 FSU Sam 6 yd pass from Rix (Beitia kick), 6-73 1:360:39 FSU Thorpe 35 yd pass from Rix (Beitia kick), 5-87 2:45

Second Quarter9:49 FSU Beitia 44 yd field goal, 5-37 1:470:55 FSU Beitia 22 yd field goal, 13-69 3:45

Third Quarter11:34 FSU Thorpe 38 yd pass from Rix (Beitia kick), 2-33 0:17

Fourth Quarter8:59 FSU Smith 90 yd interception return (Beitia kick)

RUSHING: Florida State-Booker 12-35; Washington 4-23; Davis 1-21; Jones 7-9; Rix 8-6; Sam 1-6; Sims 1-2; Napier 2-minus 1; Team 1-minus 3. Notre Dame-Jones 18-76; Grant 8-42; Quinn 4-28.

PASSING: Florida State-Rix 17-31-3-327. Notre Dame-Quinn 20-52-3-175.

RECEIVING: Florida State-Thorpe 7-217; Sam 2-54; Reid 2-11; Booker 2-minus 3; Davis 1-24; Washington 1-16; Dean 1-9; Jones 1-minus 1. Notre Dame-Jenkins 5-73; McKnight 3-23; Stovall 3-21; Fasano 3-18; Jones 2-24; Grant 2-5; Powers-Neal 1-6; Clark 1-5.

INTERCEPTIONS: Florida State-Smith 1-90; Samuels 1-30; Womble 1-0. Notre Dame-Jackson 1-0; Beckstrom 1-0; Duff 1-55.

FUMBLES: Florida State-Washington 1-0; Rix 1-0; Jones 1-0. Notre Dame-McKnight 1-0; Ellick 1-0; Jones 1-0.

SACKS (UA-A): Florida State-None. Notre Dame-Campbell 1-0.

TACKLES (UA-A): Florida State-Sims 4-4; Boulware 2-6; Watkins 4-2; Wimbley 4-2; Carter 3-3; Samuels 3-1; Augustin 2-2; Nichol-son 0-4; McFadden 3-0; McGrew 1-2; Hall 0-3; Dockett 0-3; Brown 2-0; Bunkley 2-0; Bredwood 1-1; Cromartie 1-1; Piquion 0-2; Osei 0-2; Dean 1-0; Church 1-0; Moore 1-0; Ward 1-0; Davis 1-0; Johnson 0-1; Smith 0-1. Notre Dame-Watson 6-5; Hoyte 3-4; Duff 5-0; Curry 3-2; Tuck 3-2; Burrell 2-1; Beckstrom 2-1; Campbell 2-1; Hilliard 0-3; Bolen 0-3; Jenkins 2-0; Stovall 2-0; Campbell 1-1; Landri 1-1; Pauly 0-2; Budinscak 1-0; Ellick 1-0; Bible 1-0; Beidatsch 0-1; Clark 0-1; Mays 0-1; Collins 0-1; Jackson 0-1; Abiamiri 0-1.

FSU ND FIRST DOWNS 18 15RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 37-98 30-146PASSING YDS (NET) 327 175Passes Att-Comp-Int 31-17-3 52-20-3TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 68-425 82-321Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0Punt Returns-Yards 4-13 2-10Kickoff Returns-Yards 1-13 7-124Interception Returns-Yards 3-120 3-55Punts (Number-Avg) 4-36.5 8-41.1Fumbles-Lost 3-0 3-0Penalties-Yards 6-50 8-77Possession Time 28:42 31:18Third-Down Conversions 4 of 13 6 of 21Fourth-Down Conversions 0 of 1 0 of 5Red-Zone Scores-Chances 3-4 0-4Sacks By: Number-Yards 0-0 3-16

Nov. 1, 2003 • Notre Dame, Ind. • Notre Dame StadiumScore by Quarters 1 2 3 4 FFlorida State 17 6 7 7 37 Record: (8-1)Notre Dame 0 0 0 0 0 Record: (2-6)

nOTRE DAME - FLORIDA STATE COnnECTIOnSuNotre Dame's roster includes 10 Florida natives. Florida State's roster does not feature a player from Indiana.uA number of coaches from each staff served at the same school at one time or another over their repsective careers.uFlorida State head coach Jimbo Fisher spent one season as an assistant at Cincinnati (1999). Seminoles' associate head coach/running backs/special teams coach Eddie Gran was the wide receivers coach at Cincinnati for two seasons (1992 and 1993). uFisher was the offensive coordinator at LSU from 2000-06, including the 2007 Sugar Bowl when the Tigers defeated the Irish, 41-14.uNotre Dame second-year head coach Brian Kelly served as the Bearcats head coach for three years (2007-09). Five members of Kelly's coaching staff also spent time in the Queen City.uFlorida State assistant head coach-defense/linebackers Greg Hudson was a graduate assistant at Notre Dame in 1993. The Irish went 11-1, knocked off the top-ranked Seminoles, 31-24, won the Cotton Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 2 in the country. Hudson also spent four years on staff at Cincinnati (1997-2000).uA number of players from Florida State and Notre Dame either attended the same high school or hail from the same hometown.

Florida State High School/Hometown Notre DameDavid Tyrrell, WR Cape Coral, Fla. Aaron Lynch, DECornellius Carradine, DE Cincinnati, Ohio Jarrett Grace, LB Andrew Hendrix, QB Luke Massa, WR Alex Welch, TEAvis Commack, S Jacksonville, Fla. Louis Nix III, NGEric Beverly, RBKory Burnett, SJermaine Washington, WRJermaine Thomas, RBDerrick Mitchell, DTJacob Stanley, OLRussell Eldridge, OLSean Hector, DEBen Gatewood, OLJonathan Wallace,OTTrey Sumner, LBMike Harris, CB Miami, Fla. Arturo Martinex, TEDevonta Freeman, RB Anthony Rabassa, LBXavier Pryce, DBArrington Jenkins, LBXavier Rhodes, CBTerrance Carey, OLRuben Carter, OLRodney Smith, WRBryan Stork, OG Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Beach H.S. Zeke Motta, SJames Dolan, WR St. Thomas Aquinas H.S. Jordan Cowart, LSAustin Barron, OL Ben Turk, PLamarcus Joyner, SBobby Hart, OLAndrew Datko, OT

10

Game Notes


ALL THE nIGHT MOvESuNotre Dame hosted a night game (Oct. 22, USC, 7:30 p.m.) for the first time in 21 years. The previous night game at Notre Dame Stadium came on Sept. 15, 1990 against Michigan.uNotre Dame has already played under the lights Sept. 10 at Michigan, Oct. 1 at Purdue, Nov. 5 at Wake Forest and Nov. 12 against Maryland at FedEx Field. The Irish closed the regular season with a night game at Stanford (Nov. 26).uSix night games is a Notre Dame regular season record.uThis year marks the 60th anniversary of Notre Dame’s first night game, a 48-6 rout of Detroit on Oct. 5, 1951 in Briggs Stadium.uThe Irish have played 99 night games overall with an overall record of 63-34-2 (.646), including 6-2 all-time at home.uNotre Dame’s longest winning streak in night games is 11, beginning with an Oct. 13, 1973 win at Rice and concluding with a Sept. 24, 1983 shutout loss at Miami (20-0), which went on to win its first national title.uThe longest losing streak is nine under Davie.

uThe largest margin of defeat was 38-3 at USC on Nov. 29, 2008, eking out the Jan. 1, 1973 Orange Bowl to Nebraska (40-6) — which would inspire the Irish to win the national title the next year under Parseghian.uThe largest margin of victory at night was 57-7 at Stanford on Nov. 29, 2004, when Willingham poured it on his former employer.uNotre Dame’s night history can almost be divided into two eras – the 35-year pre-Lou Holtz era from 1951-85, and the 25 years since Holtz took the reins in 1986. It was under Holtz that multiple night games in a season became standard at Notre Dame. It eventually prompted the exclusive NBC contract for home games that commenced with the 1991 season.uIn the 35 years from 1951-85, Notre Dame was 21-6-1 (.768) in night games. In the 11 years under Holtz alone (1986-96), the Irish were an almost identical 20-5-1 (.788).uNotre Dame is 6-7 (.462) at night in bowls, where it has a five-game losing streak and has not won since the 39-28 conquest of Florida in the 1992 Sugar Bowl.

uNotre Dame has played more night games against Miami (Fla.) and USC (11) than any other foes. The Irish are 6-4-1 (.591) vs. the Hurricanes, with the lone loss at home at night occurring in 1984. Notre Dame is 3-7-1 (.318) against the Trojans.uHere’s a look at Notre Dame head coach’s record at night:

Frank Leahy: 1-0Terry Brennan: 1-1Joe Kuharich: 0-1Ara Parseghian: 10-2-1Dan Devine: 5-0Gerry Faust: 4-2Lou Holtz: 20-5-1Bob Davie: 2-9Tyrone Willingham: 5-2Kent Baer: 0-1Charlie Weis: 9-7Brian Kelly: 6-4

Date Result Opponent10.5.1951 W, 40-6 (5) Detroit 1

10.7.1955 W, 14-0 at (5) Miami, Fla. (15)9.22.1956 L, 13-19 at (3) SMU (1:50)11.12.1960 L, 21-28 at Miami, Fla.10.9.1965 W, 17-0 (7) Army 211.27.1965 T, 0-0 at (6) Miami, Fla.11.24.1967 W, 24-22 at (6) Miami, Fla.10.25.1969 W, 37-0 at (12) Tulane11.15.1969 W, 38-20 at (9) Georgia Tech10.9.1971 W, 17-0 at (7) Miami, Fla.11.20.1971 L, 28-7 at (7) LSU (14)1.1.1972 L, 6-40 (12) Nebraska (9) 310.13.1973 W, 28-0 at (9) Rice12.1.1973 W, 44-0 at (5) Miami, Fla. 12.31.1973 W, 24-23 (3) Alabama (4:26) (1) 4

9.9.1974 W, 31-7 at (2) Georgia Tech1.1.1975 W, 13-11 (9) Alabama (U) (2) 3

9.15.1975 W, 17-3 (9) Boston College 5

11.22.1975 W, 32-9 at Miami, Fla.12.27.1976 W, 20-9 (15) Penn State (20) 6

12.3.1977 W, 48-10 at (5) Miami, Fla.10.25.1980 W, 20-3 at (4) Arizona9.18.1982 W, 23-17 *(20) Michigan (10)9.24.1983 L, 0-20 at (13) Miami, Fla.10.8.1983 W, 30-6 at South Carolina (7)12.29.1983 W, 19-18 Boston College (13) 710.6.1984 L, 13-31 (17) Miami, Fla. (R) (14)9.21.1985 W, 27-10 Michigan State11.1.1986 W, 33-14 Navy 811.22.1986 L, 19-21 at LSU (8)9.19.1987 W, 31-8 (9) Michigan State (17)10.10.1987 L, 22-30 at (4) Pittsburgh (R)9.10.1988 W, 19-17 (13) Michigan (1:13) (9)10.1.1988 W, 42-14 (5) Stanford8.31.1989 W, 36-13 (2) Virginia 910.14.1989 W, 41-27 at (1) Air Force (17)1.1.1990 W, 21-6 (4) Colorado (1) 3

9.15.1990 W, 28-24 (1) Michigan (1:40) (4)10.27.1990 W, 31-22 at (3) Pittsburgh11.24.1990 W, 10-6 at (7) USC (18)1.1.1991 L, 9-10 (5) Colorado (1) 310.5.1991 W, 42-26 at (8) Stanford

Date Result Opponent10.19.1991 W, 28-15 at (5) Air Force11.30.1991 W, 48-42 at (17) Hawaii1.1.1992 W, 39-28 (18) Florida (3) 10

10.10.1992 W, 52-21 at (14) Pittsburgh11.28.1992 W, 31-23 at (5) USC (19)10.16.1993 W, 45-20 at (3) BYU9.3.1994 W, 42-15 (3) Northwestern 11

11.26.1994 T, 17-17 at USC (17) (4:53 USC)11.18.1995 W, 44-14 at (8) Air Force1.1.1996 L, 26-31 (6) Florida State (8) 3

9.5.1996 W, 14-7 at *(6) Vanderbilt11.30.1996 L, 20-27 (ot) at (10) USC11.29.1997 W, 23-22 at Hawaii (0:05)12.28.1997 L, 9-27 LSU (15) 12

9.12.1998 L, 23-45 at (10) Michigan State11.28.1998 L, 0-10 at (9) USC11.6.1999 L, 14-38 at (24) Tennessee (4)11.27.1999 L, 37-40 at Stanford (0:00)1.1.2001 L, 9-41 (10) Oregon State (5) 13

9.8.2001 L, 10-27 at (23) Nebraska (5)10.27.2001 L, 17-21 at Boston College11.24.2001 L, 13-17 at Stanford (13) (1:08) (R)12.1.2001 W, 24-18 at Purdue8.31.2002 W, 22-0 Maryland (21) 910.19.2002 W, 21-14 at (7) Air Force (18)11.30.2002 L, 13-44 at (7) USC (6)10.11.2003 W, 20-14 at Pittsburgh (15)11.29.2003 W, 57-7 at Stanford9.4.2004 L, 17-20 at BYU9.18.2004 W, 31-24 at Michigan State12.28.2004 L, 21-38 Oregon State (NT) 14

9.3.2005 W, 42-21 at Pittsburgh (23)10.1.2005 W, 49-28 at (13) Purdue (22)11.26.2005 W, 38-31 at (6) Stanford (0:55)9.2.2006 W, 14-10 at (2) Georgia Tech9.23.2006 W, 40-37 at (12) Michigan State (2:53)11.25.2006 L, 24-44 at (6) USC (3)1.3.2007 L, 14-41 (11) LSU (4) 10

9.8.2007 L, 10-31 at Penn State (14)10.6.2007 W, 20-6 at UCLA10.25.2008 W, 33-7 at Washington11.8.2008 L, 0-17 at Boston College

Date Result Opponent11.29.2008 L, 3-38 at USC (5)9.26.2009 W, 24-21 at Purdue (0:25)10.31.2009 W, 40-14 Washington State 15

11.14.2009 L, 22-27 at Pittsburgh (8)11.28.2009 L, 38-45 at Stanford (0:59)9.18.2010 L, 31-34 (ot) at Michigan State (R)10.2.2010 W, 31-13 at Boston College11.20.2010 W, 27-3 Army 16

11.27.2010 W, 20-16 at USC (R) (2:23)9.10.2011 L, 31-35 at Michigan (0:02)10.1.2011 W, 38-10 at Purdue10.22.2011 L, 17-31 USC11.5.2011 W, 24-17 at Wake Forest11.12.2011 W, 45-21 vs. Maryland 17

11.26.11 L, 14-28 at (22) Stanford (4) Totals 63-34-2Home games in bold

The number in front of the opponent name indicates Notre Dame’s ranking in the AP poll coming into the game. The number follow-ing the opponent name indicates its ranking. 0:00 indicates time remaining in games decided in the final minutes. R indicates game played in rain. S indicates game played in snow.

1Briggs Stadium (Detroit)2Shea Stadium (New York)3Orange Bowl (Miami)4Sugar Bowl (Tulane Stadium; New Orleans)5Foxboro Stadium (Foxboro, Mass.)6Gator Bowl (Jacksonville)7Liberty Bowl (Detroit)8Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)9Giants Stadium (East Rutherford, N.J.)10Sugar Bowl (Superdome; New Orleans)11Soldier Field (Chicago)12Independence Bowl (Shreveport, La.)13Fiesta Bowl (Sun Devil Stadium; Tempe, Ariz.)14Insight Bowl (Bank One Ballpark; Phoenix, Ariz.)15Alamodome (San Antonio)16Yankee Stadium (New York)17FedEx Field (Landover, Md.)

All-TimeNight Games


MEDIA INFOGAM



BOWL HISTORY


A vICTORY OvER FLORIDA STATE...uImproves Notre Dame's overall record to 9-4 (.692) overall and 5-2 (.714) away from Notre Dame Stadium.uGives the Irish victories in three straight bowl games for the first time since 1992-94.uImproves Notre Dame's all-time bowl record to 16-15 (.516).uImproves the all-time record for the Irish in games played in the state of Florida to 12-12-1 (.500).uGives Notre Dame a victory for the ninth time in the last 11 games and 13th time in the last 17 games.uSecures the first nine-win season for the Irish since 2006 and 36th in school history.uGives Notre Dame nine victories in a season in which they started 0-2 for just the second time in school history (1978, 9-3).uMakes the Irish the 16th team in the FBS to reach nine wins after starting a season 0-2 since 2001.uImproves Notre Dame to 143-129-10 (.525) all-time against AP top-25 foes, including 78-76-7 (.506) on the road.uImproves the all-time record for the Irish to 855-299-42 (.732).uImproves Notre Dame's all-time record outside of South Bend to 392-181-29 (.675).uImproves the all-time record for the Irish on neutral fields to 111-36-6 (.745).uImproves Notre Dame's all-time record against Florida State to 3-4 (.429).uImproves the all-time record for the Irish against the Seminoles in bowl games to 1-1 (.500).uImproves Notre Dame's all-time record against Florida State away from Notre Dame Stadium to 2-2 (.500).uImproves the Irish record in 2011 to 4-0 (1.000) against the ACC.uGives Notre Dame four victories over the same conference in one season for the first time since 1993 when the Irish posted four wins over members of the Big Ten (Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue).uImproves Notre Dame's all-time record against the ACC to 82-31-2 (.722).uImproves the all-time record for the Irish away from South Bend against the ACC to 37-19-2 (.655).uImproves the Irish to 3-4 (.429) all-time against ranked Florida State.uImproves Notre Dame to 1-2 (.333) all-time against the ranked Seminoles on neutral fields.uImproves the unranked Irish to 1-3 (.250) all-time against Florida State.uImproves unranked Notre Dame to 1-1 (.500) all-time against the Seminoles on neutral fields.uImproves the unranked Irish to 1-3 (.250) all-time against ranked Florida State.uImproves unranked Notre Dame to 1-1 (.500) all-time against the ranked Seminoles on neutral fields.uImproves Kelly's record to 188-66-2 (.738) overall.uImproves Kelly's record to 70-31 (.693) in FBS games.uImproves Kelly's record to 60-19 (.759) over the last six seasons.uImproves Kelly's record to 111-33 (.771) since 2001.uImproves Kelly's record to 6-2 (.750) all-time against the ACC and 5-0 (1.000) as head coach at Notre Dame.uImproves Kelly's record to 10-1 (.909) all-time in the month of December.uMakes Kelly the first Irish head coach to win bowl games in each of his first two seasons.uImproves Kelly's bowl record to 4-1 (.800).uImproves Kelly's postseason record to 15-5 (.750).

A DEFEAT TO FLORIDA STATE...uDrops Notre Dame's overall record to 8-5 (.615) overall and 4-3 (.571) away from Notre Dame Stadium.uDrops Notre Dame's all-time bowl record to 15-16 (.484).uDrops the all-time record for the Irish in games played in the state of Florida to 11-13-1 (.460).uDrops Notre Dame to 142-130-10 (.521) all-time against AP top-25 foes, including 77-77-7 (.500) away from Notre Dame Stadium.uDrops the all-time record for the Irish to 854-300-42 (.732).uDrops Notre Dame's all-time record outside of South Bend to 391-182-29 (.674).uDrops the all-time record for the Irish on neutral fields to 110-37-6 (.739).uDrops Notre Dame's all-time record against Florida State to 2-5 (.286).uDrops the all-time record for the Irish against the Seminoles in bowl games to 0-2 (.000).uDrops Notre Dame's all-time record against Florida State away from Notre Dame Stadium to 1-3 (.250).uDrops the Irish record in 2011 to 3-1 (.750) against the ACC.uDrops Notre Dame's all-time record against the ACC to 81-32-2 (.713).uDrops the all-time record for the Irish away from South Bend against the ACC to 36-20-2 (.638).uDrops the Irish to 2-5 (.286) all-time against ranked Florida State.uDrops Notre Dame to 0-3 (.000) all-time against the ranked Seminoles on neutral fields.uDrops the unranked Irish to 0-4 (.000) all-time against Florida State.uDrops unranked Notre Dame to 0-2 (.000) all-time against the Seminoles on neutral fields.uDrops the unranked Irish to 0-4 (.000) all-time against ranked Florida State.uDrops unranked Notre Dame to 0-2 (.000) all-time against the ranked Seminoles on neutral fields.uDrops Kelly's record to 187-67-2 (.734) overall.uDrops Kelly's record to 69-32 (.683) in FBS games.uDrops Kelly's record to 59-20 (.747) over the last six seasons.uDrops Kelly's record to 110-34 (.764) since 2001.uDrops Kelly's record to 5-3 (.625) all-time against the ACC and 4-1 (.800) as head coach at Notre Dame.uDrops Kelly's record to 9-2 (.818) all-time in the month of December.uDrops Kelly's bowl record to 3-2 (.600).uDrops Kelly's postseason record to 14-6 (.700).

Kelly Career Kelly at ND 2011At Home 101-26-1 8-5 4-2On The Road 80-37-1 5-3 3-2Neutral Site Games 6-3 3-1 1-0In Overtime 4-3 0-1 0-0Coming off a loss 38-20 4-4 2-1Coming off a win 135-36-1 11-5 6-2Coming off an open date 12-2 1-1 0-1Vs. AP top 25 10-6 2-2 1-1Both teams are AP-ranked 4-3 0-1 0-1Neither team is ranked 43-22 12-6 5-2Ranked higher 24-4 1-1 1-1Opponent is ranked higher 5-6 2-2 1-1Vs. In-state Opponents 72-22 2-0 1-0In August 3-2 0-0 0-0In September 54-28 3-5 2-2In October 64-22 6-3 3-1In November 54-14 6-1 3-1In December 9-1 1-0 0-0In January 0-1 0-0 0-0On Television 46-17* 16-9 8-4On NBC 10-5 10-5 5-2On ABC 5-2 3-2 1-1On ESPN 9-3 1-1 1-1On ESPN2 8-2 1-0 1-0On CBS 1-1 1-1 0-0Afternoon Games 126-48-2 10-5 5-1Night Games 58-17 6-4 3-3Decided By 3 or Less 35-14-2 2-3 2-1Decided By 7 or Less 60-28-2 5-5 3-2Scoring First 124-22 10-4 6-1Opponent Scores First 61-44-2 6-5 2-3Leading At Halftime 147-12 15-2 7-1Tied At Halftime 11-6 0-1 0-0Trailing At Halftime 26-48-2 1-6 1-3Leading After 3 Qtrs. 159-10 14-2 7-1Tied After 3 Qtrs. 8-2 0-1 0-0Trailing After 3 Qtrs. 18-54 1-6 1-3Scoring 40+ Points 72-1 4-0 3-0Scoring 30-39 Points 51-6 4-2 2-1Scoring 20-29 Points 49-25-1 6-3 1-1Scoring 0-19 Points 15-34-1 2-4 2-2Allowing 40+ Points 6-14 0-0 0-0Allowing 30-39 Points 12-26 1-4 1-2Allowing 20-29 Points 50-21-1 2-3 1-2Allowing 0-19 Points 119-5-1 13-0 6-0Outrushing Opponent 150-22-1 13-1 6-1Getting Outrushed 33-43-2 2-9 1-4Passing For More Yds 121-41-1 8-8 6-3Passing For Fewer Yds 65-22-1 8-1 2-1Outgaining Opponent 156-21-1 11-4 6-2Getting Outgained 29-42-1 5-5 2-2Winning Time of Poss. 96-23 7-1 4-1Losing Time of Poss. 89-41-2 9-8 4-3Scoring a Def./ST TD 62-5 3-1 2-1Allowing a Def./ST TD 14-24 0-5 0-2Fewer Penalty Yards 47-30-1 9-5 4-2More Penalty Yards 132-34-1 7-4 4-2Winning Turnover Battle 112-12 9-1 3-0Losing Turnover Battle 48-36-1 7-8 5-4Individual 100-yard rusher 86-19-1 3-2 3-2Individual 100-yard receiver 74-23 4-6 2-2Individual 200-yard passer 125-31-1 11-6 5-2Opponent 100-yard rusher 33-34-1 1-6 1-2Opponent 100-yard receiver 58-30 2-5 1-2Opponent 200-yard passer 72-30-1 5-6 1-3* excludes regular season games from GVSU era (unknown TV games).Some records fail to include two contests; Nov. 16, 1991 vs. Valparaiso and Oct. 26, 1996 vs. Saginaw Valley State (detailed stats unavailable)

notre Dame'sRecord When...

12

Game Notes


nOTRE DAME In DECEMBERuNotre Dame is 21-14-3 (.592) all-time during the month.uThe Irish are 3-0 (1.000) in December home games.uNotre Dame is 12-11-2 (.520) in December road games.uThe Irish are 6-3-1 (.650) in December neutral games.uNotre Dame is 2-0 (1.000) in December games at Notre Dame Stadium.uNotre Dame has won two straight games in the month of December.

On THIS DATEuNotre Dame has played two previous games in its history on Dec. 29 - both bowl games. The Irish are 1-1 (.500) all-time on this date. u1983: Gerry Faust picks up a win in his first bowl game as Notre Dame head coach as the Irish upset No. 13 Boston College, 19-18, at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn. Although the Eagles' star quarterback Doug Flutie passed for 287 yards, Notre Dame's defense - led by MVP linebacker Tony Furjanic - contained him, especially on Boston College's futile last-minute drive.

Season Site ND Coach W/L/T Score ND Rank Opponent Opp. Coach Opp. Rank1983 Liberty Bowl Gerry Faust W 19-18 Not Ranked Boston College Jack Bicknell 131984 Aloha Bowl Gerry Faust L 20-27 17 SMU Bobby Collins 10

OPEnERS An InDICATOR? uNotre Dame is 102-16-5 (.850) in season openers, but have they been foretelling of the season ahead? Take a look:uThe 102 seasons Notre Dame has won its opener, the Irish went on to post winning records 93 times (91.2%) with four losing seasons and five .500 records.uThe 16 seasons the Irish lost their opener, the Irish posted winning records seven times and a losing mark eight times (with one .500 season).uThe five seasons Notre Dame registered a tie in its opener, the Irish had four winning records and one losing record.

HOW DO THEY STACK UP?Average weight of the offensive and defensive lines:Notre Dame OL 304.0 lbs. vs. Florida State DL 286.0 lbs.Notre Dame DL 307.0 lbs. vs. Florida State OL 306.4 lbs.

Average height of the receivers and the secondaries:Notre Dame WR/TE 6' 1 1/4" vs. Florida State DB 5' 11"Notre Dame DB 6' 0 1/2" vs. Florida State WR 6' 2 2/3"

IRISH MASH UnITuThe Irish were beset by injuries over the second half of the season. The following Notre Dame players have suffered season-ending injuries since Oct. 22 – senior DE Kapron Lewis-Moore (USC), senior C Braxston Cave (Wake Forest), senior OLB Steve Filer (practice leading up to Maryland game) and senior RB Jonas Gray (Boston College). Freshman DE Stephon Tuitt also missed the final two games of the regular season with an undisclosed illness.uLewis-Moore had started 29 career games at defensive end, including 24 straight games (all seven in 2011) prior to the injury. He had made 32 tackles, 4.0 for loss, two pass breakups, 1.5 sacks and one forced fumble.uCave had started 22 career games at center, including every game over the 2010-11 season.uFiler – a special teams stalwart for the Irish – played in 45 games (out of a possible 47) prior to the injury. He led Notre Dame in special teams tackles each of the last two seasons (12 each year).uGray might have been dealt the cruelest fate. One of the nation's top high school running backs when he entered Notre Dame in 2008, Gray had totaled just 309 yards and no touchdowns over the first three years of his career. He then fumbled at the one-yard line mere steps from his first career touchdown on Notre Dame's season-opening drive against USF (the Irish would commit five turnovers and lose 23-21 to the Bulls).uGray was in the midst of one of the most memorable breakthrough senior campaigns in Irish history. He ranked 77th in the FBS in rush-ing yards per game (71.91). Gray was averaging 6.9 yards per carry in 2011, which was tied with George Gipp (1919) for fifth-best in single-season school history.u Gray had registered at least one rushing touchdown in eight straight games. He was the first Irish running back with a touchdown run in eight consecutive games since Autry Denson in 1998. Denson collected a rushing touchdown in the first 10 games of the ‘98 campaign.u Gray’s 12 rushing touchdowns this season are the most for an Irish running back since Autry Denson had 15 in 1998 and tied for ninth-most in single-season school history.u Gray was also on pace to possibly reach the 1,000-yard barrier.u Tuitt had played in eight games and started three (Navy, Wake Forest and Maryland) before being sidelined. He registered 27 tackles on the season, including two for loss (14 yards) and one sack (11 yards). He ranked third (now fourth) in tackles among defensive lineman at the time of his illness.u Senior DE Ethan Johnson missed four games following an injury against Purdue on Oct. 1, but returned to the Irish lineup against Maryland on Nov. 12. Prior to his injury, Johnson had played in all 43 games since the start of his Irish career (2008).

USA TODAY/COACHES (Dec. 4)Rk School Record Pts Pvs1. LSU (59) 13-0 1475 12. Alabama 11-1 1399 23. Oklahoma State 11-1 1367 54. Stanford 11-1 1286 45. Oregon 11-2 1232 76. Boise State 11-1 1128 87. Arkansas 10-2 1112 108. Wisconsin 11-2 1085 129. South Carolina 10-2 971 1310. Kansas State 10-2 878 1511. Virginia Tech 11-2 835 312. Michigan 10-2 789 1613. Michigan State 10-3 735 914. Clemson 10-3 657 2115. TCU 10-2 631 1716. Baylor 9-3 599 1817. Houston 12-1 542 618. Georgia 10-3 538 1419. Oklahoma 9-3 437 1120. Nebraska 9-3 402 1921. Southern Miss 11-2 366 2322. West Virginia 9-3 278 2023. Penn State 9-3 189 2224. Cincinnati 9-3 94 2525. Florida State 8-4 68 24

Others Receiving VotesBrigham Young 20, Northern Illinois 14, Missouri 11, Georgia Tech 10, Arkansas State 9, nOTRE DAME 9, Virginia 5, Louisiana Tech 2, Rutgers 1, Texas 1.

ASSOCIATED PRESS (Dec. 4)Rk School Record Pts Pvs1. LSU (60) 13-0 1500 12. Alabama 11-1 1418 23. Oklahoma State 11-1 1400 34. Stanford 11-1 1283 45. USC 10-2 1179 96. Oregon 11-2 1170 87. Arkansas 10-2 1148 68. Boise State 11-1 1107 99. Wisconsin 11-2 1038 1510. South Carolina 10-2 946 1411. Kansas State 10-2 829 1612. Michigan State 10-3 733 1113. Michigan 10-2 707 1714. Clemson 10-3 663 2115. Baylor 9-3 656 1916. TCU 10-2 632 1817. Virginia Tech 11-2 591 518. Georgia 10-3 566 1219. Oklahoma 9-3 386 1320. Houston 12-1 370 721. Nebraska 9-3 363 2022. Southern Miss 11-2 336 2423. West Virginia 9-3 199 2224. Penn State 9-3 129 2325. Florida State 8-4 49 25

Others Receiving VotesnOTRE DAME 23, Cincinnati 22, Arkansas State 18, Brigham Young 12, Georgia Tech 7, Northern Illinois 7, Missouri 5, Virginia 5, Tulsa 2, Louisville 1.

2011 opponents in bold

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BOWL HISTORY


STARTInG 0-2? uNotre Dame has started a season 0-2 seven times in the 123-year history of Irish football. Notre Dame has rebounded to secure a winning record on three occasions, including 2011.uNotre Dame has rebounded with four consecutive wins after an 0-2 start just twice in school history. The 1978 Irish squad posted eight straight victories after their 0-2 start. Notre Dame has won eight of its 10 nine games this season after the 0-2 start.uThe eight victories are the second-most in school history follow-ing an 0-2 start. The 1978 squad – led by senior QB Joe Montana – posted nine.

Year Record after 0-2 Start Final Record1978 9-1 9-32011 8-2 -2001 5-4 5-61986 5-4 5-61896 4-1 4-32007 3-7 3-91963 2-5 2-71888 1-0 1-2

REBOUnDInG FROM TOUGH START uNotre Dame was one of 24 FBS teams that opened the 2011 season with an 0-2 record. The Irish (8-4), Western Kentucky (7-5) and Georgia (10-3) are the only teams of that group that have rebounded and own a winning record at this stage of the season.uNotre Dame's eight victories in its 10 games following the 0-2 start is the second-best mark of any team that opened the season with two straight defeats. uThe Bulldogs have captured 10 of its 11 games.

IRISH TURnAROUnD JOInS SELECT GROUP uSince the start of the 2001 season, 275 different FBS teams began the season 0-2. u46 of those 275 teams managed to finish the year with a winning record (includes Notre Dame, Georgia and Western Kentucky in 2011). u27 of those 275 teams managed to finish the year with eight or more victories (includes Notre Dame and Georgia in 2011). u15 of those 275 teams managed to finish the year with nine or more victories (includes Georgia in 2011). u4 of those 275 teams managed to finish the year with 10 or more victories (includes Georgia in 2011). u1 of those 275 teams managed to finish the year with 11 or more victories (Virginia Tech registered 11 wins in 2010)uOne of those four teams to post 10 or more wins despite an 0-2 start to the season – the 2006 Central Michigan squad led by sec-ond-year Irish head coach Brian Kelly.

GREAT FOR TELEvISIOnuNotre Dame has appeared on national or regional television in 234 consecutive games entering this weekend.uThe Irish have made 353 appearances on network television -- more than any other school and more than the next two combined.u Notre Dame has become accustomed to nailbiting finishes. In addition to each of the first two games in 2011, at Pittsburgh, at Wake Forest and again against Boston College, the Irish have been involved in 20 games decided by seven points or less since the start of the 2009 campaign. In fact, 14 of the last 21 losses for the Irish have been decided by a touchdown or less, including seven by a field goal or less.u Notre Dame has played in 56 games in the 123-year history of the program where the winning points have occurred in overtime or the game's final minute of regulation. Amazingly, 11 have come in the past five years alone.

OFFEnSEPos. No. Player NotesWR 7 TJ Jones – So. Tied for third on the team in TD receptions (three) and catches (37); Has 359 yards receiving in 2011WR 9 Robby Toma – Jr. Slot receiver in the mold of Wes Welker; Career-best seven catches for career-high 73 yards against MarylandLT 70 Zack Martin – Jr. 25 straight starts the past two years (23 at LT, two at RT); Most Valuable Lineman in Hyundai Sun BowlLG 66 Chris Watt – Jr. Saw action in all 13 games in '10 as a reserve; Has started all 12 games in 2011C 57 Mike Golic Jr. – Sr. Son of Mike Golic, former Irish and NFL defensive lineman; registered first career start against MarylandRG 78 Trevor Robinson – Sr. Has played in 47 career games and made 39 starts, including the last 28 gamesRT 75 Taylor Dever – Sr. Has played in 41 career games and made 22 starts, including the last 18 games WR 3 Michael Floyd – Sr. Needs six catches and 58 yards to become 8th WR in FBS history to rank among top 25 in yards, catches and TDsTE 80 Tyler Eifert – Jr. Ranks among top two of all FBS TE in rec. (57), rec./game (4.75), rec. yds (713) and rec. yds/game (59.42)QB 11 Tommy Rees – So. Owns a 12-3 record as a starting quarterback; on pace to become third ND QB with 3,000 yards in seasonRB 20 Cierre Wood – Jr. 10th player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in single season (16th different time)

DEFEnSEPos. No. Player NotesDE 90 Ethan Johnson – Sr. Played in first 43 games over Notre Dame career before missing four games; returned against MarylandNG 9 Louis Nix III – So. Registered career-high equaling six tackles in the rout of Maryland on Nov. 12DE 7 Stephon Tuitt – Fr. Recorded career-high seven tackles against USC and Navy; Missed Boston College and Stanford due to illnessOLB 45 Darius Fleming – Sr. Leads Notre Dame with 15.0 career sacks and 32.5 career tackles for loss; Butkus Award candidateILB 5 Manti Te'o – Jr. 17 career games with 10 or more tackles (eight in 2011); Butkus and Lott finalistILB 48 Dan Fox – Jr. Has started all 12 games of the 2011 season at ILB and recorded 46 tacklesOLB 55 Prince Shembo – So. Started nine games in 2011, totaling 29 tackles and two sacksCB 12 Robert Blanton – Sr. 2nd on team in tackles for loss (8.0) and third in tackles (39)S 26 Jamoris Slaughter – Jr. Forced a fumble on Air Force's first offensive play and later added an interception (both turnovers set up TDs)S 22 Harrison Smith – Sr. Only player in ND history to register 200 or more tackles, 15.0 or more TFLs and 15 or more PBUsCB 4 Gary Gray – Sr. Has seen action in 45 career games, with 32 career starts, including each of the last 25 games

SPECIAL TEAMSPos. No. Player NotesPK 97 David Ruffer – Sr. '10 Lou Groza Award finalist; owns school record for consecutive field goals made (23)KO 27 Kyle Brindza – Fr. Averaging 65.1 yards per kickoff on 68 attempts in 2011 with 11 touchbacksP 35 Ben Turk – Jr. Has served as Irish punter each of the last three years; Average of 40.2 yards over 46 punts in 2011H 50 Ryan Kavanagh – Sr. Executed 82 straight hold attempts in 2010 and 2011 combined before mishandling snap on FG attempt at PittSSNP 60 Jordan Cowart – Jr. Takes over short snapping duties for injured Braxston CaveLSNP 50 Ryan Kavanagh – Sr. Assumes long snapping responsibility as well as the holder on field goals and extra pointsPR 3 Michael Floyd – Sr. Recorded fair catches in only career punt return opportunities (Air Force, Navy, Maryland and Stanford) 81 John Goodman – Sr. Averaging 0.6 yards per punt return on eight attempts in 2011KR 34 George Atkinson III – Fr. One of five players in the FBS with at least two kickoff returns for touchdowns in 2011 (equals school record) 28 Austin Collinsworth – So. Son of Cris Collinsworth, former Cincinnati Bengals WR and now NFL analyst on NBC Sports 2 Bennett Jackson – So. Averaged 22.2 yards per return on 29 kickoffs in '10

KEY PROBABLE nOn-STARTERSPos. No. Player NotesRB 6 Theo Riddick – Jr. Recorded eight catches for 83 yards, a 24-yd TD grab and a 14-yd run on a reverse against Air Force on Oct. 8QB 12 Andrew Hendrix – So. Rushed for 115 yards on eight carries, including 78-yard run in Irish debut against Air Force on Oct. 8WR 81 John Goodman – Sr. Has played in 34 career games and recorded 28 catches for 315 yards and one TD; also started four gamesOT 74 Christian Lombard – So. Played in first career game against USFOG 76 Andrew Nuss – Sr. Has played in 38 career games as reserve OL and on special teams, including all 13 in '10TE 82 Alex Welch – So. Picked up first career reception in rout of Navy on Oct. 29TE 18 Ben Koyack – Fr. Picked up first career reception in victory at Pittsburgh on Sept. 24DE 19 Aaron Lynch – Fr. Recorded five tackles, one for loss, a sack, forced fumble and six quarterback hurries against Michigan StateDE 50 Chase Hounshell – Fr. Made four tackles, three assisted stops, in career debut on Oct. 8 against Air ForceNG 98 Sean Cwynar – Sr. Started two games in 2011 and seven over career; 57 tackles in career, including 21 in 2011NG 94 Hafis Williams – Sr. Did not see any action in '08, but has played in 24 games as a reserve in '09, '10 and '11OLB 1 Ishaq Williams – Fr. Rated as 16th overall player by Rivals, 42nd in the ESPNU Top 150 and 45th by Sports IllustratedOLB 13 Danny Spond – So. Saw action in eight games primarily on special teams in '10OLB 58 Troy Niklas – Fr. LA Times lineman of the year in '10; nephew of NFL Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews; first career start vs. MSUILB 44 Carlo Calabrese – Jr. Fifth on the Irish with 60 tackles in '10, including 10 stops and 3.5 TFLs at Boston CollegeILB 54 Anthony McDonald – Sr. Battled injuries throughout career, but has appeared in 26 career games primarily on special teamsCB 2 Bennett Jackson – So. Moved from WR to CB during spring practice; played in 13 games in '10 and made 10 tackles on special teamsCB 23 Lo Wood – So. Registered first career interception against Maryland and returned 57 yards for a touchdownS 17 Zeke Motta – Jr. 14th career start against Stanford; career-high 11 tackles and interception vs. Michigan State in 2010PK 40 Nick Tausch – Jr. Converted 14 straight FG in 2009 to break Mike Johnson's then school record of 13 (1982)

notre DameProbable Starting Lineup

14

Game Notes


u Notre Dame has had five games in 2011 decided by a touchdown or less. Here is a listing of FBS teams with at least five games decided by a total of 20 points or less.

Team Games Total PointsDuke 5 (2-3) 12Baylor 5 (4-1) 14 South Carolina 5 (4-1) 16Navy 6 (1-5, one OT) 18Colorado State 5 (2-3, one OT) 18Hawai‘i 5 (1-4) 18Nevada 5 (2-3) 19Illinois 5 (3-2) 19Notre Dame 5 (3-2) 19Idaho 5 (1-4) 20Texas A&M 5 (1-4) 20

u Here is a listing of FBS teams with at least five games decided by one score.

Team Games Total PointsUtah State 9 (5-4, two OT) 34Kansas State 9 (8-1) 43Miami (Fla.) 8 (2-6) 42San Jose State 7 (4-3) 24Ohio State 7 (2-5 one OT) 36Louisville 7 (2-5) 37Navy 6 (1-5, one OT) 18Louisiana Tech 6 (3-3, two OT) 26Miami (Ohio) 6 (2-4) 30Syracuse 6 (4-2, three in OT) 30Wake Forest 6 (3-3) 30Central Florida 6 (0-6) 31Duke 5 (2-3) 12Baylor 5 (4-1) 14 South Carolina 5 (4-1) 16Colorado State 5 (2-3, one OT) 18Hawai‘i 5 (1-4) 18Illinois 5 (3-2) 19Notre Dame 5 (3-2) 19Nevada 5 (2-3) 19Idaho 5 (1-4) 20Texas A&M 5 (1-4) 20Penn State 5 (4-1) 21Marshall 5 (5-0) 22Central Michigan 5 (2-3) 22Boston College 5 (1-4) 22New Mexico State 5 (3-2) 26

nEvER A DRY MOMEnTu Notre Dame Stadium was evacuated due to inclement weather and lightning just moments after halftime in the season opener against USF. The first half ended at 5:12 p.m. ET. The game resumed at 7:22 p.m. The contest was delayed two hours and 10 minutes at halftime. The game was halted a second time in the fourth quarter for a total of 43 minutes. In all, the game was suspended for two hours and 53 minutes, lasted five hours and 59 minutes and ended at 9:39 p.m. ET.

Offense 2011 Streak CareerFloyd (WR) 12 17 41Robinson (RG) 12 28 39Martin, Z. (LT/RT) 12 25 25Cave (C) 9 - 22Dever (RT) 12 17 22Eifert (TE) 12 19 20Riddick (WR) 9 - 18Jones (WR) 11 6 18Rees (QB) 11 11 15Wood, C. (RB) 8 1 13Watt (OG) 12 12 12Crist (QB) 1 - 10Ragone (TE) - - 9Gray, J. (RB) 4 - 5Toma (WR) 3 3 5Goodman (WR) - - 4Mike Golic Jr. (C) 3 3 3Koyack (TE) 1 - 1

Defense 2011 Streak CareerSmith, H. (S) 12 37 46Johnson (DE) 8 3 36Fleming (OLB) 12 25 35Te'o (ILB) 12 34 35Gray, G. (CB) 12 32 32Lewis-Moore (DE) 7 - 29Blanton (CB) 12 12 25Slaughter (S) 9 - 15Motta (S) 6 3 14Fox (ILB) 12 12 12Nix III (NG) 10 4 10Shembo (OLB) 9 1 9Calabrese (ILB) - - 8Cwynar (NG) 2 - 7Lynch (DE) 5 2 5Tuitt (DT) 3 - 3Niklas (OLB) 1 - 1

Longest Active StreaksSmith, H. (S) 37Te'o (ILB) 34Gray, G. (CB) 32Robinson (RG) 28

Most Career Starts (Active)Smith, H. (S) 46Floyd (WR) 41Robinson (RG) 39Johnson (DE) 36Fleming (OLB) 35Te'o (ILB) 35

StarterSheet

—OFFEnSE—WR LT LG C RG RT TE WR QB WR RBJones (18) Martin, Z. (23) Watt (12) Cave (22) Robinson (39) Dever (22) Eifert (20) Floyd (41) Rees (15) Riddick (17) Wood (13) Golic Jr. (3) Martin, Z. (2) Ragone (9) Goodman (3) Crist (10) Toma (5) Gray, J. (5)—DEFEnSE— Koyack (1) Riddick (1)DE NG DE OLB ILB ILB OLB CB S S CBLewis-Moore (29) Nix III (10) Johnson (36) Fleming (34) Fox (12) Te'o (35) Smith, H. (14) Blanton (24) Smith, H. (32) Slaughter (15) Gray, G. (32)Tuitt (2) *Cwynar (7) Lynch (5) Calabrese (8) Shembo (8) Motta (14)*Fleming (1) *Tuitt (1) *Shembo (1) Niklas (1)* indicates Irish 4-2-5 alignment against Navy on Oct. 29, 2011

Career StartsBy Position


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BOWL HISTORY


u It is believed to be the first weather related delay in Notre Dame history – home or away.u According to Steve Boda, long-time NCAA statistics staffer and a particular expert on Notre Dame football history, the closest a Notre Dame game came to being postponed by weather was the 1923 season finale at St. Louis University. The game was played on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 29). There was a drenching, non-stop rain and the field was ankle-deep in mud. Knute Rockne proposed the game be postponed until the following day, but there already were 9,000 fans in attendance and St. Louis did not agree. The game went on as scheduled, Notre Dame won 13-0 and the teams combined for 22 fumbles in the game.u The game officially goes into the record books as the longest in terms of time in school history. Longest recent Notre Dame games included the 4:01 quadruple overtime loss at home to Pitt in 2008 and another 4:01 marathon in the 44-41 overtime defeat to Michigan State at home in 2005.

nOTRE DAME FIRSTSuNotre Dame has played a total of 10 freshmen in 2011 and another nine sophomores that did not see game action as rookies in 2010. In all, the Irish have used 19 first-year players this season.

First-Year Players in 2011No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown (High School)34 George Atkinson III RB 6-1 1/4 200 Fr. Stockton, CA/Granada43 Josh Atkinson CB 5-11 1/2 185 Fr. Stockton, CA/Granada27 Kyle Brindza K/P 6-1 219 Fr. Canton, MI/Plymouth51 Bruce Heggie C/OG 6-5 280 So. Sorrento, FL/Mount Dora12 Andrew Hendrix QB 6-2 220 So. Cincinnati, OH/Moeller50 Chase Hounshell DE 6-4 1/4 265 Fr. Kirtland, OH/Lake Catholic18 Ben Koyack TE 6-5 253 Fr. Oil City, PA/Oil City74 Christian Lombard OT 6-5 301 So. Inverness, IL/Fremd19 Aaron Lynch DE 6-6 265 Fr. Cape Coral, FL/Island Coast14 Luke Massa WR 6-4 220 So. Cincinnati, OH/St. Xavier33 Cam McDaniel RB 5-9 3/4 192 Fr. Coppell,TX/Coppell8 Kendall Moore ILB 6-1 242 So. Raleigh, NC/Southeast Raleigh64 Tate Nichols OT 6-8 320 So. Walton, KY/Ryle58 Troy Niklas OLB 6-6.5 250 Fr. Fullerton, CA/Servite9 Louis Nix III NG 6-3 326 So. Jacksonville, FL/Raines7 Stephon Tuitt DE 6-6 1/4 295 Fr. Monroe, GA/Monroe53 Justin Utupo ILB 6-1 251 So. Lakewood, CA/Lakewood82 Alex Welch TE 6-4 245 So. Cincinnati, OH/Elder1 Ishaq Williams OLB 6-5 255 Fr. Brooklyn, NY/Lincoln

uSophomore QB Andrew Hendrix tossed his first career touchdown pass and collected his first career touchdown run in the 28-14 defeat at No. 4 Stanford on Nov. 26. Hendrix, who played the entire second half, completed 11 of 24 passes for 192 yards. uSenior C Mike Golic Jr. registered his first career start for Notre Dame on Nov. 12 against Maryland. He has started the final three games of the season in replace of injured senior C Braxston Cave.

Player Category No. NeedsTyler Eifert Catches 60 3 to become eighth ND player with 60 or more catches in seasonTyler Eifert Catches 100 16 to become third ND TE with 100 career catchesTyler Eifert Receiving Yards 798 85 to set single-season school record for yards by a tight endTyler Eifert Receiving Yards 1,103 38 to move into second place on single-season receiving yards list by ND TEMichael Floyd Yards/Catches 272/3,703 6/58 to become 8th WR in FBS history to rank among top 25 in career yards, catches and TDsMichael Floyd Receiving Yards 3,867 222 to move into 20th in FBS history for career receiving yardsMichael Floyd Receiving Yards 3,703 58 to move into 25th in FBS history for career receiving yardsMichael Floyd Receiving Yards 1,250 144 to become second ND WR with 1,250 yards in seasonMichael Floyd Catches 272 6 catches to become 25th player in FBS history with at least 272Michael Floyd Catches 272 6 catches to become 9th WR in FBS history to rank among top 25 in career catches and TDsMichael Floyd Catches 100 5 catches to become 1st ND WR with 100 in seasonTommy Rees Pass Attempts 400 16 to become third ND QB with 400 in seasonTommy Rees Passing Yards 3,000 292 to become third ND QB with 3,000 yards in seasonTommy Rees Passing Yards 4,000 186 to become 10th ND QB with 4,000 yards in careerTommy Rees TD Passes 20 1 to become third ND QB with 20 TD passes in seasonTommy Rees TD Passes 35 4 to become fifth ND QB with 35 TD passes in careerTommy Rees Total Yards 3,000 320 to become third ND QB with 3,000 yards in seasonCierre Wood Rushing Yards 1,177 135 to move into 10th on the ND single-season rushing yards listGeorge Atkinson III Kick Return TDs 3 1 to set ND single-season record for kick return TDsDarius Fleming Sacks 34.5 2.0 to move into top all-time at ND in both career sacks and tackles for loss

Irish MilestonesWithin Reach

MOnEY RUSHERS 1st TD No. Att.Cierre Wood 53 9 60 199Jonas Gray 38 12 45 114Andrew Hendrix 6 1 7 18Tommy Rees 7 0 7 18George Atkinson III 1 2 3 9Theo Riddick 1 0 1 6Dayne Crist 1 0 1 4Michael Floyd 0 1 1 2Totals 107 25 125 385

MOnEY RECEPTIOnS 1st TD No. Rec.Michael Floyd 57 8 59 95Tyler Eifert 42 5 44 57Theo Riddick 16 3 17 36TJ Jones 16 3 16 37Robby Toma 11 1 11 15Cierre Wood 6 0 6 26John Goodman 2 0 2 7Jonas Gray 2 0 2 6Mike Ragone 1 0 1 1Totals 153 20 158 283

3RD DOWn MOnEY RUSHERS 1st TD No. Att.Cierre Wood 11 1 12 23Jonas Gray 10 2 10 15Tommy Rees 3 0 3 5George Atkinson III 0 2 2 3Andrew Hendrix 1 0 1 1Totals 25 5 28 50

3RD DOWn MOnEY RECEPTIOnS 1st TD No. Rec.Tyler Eifert 18 2 18 20Michael Floyd 15 1 15 19Theo Riddick 4 2 5 5TJ Jones 4 1 4 5John Goodman 2 0 2 3Jonas Gray 1 0 1 1Robby Toma 1 0 1 1Totals 45 6 46 61Money plays result in either a first down, touchdown or both.

15-YARD PLUS BY PLAYERPlayer No. TD R P KR PR IR FRGeorge Atkinson III 28 2 1 0 27 0 0 0Michael Floyd 26 6 0 26 0 0 0 0Cierre Wood 17 2 13 4 0 0 0 0Theo Riddick 16 2 0 10 6 0 0 0Tyler Eifert 16 2 0 16 0 0 0 0Jonas Gray 12 3 11 1 0 0 0 0TJ Jones 8 2 0 8 0 0 0 0Robby Toma 5 0 0 5 0 0 0 0Austin Collinsworth 5 0 0 0 5 0 0 0Lo Wood 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0Cam McDaniel 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0Andrew Hendrix 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0John Goodman 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0Bennett Jackson 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0Robert Blanton 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0Total 141 20 27 71 40 0 3 0

notre Dame"Money" Plays

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Game Notes


Category Rank Stat National Leader StatRushing Offense 51 166.00 Army 350.91 Passing Offense 33 258.08 Houston 443.77 Total Offense 33 424.08 Houston 599.00 Scoring Offense 43 30.50 Houston 50.77 Rushing Defense 58 147.08 Alabama 74.92 Pass Efficiency Defense 56 127.31 Alabama 83.97 Total Defense 34 349.25 Alabama 191.25 Scoring Defense 28 20.92 Alabama 8.83 Net Punting 104 34.04 Florida State 42.04 Punt Returns 120 0.30 FIU 15.93 Kickoff Returns 33 23.27 TCU 28.57 Turnover Margin 116 -1.08 LSU 1.69 Pass Defense 34 202.17 Alabama 116.33 Passing Efficiency 53 132.67 Baylor 194.07 Sacks 79 1.67 Cincinnati 3.58 Tackles For Loss 83 5.17 Cincinnati 8.92 Sacks Allowed 17 1.08 Texas A&M 0.67

Rushing Passing EfficiencyCierre Wood 46th 86.83 Tommy Rees 54th 135.20Jonas Gray 72nd 71.91

Total Offense Receptions Per GameTommy Rees 61st 223.33 Michael Floyd 9th 7.92 Tyler Eifert t-82nd 4.75

Receiving Yards Per Game PuntingMichael Floyd 25th 92.17 Ben Turk 60th 40.24Tyler Eifert t-91st 59.42

Kickoff Returns Field GoalsGeorge Atkinson III 15th 27.40 David Ruffer t-70th 0.83

Scoring TacklesJonas Gray t-92nd 6.55 Manti Te'o t-27th 9.58

Tackles for LossManti Te'o t-58th 1.08

Category Rank PlayerReceiving Touchdowns 3 Michael Floyd, Notre DameField Goal Percentage 8 David Ruffer, Notre DameReceiving Yards 4 Michael Floyd, Notre DameReceptions 6 Michael Floyd, Notre DameReceiving Yards/Game 7 Michael Floyd, Notre DameReceptions/Game 9 Michael Floyd, Notre DameKickoff Return Touchdowns 15 George Atkinson III, Notre DameScoring Touchdowns 14 Michael Floyd, Notre DameAll-Purpose Touchdowns 14 Michael Floyd, Notre DameTackles/Game 14 Manti Te'o, Notre DameCompletion Percentage 19 Tommy Rees, Notre DameSolo Tackles 16 Harrison Smith, Notre DameSolo Tackles for Loss 20 Darius Fleming, Notre DameAssisted Tackles 18 Manti Te'o, Notre DameAssisted Sacks 19 Ethan Johnson, Notre Dame

Irish Among2011 national Leaders

Irish AmongActive Career national Leaders

uSenior RB Jonas Gray recorded his first career 100-yard rush-ing game in the rout of Maryland on Nov. 12. Gray ran for 136 yards on 21 carries and added two touchdowns. He has 12 rushing touchdowns this season, which is the most by an Irish running back since Autry Denson had 15 in 1998. uGray became the first Irish running back with three rushing touchdowns in the same game (Oct. 29 vs. Navy) since Travis Thomas had three against the Midshipmen on Nov. 3, 2007. He became the first player with three rushing TDs in a non-overtime game since Darius Walker had three against Ohio State in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. Gray also was the first Notre Dame player with three rushing TDs in a regular season game since Raeshon Powers-Neal at Pittsburgh on Sept. 3, 2005. He also registered at least one rushing touchdown in five straight games. Gray was the first Irish running back to accomplish that feat since Ryan Grant in 2002.uSenior WR Michael Floyd recorded his first career rushing touchdown against Navy on Oct. 29 that pushed the Irish lead to 42-7.uAtkinson III collected his second kickoff return for touchdown on Oct. 22 against USC. He registered a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown – the longest at Notre Dame Stadium since Julius Jones went 100 yards against Nebraska on Sept. 9, 2000. It also was tied for the fifth-longest in Notre Dame Stadium history. Atkinson III was the first Irish player to have multiple kickoff returns for touchdowns in the same season since Allen Rossum in 1997. uThe two touchdown kickoff returns in a single-season equals the Notre Dame school record. Atkinson is the second Notre Dame freshman to ever return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same season. Raghib “Rocket” Ismail had a pair in 1988.uAtkinson was the fourth FBS player to register a pair of kickoff returns for touchdowns in 2011.uSophomore QB Andrew Hendrix made his debut in an Irish uniform against Air Force. Hendrix completed four of four passes for 33 yards. He also finished with 111 yards rushing on six carries, which was the most rushing yards by an Irish quarterback since Carlyle Holiday had 130 yards on Oct. 13, 2001, against West Virginia. The 111 yards on the ground is the sixth-most ever by a Notre Dame signal caller. Hendrix was the first Irish quarterback to run for 100 yards since Holiday on Oct. 27, 2001, at Boston College. His 78-yard run was the second-longest in school history by a Notre Dame quarterback.uJunior WR Robby Toma collected his first career touchdown reception against Air Force. Toma hauled in a 10-yard pass from Rees with 4:07 to go in the first quarter to give the Irish a 21-3 lead.uFreshman RB George Atkinson III collected his first career touchdown run against Air Force. Atkinson III leapt into the end zone from one-yard out to make the score, 59-19, in favor of Notre Dame. Twin brother DB Josh Atkinson also made his Irish debut against the Falcons.uFreshman DE Chase Hounshell made his first appearance for Notre Dame against Air Force and registered four tackles.uFreshman DE Aaron Lynch and freshman TE Ben Koyack both made their first career starts against Air Force.uA number of Irish players established firsts in the 38-10 rout of Purdue on Oct. 1. Freshman RB Cam McDaniel not only made his first career appearance, but the rookie registered his first career carry. Freshman RB George Atkinson III picked up his first career reception – a 10-yard screen pass. Sophomore WR Luke Massa made his first career appearance. Sophomore DE Kona Schwenke, senior QB Matt Mulvey and senior WR Deion Walker each saw their first game action of 2011.uSenior RB Jonas Gray certainly made the most of his first career rushing touchdown. He raced 79 yards for a touchdown to give the Irish a 7-3 lead at Pittsburgh. The 79-yard run was the longest by an Irish player since Terrance Howard went 80 yards for a touchdown at West Virginia on Oct. 21, 2000.


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uFreshman TE Ben Koyack, from Oil City, Pa., registered his first career reception against Pittsburgh. Koyack hauled in a five-yard pass on Notre Dame’s opening drive of the game.uFreshman OLB Troy Niklas made his first career start in the victory over No. 15 Michigan State.uA pair of freshman – RB George Atkinson III and DE Aaron Lynch – played critical roles in the Irish victory over the Spartans. uAtkinson returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to give Notre Dame a 14-3 lead with 1:20 remaining in the first quarter. He was the first Irish freshman to return a kickoff for a touchdown since Raghib “Rocket” Ismail had two kickoff returns for touchdown against Rice on Nov. 6, 1988. Atkinson was the first Notre Dame player to return a kickoff for a touchdown since Armando Allen Jr. raced 96 yards for a score against Hawai’i in the 2008 Hawai’i Bowl. He recorded the first kickoff return for a touchdown by an Irish player at Notre Dame Stadium since Julius Jones against No. 1 Nebraska on Sept. 9, 2000.uLynch – seeing the most playing time to that point of his Irish career – absolutely dominated his counterparts on the Michigan State offensive line. He recorded six quarterback hurries, one sack, a forced fumble and five tackles.uFreshman TE Ben Koyack and sophomore LB Justin Utupo made their first career appearances at Michigan.uJunior OG Chris Watt, junior ILB Dan Fox and sophomore OLB Prince Shembo all registered their first career start in the season opener against USF.uThe Irish played a total of six freshmen against USF: OLB Ishaq Williams, DE Stephon Tuitt, DE Aaron Lynch, K Kyle Brindza, RB George Atkinson III and OLB Troy Niklas.uThe following Notre Dame players, excluding freshmen, made their first career appearance against the Bulls: ILB Kendall Moore, NG Louis Nix III, OT Christian Lombard and TE Alex Welch.

OnLY THE BIG BOYSuNotre Dame is one of just three NCAA FBS programs to have not faced a non-FBS opponent since the current setup was established in 1978. The two other remaining schools that have yet to play a non-FBS opponent are USC and UCLA.

2011 nOTRE DAME OPPOnEnT UPDATEuNotre Dame and USC were the only two FBS schools to face an opponent from a Bowl Championship Series automatic qualifying confer-ence over the first five weeks of the 2011 campaign. uEven more remarkable, only 17 schools faced two such opponents over the first two games of '11 and only four of those 17 schools compete in a BCS AQ conference – Maryland, Miami (Fla.), Wake Forest and USC. Not one member from the SEC, Big Ten, BIG EAST or Big 12 could make such a claim.uTwo of Notre Dame's losses have come by a combined seven points – 23-20 vs. USF and 35-31 at Michigan – and its other two losses came to USC (10-2) and Stanford (11-1). The Wolverines, Trojans and Cardinal have all won at least 10 games and have combined for a 31-5 (.861) record.uNotre Dame played four teams this year that finished the regular season with at least 10 victories (Michigan, Michigan State, USC and Stanford). uThe Irish are one of eight teams in the FBS to play at least four teams with 10 or more wins. Arizona (four), Auburn (five), Florida (four), Minnesota (four), Mississippi (four), Mississippi State (five) and Vanderbilt (four) are the other seven schools.uNotre Dame's No. 1 ranking in the NCAA strength-of-schedule standings in 2010 was its highest since a No. 1 ranking in 1995. The .650 winning percentage of Irish opponents made for its strongest schedule faced in 21 years – since a .655 percentage when Notre Dame finished tops in the toughest-schedule derby in 1989.uThe Irish have a long history of playing challenging schedules - with Notre Dame ranking (since the NCAA began this rating in 1977) first in 1978, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1995 and 2010; third in 1986, 1999, 2003; and fourth in 1979 and 1990. That makes for 11 top-four finishes in that category in the 34 years the NCAA has calculated these numbers.uThe following is a list of 2011 Notre Dame opponents and how they fared last week:

Opponent '11 Record Last Week (Result)USF 5-7 L, 27-30 vs. West Virginiaat Michigan 10-2 W, 40-34 vs. Ohio StateMichigan State 10-3 L, 39-42 vs. Wisconsinat Pittsburgh 6-6 W, 33-20 vs. Syracuseat Purdue 6-6 W, 33-25 at IndianaAir Force 7-5 W, 45-21 at Colorado StateUSC 10-2 W, 50-0 vs. UCLANavy 5-7 W, 27-21 vs. Armyat Wake Forest 6-6 L, 7-41 vs. Vanderbiltvs. Maryland 2-10 L, 41-56 at North Carolina StateBoston College 4-8 W, 24-17 at Miami (Fla.)at Stanford 11-1 W, 28-14 vs. Notre DameNotre Dame 2011 Opponents' Combined Record: 82-63 (.566)

uNotre Dame faced eight teams that finished with a .500 record or better – seven of which reached a bowl game. USC went 10-2 and finished the season ranked No. 5 in the AP poll, but was not eligible for a bowl game due to NCAA sanctions.

Rushing Yards - Game (Quarterback)1. Bill Etter 146-11 vs. Navy, Nov. 1, 19692. Tony Rice 141-26 at Penn State, Nov. 18, 19893. Carlyle Holiday 130-30 vs. West Virginia, Oct. 13, 20014. Carlyle Holiday 122-19 vs. Pittsburgh, Oct. 6, 20015. Andrew Hendrix 111-6 vs. Air Force, Oct. 8, 20116. Carlyle Holiday 109-22 at Boston College, Oct. 27, 20017. Arnaz Battle 107-14 vs. Nebraska, Sept. 9, 2000 Jarious Jackson 107-15 vs. Oklahoma, Oct. 2, 1999 Tony Rice 107-14 vs. Stanford, Oct. 1, 198810. Paul Hornung 101-11 vs. SMU, Sept. 22, 1956

Avg. per Rush - Season (min. 100 attempts)1. George Gipp 8.1 (1920)2. Reggie Brooks 8.0 (1992)3. John Panelli 7.5 (1948) Marchy Schwartz 7.5 (1930)5. Don Miller 7.1 (1924)6. Jonas Gray 6.94 (2011)7. George Gipp 6.87 (1919)

Rushing Touchdowns - Game1. Art Smith 7 vs. Loyola (Chicago), Oct. 28, 19112. Bill Downs 6 vs. DePauw, Nov. 4, 19053. Allen Pinkett 4 vs. Penn State, Nov. 17, 1984 Allen Pinkett 4 at Penn State, Nov. 12, 1983 Frank Lonergan 4 vs. Chi. Phys./Surg., Oct. 29, 1903 Frank Lonergan 4 vs. DePauw, Oct. 17, 19037. Jonas Gray 3 vs. Navy, Oct. 29, 2011 Travis Thomas 3 vs. Navy, Nov. 3, 2007 Rashon Powers-Neal 3 at Pittsburgh, Sept. 3, 2005 Julius Jones 3 vs. BYU, Nov. 15, 2003 Reggie Brooks 3 at USC, Nov. 28, 1992 Reggie Brooks 3 vs. Purdue, Sept. 26, 1992 Louis Salmon 3 vs. Lake Forest, Oct. 11, 1902

Rushing Touchdowns - Season1. Vagas Ferguson 17 (1979) Allen Pinkett 17 (1984)3. Bill Downs 16 (1905) Allen Pinkett 16 (1983) Jerome Bettis 16 (1991)6. Autry Denson 15 (1998)7. Bob Gladieux 14 (1968)8. Reggie Brooks 13 (1992)9. Jonas Gray 12 (2011) Al Hunter 12 (1976) Autry Denson 12 (1997)

Pass Attempts - Game1. Terry Hanratty 63 at Purdue, Sept. 30, 19672. Brady Quinn 60 vs. Michigan St., Sept. 17, 20053. Brady Quinn 59 at Purdue, Sept. 27, 20034. Joe Theismann 58 at USC, Nov. 28, 19705. Dayne Crist 55 at Michigan St., Sept. 18, 20106. Tommy Rees 54 vs. Tulsa, Oct. 30, 20107. Brady Quinn 52 vs. Florida State, Nov. 1, 20038. Jimmy Clausen 51 vs. Navy, Nov. 7, 20099. Jimmy Clausen 48 at North Carolina, Oct. 11, 2008 Brady Quinn 48 vs. Michigan, Sept. 16, 2006

Eye OnCareer Records

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Game Notes


Pass Attempts - Season1. Brady Quinn 467 (2006)2. Brady Quinn 450 (2005)3. Jimmy Clausen 440 (2008)4. Jimmy Clausen 425 (2009)5. Tommy Rees 384 (2011)6. Brady Quinn 353 (2004)7. Brady Quinn 332 (2003)8. Jarious Jackson 316 (1999)9. Ron Powlus 298 (1997)10. Dayne Crist 294 (2010)

Pass Attempts - Career1. Brady Quinn 1,602 (2003-06)2. Jimmy Clausen 1,110 (2007-09)3. Ron Powlus 969 (1994-97)4. Steve Beuerlein 850 (1983-86)5. Rick Mirer 698 (1989-92)6. Blair Kiel 609 (1980-83)7. Terry Hanratty 550 (1966-68)8. Tommy Rees 548 (2010-)9. Jarious Jackson 536 (1996-99)10. Joe Montana 515 (1975-78)

Attempts per Game - Season1. Brady Quinn 37.5 (450/12), 20052. Brady Quinn 35.9 (467/13), 20063. Jimmy Clausen 35.4 (425/12), 20094. Jimmy Clausen 33.8 (440/13), 20085. Dayne Crist 32.7 (294/9), 20106. Tommy Rees 32.0 (384/12), 20117. Brady Quinn 29.4 (353/12), 20048. Terry Hanratty 28.1 (197/7), 19689. Brady Quinn 27.7 (332/12), 2003

Attempts per Game - Career1. Brady Quinn 32.7 (1602/49), 2003-062. Jimmy Clausen 31.7 (1110/35), 2007-093. Tommy Rees 26.1 (548/21), 2010-4. Ron Powlus 21.9 (964/44), 1994-975. Terry Hanratty 21.2 (550/26), 1966-686. Dayne Crist 19.9 (338/17), 2008-11

Completions - Game1. Jimmy Clausen 37 vs. Navy, Nov. 7, 20092. Tommy Rees 33 vs. Tulsa, Oct. 30, 2010 Joe Theismann 33 at USC, Nov. 28, 1970 Brady Quinn 33 vs. Michigan St., Sept. 17, 20055. Dayne Crist 32 at Michigan St., Sept. 18, 2010 Brady Quinn 32 vs. BYU, Oct. 22, 20057. Jimmy Clausen 31 at North Carolina, Oct. 11, 2008 Ron Powlus 31 at Purdue, Sept. 13, 19979. Tommy Rees 30 vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 2011 Jimmy Clausen 30 vs. Connecticut, Nov. 21, 2009


HEARTBREAK CITY uTwo of Notre Dame’s four losses have come by a combined seven points – 23-20 vs. USF and 35-31 at Michigan.uFive of second-year head coach Brian Kelly's nine losses at Notre Dame have come by a combined 15 points.uNotre Dame regained a 31-28 lead with 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter at Michigan. Had the Irish held on, the touchdown would have been the sixth-latest gamewinning touchdown in school history (excluding overtime), but Michigan added a touchdown with two seconds left to secure the victory. uThe Wolverines' touchdown was the latest a Notre Dame foe has ever recorded a winning touchdown in regulation. The previous mark was Matt Leinart's one-yard sneak for USC in 2005 (0:03).uThe game with Michigan marked the 15th time in the program's history that a game involving Notre Dame has had the winning points scored with three seconds or less in a game (seven wins, eight losses).uAmazingly, in Notre Dame's eight losses with less than three seconds left in regulation, the Irish actually scored a touchdown to take the lead in the final 1:32 of the contests six times, including the touchdown reception by junior WR Theo Riddick with 30 seconds left against Michigan.uThe game marked the first in school history that featured a Notre Dame go-ahead touchdown in the final minute only to also include an opponent go-ahead touchdown. The other two games in school history the Irish took a lead in the final minute and lost came with field goals – Remy Hamilton's 42-yarder with two seconds left to give Michigan a 26-24 victory in 1994 and Frank Jordan's 37-yarder with two seconds left to give USC a 27-25 triumph in 1978.

THE 2011 CAPTAInSuNotre Dame reinstated an old tradition in 2010, designating captains on a game-by-game basis for only the third time in school history. Back in 1946, legendary head coach Frank Leahy elected to choose captains for each game – the result was an 8-0-1 record and the fifth of Notre Dame’s 11 national championships. The Irish also designated captains on a game-by-game basis from 2002-04 as well, but the team voted on season captains following the regular season. u Senior S Harrison Smith is Notre Dame’s lone season captain. He is the first Irish lone season captain since 1999 when Jarious Jackson held the individual honor. The other single individual captains for Notre Dame in the last 40 years include Rodney Culver (1991) and Mike Kovaleski (1986). uIn addition to Smith, the Irish will continue to name gameday captains. The 2011 gameday captains have been as follows:

USF: Robert Blanton and Trevor Robinson Michigan: Zack MartinMichigan State: Ethan Johnson Pittsburgh: Taylor DeverPurdue: Tyler Eifert Air Force: Jonas GrayUSC: Manti Te’o and Cierre Wood Navy: Chris SalviWake Forest: Robert Blanton Maryland: Darius FlemingBoston College: None Stanford: Taylor Dever

KELLY In THE POSTSEASOnuBrian Kelly, in his 21st season as a collegiate head coach, owns a 14-5 (.737) postseason record. That includes an 11-4 mark in NCAA Division II playoffs during his tenure at Grand Valley State (national champions in 2002 and 2003). Kelly's Cincinnati teams defeated Western Michigan, 27-24, in the International Bowl following the 2006 season (just after taking the Bearcat job), defeated Southern Mississippi, 31-21, in the Papajohns.com Bowl in 2007 and then fell 20-7 in 2008 to Virginia Tech in the Bowl Championship Series FedEx Orange Bowl. In 2009, Kelly coached his Cincinnati team to a 12-0 record and an invitation to the Allstate Sugar Bowl, but he did not coach that game after accept-ing the job at Notre Dame. uLast year, Kelly led the Irish to a 33-17 rout of Miami (Fla.) in the Hyundai Sun Bowl.

Brian Kelly Bob Diaco Charley Molnar Tony Alford Kerry Cooks Mike Denbrock Sidelines Press Box Press Box Sidelines Sidelines Press Box

Mike Elston Tim Hinton Chuck Martin Ed Warinner Jon Carpenter Michael Painter Sidelines Press Box Sidelines Sidelines Press Box Press Box

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Completions - Season1. Brady Quinn 292 (2005)2. Jimmy Clausen 289 (2009) Brady Quinn 289 (2006)4. Jimmy Clausen 268 (2008)5. Tommy Rees 253 (2011)6. Brady Quinn 191 (2004)7. Jarious Jackson 184 (1999)8. Ron Powlus 182 (1997)9. Dayne Crist 174 (2010)10. Brady Quinn 157 (2003)

Completions - Career1. Brady Quinn 929 (2003-06)2. Jimmy Clausen 695 (2007-09)3. Ron Powlus 558 (1994-97)4. Steve Beuerlein 473 (1983-86)5. Rick Mirer 377 (1989-92)6. Tommy Rees 353 (2010-)7. Jarious Jackson 306 (1996-99)8. Terry Hanratty 304 (1966-68)9. Blair Kiel 297 (1980-83)10. Joe Theismann 290 (1968-70)

Consecutive Completions - Game1. Tommy Rees 14 vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 2011 Brady Quinn 14 vs. Ohio State, Jan. 2, 2006* Ron Powlus 14 vs. Michigan State, Sept. 20, 19974. Dayne Crist 12 vs. Pittsburgh, Sept. 9, 2010 Jarious Jackson 12 vs. Navy, Nov. 14, 1998 Brady Quinn 12 vs. BYU, Oct. 22, 20057. Jimmy Clausen 11 vs. Washington State, Oct. 31, 2009 Brady Quinn 11 at Pittsburgh, Sept. 3, 2005 Brady Quinn 11 at Purdue, Oct. 1, 2005* Fiesta Bowl

Consecutive Completions - Year1. Tommy Rees 14 (2011) Ron Powlus 14 (1997) Brady Quinn 14 (2005)4. Dayne Crist 12 (2010) Jimmy Clausen 12 (2009) Jarious Jackson 12 (1998) Brady Quinn 12 (2005)8. Jimmy Clausen 11 (2009) Ron Powlus 11 (1996) Brady Quinn 11 (2005) Brady Quinn 11 (2005)

Completions per Game - Season1. Brady Quinn 24.3 (292/12), 20052. Jimmy Clausen 24.1 (289/12), 20093. Brady Quinn 22.2 (289/13), 20064. Tommy Rees 21.1 (253/12), 20115. Jimmy Clausen 20.6 (268/13), 20086. Dayne Crist 19.3 (174/9), 20107. Terry Hanratty 16.6 (116/7), 1968


FIRST-YEAR SUCCESSuBrian Kelly was one of 22 head coaches at the FBS level that took over new programs in 2010. Out of the that group, Kelly was one of just five coaches that produced at least eight wins and one of just four that led their teams to a bowl victory. Jimbo Fisher at Florida State led the group with 10 wins, while three other coaches, Skip Holtz at USF, Lane Kiffin at USC and Tommy Tuberville at Texas Tech, each secured eight victories. Out of the five coaches who won at least eight games, only Kelly, Fisher and Holtz exceeded their team's win total from the previous season. Kelly, Holtz, Tuberville and Louisville’s Charlie Strong were the coaches that won bowl games.uNotre Dame has had 15 different head coaches, including Brian Kelly, walk the sidelines in the all-time series with rival USC. Kelly became the first Irish head coach to knock off the Trojans in his first meeting since Lou Holtz. uThe other six coaches to knock off USC in their first matchup: Hugh Devore (1963), Joe Kuharich (1959), Terry Brennan (1954), Frank Leahy (1941), Elmer Layden (1934) and Knute Rockne (1926).uKelly became the first Irish coach in school history to capture a bowl game in his inaugural season with Notre Dame.

EIGHT IS nOT EnOUGH, BUTuBrian Kelly has won at least eight games in each of his first two seasons on the Notre Dame sidelines. Lou Holtz, Ara Parseghian, Frank Leahy and Knute Rockne – who combined to win 10 consensus national championships – failed to accomplish this feat.uKelly joins Charlie Weis, Dan Devine and Terry Brennan as the only Irish coaches to win eight or more games in each of their first two seasons at Notre Dame.

KELLY SQUADS KnOW HOW TO FInISHuIn his 21 years as a head coach, Brian Kelly led teams are at their best late in the year – 54-14 (.794) in November and 63-16 (.797) in November/December/January games combined.uKelly registered 18 consecutive victories in the months of November and December before the regular season finale loss at No. 4 Stanford. It marked the first loss for a Kelly coached team in November or December since Nov. 17, 2007 – a 28-23 setback to West Virginia while coaching Cincinnati. uKelly is 24-3 in the months of November and December since the start of the 2006 campaign.

KELLY'S WInnInG WAYSuIn his two years at Notre Dame, Brian Kelly has helped the Irish secure a 15-2 record when entering halftime with a lead and 14-2 mark when leading after three quarters.uKelly is 159-10 in his coaching career when taking a lead into the fourth quarter and 95-4 since 2001. He owns a 147-12 record when taking a lead into halftime, including an 92-4 mark since 2001. uKelly registered his first victory at Notre Dame when trailing at halftime at Wake Forest on Nov. 5. The Irish had lost their five previous games when trailing at intermission under Kelly.uHere are a couple other pretty remarkable win-loss records during Kelly's career: uKelly is 12-2 coming off a bye week. uKelly is 124-22 when scoring first. uKelly is 150-22-1 when outrushing his opponent. uKelly is 112-12 when his team wins the turnover battle. uKelly is 35-14-2 in games decided by three points or less. uKelly is 62-4-1 when his team gets a defensive or special teams touchdown. uKelly is 54-14 in the month of November, including a 20-3 mark since 2006. uKelly is 121-7 when his team scores 30 or more points, including a 71-1 mark with 40 or more points. uKelly is 119-5-1 when his team allows 19 points or less. uKelly is 135-36-1 coming off a victory. uKelly coached teams own a 57-game winning streak in games where they hold their opponents to less than 20 points. Kelly has not lost such a game since Dec. 8, 2001 when North Dakota edged Grand Valley State, 17-14, in the NCAA Division II title game.

uSince 2001, Brian Kelly has totaled the third-most wins among all active FBS coaches. Kelly is 110-33 over the last 11 seasons and trails only Bob Stoops (117-29) and Mack Brown (113-27) for the best coaching record this decade.

Winningest Active NCAA FBS Coaches (By Victories, Since 2001) Name, School W L T Pct.1. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma 117 29 0 .8012. Mack Brown, Texas 113 27 0 .8073. Brian Kelly, Notre Dame 110 33 0 .7694. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech 109 36 0 .7525. Gary Patterson, TCU 107 30 0 .7816. Mark Richt, Georgia 105 37 0 .7397. Les Miles, LSU 101 38 0 .7278. Nick Saban, Alabama 93 24 0 .7959. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa 92 45 0 .67210. Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech 90 49 0 .647

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Completions per Game - Career1. Jimmy Clausen 19.9 (695/35), 2007-092. Brady Quinn 19.0 (929/49), 2003-063. Tommy Rees 16.8 (353/21), 2008-4. Ron Powlus 12.7 (558/44), 1994-975. Dayne Crist 11.7 (199/17), 2008-11 Terry Hanratty 11.7 (304/26), 1966-68

Completion Percentage - Season (min. 100 att.)1. Jimmy Clausen 68.0 (2009)2. Tommy Rees 65.9 (2011)3. Brady Quinn 64.9 (2005)4. Brady Quinn 61.9 (2006)5. Kevin McDougal 61.6 (1993)6. Ron Powlus 61.1 (1997)7. Tommy Rees 61.0 (2010)8. Jimmy Clausen 60.9 (2008)9. Steve Beuerlein 60.3 (1984)10. Dayne Crist 59.2 (2010)

Completion Percentage - Career (min. 150 att.)1. Tommy Rees 64.4 (2010-)2. Jimmy Clausen 62.6 (2007-09)3. Kevin McDougal 62.2 (1990-93)4. Dayne Crist 58.9 (2008-11)5. Brady Quinn 58.0 (2003-06)6. Ron Powlus 57.6 (1994-97)7. Jarious Jackson 57.1 (1996-99)8. Joe Theismann 57.0 (1968-70)9. Steve Beuerlein 55.6 (1983-86)10. Terry Hanratty 55.3 (1966-68)

Efficiency Rating - Career (min. 150 attempts)1. Kevin McDougal 156.7 (1990-93)2. Jarious Jackson 145.7 (1996-99)3. John Huarte 144.7 (1962-64)4. Rick Mirer 139.0 (1989-92)5. Jimmy Clausen 137.2 (2007-09)6. Joe Theismann 136.1 (1968-70)7. Ron Powlus 135.6 (1994-97)8. Brady Quinn 134.4 (2003-06)9. Tommy Rees 134.3 (2010-)10. Dayne Crist 127.0 (2008-11)

Passing Yards - Season1. Brady Quinn 3919 (2005)2. Jimmy Clausen 3722 (2009)3. Brady Quinn 3426 (2006)4. Jimmy Clausen 3172 (2008)5. Jarious Jackson 2753 (1999)6. Tommy Rees 2708 (2011)7. Brady Quinn 2586 (2004)8. Joe Theismann 2529 (1970)9. Steve Beuerlein 2211 (1986)10. Rick Mirer 2117 (1991)


uSince 2006, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has compiled the seventh-most wins of any active NCAA FBS coach. Kelly has gone on to win 59 contests (59-19 overall) over that span. The only coaches ahead of Kelly in that time frame are Chris Peterson of Boise State (71), Gary Patterson of TCU (64), Bob Stoops of Oklahoma (62), Les Miles of LSU (62), Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech (61) and Bret Bielema of Wisconsin (60).

Winningest Active NCAA FBS Coaches (By Victories, Since 2006)Name, School W L T Pct.1. Chris Petersen, Boise State 71 6 0 .9222. Gary Patterson, TCU 64 12 0 .8423. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma 62 18 0 .775 Les Miles, LSU 62 15 0 .8055. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech 61 18 0 .7726. Bret Bielema, Wisconsin 60 18 0 .7697. Brian Kelly, Notre Dame 59 19 0 .7568. Bronco Mendenhall, BYU 58 18 0 .7639. Mack Brown, Texas 57 18 0 .760 Kyle Whittingham, Utah 57 19 0 .750

uBrian Kelly ranks as the fifth-most successful active NCAA FBS coach in both winning percentage and victories. Here is a look at the top 10 winningest active coaches in the FBS (min. six years completed as FBS head coach, record at four-year colleges only):

Winningest Active NCAA FBS Coaches (By Percentage)Name, School Years W L T Pct.1. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma 13 137 34 0 .8012. Gary Patterson, TCU 12 107 30 0 .7813. Bobby Petrino, Arkansas 8 74 24 0 .7554. Mark Richt, Georgia 11 105 37 0 .7395. Brian Kelly, Notre Dame 21 187 66 2 .7376. Bronco Mendenhall, BYU 7 64 24 0 .727 Kyle Whittingham, Utah 7 64 24 0 .7278. Nick Saban, Alabama 16 144 54 2 .7259. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina 22 195 75 2 .721

Winningest Active NCAA FBS Coaches (By Victories)Name, School Years W L T Pct.1. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech 31 250 120 4 .6742. Mack Brown, Texas 28 226 112 1 .6683. Chris Ault, Nevada 27 225 101 1 .6904. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina 22 195 75 2 .7215. Brian Kelly, Notre Dame 21 187 66 2 .7376. Dennis Erickson, Arizona State 23 178 95 1 .6517. Mike Price, UTEP 30 175 173 0 .5038. Larry Blakeney, Troy 21 164 91 1 .6439. Howard Schnellenberger, Florida Atlantic 27 158 150 3 .513

IRISH DOMInAnT In THE OPEnInG 15 MInUTESu Notre Dame has scored on its opening possession of the contest in six of its last eight games, including five touchdowns.u Notre Dame, which outgained USF (152-62), Michigan (145-27), Michigan State (95-36), Pittsburgh (72-31), Purdue (185-39), Navy (118-57), Maryland (148-48) and Boston College (133-43) in the first quarter, also racked up 191 total yards in the opening quarter against Air Force. Notre Dame outgained its 12 regular season opponents in the opening period by a 1,401-820 margin (despite the struggles in the opening quarter against USC on Oct. 22 when the Irish were outgained, 128-14).uThe Irish outgained their first six opponents and 10 of 12 foes overall in 2011 in the opening quarter by an average of 117-68.uNotre Dame averaged 6.4 yards per play in the first quarter in the regular season, while its opponents averaged just 4.7 yards per play.uNotre Dame amassed at least 100 total yards in the opening quarter in seven of its 12 regular season games. In fact, the Irish recorded at least 130 total yards in six different first quarters.u In the first quarter against Boston College on Nov. 19, the Irish averaged 6.3 yards per play, compared to 3.3 yards per play for the Eagles.u Notre Dame registered seven first downs and limited Boston College to a pair.u The 10 points scored by the Irish were the most in the opening quarter of Senior Day since 2001. u The Irish averaged 6.2 yards per play, while Maryland averaged 3.4 yards per play in the first quarter.u Notre Dame registered eight first downs and limited the Terps to just a pair.uThe 191 yards in the first quarter against Air Force on Oct. 8 were the most for Notre Dame in any quarter this season (186 in the 2nd quarter at Pittsburgh was the previous high). The 191 yards was the most for the Irish in any opening quarter under second-year head coach Brian Kelly. uThe 191 yards was the most for Notre Dame in an opening quarter since the Irish recorded 211 in the first quarter at Air Force on Nov. 11, 2006.


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BOWL HISTORY


Passing Yards - Career1. Brady Quinn 11762 (2003-06)2. Jimmy Clausen 8148 (2007-09)3. Ron Powlus 7602 (1994-97)4. Steve Beuerlein 6527 (1983-86)5. Rick Mirer 5997 (1989-92)6. Jarious Jackson 4820 (1996-99)7. Joe Theismann 4411 (1968-70)8. Terry Hanratty 4152 (1966-68)9. Joe Montana 4121 (1975-78)10. Tommy Rees 3814 (2010-)

Yards per Game - Season1. Brady Quinn 326.6 (2005)2. Jimmy Clausen 310.2 (2009)3. Brady Quinn 263.5 (2006)4. Jimmy Clausen 244.0 (2008)5. Joe Theismann 242.9 (1970)6. Jarious Jackson 229.4 (1999)7. Dayne Crist 225.9 (2010)8. Tommy Rees 225.7 (2011)9. Brady Quinn 215.5 (2004)10. Terry Hanratty 209.4 (1968)

Yards per Game - Career1. Brady Quinn 240.0 (2003-06)2. Jimmy Clausen 232.8 (2007-09)3. Tommy Rees 181.6 (2010-)4. Ron Powlus 172.7 (1994-97)5. Terry Hanratty 159.7 (1966-68)6. Steve Beuerlein 155.4 (1983-86)7. Joe Montana 152.6 (1975-78)8. Joe Theismann 152.1 (1968-70)

Games with 300 Yards - Season1. Jimmy Clausen 7 (2009)2. Brady Quinn 5 (2005)3. Brady Quinn 4 (2006) Jimmy Clausen 3 (2008)5. Dayne Crist 2 (2009)6. Jarious Jackson 2 (1999)7. 13 with 1 (MR: Tommy Rees, 2011)

Games with 300 Yards - Career1. Brady Quinn 11 (2003-06)2. Jimmy Clausen 10 (2007-09)3. Tommy Rees 2 (2010-) Dayne Crist 2 (2008-11) Jarious Jackson 2 (1996-99) Terry Hanratty 2 (1966-68)7. George Izo 1 (1957-59) Joe Montana 1 (1975, 77-78) Joe Theismann 1 (1968-70) John Huarte 1 (1962-64) Rick Mirer 1 (1989-92) Rusty Lisch 1 (1976, 77, 79) Steve Beuerlein 1 (1983-86)


uNotre Dame averaged an absurd 9.1 yards per play in the opening quarter against Air Force. uThe Irish combined for 376 yards in the opening period in victories over Purdue and Air Force.u The Irish collected touchdowns on five of their seven first-half possessions against Navy on Oct. 29.u Notre Dame registered touchdowns on each of its first six possessions of the first half in the 59-33 rout of Air Force on Oct. 8.u The 42 points in the opening half for the Irish against the Falcons were the most for the Irish in any half since Nov. 3, 1990, when Notre Dame registered 42 points in the second half against Navy (52-31).u Notre Dame has not scored 42 points in an opening half since Nov. 11, 1989. The Irish registered 42 points in the first half of a 52-6 rout of SMU.u The last time Notre Dame exceeded 42 points in any half was Nov. 5, 1977, against Georgia Tech. The Irish registered a second-half school record 48 points in a 69-14 rout of the Yellow Jackets.u The last time Notre Dame exceeded 42 points in the first half was Nov. 4, 1968, against Pittsburgh. The Irish registered a modern day first-half school record 49 points in a 56-7 rout of the Panthers.u The overall school record for points in a half is 111 against American Medical on Oct. 28, 1905.uThe 185 yards in the first quarter against Purdue on Oct. 1 were the third-most for Notre Dame in any quarter this season (186 in the 2nd quarter at Pittsburgh and 191 in the first quarter against Air Force). The 185 yards were the most for the Irish in any opening quarter under second-year head coach Brian Kelly until that total was bested the next week against Air Force. uNotre Dame averaged 7.1 yards per play and limited Purdue to 3.2 yards per play.uNotre Dame averaged 5.6 yards per play and limited Michigan State to 2.8 yards per play.uThe Irish defense limited the Spartans to a pair of first downs and minus-one yard on eight carries in the opening quarter.uNotre Dame averaged 8.5 yards per play and limited Michigan to 2.7 yards per play.uThe Irish averaged 8.0 yards per play while USF averaged 5.6 yards per play.

IRISH COME OUT OF LOCKER ROOM On FIREu Notre Dame blanked Stanford in the third quarter. The Irish have outscored its opponents, 84-13, in the third quarter in 2011.u Notre Dame has shutout each of its last five opponents (Navy, Wake Forest, Maryland, Boston College and Stanford) in the third quarter and outscored the quintet 42-0 in the period.u Notre Dame has held 11 of its 12 foes without an offensive score of any kind in the third quarter this season. Pittsburgh and USC are the only teams to register any points against the Irish in the opening period of the second half. The Panthers collected a touchdown (missed the ensuing two-point conversion attempt) drive that was extended only after a Notre Dame roughing the kicker penalty and the Trojans had a 80-yard fumble return for a touchdown.u The 13 points allowed in the third quarter is the lowest for Notre Dame in any quarter by a wide margin (53 in the first, 81 in the second and 104 in the fourth).u At this pace, the Irish will surrender 14 points in the third quarter this season, which would be the fewest points allowed in any quarter for Notre Dame since 1982. The Irish allowed 13 points in the opening quarter over the entire year.u Here is a quick glimpse at the most dominant quarters in terms of points allowed in recent Notre Dame history (since 1968):

Year Low Point Total (Quarter) Year Low Point Total (3rd Quarter)1970 0 (4th) 1971 71976 7 (1st) 1980 101971 7 (3rd and 4th) 1973 131980 10 (3rd) 1977 131973 10 (1st) 1969 211982 13 (1st) 1998 261977 13 (3rd) 1988 271988 16 (1st) 1989 292011 13 (3rd) 2011 13

u Stanford had outscored its first 11 opponents, 137-40, in the third quarter, but was blanked by the Irish on Nov. 26.u Notre Dame limited the Cardinal to a pair of first downs, 20 yards rushing, 19 yards passing and 39 total yards in the third quarter.u Notre Dame limited Boston College to three first downs, 18 yards rushing and 49 total yards on 19 plays in the third quarter on Nov. 19. The Eagles managed just 2.6 yards per play and went 1-for-5 on third down.u Notre Dame collected eight first downs, while Wake Forest managed three in the third quarter on Nov. 5. The Irish outgained Wake Forest, 160-60, including 78 (nine carries) to nine (nine carries) on the ground.u Notre Dame allowed its second touchdown in the third quarter this season against USC on Oct. 22, mind you it was an 80-yard fumble return for a touchdown (after the Irish marched 90 yards on 17 plays to the Trojans' one-yard line). u Notre Dame blanked Air Force in the third quarter on Oct. 8. u Notre Dame outgained Purdue, 185-39, in the first quarter and 157-53 in the third quarter.u The Irish outscored Navy, 21-0, in the first and third quarters. u Notre Dame outscored the Boilermakers, 28-0, in the first and third quarters. u The Irish outscored Air Force, 28-3, in the first and third quarters.

nOTRE DAME OFFEnSE, DEFEnSE QUARTER-BY-QUARTER BREAKDOWnu Notre Dame limited Stanford to five first downs, 29 yards rushing, 50 yards passing and 79 total yards in the first quarter.u The Cardinal responded with 12 first downs, 103 yards rushing, 105 yards passing and 208 total yards in the second quarter.u Notre Dame managed one first down, five yards rushing, 12 yards passing and 17 total yards in the second quarter. The five yards rushing was the fewest by the Irish in any second quarter this season (and sixth-fewest of any quarter all year). The 12 yards passing was the second-fewest by Notre Dame in any second quarter this season (and fourth-fewest of any quarter all year).

22

Game Notes


Touchdown Passes - Game1. Brady Quinn 6 vs. BYU, Oct. 22, 20052. Jimmy Clausen 5 at Stanford, Nov. 28, 2009 Jimmy Clausen 5 vs. Hawai’i, Dec. 24, 2008* Brady Quinn 5 vs. Michigan St., Sept. 17, 2005 Brady Quinn 5 at Michigan St., Sept. 23, 20066. Tommy Rees 4 vs. Air Force, Oct. 8, 2011 Tommy Rees 4 vs. Tulsa, Oct. 30, 2010 Dayne Crist 4 at Michigan St., Sept. 18, 2010 Jimmy Clausen 4 vs. Nevada, Sept. 5, 2009 Brady Quinn 4 at Air Force, Nov. 11, 2006 Brady Quinn 4 vs. North Carolina, Nov. 4, 2006 Brady Quinn 4 vs. Washington, Sept. 25, 2004 Brady Quinn 4 vs. Navy, Nov. 12, 2005 Angelo Bertelli 4 vs. Stanford, Oct. 10, 1942 Daryle Lamonica 4 vs. Pittsburgh, Nov. 10, 1962 Steve Beuerlein 4 at USC, Nov. 24, 1986 Ron Powlus 4 vs. Northwestern, Sept. 3, 1994 Ron Powlus 4 at Purdue, Sept. 9, 1995 Ron Powlus 4 vs. Rutgers, Nov. 23, 1996 Jarious Jackson 4 vs. Arizona State, Oct. 9, 1999 Carlyle Holiday 4 vs. Rutgers, Nov. 23, 2002* Hawai'i Bowl

Touchdown Passes - Season1. Brady Quinn 37 (2006)2. Brady Quinn 32 (2005)3. Jimmy Clausen 28 (2009)4. Jimmy Clausen 25 (2008)5. Tommy Rees 19 (2011) Ron Powlus 19 (1994)7. Rick Mirer 18 (1991)8. Brady Quinn 17 (2004) Jarious Jackson 17 (1999)10. Joe Theismann 16 (1970) John Huarte 16 (1964) Bob Williams 16 (1949)

Touchdown Passes - Career1. Brady Quinn 95 (2003-06)2. Jimmy Clausen 60 (2007-09)3. Ron Powlus 52 (1994-97)4. Rick Mirer 41 (1989-92)5. Jarious Jackson 34 (1996-99)6. Tommy Rees 31 (2010-) Joe Theismann 31 (1968-70)8. Angelo Bertelli 28 (1941-43)9. Steve Beuerlein 27 (1983-86) Terry Hanratty 27 (1966-68)

Interceptions - Game1. Frank Dancewicz 7 vs. Army, Nov. 11, 19442. Terry Hanratty 5 vs. USC, Oct. 14, 19673. Jimmy Clausen 4 at Boston College, Nov. 8, 2008 Brady Quinn 4 at Purdue, Sept. 27, 2003 Ron Powlus 4 at Michigan State, Sept. 17, 1994 Steve Beuerlein 4 vs. Navy, Nov. 3, 1984 Terry Hanratty 4 at Purdue, Sept. 30, 1967 Terry Hanratty 4 at Illinois, Oct. 21, 19679. 15 with 3 MR: Tommy Rees at USC, Nov. 27, 2010


u The 17 total yards in the second quarter against Stanford was the fewest by the Irish in any second quarter this season (and third-fewest of any quarter all year).u Notre Dame's 86 rushing yards in the first quarter against Maryland were the most yards on the ground in any first quarter this season.u Notre Dame was outgained by Wake Forest in the first quarter (110-90) and first half (197-145). The Deacons, USC and Stanford are the only three teams to out gain the Irish in both the first quarter and first half, but Notre Dame regrouped at halftime and took control in the final two quarters.u The Irish limited Wake Forest to 100 total yards, including just 20 on the ground, after halftime. The 100 total yards were the fewest Notre Dame has allowed in a single-half since the opening 20 minutes against Michigan on Sept. 10 (Wolverines managed only 90 yards).u Wake Forest's 40 total yards in the fourth quarter were the fewest allowed by the Irish defense in a fourth quarter this season (previous low was 58 at Pittsburgh).u Notre Dame's 160 yards in the third quarter against Wake Forest were the most in a third quarter this season for the Irish.u The 14 total yards for Notre Dame in the first quarter against USC were the second-fewest for Notre Dame in any quarter this season.u Notre Dame’s 158 yards on the ground in the opening half at Purdue on Oct. 1 were the most in a half for the Irish this season. In fact, it was the most rushing yards in a half for Notre Dame under second-year head coach Brian Kelly. The previous single-half high for the Irish was 154 yards in the first half at Pittsburgh on Sept. 24.u Notre Dame junior RB Cierre Wood had 101 yards on nine carries in the first half, including a 55-yard scoring run, against the Boilermakers, while senior RB Jonas Gray had 56 yards rushing on nine carries. Wood (69 yards on 16 rushes) and Gray (80 yards on two carries) totaled 149 yards in the opening half at Pittsburgh on Sept. 24.uNotre Dame statistically dominated Michigan over the first two quarters and most of the third period. The Irish outgained the Wolverines, 145-27 and 123-63, in the opening 30 minutes (good for a halftime advantage in total yards of 268-90). Notre Dame then outgained Michi-gan, 142-51, in the third quarter before Denard Robinson's 77-yard pass completion with an Irish defender in the process of pulling him down for a sack in the process. Notre Dame led 24-7 with just under two minutes left in the period and had outgained the Wolverines, 410-141, prior to that long pass play.uMichigan then exploded for 28 points and 229 yards in the fourth quarter alone. The Wolverines managed just 223 over the first three pe-riods and 120 of those 223 yards came on two plays. The Wolverines managed just 103 yards on their other 33 plays in the first three quarters (an average of 3.1 yards per play).uNotre Dame statistically dominated USF in three of four quarters in the season opener. The Irish out-gained the Bulls, 152-62, in the first quarter but trailed 13-0. USF's touchdown came on a 96-yard fumble return and its two field goals were assisted by a 23-yard Notre Dame punt and 34-yard punt return set up great field position. The two Bulls' scoring drives in the first quarter totaled 80 yards.uThe Irish also outgained USF in the third quarter, 159-48, and fourth quarter, 156-24. USF held an advantage in the second quarter, 82-39.

Notre Dame Quarter-by-Quarter Yardage Breakdown 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Rush Pass Total Rush Pass Total Rush Pass Total Rush Pass Totalvs. USF 67 85 152 29 10 39 19 140 159 2 156 158at Michigan 51 94 145 51 72 123 90 52 142 6 97 103vs. MSU 75 20 95 37 63 100 7 74 81 -5 4 -1at Pittsburgh 45 27 72 109 77 186 16 31 47 12 81 93at Purdue 75 110 185 83 46 129 75 82 157 54 26 80vs. Air Force 48 143 191 57 84 141 41 36 77 120 31 151vs. USC 2 12 14 15 98 113 -5 96 91 29 20 49vs. Navy 38 80 118 37 103 140 65 49 114 42 28 70at Wake Forest 38 52 90 32 23 55 78 82 160 27 9 36vs. Maryland 86 62 148 52 92 144 45 69 114 29 73 102vs. BC 73 60 133 17 81 98 22 68 90 49 47 96at Stanford 10 48 58 5 12 17 45 51 96 -3 141 138Total 698 793 1491 524 761 1285 498 830 1328 362 713 1075

Notre Dame Opponents Quarter-by-Quarter Yardage Breakdown 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Rush Pass Total Rush Pass Total Rush Pass Total Rush Pass Totalvs. USF 42 20 62 41 41 82 5 43 48 38 24 62at Michigan 22 5 27 20 43 63 45 88 133 27 202 229vs. MSU -1 37 36 14 104 118 9 43 52 7 145 152at Pittsburgh 16 15 31 59 53 112 28 39 67 0 58 58at Purdue 0 39 39 31 56 87 11 42 53 42 55 97vs. Air Force 106 54 160 97 54 151 78 29 107 82 65 147vs. USC 76 52 128 52 73 125 24 36 60 67 63 130vs. Navy 45 12 57 28 15 43 54 4 58 69 2 71at Wake Forest 43 67 110 47 49 87 9 51 60 11 29 40vs. Maryland 25 23 48 19 87 106 29 52 82 72 57 129vs. BC 27 16 43 3 84 87 18 31 49 32 39 71at Stanford 29 50 79 103 105 208 20 19 39 44 59 103Total 430 390 820 514 764 1278 330 477 807 491 798 1289

bold indicates Notre Dame's quarter highs and Irish opponents' quarter lowsindicates Notre Dame's quarter lows and Irish opponents' quarter highs


MEDIA INFOGAM



BOWL HISTORY


nO TURnOvERS = vICTORIESu Notre Dame played its third turnover-free game of the season against Maryland on Nov. 12. The Irish are 3-0 this season when they do not commit a turnover and 6-0 under second-year head coach Brian Kelly.u Notre Dame has won its last seven games in which it failed to commit a turnover. The Irish have not lost a game without any turnovers since Oct. 17, 2009 when USC upended Notre Dame, 34-27. u Notre Dame is 21-4 in its last 25 games in which it failed to commit a turnover.

IRISH DEFEnSE AnSWERS THE BELL FOLLOWInG TURnOvERSuHere is a detailed look at Notre Dame's sudden-change defense following its 24 turnovers that did not result in an opponent defensive touchdown (USF and USC each returned fumbles for touchdowns turnovers – 96 and 80 yards respectively):

Drive Started Drive Ended ConsumedOpponent Spot Obtained Spot How Lost Plays-Yards TOPStanford N35 Interception N31 Missed Field Goal 4-4 0:55Stanford S36 Interception N00 Touchdown 10-64 1:28Stanford S30 Fumble N44 Punt 6-26 3:12Boston College N48 Interception N41 Punt 3-7 0:51Wake Forest N24 Interception N11 Fumble 3-13 1:17Wake Forest W21 Interception W19 End of half 1-(-2) 0:08Navy N27 Fumble N00 Touchdown 6-27 2:42Navy N26 Interception N00 Touchdown 2-26 0:34USC N49 Interception N02 End of Half 10-47 6:43USC N18 Fumble N00 Touchdown 3-18 0:59Pittsburgh P05 Interception N35 Punt 6-60 2:23Pittsburgh N23 Fumble N28 Field Goal 4-(-5) 1:13Michigan State N21 Fumble N03 Interception 3-18 0:56Michigan State N27 Interception N23 Field Goal 4-4 1:27Michigan State N46 Fumble M49 Fumble 3-(-5) 1:26Michigan N14 Fumble N14 End Game 0-0 0:00Michigan M09 Fumble N30 Interception 3-61 1:45Michigan M29 Fumble M43 Interception 4-14 1:28Michigan M18 Interception M17 Punt 3-(-1) 0:57Michigan N45 Interception N00 Touchdown 2-45 0:48USF N30 Interception N32 Punt 3-(-2) 1:49USF U04 Interception U21 Punt 5-17 1:36USF N20 Fumble N19 Field Goal 4-1 0:59USF U20 Interception N35 Missed Field Goal 12-45 4:48

uThe 24 opponent possessions following an Irish turnover have resulted in only 482 yards on 104 plays – which averages to 4.3 plays and 20.1 yards per drive (15 those possessions failed to gain more than 20 yards and 10 resulted in fewer than 10 yards). uNotre Dame allowed points on eight of the 24 drives, five for touchdowns, but forced six punts and registered five turnovers of its own. uThe last 19 opponent possessions following an Irish turnover have resulted in only 376 yards on 78 plays – which averages to 4.1 plays and 19.8 yards per drive (only seven of those possessions gained more than 18 yards, seven resulted in fewer than five yards and 11 resulted in less than 20 yards).u Notre Dame’s offense committed a turnover midway through the third quarter near midfield against Boston College on Nov. 19, but the Irish defense responded. The Eagles went three plays and out (picked up just seven yards).u Notre Dame's offense committed a pair of turnovers in its victory at Wake Forest on Nov. 5, but the Irish defense responded on both occasions. The Demon Deacons totaled 11 yards on the four plays following the Notre Dame turnovers. The Irish defense answered with a forced turnover of their own to deny the Deacs a scoring chance. After the first Irish turnover, Wake Forest had a first and goal situation fol-lowing the interception, a personal foul call on the return and a 16-yard pass play, but senior OLB Darius Fleming forced a fumble and senior CB Gary Gray recovered the loose football.u Notre Dame was victimized by two more turnovers inside their own 28-yard line on Oct. 29 against Navy that setup both of the Midshipmen touchdowns. In fact, three of the touchdowns the Notre Dame defense surrendered against USC and Navy came directly off turnovers, but it is hard pressed to blame the Irish defense. USC went 18 yards on three plays to grab a 31-17 lead in the fourth quarter on Oct. 22 and the Midshipmen went 27 yards on six plays and 26 yards on two plays for touchdowns on Oct. 29.u USC's Matt Barkley tossed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Robert Woods with 7:47 left in the fourth quarter on Oct. 22, which marked the first touchdown for an Irish opponent following a Notre Dame turnover since Sept. 10 at Michigan. The Irish had held their foes without a touchdown on the previous 10 drives following a turnover. Notre Dame had allowed a pair of field goals, forced four turnovers (three intercep-tions and fumble), two punts, one occurred on the final play of the Michigan game and another was returned for a touchdown.u Notre Dame’s defense again answered the challenge following a turnover in the first quarter against Pittsburgh. u Pittsburgh opened its drive at the Irish 23-yard line following a fumble, but only managed a field goal.u Notre Dame’s defense allowed a total of 12 yards on 14 plays – and one first down – on the four drives following an Irish turnover (prior to the Irish interception at the Pittsburgh five-yard line midway through the second quarter).u The Irish had three turnovers against Michigan State – all inside Notre Dame territory – and two of which occurred inside 25-yard line. The Irish defense only allowed a field goal. Notre Dame also answered with a pair of forced turnovers of its own on the other two possessions.

Consecutive Passes Without INT - Game1. Brady Quinn 47 vs. BYU, Sept. 4, 20042. Jimmy Clausen 45 vs. Connecticut, Nov. 21, 2009 Brady Quinn 45 vs. Ohio State, Jan. 2, 2006* Brady Quinn 45 vs. USC, Nov. 25, 2006 Brady Quinn 45 vs. UCLA, Oct. 21, 20066. Jimmy Clausen 43 vs. USC, Oct. 17, 2009 Jimmy Clausen 43 vs. Pittsburgh, Nov. 1, 20088. Jimmy Clausen 42 at Michigan, Sept. 12, 20099. Brady Quinn 41 vs. BYU, Oct. 22, 200510. Tommy Rees 40 at Purdue, Oct. 1, 2011 Jimmy Clausen 40 vs. Stanford, Oct. 4, 2008 Jimmy Clausen 40 vs. Air Force, Nov. 10, 2007* Fiesta Bowl

Consecutive Passes Without INT - Season1. Brady Quinn 226 Michigan State - Army (2006)2. Jimmy Clausen 160 Washington - Navy (2009)3. Tommy Rees 135 Pittsburgh - USC (2011)4. Jimmy Clausen 132 MSU - North Carolina (2008)5. Brady Quinn 130 USC - Navy (2005)6. Carlyle Holiday 126 Pittsburgh - Rutgers (2002)

Consecutive Passes Without INT - Career1. Brady Quinn 226 Michigan State - Army (2006)2. Jimmy Clausen 160 Washington - Navy (2009)3. Jimmy Clausen 147 USC - Purdue (2008-09)4. Brady Quinn 143 Stanford - Michigan (2005-06)5. Tommy Rees 135 Pittsburgh - USC (2011)6. Jimmy Clausen 132 MSU - North Carolina (2008)7. Dayne Crist 130 USC - Navy (2010)8. Carlyle Holiday 126 Pittsburgh - Rutgers (2002)

Lowest INT Percentage - Season (min. 100 attempts)1. Matt LoVecchio 0.80 (1 of 125), 2000 2. Jimmy Clausen 0.94 (4 of 425), 20093. Brady Quinn 1.50 (7 of 467), 20064. Brady Quinn 1.56 (7 of 450), 20055. Ron Powlus 1.72 (4 of 232), 19966. Carlyle Holiday 1.95 (5 of 257), 20027. Evan Sharpley 2.14 (3 of 140), 2007 8. Rick Slager 2.16 (3 of 139), 1975 9. Ron Powlus 2.35 (7 of 298), 199710. Dayne Crist 2.38 (7 of 294), 2010

Lowest INT Percentage - Career (min. 150 attempts)1. Jimmy Clausen 2.432 (27 of 1110), 2007-092. Brady Quinn 2.434 (39 of 1602), 2003-063. Matt LoVecchio 2.58 (5 of 194), 2000-014. Dayne Crist 2.66 (9 of 338), 2008-115. Ron Powlus 2.79 (27 of 969), 1994-976. Rick Mirer 3.30 (23 of 698), 1989-927. Kevin McDougal 3.33 (6 of 180), 1990-938. Carlyle Holiday 3.35 (16 of 477), 2001-049. Tommy Rees 3.65 (20 of 548), 2010-10. Jarious Jackson 3.92 (21 of 536), 1996-99


24

Game Notes


Receptions - Game1. Maurice Stovall 14 vs. BYU, Oct. 22, 20052. Michael Floyd 13 at Michigan, Sept. 10, 2011 Jim Seymour 13 vs. Purdue, Sept. 24, 19664. Michael Floyd 12 at Purdue, Oct. 1, 2011 Michael Floyd 12 vs. USF, Sept. 3, 2011 Tom Gatewood 12 vs. Purdue, Sept. 26, 1970 Bobby Brown 12 at Pittsburgh, Nov. 13, 19998. Michael Floyd 11 at USC, Nov. 27, 2010 Michael Floyd 11 vs. Tulsa, Oct. 30, 2010 Golden Tate 11 vs. Boston College, Oct. 24, 2009 Jim Kelly 11 vs. Pittsburgh, Nov. 10, 1962 Jim Seymour 11 at USC, Nov. 26, 1966

Receptions - Game (Tight End)1. Ken MacAfee 9 at Purdue, Sept. 24, 19772. Tyler Eifert 8 vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 2011 Tyler Eifert 8 vs. Air Force, Oct. 8, 2011 Tyler Eifert 8 at Pittsburgh, Sept. 24, 2011 Kyle Rudolph 8 at Michigan State, Sept. 18, 2010 Kyle Rudolph 8 vs. Michigan, Sept. 11, 2010 John Carlson 8 vs. North Carolina, Nov. 4, 2006 Anthony Fasano 8 vs. Purdue, Oct. 2, 2004 Ken MacAfee 8 vs. USC, Oct. 22, 1977

Receptions - Season1. Michael Floyd 95 (2011)2. Golden Tate 93 (2009)3. Michael Floyd 79 (2010)4. Jeff Samardzija 78 (2006)5. Tom Gatewood 77 (1970) Jeff Samardzija 77 (2005)7. Maurice Stovall 69 (2005)8. Rhema McKnight 67 (2006)9. Jack Snow 60 (1964)10. Golden Tate 58 (2008) Arnaz Battle 58 (2002)

Receptions - Career1. Michael Floyd 266 (2008-)2. Jeff Samardzija 179 (2003-06)3. Rhema McKnight 170 (2002-06)4. Golden Tate 157 (2007-09) Tom Gatewood 157 (1969-71)6. Jim Seymour 138 (1966-68)7. Tim Brown 137 (1984-87)8. Maurice Stovall 130 (2002-05)9. Derrick Mayes 129 (1992-95)10. Ken MacAfee 128 (1974-77)

Receptions - Season (Tight End)1. Tyler Eifert 57 (2011)2. Ken MacAfee 54 (1977)3. John Carlson 47 (2006) Anthony Fasano 47 (2005)5. Tony Hunter 42 (1982)6. John Carlson 40 (2007)7. Ken MacAfee 34 (1976)8. Kyle Rudolph 33 (2009)9. Mark Bavaro 32 (1984)10. Kyle Rudolph 29 (2008)


u Michigan State opened a drive at the Irish 23-yard line following a 34-yard interception return, but the Irish limited the Spartans to a field goal. Michigan State gained just four yards on four plays following the turnover.u Notre Dame added its third turnover of the game late in the fourth quarter when senior WR John Goodman muffed a punt at the Irish 21-yard line. The Irish defense responded with an interception. Senior CB Robert Blanton picked off Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins and raced 82 yards to set up a Notre Dame field goal.

TURnOvERS BITE THE IRISH OnCE AGAInu Notre Dame finished the regular season with 26 turnovers, including 10 in the first two weeks of the season. The Irish committed only three turnovers in the three outings against Wake Forest (two), Maryland (none) and Boston College (one), but closed the season with three at Stanford on Nov. 26.u Notre Dame has committed 16 turnovers in its four losses and 10 in its eight victories.u Notre Dame ranks 78th or worse in each of the four FBS turnovers categories. The Irish are tied for 92nd in interceptions thrown (14), tied for 78th in fumbles lost (12), tied for 94th in total turnovers (26) and tied for 117th in turnover margin (-1.08).u Notre Dame's struggles with turnovers is a stark contrast to 2010.

2010 (FBS Rank) 2011 (FBS Rank)Fumbles Lost 8 (t-25th) 12 (t-78th)Total Turnovers 24 (t-71st) 26 (t-94th)Turnover Margin +0.08/game (t-52nd) -1.08/game (t-117th)

u The Irish were hurt by two turnovers inside their own 27-yard line on Oct. 29 against Navy that setup both of the Midshipmen touch-downs.u As if the 26 turnovers this season were not costly enough, seven have occurred inside the opponents’ 20-yard line and 15 others have come on Notre Dame’s half of the field, including six inside the Irish 20-yard line.u The three touchdowns the Notre Dame defense surrendered against USC and Navy came directly off turnovers. USC went 18 yards on three plays to grab a 31-17 lead in the fourth quarter on Oct. 22 and the Midshipmen went 27 yards on six plays and 26 yards on two plays for touchdowns on Oct. 29.u Navy’s two touchdown drives covered just 27 and 26 yards, respectively.u Notre Dame had gone without a turnover in back-to-back victories over Purdue and Air Force, but had three critical turnovers in the final 16 minutes of the game against USC on Oct. 22.u The Irish marched 71 yards on 19 plays and took 6:22 off the clock in the third period – reaching the USC one-yard line. However, senior QB Dayne Crist mishandled the center-quarterback exchange on third and goal and USC safety Jawanza Starling scooped up the football and raced 80 yards for a touchdown. u Notre Dame had allowed just two fumble returns for touchdowns of 80 yards or longer just twice since the start of the 1966 season. Leroy Keyes returned a fumble for Purdue 96 yards for a touchdown (which remained the longest by a Notre Dame opponent until Kayvon Webster of USF equaled the mark in the 2011 season opener) and Julian Battle added an 80-yard touchdown return. In other words, that's two such touchdown returns in 45 years or one every couple decades. u The Irish surrendered two in the first seven games of 2011. u On the ensuing drive following a fourth-quarter missed USC field goal (Irish trailing 24-17), junior RB Cierre Wood fumbled a lateral and the Trojans recovered at the Irish 18-yard line.u USC answered with a touchdown to extend its lead to 31-17 with 7:47 left in the contest.u Notre Dame committed two turnovers in the first half against Pittsburgh, one inside the Irish 25-yard line and another at the Panthers five-yard line. The Irish turned the football over 15 times over their first four games of the season.u Notre Dame committed two turnovers in the first quarter against Michigan State, both inside its own territory. The Irish added a third turnover late in the fourth quarter – the final miscue coming inside the Notre Dame 25-yard line.u Notre Dame's 13 turnovers over the first three games of a season were the most for an Irish team since 1977. The '77 team had 14 turnovers over its first three games. In case you are curious, the '77 team won Notre Dame's 10th consensus national title.u Notre Dame had 12 turnovers over its first three games – and 10 in the first two games – of the 1978 season. Interestingly enough, the Irish opened the year 0-2 before ripping off eight straight regular season victories and capped off the campaign with Cotton Bowl victory over Houston.u Here is a bizarre Notre Dame trend when the Irish have major turnover issues over their first three games of a season dating back to the 1964 season – Ara Parseghian's first on the Notre Dame sidelines:

Year Turnovers Through Three Games Record Through Three Games Season Record1977 14 2-1 11-1*2011 13 1-2 8-41978 12 1-2 9-31976 12 2-1 9-31974 10 2-1 10-21973 10 3-0 11-0*1968 10 2-1 7-2-11966 10 3-0 9-0-1* 74-14-1 (.837)


MEDIA INFOGAM



BOWL HISTORY


Receptions - Career (Tight End)1. Ken MacAfee 128 (1974-77)2. John Carlson 100 (2004-07)3. Anthony Fasano 92 (2003-05)4. Kyle Rudolph 90 (2008-10)5. Tyler Eifert 84 (2009-)6. *Tony Hunter 70 (1979-82)7. Derek Brown 62 (1988-91) Dean Masztak 62 (1978-81)9. Mark Bavaro 55 (1981-84)10. Mike Creaney 46 (1070-72) *played TE only in 1981-82

Receptions - Season (Running Back)1. Darius Walker 56 (2006)2. Armando Allen Jr. 50 (2008)3. Darius Walker 43 (2005)4. Bob Gladieux 37 (1968)5. Autry Denson 30 (1997)6. Joseph Heap 29 (1952)7. Armando Allen Jr. 28 (2009) Allen Pinkett 28 (1983)9. Cierre Wood 26 (2011)10. Marc Edwards 25 (1995) Mark Green 25 (1986)

Receptions - Career (Running Back)1. Armando Allen Jr. 119 (2007-10)2. Darius Walker 109 (2004-06)3. Allen Pinkett 73 (1982-85) 4. Bob Gladieux 72 (1966-68)5. Joseph Heap 71 (1951-54)6. Mark Green 61 (1985-88)7. Autry Denson 53 (1995-98)8. Jim Morse 52 (1954-56)9. Cierre Wood 46 (2010-) Marc Edwards 46 (1993-96)

Receiving Yards - Game1. Jim Seymour 276 vs. Purdue, Sept. 24, 19662. Golden Tate 244 vs. Washington, Oct. 3, 20093. Jack Snow 217 at Wisconsin, Sept. 26, 19644. Bobby Brown 208 at Pittsburgh, Nov. 13, 1999 Jim Morse 208 at USC, Nov. 26, 19556. Maurice Stovall 207 vs. BYU, Oct. 22, 20057. Golden Tate 201 at Stanford, Nov. 28, 20098. Tom Gatewood 192 vs. Purdue, Sept. 26, 19709. Jeff Samardzija 191 at Stanford, Nov. 26, 200510. Michael Floyd 189 vs. Nevada, Sept. 5, 2009

Receiving Yards - Season1. Golden Tate 1496 (2009)2. Jeff Samardzija 1249 (2005)3. Maurice Stovall 1149 (2005)4. Tom Gatewood 1123 (1970)5. Jack Snow 1114 (1964)6. Michael Floyd 1106 (2011)7. Golden Tate 1080 (2008)8. Michael Floyd 1025 (2010)9. Jeff Samardzija 1017 (2006)10. Tim Brown 910 (1986)


u The 15 turnovers over the first four games of a season are also the most for a Notre Dame team since the '77 squad had an astounding 20 turnovers over its first four games. The '76 Irish also had 15 turnovers over their first four games.

Year Turnovers Through Four Games Record Through Four Games Final Season Record1977 20 3-1 11-1*2011 15 2-2 8-41976 15 3-1 9-3* Irish actually won national titles 28-8 (.778)

u Notre Dame committed five turnovers in each of its first two games. Prior to the first two weeks of 2011, the Irish had not committed five turnovers in a single game since Nov. 15, 2008 against Boston College.u Notre Dame had not gone consecutive games with five turnovers since ‘08. u Two of Notre Dame’s turnovers against Michigan occurred inside the Wolverine 20-yard line, including one inside UM's 10-yard line.u Both of Notre Dame's turnovers inside the red zone against Michigan came on a first down play as well.u Notre Dame committed five turnovers in the loss to USF. The Irish had not had five turnovers in a home contest since Sept. 16, 2006 against Michigan.u Notre Dame was minus-five in turnover margin for the first time since Nov. 8, 2008 against Boston College. The Irish had not been minus-five in the turnover margin at home since Nov. 5, 1983 against Pittsburgh (Notre Dame lost, 21-16). That's a span of 166 games over 28 years.u The minus-five turnover margin was also the worst in the FBS in week one.u Notre Dame had a pair of first-half turnovers inside the USF 10-yard line. Senior RB Jonas Gray fumbled on a 3rd and goal carry at the Bulls’ one-yard line and senior QB Dayne Crist was picked off in the end zone on a 3rd and goal pass from the USF seven-yard line.u Notre Dame had marched a total of 137 yards (76 and 61) on the two drives, but failed to score on either attempt.u Notre Dame committed its third turnover in the first half when junior WR Theo Riddick muffed a punt and USF recovered at the Irish 20-yard line. Notre Dame’s defense allowed just a single yard and limited the Bulls to a field goal.u The Irish added a third turnover inside the USF 10-yard line on their first possession of the second half. On first and goal from the Bulls' five-yard line, sophomore QB Tommy Rees was intercepted when his pass deflected off the shoulder of sophomore WR TJ Jones.

DEFEnSE RED ZOnE REPORTuWhile Notre Dame's red zone offense has garnered most of the attention this season, both positively and negatively, the Irish defense was pretty solid job in the regular season. Notre Dame ranks tied for 38th in the FBS in red zone defense. The Irish rank tied for 50th in the FBS in touchdowns allowed per red zone opportunity.uStanford, as did Maryland and Boston College, entered the Irish red zone on just two occasions, but scored touchdowns on both trips. Notre Dame's opponents have scored touchdowns on its last six red zone opportunities.uThe last time the Irish limited opponents to a pair of red zone chances or less in three straight games was the final four games of 2010. Notre Dame allowed a total of six opponent drives into the red zone against Utah, Army, USC and Miami (Fla.).uWake Forest had a pair of first and goal situations in the second half, one from the eight-yard line in the third quarter and another from the 10-yard line in the fourth quarter, but the Irish held the Demon Deacons without points on either occasion. Senior OLB Darius Fleming forced a fumble on the first Wake Forest opportunity. Freshman DE Stephon Tuitt collected a sack and senior S Harrison Smith followed with a tackle for loss, which ultimately led to a missed 42-yard field goal.uThe Irish defense made its own noise in the red zone against Michigan State. The Spartans ventured into the Notre Dame 20-yard line on five different occasions, but the Irish allowed just two scores and only one touchdown. Notre Dame stopped Michigan State on a pair of fourth down plays and senior DB Robert Blanton's interception at the goal line prevented another score.uNotre Dame has only allowed seven rushing touchdowns in the red zone all season (actually the Irish have surrendered eight rushing touchdowns all season regardless or red zone or not). That total ranks tied for fifth in the FBS. Alabama (two), Utah (five), TCU and LSU (all with six) are the only schools that have allowed fewer red zone rushing touchdowns.

Category Notre Dame Total FBS RankFewest Rushing Touchdowns 7 t-5thOpponent Scoring Percentage 31 of 39 (79.5%) t-38thOpponent Touchdown Percentage 23 of 39 (59.0%) t-50th

OFFEnSE RED ZOnE REPORTuNotre Dame advanced into the Stanford red zone on three occasions in its meeting on Nov. 26 and came away with two scores, both touchdowns, but also missed a 20-yard field goal. The Irish opened that drive on the Cardinal 11-yard line following senior OLB Darius Fleming's interception and junior RB Cierre Wood followed with a seven-yard run to the Stanford four-yard line, but a delay of game penalty and errant throw from sophomore QB Tommy Rees to a wide open junior WR Theo Riddick proved costly. uNotre Dame has still scored on 24 of its last 26 red zone opportunities, including 21 touchdowns (dating back to the Oct. 8 game against Air Force). In fact, the Irish have scored on 31 of their last 34 trips into the red zone with 26 touchdowns and five field goals.uNotre Dame registered a touchdown on 13 trips consecutive trips into the red zone entering the Boston College game on Nov. 19, but the Irish managed field goals on each of their two opportunities against the Eagles. uDespite the recent prowess in the red zone, the Irish still rank tied for 72nd in the FBS in red zone offense. Notre Dame has scored on 36 of its 45 red zone chances, including 31 touchdowns. The nine failed opportunities for the Irish include three missed field goals, three intercep-tions and three fumbles.uThe six turnovers in the red zone not only lead the FBS, but five have come inside its opponents' 10-yard line. Four of the six turnovers inside the 10-yard line have come on a first down play. It could actually be considered seven turnovers in the red zone as Michigan picked off sophomore QB Tommy Rees inside its own five-yard line, but the play started outside the 25-yard line.

26

Game Notes


Receiving Yards - Career1. Michael Floyd 3645 (2008-)2. Golden Tate 2707 (2007-09)3. Jeff Samardzija 2593 (2003-06)4. Derrick Mayes 2512 (1992-95)5. Tim Brown 2493 (1984-87)6. Tom Gatewood 2283 (1969-71)7. Rhema McKnight 2277 (2002-06)8. Maurice Stovall 2195 (2002-05)9. Jim Seymour 2113 (1966-68)10. Tony Hunter 1897 (1979-82)

Receiving Yards - Season (Tight End)1. Ken MacAfee 797 (1977)2. Tyler Eifert 713 (2011)3. John Carlson 634 (2006)4. Anthony Fasano 576 (2005)5. Tony Hunter 507 (1982)6. Ken MacAfee 483 (1976)7. Dean Masztak 428 (1979)8. Tony Hunter 397 (1981)9. Mark Bavaro 395 (1984)10. Mark Bavaro 376 (1983)

Receiving Yards - Career (Tight End)1. Ken MacAfee 1,759 (1974-77)2. Anthony Fasano 1,102 (2003-05)3. John Carlson 1,093 (2004-07)4. Tyler Eifert 1,065 (2009-)5. Kyle Rudolph 1,032 (2008-10)6. Dean Masztak 924 (1978-81)7. *Tony Hunter 904 (1979-82)8. Derek Brown 899 (1988-91)9. Mike Creaney 890 (1970-72)10. Mark Bavaro 771 (1981-84) *played TE only in 1981-82

Yards per Reception - Game (min. 4 receptions)1. Michael Floyd (4 for 189) 47.3 vs. Nevada, Sept. 5, 20092. Jim Morse (5 for 208) 41.6 at USC, Nov. 26, 19553. Golden Tate (4 for 127) 31.8 vs. Michigan, Sept. 13, 20084. John Carlson (4 for 121) 30.3 at Michigan State, Sept. 23, 2006 Rhema McKnight (4 for 121) 30.3 at Boston College, Oct. 25, 20036. Golden Tate (6 for 177) 29.5 vs. Hawai’i (Hawai’i Bowl), Dec. 24, 2008 Jeff Samardzija (6 for 177) 29.5 vs. North Carolina, Nov. 4, 20068. Golden Tate (9 for 244) 27.1 vs. Washington (Oct. 3, 2009)9. Tim Brown (7 for 184) 26.3 vs. Navy, Nov. 1, 198610. Tony Hunter (5 for 131) 26.2 vs. USC, Oct. 20, 1979


u Notre Dame had only six turnovers in the red zone over the last 35 games entering the 2011 season.uNotre Dame had three turnovers in the red zone over the course of the entire 2010 season (13 games). In fact, the Irish had a total of five red zone turnovers over the last two seasons combined.uNotre Dame continued its streak of successful red zone trips in the 45-24 rout of Maryland on Nov. 12. The Irish scored touchdowns on all four of their red zone opportunities against the Terps. uNotre Dame went two for two (both touchdowns) in the 24-17 victory over Wake Forest on Nov. 5.uNotre Dame had a remarkable day in terms of red zone efficiency in the 56-14 rout of Navy on Oct. 29. The Irish had seven red zone scoring opportunities and not only scored on each chance, but collected touchdowns on all seven trips. It was the most trips into the red zone with a perfect touchdown percentage by an Irish offense since at least 1977.uThe Irish success in the red zone is a pretty telling tale when it comes to victory or defeat. Notre Dame has scored on 28 of its 29 red zone opportunities, including 24 touchdowns, in its eight victories. However, in their three losses, the Irish have converted just six of 13 red zone chances (five touchdowns). uHere is an interesting graphic for Notre Dame's offense in the red zone in its eight victories compared to its four losses:

notre Dame Inside Opponent Red Zone (victories) Times Times Total Rush Pass FGs Failed to score inside RZ in RZ Scored Pts TDs TDs TDs Made FGA Down Int Fumb Half Gamevs. Michigan State 2 2 10 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0at Pittsburgh 1 1 8 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0at Purdue 5 4 24 3 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0vs. Air Force 6 6 42 6 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0vs. Navy 7 7 49 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0at Wake Forest 2 2 14 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0vs. Maryland 4 4 28 4 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0vs. Boston College 2 2 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0Totals 29 28 181 24 17 7 4 1 0 0 0 0 0Totals 28 of 29 (96.6%) TD Totals 24 of 29 (82.8%)

notre Dame Inside Opponent Red Zone (Losses) Times Times Total Rush Pass FGs Failed to score inside RZ in RZ Scored Pts TDs TDs TDs Made FGA Down Int Fumb Half Gamevs. USF 6 2 13 2 1 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 0at Michigan 5 3 21 3 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0vs. USC 2 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0at Stanford 3 2 14 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0Totals 16 8 51 7 3 4 1 2 0 3 3 0 0Totals 8 of 16 (50.0%) TD Totals 7 of 16 (43.8%)

uNotre Dame converted on just one of its two red zone opportunities against USC on Oct. 22. The Irish only managed a field goal on a drive that reached the Trojans seven-yard line just before halftime and then Notre Dame mishandled the center-quarterback exchange on a third down and goal play from the one-yard line late in the third quarter. The fumble was ultimately returned 80 yards for a touchdown resulting in a 14-point swing (Irish trailed 17-10 and was inches from tying the score prior to the fumble).u It was the second fumble return for a touchdown of 80 yards or longer by an Irish opponent this season and second at Notre Dame Stadium. uNotre Dame excelled in the red zone in victories over Purdue and Air Force. The Irish had six red zone opportunities against the Falcons on Oct. 8 and came away with six touchdowns. Notre Dame had five red zone chances against the Boilermakers on Oct. 1 and came away with four scores (three touchdowns), but did have a 23-yard field goal blocked.uIn victories over Air Force and Purdue, Notre Dame scored on 10 of its 11 red zone chances, including nine touchdowns.uThe Irish entered Pittsburgh's red zone on just one occasion and recorded a touchdown along with a two-point conversion.

OFFEnSIvE OnSLAUGHTu Notre Dame is one of nine FBS schools that has registered a 1,000-yard receiver (Michael Floyd), 1,000-yard rusher (Cierre Wood) and 2,700-yard passer (Tommy Rees). The other FBS schools to already accomplish the feat include Arizona State, Baylor, USC, Iowa, Oklahoma State, North Carolina, California and Texas A&M.uNotre Dame totaled 5,089 yards of total offense in the regular season, which ranks 38th in the FBS in total offense yards. The Irish rank 32nd in the FBS in total yards per play (6.09) and 33rd in total yards/game (424.08).uNotre Dame recorded 67 explosive plays (27 rushes of at least 15 yards and 40 receptions of at least 20 yards) in the regular season.uThe Irish tallied seven explosive plays (one rush and six receptions) in the loss to No. 4 Stanford on Nov. 26. The six pass plays of 20+ yards were the second-most by Notre Dame in any single game. The Irish recorded seven pass plays of 20 yards or more in the season opener against USF.


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Receiving Yards per Game - Season1. Golden Tate 124.6 (2009)2. Jim Seymour 123.1 (1966)3. Michael Floyd 113.6 (2009)4. Tom Gatewood 112.3 (1970)5. Jeff Samardzija 104.1 (2005)

Receiving Yards per Game - Career1. Michael Floyd 86.8 (2008-)2. Jim Seymour 81.3 (1966-68)3. Tom Gatewood 76.1 (1969-71)4. Golden Tate 73.2 (2007-09)

Games with 100 Yards - Season1. Golden Tate 9 (2009)2. Tom Gatewood 8 (1970)3. Maurice Stovall 6 (2005)4. Michael Floyd 5 (2009) Golden Tate 5 (2008) Jeff Samardzija 5 (2005)7. Michael Floyd 4 (2011) Michael Floyd 4 (2010) Michael Floyd 4 (2008) Jeff Samardzija 4 (2006) Tom Gatewood 4 (1969)

Games with 100 Yards - Career1. Michael Floyd 17 (2008-)2. Golden Tate 15 (2007-09)3. Tom Gatewood 13 (1969-71)4. Derrick Mayes 9 (1992-95) Jeff Samardzija 9 (2003-06)6. Maurice Stovall 7 (2002-05)7. Jim Seymour 6 (1966-68) Tim Brown 6 (1984-87)9. Rhema McKnight 5 (2002-06)10. Jack Snow 4 (1962-64) Tony Smith 4 (1989-91) Malcolm Johnson 4 (1995-98)

Touchdown Receptions - Game1. Maurice Stovall 4 vs. BYU, Oct. 22, 20052. Michael Floyd 3 vs. Nevada, Sept. 5, 2009 Michael Floyd 3 vs. W. Michigan, Oct. 16, 2010 Golden Tate 3 at Stanford, Nov. 28, 2009 Golden Tate 3 vs. Hawai’i, Dec. 24, 2008* Eddie Anderson 3 at Northwestern, Nov. 20, 1920 Bill Barrett 3 vs. North Carolina, Nov. 12, 1949 Jim Mutscheller 3 vs. Michigan State, Oct. 28, 1950 Jim Kelly 3 vs. Pittsburgh, Nov. 10, 1962 Jim Seymour 3 vs. Purdue, Sept. 24, 1966 Tom Gatewood 3 vs. Purdue, Sept. 26, 1970 Jeff Samardzija 3 vs. Michigan State, Sept. 17, 2005 Maurice Stovall 3 vs. Navy, Nov. 12, 2005*Hawai'i Bowl


uHere is a game-by-game breakdown of explosive plays:

Date Opponent 20+ Yard Passing Plays Date Opponent 15+ Yard Rushing PlaysSept. 3 USF 7 Oct. 1 Purdue 5Nov. 26 Stanford 6 Sept. 10 Michigan 5Oct. 8 Air Force 5 Oct. 8 Air Force 4Sept. 10 Michigan 5 Nov. 12 Maryland 2Oct. 29 Navy 4 Nov. 5 Wake Forest 2Nov. 19 Boston College 3 Sept. 24 Pittsburgh 2Nov. 12 Maryland 3 Sept. 17 Michigan State 2Sept. 17 Michigan State 3 Nov. 26 Stanford 1Oct. 1 Purdue 2 Nov. 19 Boston College 1Nov. 5 Wake Forest 1 Oct. 29 Navy 1Oct. 22 USC 1 Oct. 22 USC 1Sept. 24 Pittsburgh 0 Sept. 3 USF 1

uThe Irish offense tallied 10 explosive plays at Michigan, the most in the Kelly era. The previous high of eight was accomplished twice, including the season opener against USF and last year's 2010 Hyundai Sun Bowl victory over Miami (Fla.).uNotre Dame tallied nine more explosive plays in the victory over Air Force on Oct. 8.uThe Irish had a season-high of five rushes of at least 15 yards against both Purdue (Oct. 1) and Michigan (Sept. 10).uNotre Dame recorded a 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver in each of the first two games of 2011. The Irish had not posted consecu-tive outings with a 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver since Sept. 12 and Sept. 19, 2009 against Michigan and Michigan State. Notre Dame accomplished the feat again in the rout of Purdue on Oct. 1.

FORTUnE 500 OFFEnSEu Notre Dame eclipsed 500 yards of total offense in five of its 12 regular season games (508 vs. USF, 513 at Michigan, 551 at Purdue, 560 vs. Air Force and 508 vs. Maryland) - marking the first time the Irish have posted five or more 500-yard performances since the 2005 season.u Notre Dame's 2005 offense totaled 500 or more total yards in four of its first five games and six of its first 10. The '05 Irish finished the season with a school record seven games of at least 500 total yards, including 621 and 663 against BYU and Stanford, respectively. u In 1970, when Notre Dame set its all-time single-season record by averaging 510.5 yards per game (behind quarterback Joe Theismann), they had only two in their first five contests and finished with five 500-yard days for the season. More recently, in 2009 when the Irish ranked eight nationally with 451.75 yards per contest, they finished with four 500-yard efforts (with Jimmy Clausen at the helm). In 1968 – the only other year the Irish averaged 500 yards a game for the full season (504.4 to rate second nationally) – Terry Hanratty and Company accounted for five 500-yard efforts.u Notre Dame recorded five 500-yard games in both 1973 and 1992 as well.

Rank Year 500-yard Total Offense Games1. 2005 72. 1970 63. 2011 5 1992 5 1973 5 1968 5

u Here is a breakdown of Notre Dame’s 500-plus games, season by season, since 1990:

1990: 502 vs. Purdue 542 vs. Air Force1991: 650 vs. Michigan State1992: 561 vs. Northwestern 509 vs. Michigan State 580 vs. Purdue 521 vs. Pittsburgh 576 vs. Boston College1993: 539 vs. Pittsburgh 535 vs. BYU 604 vs. Navy1994: 547 vs. Purdue1995: 503 vs. Purdue 511 vs. Texas 514 vs. Air Force1996: 650 vs. Washington 544 vs. Boston College 565 vs. Pittsburgh 648 vs. Rutgers

1997: 520 vs. Boston College1998: None1999: 566 vs. Oklahoma 524 vs. Navy2000: None2001: None2002: None2003: 512 vs. Stanford2004: 536 vs. Purdue2005: 502 vs. Pittsburgh 594 vs. Michigan State 560 vs. Washington 621 vs. Purdue 511 vs. BYU 505 vs. Navy 663 vs. Stanford

2006 None2007: None2008: None2009: 510 vs. Nevada 530 vs. Washington 592 vs. Washington State 512 vs. Navy2010: 535 vs. Michigan2011: 508 vs. USF 513 vs. Michigan 551 vs. Purdue 560 vs. Air Force 508 vs. Maryland

28

Game Notes


Touchdown Receptions - Season1. Golden Tate 15 (2009) Rhema McKnight 15 (2006) Jeff Samardzija 15 (2005)4. Michael Floyd 12 (2010) Jeff Samardzija 12 (2006) 6. Derrick Mayes 11 (1994) Maurice Stovall 11 (2005)8. Golden Tate 10 (2008)9. Michael Floyd 9 (2009) Jack Snow 9 (1964)-- Michael Floyd 8 (2011)

Touchdown Receptions - Career1. Michael Floyd 36 (2008-)2. Jeff Samardzija 27 (2003-06)3. Golden Tate 26 (2007-09)4. Derrick Mayes 22 (1992-95) Rhema McKnight 22 (2002-06)6. Tom Gatewood 19 (1969-71)7. Maurice Stovall 18 (2002-05)8. Jim Seymour 16 (1966-68)9. Ken MacAfee 15 (1974-77)10. Tim Brown 12 (1984-87) Bobby Brown 12 (1996-99)

Touchdown Receptions - Season (RB)1. Joseph Heap 5 (1953)2. Bob Scarpitto 4 (1959) Coley O’Brien 4 (1968)4. Jim Morse 3 (1954) Jim Morse 3 (1955) Ray Zellars 3 (1993) Marc Edwards 3 (1995) Tony Fisher 3 (2000)9. 18 players with 2 (MR: Cierre Wood, 2010)

Total Offense Total Plays - Season1. Brady Quinn 549 (2006)2. Brady Quinn 520 (2005)3. Jimmy Clausen 494 (2008)4. Jimmy Clausen 484 (2009)5. Jarious Jackson 456 (1999)6. Tommy Rees 411 (2011)7. Brady Quinn 407 (2004)8. Joe Theismann 391 (1970)9. Brady Quinn 380 (2003)10. Carlyle Holiday 350 (2002)

Total Offense Yards - Season1. Brady Quinn 4,009 (2005)2. Jimmy Clausen 3,627 (2009)3. Brady Quinn 3,497 (2006)4. Jarious Jackson 3,217 (1999)5. Jimmy Clausen 3,099 (2008)6. Joe Theismann 2,813 (1970)7. Tommy Rees 2,680 (2011)8. Brady Quinn 2,582 (2004)9. Rick Mirer 2,423 (1991)10. Steve Beuerlein 2,246 (1986)


u Notre Dame surpassed 550 total yards in consecutive victories over Purdue and Air Force. The Irish had not totaled 550 yards or more of total offense in back-to-back games since 2005. Notre Dame actually surpassed 550 total yards in three straight games against Michigan State, Washington and Purdue. u Notre Dame totaled 560 total yards in the rout of Air Force on Oct. 8. It was the most yards for the Irish since Oct. 31, 2009 when Notre Dame had 592 against Washington State.u Purdue was the first time the Irish came away with a victory in a game where the Irish exceeded 500 yards this season. Notre Dame also had 500 or more total yards against both USF and Michigan.u Notre Dame racked up 34 first downs in the victory over Purdue on Oct. 1. The Irish fell just two first downs shy of the school record set against Army in 1974 (36). The 34 first downs were the most for Notre Dame since they had 34 against Michigan State on Sept. 21, 1991. In fact, an Irish team has not recorded more first downs in a game since the school record 36 first downs on Oct. 19, 1974.u The Irish rank tied for 19th in the FBS in first downs per game (23.92).

FBS First Down Leaders Name Rush Pass Penalty Total PG1. Baylor 157 162 25 344 28.672. Houston 110 239 19 368 28.313. Nevada 160 150 19 329 27.424. Texas A&M 129 174 20 323 26.925. Oklahoma State 98 208 16 322 26.836. Oklahoma 112 197 12 321 26.757. Texas Tech 103 192 19 314 26.178. Arizona 78 203 28 309 25.759. Boise State 98 186 23 307 25.5810. Stanford 122 155 21 298 24.83t-19. Notre Dame 107 153 27 287 23.92

OFFEnSIvE FIREWORKSu Notre Dame and Air Force combined for 60 first downs, 1,125 total yards and 92 points in its meeting on Oct. 8.u The 92 combined points are the most in Notre Dame Stadium history. The previous mark was 90 combined points, which happened on two different occasions. The Irish knocked off SMU, 61-29, in 1986 and Navy bested Notre Dame, 46-44, in three overtimes in 2007.u Notre Dame collected touchdowns on each of its first six drives in the game against Air Force on Oct. 8.

TEAM RECORDS In JEOPARDYu Notre Dame will approach several team single-season offensive records from the modern era this season. Here is an overview of the team records that could be threatened this season:

Record Number (Year) 2011Rushing Yards Per Attempt (Modern Record) 5.6 (1992) 5.0Pass Attempts 481 (2010) 438Pass Attempts Per Game 37.8 (2005) 36.5Pass Completions 301 (2009) 283Pass Completions Per Game 25.1 (2009) 23.6Completion Percentage .673 (2009) .646Extra Point Percentage 100.0 (1990, 41 of 41) 100.0 (45 of 45) 100.0 (1987, 36 of 36) 100.0 (1972, 34 of 34)Kickoff Return Yards 1,223 (1999) 1,187First Downs 314 (2005) 287First Downs by Passing 169 (2005) 153First Downs by Penalty 22 (1997) 27

IRISH TOUGH TO BEAT WHEn WInnInG THE RUSHInG BATTLEuNotre Dame’s 27-game winning streak when outrushing its opponent was snapped in the loss at Michigan on Sept. 10. The Irish had not lost a game when outrushing their foe since Dec. 28, 2004 when Notre Dame lost to Oregon State, 38-21, in the Insight Bowl.uNotre Dame has outrushed seven of its opponents this season. The Irish have won 33 of their last 34 games when recording more rushing yards than their opponent.

DOUBLE CEnTURY GROUnD GAMEuNotre Dame ran for 212 yards in its 45-21 rout of Maryland on Nov. 12. The Irish improved to 3-0 this season when rushing for at least 200 yards. uNotre Dame has won eight consecutive games when it rushes for at least 200 yards. The Irish have not lost a game with more than 200 yards on the ground since Nov. 3, 2007 against Navy. uNotre Dame is 20-1 over the last 10 years (since the start of the 2002 season) when it gains 200 or more yards rushing.


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IRISH GROUnD GAME In 2011 YIELDS MAJOR RETURnS COMPARED TO 2010u Notre Dame averaged only 126.62 rushing yards/game in 2010. The Irish have improved that effort in 2011 to 166.00 rushing yards/game or an improvement of 31.10 percent, which ranks as the 13th-best improvement (percentage wise) in rushing yards/game in the FBS.u Notre Dame's improvement of 39.38 rushing yards/game compared to 2010 ranks as the 17th-best improvement (yards wise) in the FBS.

Rank Team 2011 Rush Yards/Game 2010 Rush Yards/Game Improvement (Percentage)1. Bowling Green 122.92 62.83 95.642. Temple 256.67 150.25 70.833. Utah State 277.50 168.67 64.524. Indiana 161.00 100.33 60.475. UNLV 164.25 103.31 58.996. Wyoming 185.08 119.50 54.887. Missouri 236.25 156.38 51.078. Colorado State 166.83 113.00 47.649. Texas 210.42 150.50 39.8110. Army 350.91 251.62 39.4613. Notre Dame 166.00 126.62 31.10

Rank Team 2011 Rush Yards/Game 2010 Rush Yards/Game Improvement (Yards)1. Utah State 277.50 168.67 108.832. Temple 256.67 150.25 106.423. Army 350.91 251.62 99.294. Missouri 236.25 156.38 79.875. Wyoming 185.08 119.50 65.586. UNLV 164.25 103.31 60.947. Indiana 161.00 100.33 60.678. Bowling Green 122.92 62.83 60.099. Texas 210.42 150.50 59.9210. Colorado State 166.83 113.00 53.8317. Notre Dame 166.00 126.62 39.38

POInTS-A-PLEnTYuNotre Dame has scored 45 or more points on three different occasions in 2011 – each in the last six contests. The Irish have not had a season with at least three games of 45 or more points since 1996. The '96 squad had five games with 45 or more points. uNotre Dame has eclipsed the 50-point barrier twice in its last six games. The Irish had not surpassed 50 points in multiple games in the same season since 1996 when Notre Dame registered 50 or more points in four games. uPrior to the Air Force contest on Oct. 8, Notre Dame had not eclipsed 50 points in a game since Nov. 29, 2003, when the Irish routed Stanford (57-7) – a span of 93 games. uThe 2011 edition of the Notre Dame offense is just the ninth Irish squad since 1946 to collect multiple 50+ point games. uThe Irish scored 132 points in games against Air Force, USC and Navy. Notre Dame has not posted more points over a three-game stretch since 1996 when the Irish scored 142 points in three games against Pittsburgh, Rutgers and USC. uNotre Dame is one of 15 teams in the FBS this season to eclipse 56 points in multiple games. The Irish are one of 11 FBS squads to accomplish the feat against exclusively FBS opponents. The only teams with more 56+ point games against multiple FBS foes – Houston (five), Oklahoma State (four) and Stanford (three).

BALAnCED ATTACKu Notre Dame is 4-0 this season when it runs the ball more than it passes (Michigan State, Navy, Wake Forest and Maryland). When the Irish run the ball on at least 42 percent of their plays, they are 8-2 in 2011 (the defeats coming on Sept. 10 at Michigan and Nov. 26 at Stanford).u Notre Dame is one of nine FBS schools (five among BCS AQ conferences) that rank in the top 34 in total offense and total defense.uSophomore QB Andrew Hendrix tossed his first career touchdown pass and collected his first career touchdown run in the 28-14 defeat at No. 4 Stanford on Nov. 26. Hendrix, who played the entire second half, completed 11 of 24 passes for 192 yards. u The Irish had seven different players register a touchdown in the 59-33 rout of Air Force. The last time the Irish had at least seven different players score touchdowns – Oct. 9, 1999 against Arizona State.u The 59 points scored for the Irish were the most since Nov. 23, 1996, when Notre Dame shutout Rutgers, 62-0, in Lou Holtz’s last game as head coach at Notre Dame Stadium.uJunior WR Robby Toma collected his first career touchdown reception. Toma hauled in a 10-yard pass from Rees with 4:07 to go in the first quarter to give the Irish a 21-3 lead over Air Force.uFreshman RB George Atkinson III collected his first career touchdown run. Atkinson III leapt in the end zone from one-yard out to make the score, 59-19, in favor of Notre Dame. Twin brother DB Josh Atkinson also made his Irish debut against the Falcons.uDuring Notre Dame’s recent four-game winning streak, the Irish were incredibly balanced on offense, scoring nine rushing touchdowns and nine passing touchdowns. Notre Dame rushed the ball on 48 percent of its plays over the streak and 48 percent of its offensive yards were on the ground. The Irish averaged 6.4 yards on running plays and 6.5 yards on total pass plays in the four games.

Total Offense Yards per Attempt - Career1. John Huarte 7.46 (1962-64)2. George Gipp 7.39 (1917-20)3. Jarious Jackson 7.34 (1996-99)4. Rick Mirer 7.04 (1989-92)5. Joe Theismann 6.73 (1968-70)6. Tommy Rees 6.45 (2010-)7. Brady Quinn 6.44 (2003-06)

Total Offense Yards per Game - Season1. Brady Quinn 334.1 (2005)2. Jimmy Clausen 302.3 (2009)3. Joe Theismann 281.3 (1970)4. Brady Quinn 269.0 (2006)5. Jarious Jackson 268.1 (1999)6. Terry Hanratty 249.3 (1968)7. Jimmy Clausen 238.4 (2008)8. Dayne Crist 234.1 (2010)9. Tommy Rees 223.3 (2011)10. Brady Quinn 215.3 (2004)

Total Yards per Game - Career1. Brady Quinn 243.8 (2003-06)2. Jimmy Clausen 222.7 (2007-09)3. Joe Theismann 187.3 (1968-70)4. Terry Hanratty 182.2 (1966-68)5. Tommy Rees 180.2 (2010-)6. Rick Mirer 159.3 (1989-92)7. Steve Beuerlein 153.8 (1983-86)

Rushing/Receiving Yards - Season (Non-QB)1. Allen Pinkett 1,682 (1983)2. Darius Walker 1,658 (2006)3. Darius Walker 1,547 (2005)4. Vagas Ferguson 1,509 (1979)5. Autry Denson 1,443 (1997)6. Reggie Brooks 1,367 (1992)7. Allen Pinkett 1,362 (1984)8. Julius Jones 1,321 (2003)9. Autry Denson 1,290 (1996)10. Raghib Ismail 1,278 (1990)-- Cierre Wood 1,223 (2011)

Total Touchdowns - Career1. Allen Pinkett 53 (1982-85)2. Autry Denson 47 (1995-98)3. Michael Floyd 37 (2008-)4. Louis (Red) Salmon 36 (1900-03)5. Vagas Ferguson 35 (1976-79)6. Anthony Johnson 34 (1986-89)7. Marc Edwards 32 (1993-96)8. Stan Cofall 30 (1914-16) Golden Tate 30 (2007-09)10. Neil Worden 29 (1951-53) Julius Jones 29 (1999-01, ’03)


30

Game Notes


Scoring - Season Year TD PAT FG PTS1. Jerome Bettis 1991 20 0 0 1202. Allen Pinkett 1983 18 1** 0 1103. Golden Tate 2009 18 0 0 108 Allen Pinkett 1984 18 0 0 1085. Louis (Red) Salmon 1903 15 30 0 105***6. Vagas Ferguson 1979 17 0 0 1027. David Ruffer 2010 0 37 18 918. Autry Denson 1998 15 0 0 909. Craig Hentrich 1990 0 41 16 8910. Kevin Pendergast 1993 0 45 14 87 John Carney 1986 0 24 21 87

Scoring - Career1. Allen Pinkett 3202. Craig Hentrich 2943. Autry Denson 2824. Louis (Red) Salmon 250***5. Nicholas Setta 2486. Dave Reeve 2477. Stan Cofall 2468. John Carney 2239. Michael Floyd 21610. Vagas Ferguson 210***Salmon's TD and FG worth five pts each

Points Responsibility - Season1. Brady Quinn, 2006 234 2 rushing TDs, 37 passing TDs2. Brady Quinn, 2005 198 1 rushing TD, 32 passing TDs3. Jimmy Clausen, 2009 186 3 rushing TDs, 28 passing TDs4. Rick Mirer, 1991 162 9 rushing TDs, 18 passing TDs5. Jimmy Clausen, 2008 150 0 rushing TDs, 25 passing TDs6. Jarious Jackson, 1999 146 7 rush TDs, 17 pass TDs, 1 two-point7. Ron Powlus, 1994 130 2 rush TDs, 19 pass TDs, 2 two-point8. Ron Mohardt, 1921 126 12 rushing TDs, 9 passing TDs9. Joe Theismann, 1970 124 4 rush TDs, 16 pass TDs, 2 two-point10. Brady Quinn, 2004 120 3 rushing TDs, 17 passing TDs-- Tommy Rees, 2011 114 0 rushing TDs, 19 passing TDs

Points Responsibility per Game - Season1. Brady Quinn, 2006 (234 in 13) 18.02. Brady Quinn, 2005 (198 in 12) 16.53. Jimmy Clausen, 2009 (186 in 12) 15.54. Rick Mirer, 1992 (162 in 12) 13.55. Dayne Crist, 2010 (114 in 9) 27.76. Joe Theismann, 1970 (124 in 10) 12.47. Jarious Jackson, 1999 (146 in 12) 12.28. Ron Powlus, 1994 (130 in 11) 11.829. John Huarte, 1964 (118 in 10) 11.8010. Jimmy Clausen, 2008 (150 in 13) 11.50


IRISH MOvE THE CHAInS On THE GROUnDu Notre Dame has a pair of running backs ranked among the top 72 in the FBS in rushing yards per game. Junior RB Cierre Wood ranks 46th and senior RB Jonas Gray is 72nd. The Irish are one of four teams across the nation to have a pair of running backs rank among the top 72 (Oregon, Temple and Texas A&M).u Gray and Wood combined for 160 yards on 37 carries in the 16-14 victory over Boston College on Nov. 19. Wood rushed for 94 yards on a career-high 26 carries, while Gray had 61 yards on 11 rushes before suffering a season-ending knee injury early in the third quarter.u Gray and Wood combined for 235 yards on 39 carries – good for a 6.0 yards a carry – and three touchdowns in the 45-21 rout of Maryland on Nov. 12. Gray rushed for a career-best 136 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns, while Wood collected 99 yards on 18 rushes and one touchdown.u Gray and Wood nearly became the first Irish running back tandem to each rush for a 100 yards in the same game in over 10 years, but Wood finished one yard shy of the century mark. The last rushing tandem to accomplish the feat – FB Rashon Powers-Neal (108) and TB Ryan Grant (103) against Stanford on Oct. 5, 2002. TB Robert Farmer and TB Autry Denson are the last true running back tandem to collect 100-yard rushing games in the same contest. Farmer had 140 yards and Denson had 108 against Pittsburgh on Oct. 11, 1996.u Wood (1,042) and Gray (791) have combined for 1,833 yards rushing in 2011. They are one of three FBS backfields (Texas A&M and Temple are the others) with a pair of running backs with at least 791 yards rushing.u Wood and Gray were on pace to become the first Irish running back tandem in school history to not only surpass 900 yards on the ground in the same season, but eclipse the 1,000-yard barrier before Gray's season-ending injury.

Rushing Yards - Season Player, Year Carries Net Avg TD1. Vagas Ferguson, 1979 *301 *1437 4.8 *172. Allen Pinkett, 1983 252 1394 5.5 16 3. Reggie Brooks, 1992 167 1343 *8.0 134. Julius Jones, 2003 229 1268 5.5 10 Autry Denson, 1997 264 1268 4.8 126. Darius Walker, 2006 255 1267 5.0 77. Darius Walker, 2005 253 1196 4.7 98. Vagas Ferguson, 1978 211 1192 5.6 79. Autry Denson, 1996 202 1179 5.8 810. Autry Denson, 1998 251 1176 4.7 1511. Allen Pinkett, 1984 275 1105 4.0 *1712. Allen Pinkett, 1985 255 1100 4.3 1113. Ryan Grant, 2002 261 1085 4.2 9 14. Al Hunter, 1976 233 1058 4.5 12 15. Lee Becton, 1993 164 1044 6.4 616. Jerome Heavens, 1977 229 994 4.3 617. Jerome Bettis, 1991 168 972 5.8 1618. Marchy Schwartz, 1930 124 927 7.5 919. Creighton Miller, 1943 151 911 6.0 1020. Jim Stone, 1980 192 908 4.7 7 -- Cierre Wood, 2011 216 1,128 5.2 10 (projected)* modern school records

u Notre Dame has rushed for 1,992 yards in 2011. The Irish are on pace to rush for 2,158 yards this season, which would be the most since 2000, when Notre Dame ran for 2,349 yards.u Gray (12) and Wood (nine) have rushed for a combined 21 touchdowns. Gray is tied for 26th in the FBS in rushing touchdowns, while Wood is tied for 43rd. The duo is one of three running back tandems in the FBS with at least nine rushing touchdowns apiece (LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner of Oregon; Joseph Randle and Jeremy Smith of Oklahoma State).u Notre Dame has rushed for 25 touchdowns in 2011, which ranks tied for 30th in the FBS. It is the most rushing touchdowns in a season for the Irish since 1996 when they had 34.u Gray and Wood combined for 68 yards on 15 carries in the opening half against Wake Forest on Nov. 5, but totaled 71 yards on just five carries on Notre Dame’s first two scoring drives of the third quarter.u Gray and Wood each rushed for a pair of touchdowns in the first half against Navy on Oct. 29.u Notre Dame had not had two running backs register multiple rushing touchdowns in the same game since Oct. 11, 2001 against West Virginia when Julius Jones and Tony Fisher each had a pair.u The four touchdown rushes in the first half alone against Navy equaled Notre Dame’s previous high for the season. The Irish had four rushing touchdowns in the victory over Air Force on Oct. 8.u Notre Dame finished the game against Navy with seven rushing touchdowns – the most for the Irish since Sept. 26, 1992 against Purdue (also had seven rushing touchdowns). Notre Dame has not had more rushing touchdowns in a game since Nov. 6, 1965 when the Irish had nine rushing touchdowns in a 69-13 rout of Pittsburgh.u Notre Dame rushed for 266 yards on 29 carries in the 59-33 rout of Air Force on Oct. 8. The Irish rushed for 735 yards combined in victo-ries over Pittsburgh, Purdue and Air Force. Notre Dame recorded 182 yards against the Panthers and 287 yards against the Boilermakers. The Irish had not rushed for more yards over a three-game span since 2003 when Notre Dame totaled 804 yards on the ground against Navy (280), BYU (204) and Stanford (320), respectively.


MEDIA INFOGAM



BOWL HISTORY


Tackles - Game1. Bob Golic 26 vs. Michigan, Sept. 23, 1978 Bob Crable 26 vs. Clemson, Nov. 17, 19793. Chinendum Ndukwe 22 at Air Force, Nov. 11, 2006 Bob Golic 22 vs. Pittsburgh, Oct. 14, 1978 Jeff Weston 22 vs. Navy, Nov. 1, 19756. Manti Te'o 21 vs. Stanford, Sept. 25, 20107. Bob Crable 20 at Michigan, Sept. 19, 19818. Bob Golic 19 vs. Purdue, Sept. 30, 1978 Bob Crable 19 vs. Michigan, Sept. 20, 1980 Bob Crable 19 at Georgia Tech, Nov. 8, 1980 Bob Crable 19 at Alabama, Nov. 15, 1980 Bob Crable 19 vs. Florida State, Oct. 10, 1981

Tackles - Career1. Bob Crable 521 (1978-81)2. Bob Golic 479 (1975-78)3. Steve Heimkreiter 398 (1975-78)4. Bob Olson 369 (1967-69)5. Tony Furjanic 361 (1982-85)6. Mike Kovaleski 353 (1983-86)7. Ross Browner 340 (1973, 1975-77)8. Manti Te'o 307 (2009-)9. Maurice Crum Jr. 306 (2005-08)10. Harrison Smith 303 (2007-)

Tackles - Season - Defensive Back1. Kyle McCarthy 110 (2008)2. Kyle McCarthy 101 (2009)3. Chinedum Ndukwe 98 (2006)4. David Bruton 97 (2008)5. Harrison Smith 93 (2010)6. Steve Lawrence 92 (1985)7. A'Jani Sanders 91 (1999)8. David Bruton 85 (2007)9. Harrison Smith 84 (2011)10. Brian Magee 81 (1994) Glenn Earl 81 (2002)

Tackles - Career - Defensive Back1. Tom Zbikowski 300 (2004-07)2. Kyle McCarthy 240 (2005-09)3. Jim Browner 228 (1976-78)4. A'Jani Sanders 225 (1996-99)5. Harrison Smith 217 (2007-)6. David Bruton 214 (2005-08)7. Brian Magee 206 (1992-95)8. Deke Cooper 203 (1997-99)9. Jeff Burris 189 (1991-93)10. John Covington 184 (1990-93) Stacey Toran 184 (1980-83)


u Notre Dame surpassed 250 yards rushing in back-to-back weeks on Oct. 1 and Oct. 8 (287 at Purdue and 266 against Air Force). The Irish had not gone back-to-back weeks with 250+ yards on the ground since Nov. 11 and Nov. 18, 2000. Notre Dame galloped for 380 and 295 against Boston College and Rutgers, respectively.u Notre Dame rushed for 469 yards in consecutive road games at Pittsburgh (182) and at Purdue (287). The Irish had not posted a higher rushing total over back-to-back road games since 2000 (Notre Dame had 541 yards on the ground in victories at Rutgers and USC).u The Irish rushed for 287 yards in the rout of Purdue on Oct. 1 – the most for Notre Dame since it ran for 320 yards at Stanford on Nov. 29, 2003.u Notre Dame averaged a remarkable 8.0 yards per rush in victories over Purdue and Air Force – 287 yards on 40 carries against the Boiler-makers and 266 yards on 29 carries against the Falcons. u Notre Dame averaged an astounding 9.2 yards per rush in the rout of Air Force on Oct. 8. This came one week after the Irish averaged 7.2 yards per rush at Purdue. The 7.2 yards per rush average against the Boilermakers was the highest for Notre Dame since Nov. 9, 1996 (when the Irish averaged 7.3 yards per carry; minimum 20 carries). The Irish rushed for 426 yards on 58 carries in a 48-21 rout of Boston College in Chestnut Hill.u Just how good was 9.2 yards per carry? Notre Dame has not posted a higher per carry average (minimum 20 rushes) since the start of the 1950 season (when complete box scores became available). The 9.2 yards per carry is just off the school record. Notre Dame averaged 12.9 yards per rush (464 yards on 36 carries) against Kalamazoo on Sept. 29, 1923. It fell just shy of the modern school record as well – 10.0 yards per carry against Great Lakes on Dec. 5, 1942 (250 yards on 25 rushes).

IRISH EFFICIEnT On FIRST & SECOnD DOWnuNotre Dame has a 66.8% completion percentage (123 for 184) on first down. Sophomore QB Tommy Rees is 106 for 160 (66.3%) for 49 first downs and six touchdowns on first down. The Irish (97 for 144, 67.4%) and Rees (91 for 129, 70.5%) are even better on second down.

REES AHEAD OF THE GAME On THIRD DOWnuRees is also completing 59.1% (55 for 93) of his passes on third down. Here is an impressive comparison of third-down passing between Rees during his first two seasons against former Irish signal callers Brady Quinn (junior and senior campaigns) and Jimmy Clausen (sophomore and junior seasons).

3rd Down Completion Percentage Player (Year) Pct. (Cmp-Att) Player (Year) Pct. (Cmp-Att) Player (Year) Pct. (Cmp-Att) Tommy Rees (2010) 57.1% (28-49) Brady Quinn (2005) 60.2% (59-98) Jimmy Clausen (2008) 47.9% (46-96) Tommy Rees (2011) 59.1% (55-93) Brady Quinn (2006) 48.5% (50-103) Jimmy Clausen (2009) 52.4% (44-84)

uSenior RB Jonas Gray and junior RB Cierre Wood averaged 6.9 and 5.2 yards per carry, respectively, in the regular season. Gray also averaged 7.7 yards per carry on first down, while Wood picked up 5.4 yards per first down rush. Gray averaged 6.1 yards per rush on second down and Wood averaged 5.4 yards per rush on second down. Here is a complete breakdown of their season.

Total 1st Down 2nd Down 3rd Down 4th Down Att. Avg. 1st TD Att. Avg. 1st TD Att. Avg. 1st TD Att. Avg. 1st TD Att. Avg. 1st TDCierre Wood 199 5.2 53 9 111 5.4 21 6 64 5.4 20 2 23 3.8 11 1 1 10.0 1 0Jonas Gray 114 6.9 38 12 62 7.7 13 4 36 6.1 15 5 15 6.0 10 2 1 1.0 0 1

WHO TO LOOK TO On THIRD DOWn?uJunior TE Tyler Eifert, senior WR Michael Floyd, junior WR Theo Riddick, sophomore WR TJ Jones, senior WR John Goodman and junior WR Robby Toma have registered 18, 15, four, four, two and one first down receptions, respectively, on third down passing plays. In fact, of Eifert's 20 third-down grabs, 18 have produced either a first down or touchdown.

QUICK STRIKE OFFEnSEu Notre Dame marched 87 yards in 39 seconds on four plays capped off by a two-yard run from sophomore QB Andrew Hendrix to close the scoring against No. 4 Stanford on Nov. 26. It was Notre Dame’s 13th touchdown drive in 2011 that took less than two minutes. It also was the ninth touchdown drive for the Irish this season that took four plays or lessu Notre Dame’s first touchdown at Wake Forest on Nov. 5 – a 38-yard touchdown pass from sophomore QB Tommy Rees to junior TE Tyler Eifert – came via a scoring drive that lasted only 23 seconds.u Notre Dame’s first touchdown at Purdue on Oct. 1 – a 35-yard TD pass from sophomore QB Tommy Rees to senior WR Michael Floyd – came just 24 seconds into the first quarter. It was Notre Dame’s earliest touchdown to open a game since Floyd hauled in an 80-yard TD pass from senior QB Dayne Crist on the first play from scrimmage against Western Michigan on Oct. 16, 2010. That Floyd score came just 12 seconds into the contest.u The 10-second scoring drive was the fastest for the Irish since an eight second touchdown drive against the Broncos. Floyd hauled in a 32-yard TD pass from senior WR John Goodman on that drive.u Notre Dame added its second one-play touchdown drive of 2011 in the rout of Navy on Oct. 29. Senior WR Michael Floyd hauled in a 56-yard touchdown pass from sophomore QB Tommy Rees. Senior RB Jonas Gray had a 79-yard touchdown run on the other one-play Irish scoring drive.

32

Game Notes


Tackles for Loss - Career1. Ross Browner 77–515 (1973, 1975-77)2. Kory Minor 44.5–209 (1995-98)3. Justin Tuck 42–209 (2002-04) Anthony Weaver 42–121 (1998-2001)5. Victor Abiamiri 40-219 (2003-06) Walt Patulski 40–264 (1969-71)7. Courtney Watson 39–151 (2000-03)8. Scott Zettek 38–212 (1976-80)9. Brandon Hoyte 36-119 (2002-05)10. Derek Landri 34.5-136 (2002-06)-- Darius Fleming 32.5-131 (2008-)

Sacks - Career1. Justin Tuck 24.5 (2002-04)2. Kory Minor 22.5 (1995-98)3. Victor Abiamiri 21.5 (2003-06)4. Mike Gann 21 (1981-84)5. Renaldo Wynn 19.5 (1993-96)6. Ryan Roberts 19 (1999-2002)7. Bryant Young 18 (1990-93)8. Anthony Weaver 17 (1998-2001)9. Bert Berry 16.5 (1993-96)10. Darius Fleming 15.0 (2008-)

Interceptions - Game1. 14 players with 3 (MR: Harrison Smith, vs. Miami, Fla., Dec. 31, 2010)

Interceptions - Season1. Mike Townsend 10 (1972)2. Tom MacDonald 9 (1962)3. Angelo Bertelli 8 (1942) Tony Carey 8 (1964) Todd Lyght 8 (1989)6. Harrison Smith 7 (2010) Tom Schoen 7 (1966) Clarence Ellis 7 (1970) Dave Duerson 7 (1982) Shane Walton 7 (2002)

Interception Return Yards - Game1. Luther Bradley 103 at Purdue, Sept. 20, 19752. Bobbie Howard 89 vs. LSU, Nov 21, 19983. Dave Duerson 88 at Miami (Fla.), Nov. 27, 19814. Robert Blanton 83 vs. Michigan St., Sept. 17, 2011 Tom Zbikowski 83 vs. BYU, Oct. 22, 20056. Tom Carter 79 vs. Tennessee, Nov. 9, 1991

Passes Broken Up - Season1. Clarence Ellis 13 (1969)2. Dave Waymer 12 (1978)3. Raeshon McNeil 11 (2008) Luther Bradley 11 (1973) Tom Schoen 11 (1967)6. Harrison Smith 9 (2011) Ralph Stepaniak 10 (1969) David Martin 10 (1966) Thomas O’Leary 10 (1966) Tony Carey 10 (1964) Tom Longo 10 (1964) Dennis Phillips 10 (1963)


u Notre Dame has registered 13 touchdown drives of under two minutes.

Drive Time Scoring Play Opponent (Date)0:10 Michael Floyd 35-yard pass from Tommy Rees Purdue (Oct. 1)0:14 Jonas Gray 79-yard run Pittsburgh (Sept. 24)0:22 Michael Floyd 56-yard pass from Tommy Rees Navy (Oct. 29)0:23 Tyler Eifert 38-yard pass from Tommy Rees Wake Forest (Nov. 5)0:39 Andrew Hendrix 2-yd run Stanford (Nov. 26)0:42 Theo Riddick 29-yard pass from Tommy Rees Michigan (Sept. 10)1:03 Cierre Wood 55-yard run Purdue (Oct. 1)1:09 Theo Riddick 24-yard pass from Tommy Rees Air Force (Oct. 8)1:21 Michael Floyd 24-yard pass from Tommy Rees USF (Sept. 3)1:37 Jonas Gray two-yard run Navy (Oct. 29)1:41 Robby Toma 10-yard pass from Tommy Rees Air Force (Oct. 8)1:54 Jonas Gray six-yard run Air Force (Oct. 8)1:58 Michael Floyd eight-yard pass from Tommy Rees USF (Sept. 3)

u Notre Dame has registered 10 touchdown drives that needed just four plays or less.

Plays Scoring Play Opponent (Date)1-79 Jonas Gray 79-yard run Pittsburgh (Sept. 24)1-56 Michael Floyd 56-yard pass from Tommy Rees Navy (Oct. 29)2-50 Tyler Eifert 38-yard pass from Tommy Rees Wake Forest (Nov. 5)2-35 Michael Floyd 35-yard pass from Tommy Rees Purdue (Oct. 1)3-79 Cierre Wood 55-yard run Purdue (Oct. 1)4-22 Jonas Gray two-yard run Navy (Oct. 29)4-51 Robby Toma 10-yard pass from Tommy Rees Air Force (Oct. 8)4-61 Theo Riddick 29-yard pass from Tommy Rees Michigan (Sept. 10)4-80 George Atkinson III one-yard run Air Force (Oct. 8)4-87 Andrew Hendrix 2-yd run Stanford (Nov. 26)

EXPLOSIvE RUSHInG ATTACKuNotre Dame has already had three different players – senior RB Jonas Gray (79), junior RB Cierre Wood (55) and sophomore QB Andrew Hendrix (78) – register runs of 50 yards or longer. The Irish have not had three separate players record runs of 50 yards or longer in the same season since 2001 when Carlyle Holiday (67), Julius Jones (59) and Tony Fisher (55) accomplished the feat.uNotre Dame has collected 27 runs of 15 yards or longer already in 2011. Junior RB Cierre Wood leads the Irish with 13 such carries, while senior RB Jonas Gray has added 11, sophomore QB Andrew Hendrix has two and freshman RB George Atkinson III has one. Notre Dame is on pace for 29 runs of 15 yards or longer. The Irish recorded 26 in 2010. uNotre Dame senior RB Jonas Gray (136), junior RB Cierre Wood (104, 134, 191) and sophomore QB Andrew Hendrix (111) have all recorded a 100-yard rushing game this season. The Irish have not had three different players register 100-yard games in the same season since 2001 when Tony Fisher, Carlyle Holiday and Julius Jones all rushed for 100 yards or more in a game.u Notre Dame is averaging 5.01 rushing yards per carry in 2011, which would fall shy of the modern school record set during the 1992 season (5.6 yards per carry). The all-time school record was put up by Knute Rockne’s 1921 squad (6.2 yards per rush).u Notre Dame ranks 21st in the FBS in yards per carry.

FBS Rushing Yards Per Carry Leaders School Carries Net Avg1. Oregon 589 3844 6.532. Utah State 573 3330 5.813. Air Force 668 3844 5.754. Georgia Tech 661 3802 5.755. Northern Illinois 560 3219 5.756. Army 690 3860 5.597. Alabama 473 2638 5.588. Navy 628 3451 5.59. Wisconsin 563 3086 5.4810. Oklahoma State 377 2049 5.4421. Notre Dame 392 1998 5.01


MEDIA INFOGAM



BOWL HISTORY


Passes Broken Up - Career1. Clarence Ellis 32 (1969-71)2. Harrison Smith 28 (2007-)3. Luther Bradley 27 (1973-77)4. Shane Walton 25 (1999-02)5. Dave Waymer 22 (1976-79)6. Todd Lyght 20.5 (1987-90)7. Darrin Walls 20 (2006-10) Ralph Stepaniak 20 (1969-71)9. Thomas O’Leary 19 (1965-67) Vontez Duff 18 (2000-03)

Field Goals - Game1. Nick Tausch 5 vs. Washington, Oct. 3, 2009 Nicholas Setta 5 vs. Washington State, Sept. 6, 2003 Nicholas Setta 5 vs. Maryland, Aug. 31, 2002 Craig Hentrich 5 vs. Miami, Oct. 20, 19905. Brandon Walker 4 vs. Pittsburgh, Nov. 1, 2008 D.J. Fitzpatrick 4 vs. BYU, Nov. 15, 2003 Reggie Ho 4 vs. Michigan, Sept. 10, 1988 John Carney 4 vs. SMU, Nov. 8, 1986 John Carney 4 at Michigan, Sept. 14, 1985 Harry Oliver 4 vs. Miami, Oct. 11, 1980 Harry Oliver 4 at Michigan State, Oct. 4, 1980 Chuck Male 4 at Michigan, Sept. 15, 1979

Field Goals - Season1. John Carney 21-28 (1986)2. Mike Johnson 19-22 (1982)3. David Ruffer 18-19 (2010) Harry Oliver 18-23 (1980) John Carney 18-22 (1985)6. Nick Tausch 14-17 (2009) Brandon Walker 14-24 (2008) Nicholas Setta 14-25 (2002)9. Mike Johnson 12-21 (1983)

Field Goal Percentage - Season (min. 15 attempts)1. David Ruffer, 2010 18-19 (.947)2. John Carney, 1984 17-19 (.895)

Most Consecutive Field Goals - Season1. David Ruffer 18 (2010)2. Nick Tausch 14 (2009)3. Mike Johnston 13 (1982)

Most Consecutive Field Goals - Career1. David Ruffer ( Pittsburgh '09 – Miami, Fla. '10) 232. Nick Tausch (Michigan '09 – Washington St. '09) 143. Mike Johnston (Michigan '82 – Oregon '82) 134. John Carney ( Navy '84 – Michigan '85) 105. Nicholas Setta (USC '00 – USC '01) 9 Nicholas Setta (Washington State '03 – Purdue '03) 9 D.J. Fitzpatrick (Navy '03 – BYU '04) 98. Chuck Male ( Miami '78 – Georgia Tech '78) 8 Chuck Male ( Michigan '79 – Michigan State '79) 8 John Carney ( Air Force '86 – Penn State '86) 8

Consecutive Games with Field Goals1. Nicholas Setta 16 (2000-02)2. David Ruffer 11 (2009-10) John Carney 11 (1986)


u Notre Dame averages a touchdown every 15.92 carries, which ranks 12th-best in the FBS.

FBS Leaders Touchdowns/Carry School Carries Touchdowns Touchdowns/Carry1. Oklahoma State 377 34 11.092. Wisconsin 563 46 12.24 Houston 404 33 12.244. Hawaii 301 22 13.685. TCU 481 35 13.746. Alabama 473 33 14.337. SMU 324 22 14.738. Georgia Tech 661 44 15.029. Oregon 589 39 15.1010. Arkansas 382 25 15.2812. Notre Dame 398 25 15.92

uNotre Dame recorded 27 runs of at least 15 yards in the regular season. It is the most by the Irish in a season since 2003 when Notre Dame recorded 33.uHere is a run-down explosive runs over the last 14 years:

Year 15+ Yard Running Plays Team Leaders2011 27 Cierre Wood 13 Jonas Gray 112010 26 Cierre Wood 14 Armando Allen Jr. 52009 25 Armando Allen Jr. 7 Robert Hughes 62008 22 Armando Allen Jr. 7 James Aldridge 62007 9 Robert Hughes 5 James Aldridge 32006 18 Darius Walker 13 Brady Quinn 32005 17 Darius Walker 14 Travis Thomas 22004 15 Darius Walker 9 Ryan Grant 32003 33 Julius Jones 25 Ryan Grant 52002 25 Ryan Grant 12 Carlyle Holiday 82001 28 Carlyle Holiday 13 Tony Fisher, Julius Jones 62000 30 Matt LoVecchio 8 Julius Jones 81999 27 Jarious Jackson 11 Julius Jones 71998 28 Autry Denson 12 Jarious Jackson 8

OFFEnSIvE LInE PAvES THE WAYuNotre Dame has been sacked only 13 times (or 1.08 per game) on 439 passes attempted or 452 actual pass attempts when including the pass plays that ultimately resulted in sacks. In other words, the Irish are yielding a sack once out of every 34.8 pass attempts or just 2.88% of true pass attempts.uNotre Dame’s offensive line put the “O” in October as the group allowed zero sacks in October. In fact, the Irish did not allow a sack in 195 consecutive pass attempts, spanning from the third quarter at Pittsburgh on Sept. 24 until the second quarter of the victory over Maryland on Nov. 12. The Terps did finish the contest with three sacks.uNotre Dame held seven of its opponents in 2011 without a sack, including USC (24th) and Michigan (28th) – both of whom rank in the top 40 in the FBS in sacks/game. In fact, the Irish rank 17th in the FBS in fewest sacks allowed despite having faced four teams that rank among the top 10 in sacks/game and seven teams that rank among the top 40.uNotre Dame held USC without a sack for the first time since the 1998 meeting.uNotre Dame is 17th in the FBS in overall sacks allowed (13) and sacks allowed per game (1.08).uOnly seven schools in the FBS – Oklahoma (558), USC (447), Texas A&M (497), Middle Tennessee State (509), Boise State (441), Ball State (460) and Oklahoma State (553) – have allowed fewer sacks per game with as many pass attempts as the Irish (438).

FBS Sacks Allowed Leaders School Sacks Sack Yds Sacks/Game1. Texas A&M 8.0 37 0.67 Boise State 8.0 48 0.67 USC 8.0 51 0.67 Middle Tennessee 8.0 60 0.675. Northern Illinois 9.0 66 0.696. Air Force 9.0 55 0.75 Toledo 9.0 61 0.75 Oklahoma 9.0 62 0.75 Stanford 9.0 62 0.7510. San Diego State 10.0 83 0.8317. Notre Dame 13.0 96 1.08

34

Game Notes


Extra Points (PAT) - Season1. D.J. Fitzpatrick 52-54 (2005)2. Carl Gioia 49-53 (2006)3. Craig Hentrich 48-48 (1991)4. David Ruffer 45-45 (2011)5. Kevin Pendergast 45-48 (1993) Scott Hempel 45-50 (1968)7. Nicholas Setta 44-45 (2000) Craig Hentrich 44-46 (1992) Craig Hentrich 44-45 (1989)10. Bob Thomas 43-45 (1973)

Consecutive Extra Points1. Craig Hentrich 136 (9-30-89 vs. Purdue to 9-26-92 vs. Purdue)2. Nicholas Setta 92 (10-7-00 vs. Stanford to 10-11-03 ended by injury)3. Bob Thomas 62 (11-6-71 vs. Pittsburgh to 10-23-73 vs. Army)4. David Ruffer 61 (10-30-10 vs. Tulsa to Current) D.J. Fitzpatrick 61 (11-6-04 at Tennessee to 11-26-05 at Stanford)6. Brandon Walker 60 (10-6-07 at UCLA to career ended in 2010)7. Mike Johnson 53 (10-18-80 vs. Army to 11-19-83 vs. Air Force)8. Ted Gradel 35 (11-8-86 vs. SMU to 11-28-87 vs. Miami (Fla.)

Extra Points (PAT) Attempted - Season1. D.J. Fitzpatrick 52-54 (2005)2. Carl Gioia 49-53 (2006)3. Steve Oracko 38-52 (1949)4. Scott Hempel 45-50 (1968)5. Kevin Pendergast 45-48 (1993) Craig Hentrich 48-48 (1991)7. Craig Hentrich 44-46 (1992)8. David Ruffer 45-45 (2011) Nicholas Setta 44-45 (2000) Craig Hentrich 44-45 (1989) Bob Thomas 43-45 (1973)

Extra Points Percentage - Season (min. 20 made)1. Craig Hentrich, 1991 48-48 (1.000) David Ruffer, 2011 45-45 (2011) Craig Hentrich, 1990 41-41 (1.000) Brandon Walker, 2008 39-39 (1.000) Bob Thomas, 1972 34-34 (1.000) Ted Gradel, 1987 33-33 (1.000) Nicholas Setta, 2002 32-32 (1.000) Stefan Schroffner, 1994 30-30 (1.000) John Carney, 1984 25-25 (1.000) Nicholas Setta, 2001 23-23 (1.000)


nOTRE DAME HURRY-UPu Notre Dame second-year head coach Brian Kelly's no-huddle, up-tempo offense was on full display in the 45-24 rout of Maryland on Nov. 12. The Irish ran a season-high and Kelly-era high 84 plays against the Terps. Surprisingly, Kelly never ran as many as 84 offensive plays in his tenure at Cincinnati. Notre Dame has not run more plays in a regulation, non-overtime game since Nov. 26, 2005 at Stanford. The Irish ran 88 plays and totaled 663 yards of total offense in a 38-31 victory over the Cardinal.u Notre Dame did run 90 plays in their triple-overtime loss to Navy on Nov. 3, 2007.u Notre Dame’s first four scoring drives (three touchdowns, one field goal) against Maryland on Nov. 12 took eight plays, 11 plays, seven plays and 13 plays, respectively, but not one of those scoring drives took lasted longer than 4:43. In fact, three of those drives took only 2:39, 2:33 and 2:31. u Notre Dame ran 49 plays in the first half alone.

FLOYD In THE nATIOnAL SPOTLIGHTuSenior WR Michael Floyd – a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist – owns Notre Dame school records in career receptions (266), career receiving yards (3,645), career touchdown receptions (36), career receiving yards per game (86.8) and career 100-yard receiving games (17).uFloyd's 36 career touchdown catches rank him tied for 17th in NCAA FBS history.

FBS Career Touchdown Receptions Leaders Player, School Years TD Receptions11. Braylon Edwards, Michigan 2001-04 39 Greg Jennings, Western Michigan 2002-05 39 Austin Pettis, Boise State 2007-10 3914. Clarkston Hines, Duke 1986-89 38 Marcus Harris, Wyoming 1993-96 3816. Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State 2009-11 3717. Michael Floyd, Notre Dame 2008-11 36 Terance Mathis, New Mexico 1985-87, 89 36 Roy Williams, Texas 2000-03 36 James Hardy, Indiana 2005-07 36 Ryan Grice-Mullens, Hawaii 2005-07 36

uFloyd's 266 career catches leave him six shy of 24th in NCAA FBS history. He has the chance to become the ninth wideout in FBS history to rank among the top 25 all-time in both touchdown receptions and catches.

FBS Career Receptions Leaders Player, School Years Receptions20. Emmanuel Sanders, SMU 2006-09 285 Greg Salas, Hawaii 2007-10 28522. Ryan Wolfe, UNLV 2006-09 28323. Troy Edwards, Louisiana Tech 1996-98 28024. Darius Watts, Marshall 2000-03 272 Vincent Marshall, Houston 2003-06 272- Michael Floyd, Notre Dame 2008-11 266

uFloyd's 3,645 career receiving yards leave him 57 shy of 25th in NCAA FBS history. He has the chance to become the eight wideout in FBS history to rank among the top 25 all-time in touchdown receptions, catches and receiving yards.

FBS Career Receptions Leaders Player, School Years Receptions20. Roy Williams, Texas 2000-03 3,86621. Emmanuel Sanders, SMU 2006-09 3,79122. Chad Mackey, Louisiana Tech 1993-96 3,78923. Vincent Marshall, Houston 2003-06 3,77024. Marc Zeno, Tulane 1984-87 3,72525. Brandon Stokley, La.-Lafayette 1995-98 3,70226. Ryne Robinson, Miami (Ohio) 2003-06 3,69727. Arnold Jackson, Louisville 1997-00 3,67028. Bryan Anderson, Central Michigan 2006-09 3,64829. Michael Floyd, Notre Dame 2008-11 3,645

uFloyd has a reception in 41 of the 42 games he has suited up for the Irish. The only game he failed to make a reception came against Navy in 2008 when he was injured early in the first quarter while blocking down field.uFloyd finished the game against Stanford with eight catches for 92 yards. He closed the regular season with 95 grabs (a single-season school record).uFloyd hauled in a six-yard touchdown pass with 6:21 left in the third quarter to cut the Irish deficit to 14 points (21-7).uThe touchdown reception was Floyd’s eight of the season and 36th of his career (already a Notre Dame school record).


MEDIA INFOGAM



BOWL HISTORY


uFloyd moved into a tie with four other wideouts for 17th place on the FBS all-time receiving touchdowns list. He is tied with Terance Mathis (New Mexico; 1985-87, 89), Roy Williams (Texas; 2000-03), James Hardy (Indiana; 2005-07) and Ryan Grice-Mullens (Hawaii; 2005-07).uFloyd hauled in a 25-yard grab midway through the fourth quarter against the Cardinal, which was his 94th catch of the season, besting Golden Tate’s previous school record of 93 receptions in a single season. uFloyd eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark for the fourth time in 2011 and 17th time in his career. He had six catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns (one rushing and one receiving) against Navy on Oct. 29.uFloyd has played in 42 career games, and in two of them (at Navy in 2008 and vs. Michigan State in 2009) he missed most of the action following an injury. Yet, Floyd has 17 career 100-yard receiving games over the other 40 games played.

TD Receptions – Career Receptions – Career1. Michael Floyd 36 (2008-) 1. Michael Floyd 266 (2008-)2. Jeff Samardzija 27 (2003-06) 2. Jeff Samardzija 179 (2003-06)3. Golden Tate 26 (2007-09) 3. Rhema McKnight 170 (2002-06)4. Rhema McKnight 22 (2003-06) 4. Golden Tate 157 (2007-09) Derrick Mayes 22 (1992-95) Tom Gatewood 157 (1969-71)6. Tom Gatewood 19 (1969-71) 6. Jim Seymour 138 (1966-68) 7. Maurice Stovall 18 (2002-05) 7. Tim Brown 137 (1984-87)8. Jim Seymour 16 (1966-68) 8. Maurice Stovall 130 (2002-05)9. Ken MacAfee 15 (1974-77) 9. Derrick Mayes 129 (1992-95)10. Tim Brown 12 (1984-87) 10. Ken MacAfee 128 (1974-77) Bobby Brown 12 (1996-99)

Games with 100 Yards - Career Receiving Yards - Career1. Michael Floyd 17 (2008-) 1. Michael Floyd 3645 (2008-)2. Golden Tate 15 (2007-09) 2. Golden Tate 2707 (2007-09)3. Tom Gatewood 13 (1969-71) 3. Jeff Samardzija 2593 (2003-06) 4. Derrick Mayes 9 (1992-95) 4. Derrick Mayes 2512 (1992-95) Jeff Samardzija 9 (2003-06) 5. Tim Brown 2493 (1984-87)6. Maurice Stovall 7 (2002-05) 6. Tom Gatewood 2283 (1969-71)7. Jim Seymour 6 (1966-68) 7. Rhema McKnight 2277 (2002-06) Tim Brown 6 (1984-87) 8. Maurice Stovall 2195 (2002-05) 9. Jim Seymour 2113 (1966-68) 10. Tony Hunter 1897 (1979-82)

Receiving Yards Per Game - Career1. Michael Floyd 86.8 (2008-)2. Jim Seymour 81.3 (1966-68)3. Tom Gatewood 76.1 (1969-71)4. Golden Tate 73.2 (2007-09)

uFloyd has now recorded 37 touchdowns over his Irish career. He third in school history. Floyd also ranks ninth in school history in career points.

Total Touchdowns - Career Scoring - Career1. Allen Pinkett 53 (1982-85) 1. Allen Pinkett 320 (1982-85)2. Autry Denson 47 (1995-98) 2. Craig Hentrich 294 (1989-92)3. Michael Floyd 37 (2008-) 3. Autry Denson 282 (1995-98)4. Louis (Red) Salmon 36 (1900-03) 4. Louis (Red) Salmon 250 (1900-03)5. Vagas Ferguson 35 (1976-79) 5. Nicholas Setta 248 (2000-03)6. Anthony Johnson 34 (1986-89) 6. Dave Reeve 247 (1974-77)7. Marc Edwards 32 (1993-96) 7. Stan Cofall 246 (1914-16)8. Stan Cofall 30 (1914-16) 8. John Carney 223 (1984-86) Golden Tate 30 (2007-09) 9. Michael Floyd 222 (2008-11)10. Neil Worden 29 (1951-53) 10. Vagas Ferguson 210 (1976-79) Julius Jones 29 (1999-01, ’03)

uAmong active FBS receivers, Floyd ranks third in career receiving touchdowns (36), fourth in career receiving yards (3,645), sixth in career receptions (266), seventh in career receiving yards/game (86.8), ninth in career receptions/game (6.33) and 14th in total touchdowns (37).

Active FBS WRs - Career Receiving Yards Active FBS WRs - Career Touchdown Receptions1. Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma 4,586 1. Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma 452. Jordan White, Western Michigan 3,922 2. Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State 373. Kendall Wright, Baylor 3,913 3. Michael Floyd, Notre Dame 364. Michael Floyd, Notre Dame 3,645 4. Jeff Fuller, Texas A&M 335. Tyron Carrier, Houston 3,449 5. Juron Criner, Arizona 32

Points by Kicking - Game1. Nick Tausch (17) 5 FGs, 2 PATs vs. Washington, Oct. 3, 2009 Nicholas Setta (17) 5 FGs, 2 PATs vs. Washington State, Sept. 6, 2003 Craig Hentrich (17) 5 FGs, 2 PATs vs. Miami, Oct. 20, 19904. Nicholas Setta ( 16) 5 FGs, 1 PAT vs. Maryland, Aug. 31, 20025. Brandon Walker (15) 4 FGs, 3 PATs vs. Pittsburgh, Nov. 1, 2008

Points by Kicking - Season1. David Ruffer 18fg, 37xp, 91pts (2010)2. Craig Hentrich 16fg, 41xp, 89pts (1990)3. Kevin Pendergast 14fg, 45xp, 87pts (1993) John Carney 21fg, 24 xp, 87pts (1986)5. D.J. Fitzpatrick 11fg, 52xp, 85pts (2005)6. Brandon Walker 14fg, 39xp, 81pts (2008)7. John Carney 17fg, 25xp, 76pts (1984) Mike Johnston 19fg, 19xp, 76pts (1982)9. David Ruffer 10fg, 45xp, 75pts (2011)10. Nicholas Setta 14fg, 32xp, 74pts (2002) Craig Hentrich 10fg, 44xp, 74pts (1992)

Points by Kicking - Career1. Craig Hentrich 39fg, 177xp, 294pts (1989-92)2. Dave Reeve 39fg, 130xp, 247pts (1974-77)3. Nicholas Setta 46fg, 104xp, 242pts (2000-03)4. John Carney 51fg, 70xp, 223pts (1984-86)5. D.J. Fitzpatrick 34fg, 103xp, 205pts (2002-05)6. Jim Sanson 28fg, 108xp, 192pts (1996-99)7. David Ruffer 33fg, 91xp, 190pts (2008-)8. Scott Hempel 14fg, 122xp, 164pts (1968-70)

Punts - Career1. Blair Kiel 259 (1980-83)2. Joey Hildbold 256 (1999-2002)3. Joe Restic 209 (1975-78)4. Hunter Smith 174 (1995-98)5. D.J. Fitzpatrick 166 (2002-05)6. Ben Turk 140 (2009-) Brian Doherty 140 (1971-73)8. Bob Williams 122 (1948-50)9. John Lattner 119 (1951-53)10. Craig Hentrich 118 (1989-92)

Kickoff Returns - Game1. George Gipp 8-157 vs. Army, Oct. 30, 19202. Julius Jones 7-163 vs. Pittsburgh, Nov. 13, 19993. Bennett Jackson 6-126 vs. Tulsa, Oct. 30, 2010 Bennett Jackson 6-122 vs. Navy, Oct. 23, 2010 Theo Riddick 6-129 vs. Washington, Oct. 3, 2009 Theo Riddick 6-122 at Stanford, Nov. 28, 2009 Armando Allen Jr. 6-117 vs. Air Force, Nov. 10, 2007 Mark McLane 6-95 vs. USC, Nov. 30, 1974 Lack Landry 6-112 vs. Michigan St., Nov. 10, 1951


36

Game Notes


Active FBS WRs - Career Receiving Yards/Game Active FBS WRs - Career Receptions/Game1. Marquess Wilson, Washington State 99.8 1. Eric Page, Toledo 7.922. Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma 95.5 2. Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma 7.273. Jordan White, Western Michigan 93.4 3. Robert Woods, USC 7.044. Nick Harwell, Miami (Ohio) 91.8 4. Jordan White, Western Michigan 6.985. Eric Page, Toledo 91.5 5. Lance Lewis, East Carolina 6.777. Michael Floyd, Notre Dame 86.8 9. Michael Floyd, Notre Dame 6.33

Active FBS WRs - Career Receptions Active FBS Players - Total Touchdowns1. Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma 349 1. Montee Ball, Wisconsin 602. Tyron Carrier, Houston 311 2. LaMichael James, Oregon 573. Kendall Wright, Baylor 295 3. Bernard Pierce, Temple 524. Eric Page, Toledo 293 4. Robert Turbin, Utah State 51 Jordan White, Western Michigan 293 5. Lance Dunbar, North Texas 496. Michael Floyd, Notre Dame 266 14. Michael Floyd, Notre Dame 37

uFloyd has 95 receptions for 1,106 yards and eight touchdown catches in 2011. He and Jeff Samardzija are the only wideouts in Notre Dame history with multiple seasons of at least 70 receptions. Samardzija had 78 in 2006 and 77 in 2005. Floyd had 79 in 2010. uFloyd's 174 grabs over the last two seasons are the most by any Irish player in back-to-back years in school history. Samardzija combined for 155 in 2005-06. uFloyd is the third wideout in Notre Dame history to have two separate seasons rank in the top 10 for receiving touchdowns in a single season (joined Golden Tate and Jeff Samardzija).

Receptions - Season Touchdown Receptions – Season1. Michael Floyd 95 (2011) 1. Golden Tate 15 (2009)2. Golden Tate 93 (2009) Rhema McKnight 15 (2006)3. Michael Floyd 79 (2010) Jeff Samardzija 15 (2005)4. Jeff Samardzija 78 (2006) 4. Michael Floyd 12 (2010)5. Tom Gatewood 77 (1970) Jeff Samardzija 12 (2006) Jeff Samardzija 77 (2005) 6. Derrick Mayes 11 (1994)7. Maurice Stovall 69 (2005) Maurice Stovall 11 (2005)8. Rhema McKnight 67 (2006) 8. Golden Tate 10 (2008)9. Jack Snow 60 (1964) 9. Michael Floyd 9 (2009)10. Golden Tate 58 (2008) Jack Snow 9 (1964) Arnaz Battle 58 (2002) -- Michael Floyd 8 (2011)

uFloyd – who surpassed 1,000 yards receiving on the season against Boston College – became the third Irish wide receiver in school history with multiple 1,000-yard seasons (Jeff Samardzija and Golden Tate). His 2,131 receiving yards over the last two seasons are the third-most by any Irish player in back-to-back years in school history. Tate recorded 2,576 in 2008-09 and Samardzija had 2,266 in 2005-06. uFloyd is the only wide receiver in school history to have at least four seasons with four or more 100-yard receiving games.

Receiving Yards - Season Games with 100 Yards - Season1. Golden Tate 1496 (2009) 1. Golden Tate 9 (2009)2. Jeff Samardzija 1249 (2005) 2. Tom Gatewood 8 (1970)3. Maurice Stovall 1149 (2005) 3. Maurice Stovall 6 (2005)4. Tom Gatewood 1123 (1970) 4. Michael Floyd 5 (2009)5. Jack Snow 1114 (1964) Golden Tate 5 (2008)6. Michael Floyd 1106 (2011) Jeff Samardzija 5 (2005)7. Golden Tate 1080 (2008) 7. Michael Floyd 4 (2011)8. Michael Floyd 1025 (2010) Michael Floyd 4 (2010)9. Jeff Samardzija 1017 (2006) Michael Floyd 4 (2008)10. Tim Brown 910 (1986) Jeff Samardzija 4 (2006) Tom Gatewood 4 (1969)

uAmong FBS receivers in 2011, Floyd ranks eighth in receptions (95), ninth in receptions per game (7.92), tied for 24th in receiving yards (1,106) and 25th in receiving yards per game (92.17).uFloyd recorded his first career rushing touchdown with 2:59 left in the third quarter to push the Irish lead to 42-7 over Navy on Oct. 29.uFloyd registered 12 catches for 137 yards and one touchdown at Purdue on Oct. 1. The 12 receptions were just one shy of equaling his career-high of 13 set earlier this season at Michigan.uFloyd became the second active FBS receiver to eclipse 3,000 career receiving yards. uFloyd, who was held to four catches for 27 yards at Pittsburgh, surpassed that total on the second offensive play from scrimmage (35-yard TD catch) at Purdue.uFloyd eclipsed the 100-yard mark in the first half alone against the Boilermakers.uFloyd hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass from sophomore QB Tommy Rees just 24 seconds into the first quarter to give the Irish a 7-0 lead at Purdue.

Kickoff Returns - Season1. Theo Riddick 37-849 (2009)2. Armando Allen Jr. 33-704 (2007)3. George Atkinson III 30-822 (2011)4. Bennett Jackson 29-645 (2010)5. Golden Tate 26-521 (2008) Julius Jones 26-603 (1999)7. Tim Brown 25-698 (1986) Tony Driver 23-512 (1998) Tim Brown 23-456 (1987)10. Armando Allen Jr. 21-543 (2008)

Kickoff Returns - Career1. Julius Jones 72-1678 (1999-01, ’03)2. Tim Brown 69-1613 (1984-87)3. Armando Allen Jr. 54-1247 (2007-10)4. Jim Stone 49-1079 (1977-80)5. Theo Riddick 47-1051 (2009-) Vontez Duff 47-1230 (2000-03) Tony Driver 47-1083 (1997-2000)8. Raghib Ismail 46-1271 (1988-90)9. Golden Tate 44-909 (2007-09)10. Bennett Jackson 32-677 (2010-) Terry Eurick 32-739 (1974-77)

Kickoff Return Yards - Game1. Paul Castner 4-253 vs. Kalamazoo, Sept. 30, 19222. Raghib Ismail 3-192 vs. Michigan, Sept. 16, 19893. George Atkinson III 5-178 vs. USC, Oct. 22, 20114. Willie Maher 4-174 vs. Kalamazoo, Sept. 29, 1923

Kickoff Return Yards - Season1. Theo Riddick 37-849 (2009)2. George Atkinson III 30-822 (2011)3. Armando Allen Jr. 33-704 (2007)4. Tim Brown 25-698 (1986)5. Bennett Jackson 29-645 (2010)6. Julius Jones 26-603 (1999)7. Allen Rossum 20-570 (1997)8. Armando Allen Jr. 21-543 (2008)9. Vontez Duff 19-526 (2002)10. Golden Tate 26-521 (2008)

Kickoff Return Yards - Career1. Julius Jones 72-1678 (1999-01, ’03)2. Tim Brown 69-1613 (1984-87)3. Raghib Ismail 46-1271 (1988-90)4. Armando Allen Jr. 54-1247 (2007-10)5. Vontez Duff 47-1230 (2000-03)6. Tony Driver 47-1083 (1997-2000)7. Jim Stone 49-1079 (1977-80)8. Theo Riddick 47-1051 (2009-)9. Golden Tate 44-909 (2007-09)10. Allen Rossum 29-891 (1994-97)



MEDIA INFOGAM



BOWL HISTORY


uFloyd recorded his 200th career reception on a 22-yard grab early in the third quarter in the victory over No. 15 Michigan State. uFloyd finished the Michigan game with a career-high 13 receptions for 159 yards. The 13 catches were tied for the second-most in school history. uFloyd became Notre Dame’s all-time leader in career receiving yards following his 21-yard catch early in the first quarter against the Wolverines. Floyd bested the previous school record of 2,707 held by Golden Tate (2007-09).uFloyd has eclipsed 10 receptions in a single-game eight times in his career and four times in 2011 – both are school records. He had never posted back-to-back games with 10 or more catches before the opening two games of 2011.uFloyd is the only Notre Dame wideout to ever register five or more games with at least 11 catches. Jim Seymour is the only other Irish wide receiver to have multiple games with 11 or more receptions and he had two.

Receptions - Game1. Maurice Stovall 14 vs. BYU, Oct. 22, 20052. Michael Floyd 13 at Michigan, Sept. 10, 2011 Jim Seymour 13 vs. Purdue, Sept. 24, 19664. Michael Floyd 12 at Purdue, Oct. 1, 2011 Michael Floyd 12 vs. USF, Sept. 3, 2011 Tom Gatewood 12 vs. Purdue, Sept. 26, 1970 Bobby Brown 12 at Pittsburgh, Nov. 13, 19998. Michael Floyd 11 at USC, Nov. 27, 2010 Michael Floyd 11 vs. Tulsa, Oct. 30, 2010 Golden Tate 11 vs. Boston College, Oct. 24, 2009 Jim Seymour 11 at USC, Nov. 26, 1966 Jim Kelly 11 vs. Pittsburgh, Nov. 10, 1962

uFloyd has recorded a school record nine multi-touchdown games over his Irish career.uFloyd recorded three touchdown receptions against Western Michigan on Oct. 16, 2010 – the second such feat in his career. He also had three touchdown catches against Nevada on Sept. 5, 2009. Floyd is the third Notre Dame wideout to have three or more touchdown receptions in multiple games (Maurice Stovall, 2005; Golden Tate, 2009).

Touchdown Receptions - Game1. Maurice Stovall 4 vs. BYU, Oct. 22, 20052. Michael Floyd 3 vs. Western Michigan, Oct. 16, 2010 Michael Floyd 3 vs. Nevada, Sept. 5, 2009 Golden Tate 3 at Stanford, Nov. 28, 2009 Golden Tate 3 vs. Hawai'i, Dec. 24, 2008 Maurice Stovall 3 vs. Navy, Nov. 12, 2005 Jeff Samardzija 3 vs. Michigan State, Sept. 17, 2005 Tom Gatewood 3 vs. Purdue, Sept. 26, 1970 Jim Seymour 3 vs. Purdue, Sept. 24, 1966 Jim Kelly 3 vs. Pittsburgh, Nov. 10, 1962 Jim Mutscheller 3 vs. Michigan State, Oct. 28, 1950 Bill Barrett 3 vs. North Carolina, Nov. 12, 1949 Eddie Anderson 3 at Northwestern, Nov. 20, 1920

uFloyd is the first player in school history to register a touchdown catch of at least 80 yards more than once in his career. He actually has recorded three touchdown catches of at least 70 yards.uFloyd still owns the school record for yards per reception in a single game. He recorded four catches for 189 yards and three touchdowns in the 35-0 rout of Nevada in the 2009 season opener. He averaged 47.3 yards per reception, which broke the previous school record of 41.6 yards per catch by Jim Morse against USC on Nov. 26, 1955.

Yards per Reception - Game (min. 4 rec.)1. Michael Floyd 47.3 (4 for 189) vs. Nevada, Sept. 5, 20092. Jim Morse 41.6 (5 for 208) at USC, Nov. 26, 19553. Golden Tate 31.8 (4 for 127) vs. Michigan, Sept. 13, 20084. John Carlson 30.3 (4 for 121) at Michigan State, Sept. 23, 2006 Rhema McKnight 30.3 (4 for 121) at Boston College, Oct. 25, 2003

uFloyd's career-best reception went for 88 yards and a touchdown against Nevada in 2009. The 88-yard reception is the fourth-longest in Notre Dame football history. The 189 yards receiving in the rout of the WolfPack ranks 10th on the single-season list.

Longest Reception in nD History1. Joe Howard 96 vs. Georgia Tech, Nov. 7, 19812. Kyle Rudolph 95 vs. Michigan, Sept. 11, 20103. Nick Eddy 91 at Pittsburgh, Nov. 7, 19644. Michael Floyd 88 vs. Nevada, Sept. 5, 20095. Maurice Stovall 85 vs. Purdue, Sept. 27, 2003

Most Kickoff Return TDs - Season1. George Atkinson III 2 (2011) Allen Rossum 2 (1997) Raghib Ismail 2 (1989) Raghib Ismail 2 (1988) Tim Brown 2 (1986) Nick Eddy 2 (1966) John Lattner 2 (1953) Paul Castner 2 (1922)

Total Kick/Punt Return Yards - Season1. Vontez Duff 911 (526 KR, 385 PR); 20022. Tim Brown 857 (456 KR, 401 PR); 19873. Theo Riddick 849 (849 KR, 0 PR); 20094. George Atkinson III 822 (822 KR, 0 PR); 20115. Julius Jones 798 (603 KR, 195 PR); 19996. Tim Brown 773 (698 KR, 75 PR); 19867. Armando Allen Jr. 704 (704 KR, 0 PR); 20078. Allen Rossum 653 (570 KR, 83 PR); 19979. Bennett Jackson 645 (645 KR; O PR); 201010. Golden Tate 637 (521 KR, 116 PR); 2008

Total Kick/Punt Return Yards - Career1. Julius Jones 2,104 (1,678 KR, 426 PR); 1999-01, '032. Tim Brown 2,089 (1,613 KR, 476 PR); 1984-873. Vontez Duff 1,955 (1,230 KR, 725 PR); 2000-034. Raghib Ismail 1,607 (1,271 KR, 336 PR); 1988-905. Armando Allen Jr. 1,360 (1,247, 113 PR); 2007-106. Allen Rossum 1,318 (891 KR, 427 PR); 1994-977. Golden Tate 1,196 (909 KR, 287 PR); 2007-098. Tony Driver 1,083 (1,083 KR, 0 PR); 1997-20009. Jim Stone 1,079 (1,079 KR, 0 PR); 1977-8010. Theo Riddick 1,049 (1,051 KR, -2 PR); 2009


38

Game Notes


RUSHInGGeorge Atkinson IIIAttempts: 7, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Yards: 28, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)TDs: 1, twice (last time vs. Navy, Oct. 29, 2011)Long: 15, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)

Dayne CristAttempts: 10, vs. Navy (Oct. 23, 2010)Yards: 25, vs. Navy (Oct. 23, 2010)TDs: 1, four times (last vs. Western Michigan, Oct. 16, 2010)Long: 29, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)

Michael FloydAttempts: 1, four times (last vs. Boston College, Nov. 19, 2011)Yards: 10, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)TDs: 1, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Long: 10, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)

John GoodmanAttempts: 1, three times (last at Purdue, Oct. 1, 2011)Yards: 13, vs. USC (Oct. 17, 2009)TDs: NoneLong: 13, vs. USC (Oct. 17, 2009)

Andrew HendrixAttempts: 12, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Yards: 111, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)TDs: 1, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Long: 78, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)

Jonas GrayAttempts: 21, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)Yards: 136, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)TDs: 3, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Long: 79, at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24, 2011)

Bennett JacksonAttempts: 1, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)Yards: 20, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)TDs: NoneLong: 20, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)

Cam McDanielAttempts: 2, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Yards: 8, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)TDs: NoneLong: 12, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)

Tommy ReesAttempts: 5, twice (last vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 2011)Yards: 6, twice (last vs. USC, Oct. 22, 2011)TDs: NoneLong: 12, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)

Theo RiddickAttempts: 9, vs. Washington State (Oct. 31, 2009)Yards: 51, vs. Washington State (Oct. 31, 2009)TDs: NoneLong: 24, at Purdue (Sept. 26, 2010)

notre Dame PlayerSingle-Game Highs

Receiving Yards - Game1. Jim Seymour 276 vs. Purdue, Sept. 24, 19662. Golden Tate 244 vs. Washington, Oct. 3, 20093. Jack Snow 217 at Wisconsin, Sept. 26, 19644. Bobby Brown 208 at Pittsburgh, Nov. 13, 1999 Jim Morse 208 at USC, Nov. 26, 19556. Maurice Stovall 207 vs. BYU, Oct. 22, 20057. Golden Tate 201 at Stanford, Nov. 28, 20098. Tom Gatewood 192 vs. Purdue, Sept. 26, 19709. Jeff Samardzija 191 at Stanford, Nov. 26, 200510. Michael Floyd 189 vs. Nevada, Sept. 5, 2009

uFloyd not only became the first Irish freshman to register a touchdown catch in a season opener (2008), but also became the first freshman to register Notre Dame's first points of a season by TD. He established new school records for receptions (48), receiving yards (719) and receiv-ing touchdowns (seven) by an Irish freshman in 2008. He also set a freshman record with 10 receptions against Pittsburgh on Nov. 1, 2008.uFloyd was the fourth different rookie in the last 20 years whose first career catch was a touchdown. The others were Raghib “Rocket” Ismail and Derek Brown in 1988 and Derrick Mayes in 1992 – mighty impressive company for Floyd to join.

TYLER EIFERT'S HOUSE OF PAInuJunior TE Tyler Eifert – a 2011 Mackey Award finalist – leads all Football Subdivision tight ends in receptions (57) and receptions per game (4.75). He is also second in receiving yards (713), second in receiving yards per catch (12.51; minimum 4.33/game) and second in receiving yards per game (59.42).

FBS TEs - Receptions FBS TEs - Receiving Yards1. Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame 57 1. Ryan Otten, San Jose State 7392. Ryan Otten, San Jose State 52 2. Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame 7133. Dwayne Allen, Clemson 48 3. Gavin Escobar, San Diego State 710

FBS TEs - Receptions/Game FBS TEs - Receiving Yards/Catch (min. 4.33/game)1. Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame 4.75 1. Ryan Otten, San Jose State 14.212. Ryan Otten, San Jose State 4.73 2. Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame 12.513. Jack Doyle, Western Kentucky 4.33 3. Jack Doyle, Western Kentucky 11.81

FBS TEs - Receiving Yards/Game 1. Ryan Otten, San Jose State 67.182. Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame 59.423. Coby Fleener, Stanford 54.00

uOnly eight players in program history (Jack Snow, Tom Gatewood, Arnaz Battle, Jeff Samardzija, Maurice Stovall, Rhema McKnight, Golden Tate and Michael Floyd) caught more passes in a single season than did Eifert this fall (57). uEifert broke a 34-year record at the position set by three-time All America TE Ken MacAfee. Eifert will likely pass Battle’s total of 58 during the Irish bowl game. Jack Snow’s number (60) is within reach as well. u44 of Eifert's 57 receptions this season have garnered the Irish a touchdown or first down.u18 of Eifert's 20 receptions this season on third down have garnered the Irish a touchdown or first down.uEifert has 16 receptions of 15 or more yards and eight grabs of 20 or more yards.uWith 57 receptions for 713 yards in 2011, Eifert ranks first and second, respectively, in receptions and receiving yards in single-season Irish tight end history.

Receptions - Season (Tight End) Receiving Yards – Season (Tight End)1. Tyler Eifert 57 (2011) 1. Ken MacAfee 797 (1977) 2. Ken MacAfee 54 (1977) 2. Tyler Eifert 713 (2011)3. John Carlson 47 (2006) 3. John Carlson 634 (2006) Anthony Fasano 47 (2005) 4. Anthony Fasano 576 (2005)5. Tony Hunter 42 (1982) 5. Tony Hunter 507 (1982)6. John Carlson 40 (2007) 6. Ken MacAfee 483 (1976)7. Ken MacAfee 34 (1976) 7. Dean Masztak 428 (1979)8. Kyle Rudolph 33 (2009) 8. Tony Hunter 397 (1981) Mark Bavaro 32 (1984) 9. Mark Bavaro 395 (1984)10. Kyle Rudolph 29 (2008) 10. Mark Bavaro 376 (1983)


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BOWL HISTORY


uBelow is a comparison between Eifert's receiving numbers and the rest of the 2011 Mackey Award finalists. Eifert has more receptions and receiving yards than any other semifinalist.

Mackey Award FinalistsName, School Yr. Receptions Receiving Yards TouchdownsTyler Eifert, Notre Dame Jr. 57 713 5Dwayne Allen, Clemson Jr. 48 577 8Orson Charles, Georgia Jr. 44 572 5

uBelow is an interesting comparison between Eifert's receiving numbers and the 12 all-time Mackey Award winners. Only two tight ends would finish with more receptions, only three with more receiving touchdowns and only three with more receiving yards.

All-Time Mackey Award WinnersName, School Receptions Receiving Yards TouchdownsDwayne Allen (2011) 48 577 8Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame (2011) 57 713 5D. J. Williams, Arkansas (2010) 54 627 4Aaron Hernandez, Florida (2009) 68 850 5Chase Coffman, Missouri (2008) 90 987 10Fred Davis, Southern California (2007) 62 881 8Matt Spaeth, Minnesota (2006) 47 564 4Marcedes Lewis, UCLA (2005) 58 741 10Heath Miller, Virginia (2004) 41 541 5Kellen Winslow II, Miami, Fla. (2003) 60 605 1Dallas Clark, Iowa (2002) 43 742 4 Daniel Graham, Colorado (2001) 51 753 6Tim Stratton, Purdue (2000) 58 605 2

uEifert has five touchdown receptions in 2011 and seven in his career.uEifert is the second Irish tight end with at least five touchdown catches in a single-season. Ken MacAfee owns the school record for touchdown receptions by a tight end with six in 1977.uEifert has registered a career-best eight catches on three different occasions in 2011 – against Pittsburgh, Air Force and Maryland. He is tied with Kyle Rudolph (twice in 2010), John Carlson (2006), Anthony Fasano (2004) and Ken MacAfee (1977) for second most ever in a game by a Notre Dame tight end. The Irish single-game record is nine by MacAfee for 114 yards in a 31-24 victory at Purdue in 1977.

Receptions - Game (Tight End)1. Ken MacAfee 9 at Purdue, Sept. 24, 19772. Tyler Eifert 8 vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 2011 Tyler Eifert 8 vs. Air Force, Oct. 8, 2011 Tyler Eifert 8 at Pittsburgh, Sept. 24, 2011 Kyle Rudolph 8 at Michigan State, Sept. 18, 2010 Kyle Rudolph 8 vs. Michigan, Sept. 11, 2010 John Carlson 8 vs. North Carolina, Nov. 4, 2006 Anthony Fasano 8 vs. Purdue, Oct. 2, 2004 Ken MacAfee 8 vs. USC, Oct. 22, 1977t-10. Tyler Eifert 7 vs. USC, Oct. 22, 2011

uEifert hauled in a 23-yard catch on 3rd down and 19 late in the first quarter against No. 4 Stanford on Nov. 26. The reception made Eifert the fifth Irish tight end in school history to eclipse 1,000 career receiving yards. He joined Ken MacAfee (1974-77), Anthony Fasano (2002-05), John Carlson (2004-07) and Kyle Rudolph (2008-10).uWith 84 receptions for 1,065 yards in his career, Eifert already ranks among the top 10 in Notre Dame tight end career receiving history. His 1,065 yards and 84 catches rank fourth and fifth, respectively.uEifert needs just 16 receptions to become the third Notre Dame tight end in school history to reach 100 career catches. With 17 more grabs and 38 receiving yards, Eifert would rank second in career catches and receiving yards by an Irish tight end.

Receptions - Career (Tight End) Receiving Yards – Career (Tight End)1. Ken MacAfee 128 (1974-77) 1. Ken MacAfee 1,759 (1974-77)2. John Carlson 100 (2004-07) 2. Anthony Fasano 1,102 (2003-05)3. Anthony Fasano 92 (2003-05) 3. John Carlson 1,093 (2004-07)4. Kyle Rudolph 90 (2008-10) 4. Tyler Eifert 1,065 (2009-)5. Tyler Eifert 84 (2009-) 5. Kyle Rudolph 1,032 (2008-10) 6. *Tony Hunter 67 (1979-82) 6. Dean Masztak 924 (1978-81)7. Derek Brown 62 (1988-91) 7. *Tony Hunter 904 (1979-82) Dean Masztak 62 (1978-81) 8. Derek Brown 899 (1988-91)9. Mark Bavaro 55 (1981-84) 9. Mike Creaney 890 (1970-72)10. Mike Creaney 46 (1970-72) 10. Mark Bavaro 771 (1981-84) *played TE only in 1981-82

Harrison SmithAttempts: 1, twice (last at Washington, Oct. 25, 2008)Yards: 35, at Washington (Oct. 25, 2008)TDs: NoneLong: 35, at Washington (Oct. 25, 2008)

Robby TomaAttempts: 1, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Yards: 12, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)TDs: NoneLong: 12, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)

Cierre WoodAttempts: 26, vs. Boston College (Nov. 19, 2011)Yards: 191, at Purdue (Oct. 1, 2011)TDs: 2, three times (last vs. Navy, Oct. 29, 2011)Long: 55, at Purdue (Oct. 1, 2011)

PASSInGTommy ReesAttempts: 54, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)Completions: 33, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)Yards: 334, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)Long: 56, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)TDs: 4, twice (last vs. Air Force, Oct. 8, 2011)Completion %: 85.7 (6-for-7), vs. Navy (Oct. 23, 2010)Passing Yards/Attempt: 10.7, vs. Army (Nov. 20, 2010)Passing Yards/Completion: 16.5, vs. Army (Nov. 20, 2010)Passing Efficiency: 180.51, vs. Navy (Oct. 23, 2010)Interceptions: 3, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)

Andrew HendrixAttempts: 24, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Completions: 11, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Yards: 192, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Long: 44, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)TDs: 1, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Completion %: 100.0 (4-for-4), vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Passing Yards/Attempt: 8.3, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Passing Yards/Completion: 17.5, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Passing Efficiency: 169.3, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Interceptions: 1, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)

John GoodmanAttempts: 1, three times (last at Wake Forest, Nov. 5, 2011) Completions: 1, vs. Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2010)Yards: 32, vs. Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2010)TDs: 1, vs. Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2010)Long: 32, vs. Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2010)

RECEIvInGTyler EifertCatches: 8, three times (last vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 2011)Yards: 93, vs. USF (Sept. 3, 2011)TDs: 1, seven times (last vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 2011)Long: 39, vs. Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2010)

Michael FloydCatches: 13, at Michigan (Sept. 17, 2011)Yards: 189, vs. Nevada (Sept. 5, 2009)TDs: 3, twice (last vs. Western Michigan, Oct. 16, 2010)Long: 88, vs. Nevada (Sept. 5, 2009)


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Game Notes


John GoodmanCatches: 5, vs. Stanford (Sept. 25, 2010)Yards: 73, vs. Washington State (Oct. 31, 2009)TDs: 1, vs. Washington State (Oct. 31, 2009)Long: 64, vs. Washington State (Oct. 31, 2009)

Jonas GrayCatches: 2, twice (last vs. Boston College, Nov. 19, 2011)Yards: 42, at Purdue (Sept. 26, 2009)TDs: NoneLong: 23, at Purdue (Sept. 26, 2009)

TJ JonesCatches: 6, vs. USF (Sept. 3, 2011)Yards: 73, vs. Michigan (Sept. 11, 2010)TDs: 1, six times (last at Purdue, Oct. 1, 2011)Long: 53, vs. Michigan (Sept. 11, 2010)

Ben KoyackCatches: 1, at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24, 2011)Yards: 5, at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24, 2011)TDs: NoneLong: 5, at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24, 2011)

Mike RagoneCatches: 3, vs. Connecticut (Nov. 21, 2009)Yards: 33, vs. Navy (Nov. 7, 2009)TDs: NoneLong: 30, vs. Navy (Nov. 7, 2009)

Theo RiddickCatches: 10, at Michigan State (Sept. 18, 2010)Yards: 128, at Michigan State (Sept. 18, 2010)TDs: 2, at Michigan State (Sept. 10, 2011)Long: 45, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)

Robby TomaCatches: 7, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)Yards: 73, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)TDs: 1, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Long: 27, vs. Boston College (Nov. 19, 2011)

Cierre WoodCatches: 6, twice (last vs. USC, Oct. 22, 2011)Yards: 57, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)TDs: 2, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010Long: 31, vs. USF (Sept. 3, 2011)

PUnTSBen TurkAttempts: 8, four times (last vs. Boston College, Nov. 19, 2011)Yards: 352, vs. Boston College (Nov. 19, 2011)Long: 56, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)Average (min. 3): 46.6, vs. Pittsburgh (Oct. 9, 2010)

KICKOFFSKyle BrindzaAttempts: 10, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Yards: 675, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Touchbacks: 3, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Average (min. 3): 70.0, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)

notre Dame PlayerSingle-Game Highs uEifert was the fifth Irish tight end with at least four touchdown catches in a single-season. He joined John Carlson (2006), Pete

Chryplewicz (1996) and Derek Brown (1991).uEifert had seven more receptions for 66 yards against USC on Oct. 22. The seven catches are tied for the 10th-most in single-game Notre Dame tight-end history.uEifert registered eight receptions, including four on the 11-play, 85-yard, go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter at Pittsburgh on Sept. 24. Eifert’s four grabs totaled 34 yards. He also added a the two-point conversion reception.uEifert, a 2011 Mackey Award candidate, earned the Mackey Tight End of the Week Award for his effort against Pittsburgh. He was honored with the same award following last year's Army game where Eifert caught four passes for 78 yards with one touchdown at Yankee StadiumuEifert’s previous career-high was six catches in the season opener against USF. He also registered a career-best 93 receiving yards against the Bulls. He hauled in a 37-yard grab, the second-longest reception of his career.

BY LAnD, CIERREuJunior RB Cierre Wood became the 10th Irish running back (16th different season) to surpass 1,000 yards on the ground in a single season and first since Darius Walker ran for 1,267 yards in 2006.u Wood leads Notre Dame with 1,042 yards on the ground on 199 carries and nine rushing touchdowns. He ranks 46th in the FBS in rush-ing yards per game (86.83).u Wood is on pace to rush for 1,128 yards, which would rank 11th in single-season Notre Dame history.

Rushing Yards - Season Player, Year Carries Net Avg TD1. Vagas Ferguson, 1979 *301 *1437 4.8 *172. Allen Pinkett, 1983 252 1394 5.5 16 3. Reggie Brooks, 1992 167 1343 *8.0 134. Julius Jones, 2003 229 1268 5.5 10 Autry Denson, 1997 264 1268 4.8 126. Darius Walker, 2006 255 1267 5.0 77. Darius Walker, 2005 253 1196 4.7 98. Vagas Ferguson, 1978 211 1192 5.6 79. Autry Denson, 1996 202 1179 5.8 810. Autry Denson, 1998 251 1176 4.7 1511. Allen Pinkett, 1984 275 1105 4.0 *1712. Allen Pinkett, 1985 255 1100 4.3 1113. Ryan Grant, 2002 261 1085 4.2 9 14. Al Hunter, 1976 233 1058 4.5 12 15. Lee Becton, 1993 164 1044 6.4 616. Jerome Heavens, 1977 229 994 4.3 617. Jerome Bettis, 1991 168 972 5.8 1618. Marchy Schwartz, 1930 124 927 7.5 919. Creighton Miller, 1943 151 911 6.0 1020. Jim Stone, 1980 192 908 4.7 7 -- Cierre Wood, 2011 216 1,128 5.2 10 (projected)* school records

uWood has registered nine rushing touchdowns in 2011 and 12 for his career.uWood is tied for 43rd in the FBS in rushing touchdowns. uWood has a touchdown run in seven of Notre Dame’s 12 games. He has a rushing touchdown in eight of the last 13 games for the Irish.uWood has recorded 12 career rushing touchdowns, 10 of which have come over Notre Dame's last 14 games. He was the first Irish running back to record a rushing touchdown in four consecutive games (snapped at Pittsburgh) since Darius Walker over the final four games of the 2005 campaign.uWood's versatility has been on display this season as well. He has registered 26 receptions for 181 yards. Wood has also upped his career total for catches to 46. Both totals rank in the top 10 in school history among running backs.

Receptions - Season (Running Back) Receptions - Career (Running Back)1. Darius Walker 56 (2006) 1. Armando Allen Jr. 119 (2007-10)2. Armando Allen Jr. 50 (2008) 2. Darius Walker 109 (2004-06)3. Darius Walker 43 (2005) 3. Allen Pinkett 73 (1982-85) 4. Bob Gladieux 37 (1968) 4. Bob Gladieux 72 (1966-68)5. Autry Denson 30 (1997) 5. Joseph Heap 71 (1951-54)6. Joseph Heap 29 (1952) 6. Mark Green 61 (1985-88)7. Armando Allen Jr. 28 (2009) 7. Autry Denson 53 (1995-98) Allen Pinkett 28 (1983) 8. Jim Morse 52 (1954-56)9. Cierre Wood 26 (2011) 9. Cierre Wood 46 (2010-)10. Marc Edwards 25 (1995) Marc Edwards 46 (1993-96) Mark Green 25 (1986)


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BOWL HISTORY


Yards From Scrimmage - Season (non-QB)1. Allen Pinkett 1,682 (1983)2. Darius Walker 1,658 (2006)3. Darius Walker 1,547 (2005)4. Vagas Ferguson 1,509 (1979)5. Autry Denson 1,443 (1997)6. Reggie Brooks 1,367 (1992)7. Allen Pinkett 1,362 (1984)8. Julius Jones 1,321 (2003)9. Autry Denson 1,290 (1996)10. Raghib Ismail 1,278 (1990)-- Cierre Wood 1,223 (2011)

uWood has recorded three career multiple-rushing touchdown games, including Oct. 29 against Navy.uWood raced for a career-best 191 yards on 20 carries in the rout at Purdue on Oct. 1. The 191 yards was the most by an Irish running back since Julius Jones had 218 yards rushing at Stanford on Nov. 29, 2003. Wood’s previous career-high was 134 yards earlier this season at Michigan.uThe 9.6 yards per rush was the highest by a Notre Dame running back (minimum 10 carries) since Darius Walker averaged 10.2 at Air Force on Nov. 11, 2006. Walker rushed for 153 yards on 15 carries.uWood ripped off a career-best 55-yard touchdown run with 9:06 left in the second quarter to give Notre Dame a 21-0 lead over the Boilermakers. The run was the longest of his career (bested 39-yard touchdown run against Western Michigan in 2010).uWood also surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark in the opening half (101 yards on nine carries). He has registered 100 or more yards on the ground in three of Notre Dame’s nine games in 2011 (the first three 100-yard rushing games of his career).uWood had 69 yards on 16 carries in the first half against Pittsburgh and finished the afternoon with 94 yards on 23 rushes.uWood registered his second career multiple-rushing touchdown game in the victory over No. 15 Michigan State. Wood totaled only 61 yards on 14 carries, but he had scoring runs of six and 23 yards in the opening half. Wood carried six times for 59 yards on the opening scor-ing drive alone. He picked up a trio of first downs on runs of 11, 16 and 23 yards.u Wood has registered 17 plays of 15 yards or more, including 13 rushes and four receptions. He has recorded 38 rushes of 10 yards or more, 60 of his 199 carries have resulted in a touchdown or first down and 12 of his 23 rushing attempts on third down plays have resulted in a touchdown or first down.uWood rushed for 134 yards on 25 carries and one touchdown at Michigan. He eclipsed career-highs in both carries and rushing yards in each of the first two weeks of the season. uWood surpassed 100 yards in each of Notre Dame's first two games in 2011. He was the first Irish running back to exceed 100 yards on the ground in consecutive weeks since Armando Allen Jr. in 2009 (against both Michigan and Michigan State). Wood was the first Notre Dame running back to eclipse 100 yards rushing in the opening two weeks of a season since Darius Walker in 2005 (who actually had 100 yards on the ground in the first four games of the year).uWood rushed for 104 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown in the season opener against USF. uWood surpassed the 100-yard mark for the first time in his career against the Bulls. He became the first Irish running back to eclipse 100 yards since Armando Allen against Connecticut on Nov. 21, 2009.

MY nAME IS JOnASu Senior RB Jonas Gray ranks second on the Irish in rushing with 791 yards on 114 carries and ranks 72nd in the FBS in rushing yards per game (71.91). Gray, who was lost for the season after an injury early in the third quarter against Boston College on Nov. 19, averaged 6.9 yards per carry in 2011, which edges George Gipp (1919) for fifth-best in single-season school history.

Avg. per Rush - Season (min. 100 attempts)1. George Gipp 8.1 (1920)2. Reggie Brooks 8.0 (1992)3. Marchy Schwartz 7.5 (1930)4. Don Miller 7.1 (1924)5. Jonas Gray 6.94 (2011)6. George Gipp 6.87 (1919)

u Gray averaged a touchdown every 9.50 carries, which ranks third-best in the FBS.

FBS Leaders Touchdowns/Carry Name, School Carries Touchdowns Carries/Touchdown1. Montee Ball, Wisconsin 275 32 8.592. Joseph Randle, Oklahoma State 198 23 8.613. Jonas Gray, Notre Dame 114 12 9.504. Bernard Pierce, Temple 248 25 9.925. Jeremy Smith, Oklahoma State 90 9 10.006. Cody Fajardo, Nevada 119 11 10.827. Collin Klein, Kansas State 293 26 11.278. Charles Sims, Houston 104 9 11.569. Jasmin Hopkins, Northern Illinois 178 15 11.8710. Robert Turbin, Utah State 229 19 12.05

David RufferAttempts: 8, vs. Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2010)Yards: 529, vs. Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2010)Touchbacks: 3, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)Average (min. 3): 69.8, vs. Michigan (Sept. 11, 2010)

Nick TauschAttempts: 8, vs. Washington (Oct. 3, 2009)Yards: 491, vs. Washington (Oct. 3, 2009)Touchbacks: NoneAverage (min. 3): 67.4, at Purdue (Sept. 26, 2009)

PUnT RETURnSJohn GoodmanAttempts: 3, three times (last at Michigan, Sept. 10, 2011)Yards: 27, at Michigan State (Sept. 18, 2010)TDs: NoneLong: 24, vs. Nevada (Sept. 5, 2009)

Theo RiddickAttempts: 2, vs. USF (Sept. 3, 2011)Yards: -2, vs. USF (Sept. 3, 2011)TDs: NoneLong: -2, vs. USF (Sept. 3, 2011)

KICKOFF RETURnSGeorge Atkinson IIIAttempts: 5, twice (last vs. USC, Oct. 22, 2011)Yards: 178, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)TDs: 1, twice (last vs. USC, Oct. 22, 2011)Long: 96, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)

Austin CollinsworthAttempts: 2, at Wake Forest (Nov. 5, 2011)Yards: 67, at Wake Forest (Nov. 5, 2011)TDs: NoneLong: 41, at Wake Forest (Nov. 5, 2011)

Jonas GrayAttempts: 1, three times (last vs. Stanford, Oct. 25, 2010)Yards: 16, vs. Stanford (Oct. 25, 2010)TDs: NoneLong: 16, vs. Stanford (Oct. 25, 2010)

Bennett JacksonAttempts: 6, twice (last vs. Tulsa, Oct. 30, 2010)Yards: 126, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)TDs: NoneLong: 43, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)

Cam McDanielCatches: 1, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Yards: 18, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)TDs: NoneLong: 18, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)

Theo RiddickAttempts: 6, vs. Washington (Oct. 3, 2009)Yards: 129, vs. Washington (Oct. 3, 2009)TDs: NoneLong: 38, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 19, 2009)


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Game Notes


Cierre WoodAttempts: 5, twice (last vs. Stanford, Sept. 25, 2010)Yards: 95, vs. Stanford (Sept. 25, 2010)TDs: NoneLong: 38, vs. Purdue (Sept. 4, 2010)

DEFEnSERobert BlantonTackles: 10, twice (last at Wake Forest, Nov. 5, 2011)Solos: 7, three times (last at Wake Forest, Nov. 5, 2011)Assists: 6, vs. Miami, Fla. (Dec. 31, 2010)TFLs: 3.0, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17, 2011)Sacks: 1.0, twice (last vs. Michigan State, Sept. 17, 2011)INTs: 1, eight times (last vs. Michigan State, Sept. 17, 2011)FF: NoneFR: NonePBUs: 3, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17, 2011)

Carlo CalabreseTackles: 10, twice (last at Boston College, Oct. 2, 2010)Solos: 8, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)Assists: 7, vs. Michigan (Sept. 11, 2010)TFLs: 3.5, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)Sacks: 1.5, at Michigan State (Sept. 18, 2010)INTs: NoneFF: NoneFR: NonePBUs: 1, three times (last vs. Boston College, Nov. 19, 2011)

Austin CollinsworthTackles: 4, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Solos: 3, twice (last at Purdue, Oct. 1, 2011)Assists: 2, twice (last vs. Navy, Oct. 29, 2011)TFLs: NoneSacks: NoneINTs: NoneFF: 1, vs. Utah (Nov. 13, 2010)FR: NonePBUs: None

Sean CwynarTackles: 6, twice (last vs. Utah, Nov. 13, 2010)Solos: 3, twice (last vs. Boston College, Nov. 19, 2011)Assists: 5, vs. Utah (Nov. 13, 2010)TFLs: 1.0, twice (last vs. Tulsa, Oct. 30, 2010)Sacks: NoneINTs: NoneFF: 1, vs. Pittsburgh (Oct. 9, 2010)FR: NonePBUs: None

Steve FilerTackles: 4, twice (last vs. Western Michigan, Oct. 16, 2010)Solos: 2, four times (last at Purdue, Oct. 1, 2011)Assists: 4, vs. Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2010)TFLs: 1.0, twice (last vs. Michigan State, Sept. 17, 2011)Sacks: 1.0, vs. Washington State (Oct. 31, 2009)INTs: NoneFF: 1, vs. Washington State (Oct. 31, 2009)FR: NonePBUs: None


u Gray averaged 6.94 yards per rush, which ranks 10th-best in the FBS. Of the nine players ahead of Gray, only four had more carries in 2011.

FBS Leaders Rushing Yards/Carry Name, School Carries Yards Yards/Carry1. Ja'Terian Douglas, Tulsa 108 884 8.192. Henry Josey, Missouri 145 1168 8.063. Waymon James, TCU 107 824 7.704. Charles Sims, Houston 104 782 7.525. LaMichael James, Oregon 222 1646 7.416. Raymond Maples, Army 133 984 7.407. Asher Clark, Air Force 151 1096 7.268. Jeremy Smith, Oklahoma State 90 645 7.179. Michael Smith, Utah State 102 713 6.9910. Jonas Gray, Notre Dame 114 791 6.94

uGray failed to registered a touchdown run over the first 25 games of his career, but ran for at least one touchdown in eight consecutive games (turns out the last eight games of his career). He was the first Irish running back with a touchdown run in eight consecutive games since Autry Denson in 1998. Denson collected a rushing touchdown in the first 10 games of the ‘98 campaign. Gray had a total of 12 touchdown runs over the same span.u Gray registered his first career 100-yard rushing game in the 45-24 rout of Maryland on Nov. 12. He rushed for 136 yards on 21 carries and scored two touchdowns.u Gray registered two or more rushing touchdowns in three different games this season.uGray is tied for 26th in the FBS in rushing touchdowns. u Gray’s 12 rushing touchdowns this season were the most for an Irish running back since Autry Denson had 15 in 1998 and tied for ninth-most in single-season school history.

Rushing Touchdowns - Season1. Vagas Ferguson 17 (1979) Allen Pinkett 17 (1984)3. Bill Downs 16 (1905) Allen Pinkett 16 (1983) Jerome Bettis 16 (1991)6. Autry Denson 15 (1998)7. Bob Gladieux 14 (1968)8. Reggie Brooks 13 (1992)9. Jonas Gray 12 (2011) Al Hunter 12 (1976) Autry Denson 12 (1997)

u Gray registered 12 plays of 15 yards or more, including 11 rushes and one reception. He recorded 26 rushes of 10 yards or more, 45 of his 114 carries resulted in a touchdown or first down and 10 of his 15 rushing attempts on third down plays resulted in a touchdown or first down.uGray rushed for three touchdowns in the rout of Navy on Oct. 29. He became the first Irish running back with three rushing touchdowns in the same game since Travis Thomas had three against Navy on Nov. 3, 2007. Gray became the first player with three rushing touchdowns in a non-overtime game since Darius Walker had three against Ohio State in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. He was also first Notre Dame running back with three rushing touchdowns in a regular season game since Raeshon Powers-Neal at Pittsburgh on Sept. 3, 2005.

Rushing Touchdowns - Game1. Art Smith 7 vs. Loyola (Chicago), Oct. 28, 19112. Bill Downs 6 vs. DePauw, Nov. 4, 19053. Allen Pinkett 4 vs. Penn State, Nov. 17, 1984 Allen Pinkett 4 at Penn State, Nov. 12, 1983 Frank Lonergan 4 vs. Chi. Phys. and Surg., Oct. 29, 1903 Frank Lonergan 4 vs. DePauw, Oct. 17, 19037. Jonas Gray 3 vs. Navy, Oct. 29, 2011 Travis Thomas 3 vs. Navy, Nov. 3, 2007 Rashon Powers-Neal 3 at Pittsburgh, Sept. 3, 2005 Julius Jones 3 vs. BYU, Nov. 15, 2003 Reggie Brooks 3 at USC, Nov. 28, 1992 Reggie Brooks 3 vs. Purdue, Sept. 26, 1992 Louis Salmon 3 vs. Lake Forest, Oct. 11, 1902

u Gray registered the first touchdown run of his career against Pittsburgh on Sept. 24. He raced 79 yards with 13:44 to go in the second quarter to give the Irish a 7-3 lead. The 79-yard run was the longest by an Irish player since Terrance Howard went 80 yards for a touchdown at West Virginia on Oct. 21, 2000.


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BOWL HISTORY


REES PIECES TOGETHER IRISH OFFEnSEuSophomore QB Tommy Rees is 12-3 as the Irish starting quarterback. He has captained the Irish to victories over both Michigan State and USC. Toss in a bowl victory as well and he is the first Notre Dame quarterback to accomplish those three feats since Rick Mirer in 1992. Mirer led Notre Dame to victories over the Spartans (52-31), Trojans (31-23) and Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl (28-3).uRees has passed for 2,708 yards in 2011. He became the third Notre Dame quarterback to eclipse 2,000 yards passing during the regular season of his sophomore campaign, joining Brady Quinn in 2004 (2,586) and Jimmy Clausen in 2008 (3,172).uRees has guided the Irish to victories at Notre Dame Stadium against 15th-ranked Utah (2010), at Notre Dame Stadium against 15th-ranked Michigan State (2011), at Yankee Stadium against Army (2010), at the LA Coliseum against arch-rival USC (2010; snapped Trojans eight-game winning streak in series), back-to-back road games at Pittsburgh and Purdue (2011), routs of Air Force, Navy and Maryland (2011) and narrow wins over Wake Forest (2011) and Boston College (2011). Rees was also the starting signal caller in Notre Dame's rout of Miami, Fla. in the 2010 Hyundai Sun Bowl.uRees owns a .800 winning percentage over his 15 career starts (12-3). Here is an interesting look at where Rees currently compares to the best Irish signal callers in school history (minimum 20 starts).

Notre Dame's All-Time Winningest Quarterbacks Name W L T Pct.1. John Lujack 20 1 1 .9322. Tony Rice 28 3 0 .9033. Ralph Guglielmi 26 3 2 .8714. Tom Clements 29 5 0 .8535. Joe Theismann 20 3 2 .8406. Terry Hanratty 22 4 1 .8337. Angelo Bertelli 15 2 3 .8258. Joe Montana 19 5 0 .7917 Rick Mirer 28 7 1 .7917-- Tommy Rees 12 3 0 .800Clements, Ron Powlus and Brady Quinn share the school record for total victories (29)

uRees has recorded at least one touchdown pass in 12 of his 15 starts.uRees has thrown for at least two touchdown passes in six different games in 2011 and 10 times over his career.uRees has thrown at least three touchdown passes three times in 2011 and five times in his career.uRees has tossed 19 touchdown passes this season and 31 for his career. The 19 touchdown passes moves him into a tie with Ron Powlus (1994) for fifth in single-season Irish history. The 31 touchdown passes moves him into a tie with Joe Theismann (1968-70) for sixth in Notre Dame career history.uRees completed a season-best 30 passes against Maryland on Nov. 12. The 30 completions rank as the ninth-most in single-game Irish history.uRees not only ranks as the most accurate quarterback in school history based on career completion percentage (64.4%), but his 65.9% completion percentage in 2011 ranks second best.uRees equaled the single-game school record for consecutive completions in the victory over Maryland on Nov. 12. He completed 14 straight passes over the second and third quarter. Rees actually completed 18 of his final 19 pass attempts.

Touchdown Passes - Season Touchdown Passes - Career1. Brady Quinn 37 (2006) 1. Brady Quinn 95 (2003-06)2. Brady Quinn 32 (2005) 2. Jimmy Clausen 60 (2007-09)3. Jimmy Clausen 28 (2009) 3. Ron Powlus 52 (1994-97)4. Jimmy Clausen 25 (2008) 4. Rick Mirer 41 (1989-92)5. Tommy Rees 19 (2011) 5. Jarious Jackson 34 (1996-99) Ron Powlus 19 (1994) 6. Tommy Rees 31 (2010-)7. Rick Mirer 18 (1991) Joe Theismann 31 (1968-70)8. Brady Quinn 17 (2004) 8. Angelo Bertelli 28 (1941-43) Jarious Jackson 17 (1999) 9. Steve Beuerlein 27 (1983-86) 10. Joe Theismann 16 (1970) Terry Hanratty 27 (1966-68) John Huarte 16 (1964) Bob Williams 16 (1949)

Completion Percentage - Season (min. 100 attempts) Completion Percentage - Career (min. 150 attempts)1. Jimmy Clausen 68.0 (2009) 1. Tommy Rees 64.4 (2010-)2. Tommy Rees 65.9 (2011) 2. Jimmy Clausen 62.6 (2007-09)3. Brady Quinn 64.9 (2005) 3. Kevin McDougal 62.2 (1990-93)4. Brady Quinn 61.9 (2006) 4. Dayne Crist 58.9 (2008-11)5. Kevin McDougal 61.6 (1993) 5. Brady Quinn 58.0 (2003-06)6. Ron Powlus 61.1 (1997) 6. Ron Powlus 57.6 (1994-97)7. Tommy Rees 61.0 (2010) 7. Jarious Jackson 57.1 (1996-99)8. Jimmy Clausen 60.9 (2008) 8. Joe Theismann 57.0 (1968-70)9. Steve Beuerlein 60.3 (1984) 9. Steve Beuerlein 55.6 (1983-86)10. Dayne Crist 59.2 (2010) 10. Terry Hanratty 55.3 (1966-68)

Darius FlemingTackles: 8, vs. USF (Sept. 3, 2011)Solos: 5, twice (last at Stanford, Nov. 26, 2011)Assists: 5, twice (last vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 2011)TFLs: 3.0, twice (last at Pittsburgh, Sept. 24, 2011)Sacks: 2.0, three times (last at Pittsburgh, Sept. 24, 2011)INTs: 1, twice (last at Stanford, Nov. 26, 2011)FF: 1, at Michigan (Sept. 12, 2009)FR: NonePBUs: 2, twice (last at Purdue, Oct. 1, 2011)

Dan FoxTackles: 7, vs. Navy (Oct. 23, 2010)Solos: 4, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)Assists: 6, vs. Navy (Oct. 23, 2010)TFLs: 2.0, vs. Michigan (Sept. 10, 2010)Sacks: 1.0, vs. Michigan (Sept. 10, 2010)INTs: NoneFF: 1, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)FR: NonePBUs: 1, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)

Gary GrayTackles: 12, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)Solos: 8, vs. Purdue (Sept. 4, 2010)Assists: 5, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)TFLs: 1.0, five times (last vs. Army, Nov. 20, 2010)Sacks: NoneINTs: 1, seven times (last at Purdue, Oct. 1, 2011)FF: 1, vs. Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2010)FR: 1, at Wake Forest (Nov. 5, 2011)PBUs: 2, twice (last vs. Air Force, Oct. 8, 2011)

Bennett JacksonTackles: 4, vs. Purdue (Sept. 4, 2010)Solos: 3, twice (last at Purdue, Oct. 1, 2011)Assists: 2, twice (last at Wake Forest, Nov. 5, 2011)TFLs: NoneSacks: NoneINTs: NoneFF: NoneFR: NonePBUs: None

Ethan JohnsonTackles: 6, twice (last time vs. USF, Sept. 3, 2011)Solos: 5, at USC (Nov. 29, 2008)Assists: 5, vs. USF (Sept. 3, 2011)TFLs: 2.0, three times (last vs. Purdue, Sept. 4, 2010)Sacks: 2.0, twice (last vs. Purdue, Sept. 4, 2010)INTs: NoneFF: 1, vs. Washington (Oct. 3, 2009)FR: 1, four times (last vs. Michigan State, Sept. 17, 2011)PBUs: 2, at Michigan State (Sept. 20, 2008)Blocked Kicks: 1, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 19, 2009)


44

Game Notes


Kapron Lewis-MooreTackles: 10, vs. Navy (Oct. 23, 2010)Solos: 4, six times (last at Pittsburgh, Sept. 24, 2011)Assists: 8, vs. Utah (Nov. 13, 2010)TFLs: 2.0, vs. Washington (Oct. 3, 2009)Sacks: 1.0, five times (last vs. Air Force, Oct. 8, 2011)INTs: NoneFF: 1, three times (last vs. Michigan, Sept. 10, 2011)FR: 1, twice (last vs. Pittsburgh, Oct. 9, 2010)PBUs: 1, twice (last at Purdue, Oct. 1, 2011)

Aaron LynchTackles: 6, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Solos: 5, twice (last at Stanford, Nov. 26, 2011)Assists: 3, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17, 2011)TFLs: 1.0, five times (last at Stanford, Nov. 26, 2011)Sacks: 1.0, four times (last at Wake Forest, Nov. 5, 2011)INTs: NoneFF: 1, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17, 2011)FR: NonePBUs: 1, twice (last vs. Boston College, Nov. 19, 2011)

Kendall MooreTackles: 4, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)Solos: 4, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)Assists: 1, twice (last vs. USC, Oct. 22, 2011)TFLs: 1.0, twice (last vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 2011)Sacks: NoneINTs: NoneFF: NoneFR: NonePBUs: None

Zeke MottaTackles: 11, at Michigan State (Sept. 18, 2010)Solos: 5, at Michigan State (Sept. 18, 2010)Assists: 6, at Michigan State (Sept. 18, 2010)TFLs: 1.0, vs. Pittsburgh (Oct. 9, 2010)Sacks: 0.5, vs. Washington State (Oct. 31, 2009)INTs: 1, twice (last at Michigan, Sept. 10, 2011)FF: 1, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)FR: 1, vs. Stanford (Sept. 25, 2010)PBUs: 1, three times (last vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 2011)

Troy NiklasTackles: 4, vs. Boston College (Nov. 19, 2011)Solos: 2, twice (last time vs. Navy, Oct. 29, 2011)Assists: 4, vs. Boston College (Nov. 19, 2011)TFLs: 0.5, vs. Boston College (Nov. 19, 2011Sacks: NoneINTs: NoneFF: NoneFR: 1, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)PBUs: None


Passing Yards - Season Yards per Game - Season1. Brady Quinn 3919 (2005) 1. Brady Quinn 326.6 (2005)2. Jimmy Clausen 3722 (2009) 2. Jimmy Clausen 310.2 (2009)3. Brady Quinn 3426 (2006) 3. Brady Quinn 263.5 (2006)4. Jimmy Clausen 3172 (2008) 4. Jimmy Clausen 244.0 (2008)5. Jarious Jackson 2753 (1999) 5. Joe Theismann 242.9 (1970)6. Tommy Rees 2708 (2011) 6. Jarious Jackson 229.4 (1999)7. Brady Quinn 2586 (2004) 7. Dayne Crist 225.9 (2010)8. Joe Theismann 2529 (1970) 8. Tommy Rees 225.7 (2011)9. Steve Beuerlein 2211 (1986) 9. Brady Quinn 215.5 (2004)10. Rick Mirer 2117 (1991) 10. Terry Hanratty 209.4 (1968)

Efficiency Rating - Career (min. 150 attempts) Consecutive Completions - Game1. Kevin McDougal 156.7 (1990-93) 1. Tommy Rees 14 vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 20112. Jarious Jackson 145.7 (1996-99) Brady Quinn 14 vs. Ohio State, Jan. 2, 2006*3. John Huarte 144.7 (1962-64) Ron Powlus 14 vs. Michigan State, Sept. 20, 19974. Rick Mirer 139.0 (1989-92) 4. Dayne Crist 12 vs. Pittsburgh, Sept. 9, 20105. Jimmy Clausen 137.2 (2007-09) Jarious Jackson 12 vs. Navy, Nov. 14, 19986. Joe Theismann 136.1 (1968-70) Brady Quinn 12 vs. BYU, Oct. 22, 20057. Ron Powlus 135.6 (1994-97) 7. Jimmy Clausen 11 vs. Washington State, Oct. 31, 20098. Brady Quinn 134.4 (2003-06) Brady Quinn 11 at Pittsburgh, Sept. 3, 20059. Tommy Rees 134.2 (2010-) Brady Quinn 11 at Purdue, Oct. 1, 200510. Dayne Crist 127.0 (2008-11)* Fiesta Bowl

uHere is a comparison between Rees and the more notable quarterbacks in Notre Dame history over their first 15 career starts.

Tommy Rees Jimmy Clausen Brady Quinn Ron Powlus Joe Montana Joe TheismannCompletion Percentage 64.3 (290 of 451) 58.7 (269 of 458) 49.8 (248 of 498) 55.8 (187 of 335) 48.4 (139 of 287) 54.6 (148 of 271)Passing Yards 3,105 2,851 3,221 2,661 2,045 2,258Passing Touchdowns 25 21 17 26 12 16Interceptions 14 14 19 13 17 22Passing Efficiency 134.22 120.04 107.76 140.40 110.24 127.85W-L Record 12-3 7-8 8-7 8-6-1 12-3 11-2-2

uRees tied and later bested his career-long pass completion in the rout of Navy on Oct. 29. He hooked up with junior WR Theo Riddick for 37 yards in the first quarter and spotted senior WR Michael Floyd for a 56-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. uThe 56-yard completion to Floyd was a season-long for the Irish.uRees was the fourth Irish quarterback in school history with multiple games of at least four touchdown passes. Rees joined Brady Quinn (seven), Jimmy Clausen (three) and Ron Powlus (three).uRees was the first Notre Dame quarterback to throw four touchdown passes in a single half since Brady Quinn against Washington on Sept. 25, 2004 (also in first half). uRees and Quinn are the only two Notre Dame signal callers to throw four touchdown passes in a single half.uRees was the fourth Irish sophomore quarterback to throw for 300 yards in a game. He joins the likes of Terry Hanratty (1966), Brady Quinn (2004) and Jimmy Clausen (2008).

Games with 300 Yards - Season Games with 300 Yards - Career1. Jimmy Clausen 7 (2009) 1. Brady Quinn 11 (2003-06)2. Brady Quinn 5 (2005) 2. Jimmy Clausen 10 (2007-09)3. Brady Quinn 4 (2006) 3. Tommy Rees 2 (2010-) Jimmy Clausen 3 (2008) Dayne Crist 2 (2009-)5. Dayne Crist 2 (2009) Jarious Jackson 2 (1996-99)6. Jarious Jackson 2 (1999) Terry Hanratty 2 (1966-68)7. 13 with 1 7. George Izo 1 (1957-59) (MR: Tommy Rees, 2011) Joe Montana 1 (1975, 77-78) Joe Theismann 1 (1968-70) John Huarte 1 (1962-64) Rick Mirer 1 (1989-92) Rusty Lisch 1 (1976, 77, 79) Steve Beuerlein 1 (1983-86)


MEDIA INFOGAM



BOWL HISTORY


u Rees threw his first interception in 135 pass attempts against USC on Oct. 22 (third longest single-season streak in school history). The 135 attempts without a pick ranks the fifth-longest streak overall when including streaks that spanned consecutive seasons.

Consecutive Passes Without INT - Single Season Name Att. Games1. Brady Quinn 226 Michigan State 2006 - Army 20062. Jimmy Clausen 160 Washington 2009 - Navy 20093. Tommy Rees 135 Pittsburgh 2011 - USC 20114. John Huarte 132 Michigan State 2008 - North Carolina 20085. Dayne Crist 130 USC 2005 - Navy 20056. Carlyle Holiday 126 Pittsburgh 2002 - Rutgers 2002

Consecutive Passes Without INT - Career Name Att. Games1. Brady Quinn 226 Michigan State 2006 - Army 20062. Jimmy Clausen 160 Washington 2009 - Navy 20093. Jimmy Clausen 147 USC 2008 - Purdue 20094. Brady Quinn 143 Stanford 2005 - Michigan 20065. Tommy Rees 135 Pittsburgh 2011 - USC 20116. Jimmy Clausen 132 Michigan State 2008 - North Carolina 20087. Dayne Crist 130 USC 2005 - Navy 20058. Carlyle Holiday 126 Pittsburgh 2002 - Rutgers 2002

uRees' streak of 11 consecutive games with a touchdown pass was snapped against USC on Oct. 22, which ranked as the third-longest streak in school history. Brady Quinn holds the school record with a touchdown pass in 16 straight games (2004-05).uRees' 11 straight games with a touchdown pass ranked as the fifth-longest among FBS signal callers when it was snapped.

Name Consecutive Games with TD Pass Year(s)1. Brady Quinn 16 (2004-05)2. Jimmy Clausen 13 (2008-09)3. Tommy Rees 11 (2010-2011)4. John Huarte 10 (1964)5. Dayne Crist 9 (2009-10) Rick Mirer 9 (1991)

uRees, who was mere seconds from becoming the third Irish quarterback in school history to record road victories over both USC and Michi-gan in a career, completed 27-of-39 for 315 yards and three touchdowns against Michigan. He exceeded 300 yards passing for the second time in his career.uRees was the ninth freshman quarterback to start for the Irish in the last 60 seasons (1951-present). The group includes Ralph Guglielmi (1951), Blair Kiel (1980), Steve Beuerlein (1983), Kent Graham (1987), Paul Failla (1991), Matt LoVecchio (2000), Brady Quinn (2003), Jimmy Clausen (2007) and Rees (2010).uRees, who started in the 28-3 victory over No. 15 Utah last year, was the first Irish freshman quarterback to knock off a top 20 opponent since Blair Kiel helped Notre Dame get past No. 13 Miami, Fla., 32-14. Rees threw for the most touchdown passes (three) by a freshman in his first career start in school history. Rees also threw for the fourth-most yards ever by an Irish quarterback in his first start (second-most ever by a Notre Dame rookie quarterback in a victory).uRees became the first freshman quarterback in Notre Dame history to ever lead the Irish to a victory in a bowl game. He also was the first-ever, first-year starter (regardless of class) to lead Notre Dame to a bowl game victory.uPrior to Rees, freshmen or sophomore quarterbacks who are first-year starters at Notre Dame had a tough history in bowl games. From 1972 through 2004, they were 0-6 while averaging only 13 points per game.uThey include 1972 sophomore Tom Clements (40-6 to Nebraska), 1980 freshman Blair Kiel (17-10 to Georgia), 1990 sophomore Rick Mirer (10-9 to Colorado), 1994 sophomore Ron Powlus (41-24 to Colorado), 2000 freshman Matt LoVecchio (41-9 to Oregon State) and 2004 sophomore Brady Quinn (38-21 to Oregon State). However, all but Quinn played a top-5 team.uJimmy Clausen was a sophomore QB in 2008 when the Irish crushed Hawaii 49-21 in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, but it was Clausen’s second season as a starter, not first.uRees set a single-season freshman school record with 12 touchdown passes in 2010. He also established a single-season freshman record in completions percentage (.610). Rees ranked among the top-five in the following categories for Irish freshman quarterbacks: passing yards (2nd; 1,106), passing efficiency (2nd; 132.70) and completions (3rd; 100).uRees was the first Irish rookie quarterback to ever throw four touchdown passes in a single game. The four touchdown passes against Tulsa is tied with numerous others for the sixth-most in single-game school history. Rees completed 33 of 54 passes for 334 yards – the most ever by a quarterback that did not start the game. His 300-yard game was the 35th in school history and second-ever by a Notre Dame fresh-man. Brady Quinn is the only other freshman signal caller to throw for at least 300 yards in a single game (350, Oct. 25, 2003 at Boston College).uRees hooked up with junior TE Tyler Eifert on a six-yard touchdown pass with 6:48 remaining against Pittsburgh to give the Irish a 13-12 lead. Rees then spotted Eifert again on the ensuing two-point conversion play to push the Notre Dame lead to 15-12.

Louis Nix IIITackles: 6, three times (last vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 2011)Solos: 4, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)Assists: 5, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)TFLs: 1.5, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Sacks: 0.5, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)INTs: NoneFF: NoneFR: NonePBUs: 1, vs. Boston College (Nov. 19, 2011)

Prince ShemboTackles: 6, at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24, 2011)Solos: 5, at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24, 2011)Assists: 4, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)TFLs: 2.0, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)Sacks: 2.0, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)INTs: NoneFF: 1, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)FR: NonePBUs: None

Jamoris SlaughterTackles: 8, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)Solos: 4, twice (last at Stanford, Nov. 26, 2011)Assists: 5, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)TFLs: 1.0, twice (last vs. Boston College, Nov. 19, 2011)Sacks: NoneINTs: 1, twice (last vs. Air Force, Oct. 8, 2011)Long INT Return: 26, vs. Stanford (Sept. 25, 2010)INT Return Yards: 26, vs. Stanford (Sept. 25, 2010)FF: 1, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)FR: NonePBUs: 1, five times (last vs. USC, Oct. 22, 2011)

Harrison SmithTackles: 14, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)Solos: 8, at Wake Forest (Nov. 5, 2011)Assists: 7, four times (last vs. USC, Oct. 22, 2011)TFLs: 2.0, twice (last vs. Navy, Nov. 7, 2009)Sacks: 2.0, at Washington (Oct. 25, 2008)INTs: 3, vs. Miami (Fla.) (Dec. 31, 2010) Long INT Return: 23, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)INT Return Yards: 23, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)PBUs: 5, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17, 2011)FF: 1, twice (last at Stanford, Nov. 26, 2011)FR: 1, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)

Danny SpondTackles: 6, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)Solos: 5, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)Assists: 2, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)TFLs: 0.5, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Sacks: NoneINTs: NoneFF: NoneFR: NonePBUs: None


46

Game Notes


Manti Te’oTackles: 21, vs. Stanford (Sept. 25, 2010)Solos: 8, three times (last at Pittsburgh, Sept. 24, 2011)Assists: 13, vs. Stanford (Sept. 25, 2010)TFLs: 3.0, at Purdue (Oct. 1, 2011)Sacks: 2.0, at Purdue (Oct. 1, 2011)INTs: NoneFF: 1, vs. Michigan (Sept. 11, 2010)FR: NonePBUs: 1, six times (last vs. Air Force, Oct. 8, 2011)

Stephon TuittTackles: 7, twice (last vs. Navy, Oct. 29, 2011)Solos: 3, at Wake Forest (Nov. 5, 2011)Assists: 6, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)TFLs: 2.0, at Wake Forest (Nov. 5, 2011)Sacks: 1.0, at Wake Forest (Nov. 5, 2011)INTs: NoneFF: NoneFR: NonePBUs: 1, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)

Hafis WilliamsTackles: 2, four times (last vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 2011)Solos: 2, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)Assists: 1, four times (last vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 2011)TFLs: NoneSacks: NoneINTs: NoneFF: NoneFR: NonePBUs: 1, vs. Stanford (Sept. 25, 2010)

Lo WoodTackles: 2, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Solos: 1, six times (last vs. Boston College, Nov. 19, 2011)Assists: 1, three times (last vs. Air Force, Oct. 8, 2011)TFLs: 0.5, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Sacks: NoneINTs: 1, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)FF: NoneFR: NonePBUs: None


uPrior the 11-play, 85-yard go-ahead scoring drive in the fourth quarter, Rees was just 15-of-32 for 135 yards, but the sophomore signal caller went 8-of-8 for 74 yards on the drive. In fact, Rees completed his final nine passes of the contest.uRees connected with Eifert four different times on the drive, including the touchdown pass and two-point conversion.uRees came off the bench and sparked the Irish in the second half against USF. He completed 24-of-34 passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns – all after halftime. uThe 296 yards passing in a half ranks as the fourth-most in a half by a Notre Dame signal caller in school history.

Passing Yards (Half)1. Joe Theismann 377 (2nd) at USC, Nov. 28, 19702. Jimmy Clausen 342 (2nd) vs. Navy, Nov. 7, 20093. Jimmy Clausen 300 (1st) at Hawai'i, Dec. 24, 20094. Tommy Rees 296 (2nd) vs. USF, Sept. 3, 2011 Joe Montana 296 (2nd) at USC, Nov. 25, 1978

THE AnDREW HEnDRIX EXPERIEnCEu Sophomore QB Andrew Hendrix saw playing time for the first time in his Notre Dame career against Air Force on Oct. 8, but saw his most significant playing time on Nov. 26 at No. 4 Stanford. Hendrix played the entire second half against the Cardinal.u Hendrix set career-bests in attempts (11), completions (24), passing yards (192), touchdown passes (one) and touchdown runs (one). He also completed the longest pass of his career – a 45-yard completion to junior WR Theo Riddick.u Hendrix tossed his first career touchdown pass against Stanford, a six-yard strike to senior WR Michael Floyd, with 6:21 left in the third quarter to cut the Irish deficit to 14 points (21-7).u Hendrix accounted for 57 of the 77 yards on the drive. He went 3-for-4 for 44 yards and rushed for 13 yards.u Hendrix added his first career touchdown run late in the fourth quarter against the Cardinal to bring Notre Dame within 14 points (28-14).u Hendrix completed all four of his pass attempts for 33 yards and added a game-high 111 yards rushing in the rout of Air Force. He was the first Irish quarterback to run for 100 yards since Carlyle Holiday on Oct. 27, 2001, at Boston College.u Hendrix’ 78-yard run in the fourth quarter was the second-longest in school history by a Notre Dame quarterback. Bill Eder had a 79-yard touchdown run against Navy on Nov. 1, 1969.u Hendrix finished with 111 yards rushing on six carries. It was the most rushing yards by an Irish quarterback since Holiday had 130 yards on Oct. 13, 2001, against West Virginia.

Rushing Yards - Game (Quarterback) Name Carries Avg. Yards (Opponent, Date)1. Bill Etter 11 13.3 146 (vs. Navy, Nov. 1, 1969)2. Tony Rice 26 5.4 141 (at Penn State, Nov. 18, 1989)3. Carlyle Holiday 30 4.3 130 (vs. West Virginia, Oct. 13, 2001)4. Carlyle Holiday 19 6.4 122 (vs. Pittsburgh, Oct. 6, 2001)5. Andrew Hendrix 6 18.5 111 (vs. Air Force, Oct. 8, 2011)6. Carlyle Holiday 22 5.0 109 (at Boston College, Oct. 27, 2001)7. Arnaz Battle 14 7.6 107 (vs. Nebraska, Sept. 9, 2000) Jarious Jackson 15 7.1 107 (vs. Oklahoma, Oct. 2, 1999) Tony Rice 14 7.6 107 (vs. Stanford, Oct. 1, 1988)10. Paul Hornung 11 9.2 101 (vs. SMU, Sept. 22, 1956)

u Hendrix has rushed for 136 yards in four games this season. The 136 yards rushing is the most by an Irish quarterback since Carlyle Holiday finished the 2002 campaign with 200 yards on the ground.

DEFEnSE IS ABOUT POInTS, nOT YARDSu For the first time in 10 years, Notre Dame’s defense has allowed fewer than 21 points per game in consecutive seasons.u Notre Dame is one of 15 FBS teams that has allowed less than 21.0 points/game over each of the last two seasons.u Notre Dame's has allowed an average of 20.58 points/game over the last two seasons combined, which ranks as the 22nd-best average over 2010-11 of any team in the FBS.

Team 2011 Scoring Defense 2010 Scoring Defense 2010-2011 Average1. Alabama 8.83 13.54 11.192. LSU 10.54 18.23 14.393. Boise State 18.25 12.77 15.514. Temple 13.83 19.08 16.465. TCU 21.25 12.00 16.636. Florida State 15.17 19.64 17.417. Ohio State 20.75 14.31 17.538. UCF 18.33 17.14 17.749. Wisconsin 17.00 20.54 18.7710. Stanford 20.33 17.38 18.8622. Notre Dame 20.92 20.23 20.58


MEDIA INFOGAM



BOWL HISTORY


IRISH DEFEnSE MARKED IMPROvEMEnTu From the first game of the 2009 season through the eighth game of the 2010 season, the Irish allowed 11 of 20 opponents (55 percent) to gain at least 400 yards total offense. From the first game of the 2009 season through the eighth game of last season, the Irish allowed 12 of 20 opponents (60.0 percent) to rush for at least 150 yards.u The improvement is striking in the last 16 games. The Irish have allowed only five of their last 16 opponents (31.3 percent) to gain as much as 400 yards total offense. During the last 16 games, only four have rushed for more than 150 yards in a game (25.0 percent).u In the last 16 games, the Irish have allowed 133.25 yards rushing per game and 330.69 yards total offense. In the 16 games prior, Notre Dame surrendered 176.63 yards rushing per game and 393.44 yards total offense. That's a 43.38-yard drop in rushing yards allowed per game and a 62.75-yard fall in total offense per game.u Notre Dame has kept nine of its last 16 opponents under 300 yards of total offense while only two of the previous 16 were limited to less than 300 yards.u The most impressive statistic is in the third quarter where the Irish defense has allowed just two touchdowns in the last 17 third quarters combined. Including all scores by the opposition, the Irish have surrendered just 30 points in the last 17 third quarters combined. That's an average of 1.76 points per third quarter.u Here is a breakdown of the Irish defensive improvement over their last 16 games compared to the previous 16 games.

Last 16 Games Category Previous 16 Games2,132 Net Rushing Yards 2,826133.25 Rushing Yards/Game 176.633.71 Yards/Rush 4.629 Rushing Touchdowns 2742 Longest Run 870 50+ Runs 55,291 Total Offense 6,295330.69 Total Offense/Game 393.444.90 Total Offense/Play 5.79

u Here is a breakdown of the Irish defensive improvement compared to the year prior to the arrival of head coach Brian Kelly.

2009 2011Category Statistic national Rank Statistic national RankTotal Defense Yards/Game 397.75 86th 349.25 33rd Yards/Play 6.19 102nd 4.9 31st Plays Defended 771 112th 846 47th

Scoring Defense Points/Game 25.92 63rd 20.9 30th Yards/Point 13.30 35th 16.7 18th Points/Plays Defended 0.393 68th 0.297 24th Punts/Offensive Score 1.9 81st 1.6 26th 1st Quarter Points Allowed/Game 5.0 45th 4.4 34th 3rd Quarter Points Allowed/Game 6.0 71st 0.5 1st

Rushing Defense Yards/Game 170.25 89th 147.08 58th Yards/Rush 4.85 101st 3.9 48th Rushing Touchdowns Allowed 18 57th 8 5th (5 with ND up 14+ pts in 4th quarter)

Passing Defense Yards/Game 227.50 76th 202.17 36thPassing Efficiency 134.76 82nd 127.31 55thThird Down Conversion 39.49 67th 35.29 26thThird Down Conversion Allowed/Game 5.0 21st 5.2 46th

Explosive Plays Allowed Plays Over 20 Yards - n/a 32 7th Plays Over 30 Yards - n/a 10 4th

IRISH PRETTY TOUGH On THIRD DOWnu Notre Dame ranks 25th in the FBS in third-down defense. Irish opponents have managed to convert just 35.29% (60 of 170) on third down. Notre Dame’s third-down defense in the first two quarters of its 12 games has been even better. Irish foes have converted just 10 third downs in 36 attempts (27.8%) in the opening quarter and only 30 in 86 attempts (34.9%) in the first half. Here is a breakdown of Notre Dame’s third-down defense.

.732 - Notre Dame's winning percentage, the second-highest in college football history.

1 - Notre Dame is the only team, college or professional, to have all of its games broadcast nationally on the radio and is the only team to have all of its home games televised nationally (NBC).

6 - College Football Hall of Fame Coaches - Jesse Harper, Lou Holtz, Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian and Dan Devine.

7 - Heisman Trophy Winners: Angelo Bertelli (1943), Johnny Lujack (1947), Leon Hart (1949), John Lattner (1953), Paul Hornung (1956), John Huarte (1964) and Tim Brown (1987).

10 - Alumni in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

11 - National Championships - since the AP poll began in 1936 (1943-46-47-49-66-73-77-88), the most AP titles of any other school. The Irish also earned consensus national titles in 1924, 1929 and 1930 prior to the AP rankings.

12 - Unbeaten and untied seasons.

21 - Seasons in which the team has been voted the national champion by at least one selector.

31 - Bowl games in which the Irish have taken part.

32 - Unanimous first-team All-Americans -- more than any other school.

36 - Irish players that captured Super Bowl titles.

43 - College Football Hall of Fame Players.

61 - Notre Dame players selected in the first round of the NFL draft.

96 - Consensus All-Americans -- more than any other school.

99 - Percent graduation rate among football players who enter on scholarship and remain at least four years.

104 - Out of 123 years in which Notre Dame has finished with a winning record.

123 - Years of college football (including 2011).

185 - Selections on All-America first teams.

225 - Consecutive sellouts at Notre Dame Stadium.

234 - Consecutive games televised nationally or regionally.

353 - Appearances by the Irish on network television -- more than any other school and more than the next two combined.

467 - Irish players drafted in the National Football League.

853 - All-time victories, third all-time in college football.

Notre Dame FootballBy The Numbers

48

Game Notes


Notre Dame's Third-Down Defense Overall 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quartervs. USF 2-14 (14.3) 0-2 (0.0) 0-5 (0.0) 1-4 (25.0) 1-3 (33.3)at Michigan 3-9 (33.3) 0-2 (0.0) 0-3 (0.0) 1-2 (50.0) 2-2 (100.0)vs. MSU 5-17 (29.4) 1-4 (25.0) 1-3 (33.3) 1-4 (25.0) 2-6 (33.3)at Pittsburgh 7-17 (41.2) 0-2 (0.0) 2-5 (40.0) 2-5 (40.0) 3-5 (60.0)at Purdue 5-14 (35.7) 1-2 (50.0) 3-7 (42.9) 1-3 (33.3) 0-2 (0.0)vs. Air Force 6-17 (35.3) 1-3 (33.3) 3-6 (50.0) 2-7 (28.6) 0-1 (0.0)vs. USC 7-15 (46.7) 2-3 (66.7) 0-4 (0.0) 1-2 (50.0) 4-6 (66.7)vs. Navy 8-17 (47.1) 3-5 (60.0) 3-6 (50.0) 2-4 (50.0) 0-2 (0.0)at Wake Forest 3-10 (30.0) 0-2 (0.0) 2-3 (66.7) 0-2 (0.0) 1-3 (33.3)vs. Maryland 3-12 (25.0) 0-4 (0.0) 1-2 (50.0) 0-1 (0.0) 2-5 (40.0)vs. Boston College 3-13 (23.1) 0-3 (0.0) 2-3 (66.7) 1-5 (20.0) 0-2 (0.0)at Stanford 8-15 (53.3) 2-4 (50.0) 3-3 (100.0) 1-3 (33.3) 2-5 (40.0)Totals 60-170 (35.3) 10-36 (27.8) 20-50 (40.0) 13-42 (31.0) 17-42 (40.5)

FBS Third-Down Defense Leaders Team Attempts Conversions Pct.1. Alabama 172 43 25.002. Florida 166 46 27.713. Georgia 177 51 28.814. Oklahoma 180 54 30.005. Boise State 165 50 30.306. Stanford 152 47 30.927. Eastern Michigan 159 50 31.458. UCF 168 53 31.559. Pittsburgh 178 57 32.0210. Virginia Tech 179 58 32.4025. Notre Dame 170 60 35.29

uThe Irish limited Boston College to 3 of 13 (23.1) on third down in the game and 1 of 7 (14.3%) in the second half.uNotre Dame limited Maryland to 3 of 12 (25.0%) on third down in the 45-24 rout on Nov. 12.uThe Terps were forced to punt on each of their first five possessions and they were only 1-of-7 through three quarters in third-down situations while falling behind 38-7.uNavy faced third down on 17 occasions against the Notre Dame defense and the Mids had to get less than five yards for a first down only once in 17 attempts. The average distance to go for a first down was seven yards for Navy.

IRISH DEFEnSE LEADS THE WAYu Notre Dame’s defense has allowed two offensive touchdown or less in 11 of its last 16 games.u Notre Dame has given up exactly nine rushing touchdowns over its last 17 games (dating back to the Tulsa game in 2010). Even more amazing, only three of those rushing touchdowns have come from an opposing running back (Jonathan Lee’s eight-yard TD run for Air Force with the Irish leading 59-27 with 33 seconds left in the fourth quarter on Oct. 8, Josh Harris’ two-yard run for Wake Forest in the second quarter on Nov. 5 and D.J. Adams’ two-yard touchdown on Nov. 12 with the Irish leading Maryland, 45-14, with 37 seconds left).u USC’s Mitch Mustain (2010) and Michigan’s Denard Robinson each snuck in from one-yard out (Robinson’s following a Wolverine fumble). Tim Jefferson of Air Force had a three-yard scoring run on Oct. 8 and Jarvi Cummings of Navy had a 12-yard touchdown run with the Irish leading 49-7 in the fourth quarter. Maryland’s signal caller C.J. Brown had a 24-yard touchdown run on Nov. 12 and Boston College quarterback Josh Bordner had a two-yard touchdown run on Nov. 19. Even crazier, eight of the last 10 rushing touchdowns against the Irish have come from quarterbacks (when you include Ricky Dobbs’ two rushing touchdowns in the third quarter of the game against Notre Dame on Oct. 23, 2010).u Over the last 21 games, only four running backs have recorded a rushing touchdown against Notre Dame (Gee Gee Greene, Navy, 2010; Jon Lee, Air Force, 2011; Josh Harris, Wake Forest, 2011; D.J. Adams, Maryland, 2011).u Notre Dame has surrendered 14 points or less in five games this season – Michigan State (13), Pittsburgh (12), Purdue (10), Navy (14) and Boston College (14). The Irish have not limited that many opponents to 14 points or less in the same season since 2002 when Notre Dame surrendered 14 points or less in six games.u Notre Dame surrendered 13 points or less in three consecutive games – Michigan State (13), Pittsburgh (12) and Purdue (10). The Irish had not done that since 1989 when Notre Dame was the top-ranked team in college football. Notre Dame limited Pittsburgh (seven), Navy (zero) and SMU (six) all under 13 points. uNotre Dame’s defense has allowed only eight rushing touchdowns this year. Only four teams in the FBS have allowed fewer rushing touchdowns than the Irish.

FBS Rushing Touchdowns Allowed LeadersRank School Rushing TDs Allowed1. Alabama 32. LSU 6 Utah 6 TCU 6t-5. Notre Dame 8

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BOWL HISTORY


uNotre Dame ranks 58th nationally in rush defense (147.08 rushing/game), and that’s with having faced Ray Graham of Pittsburgh and Denard Robinson of Michigan. The Irish also faced Air Force, Navy, Stanford, USF and Purdue, which all are ranked among the top 40 in the FBS in rushing yards per game. In fact, the Falcons and Midshipmen are ranked second and fourth, respectively.uNotre Dame has limited USF, Michigan, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Navy, Maryland, Boston College and Stanford on the ground to significant worse numbers than those teams average against everyone else on its 2011 schedule.

USF Vs. Notre Dame Vs. Everyone ElseRushing Yards/Game 126.0 187.2Average Per Rush 3.0 4.7

MICHIGAn Vs. Notre Dame Vs. Everyone ElseRushing Yards/Game 114.0 246.7Average Per Rush 4.4 5.4

MICHIGAn STATE Vs. Notre Dame Vs. Everyone ElseRushing Yards/Game 29.0 152.4Average Per Rush 1.3 4.2

PITTSBURGH Vs. Notre Dame Vs. Everyone ElseRushing Yards/Game 103.0 155.5Average Per Rush 2.7 3.8

PURDUE Vs. Notre Dame Vs. Everyone ElseRushing Yards/Game 84.0 182.9Average Per Rush 3.1 4.5

nAvY Vs. Notre Dame Vs. Everyone ElseRushing Yards/Game 196.0 325.5Average Per Rush 3.9 5.6

MARYLAnD Vs. Notre Dame Vs. Everyone ElseRushing Yards/Game 145.0 189.2Average Per Rush 4.1 5.4

BOSTOn COLLEGE Vs. Notre Dame Vs. Everyone ElseRushing Yards/Game 80.0 135.5Average Per Rush 3.2 3.6

STAnFORD Vs. Notre Dame Vs. Everyone ElseRushing Yards/Game 196.0 218.6Average Per Rush 4.7 5.6

TALE OF TWO DIFFEREnT YEARSuNotre Dame was torched for 367 yards on 60 carries in last season’s 35-17 loss against Navy. The Irish limited the Midshipmen to 196 yards on 50 carries on Oct. 29. uNotre Dame’s front-line defense, which was removed from the game with 13:38 left in the fourth quarter, limited Navy to just 127 yards on 38 carries (3.3/rush). The Midshipmen totaled just 158 total yards against the Irish front-line defense.uHere is a comparison between the Oct. 29 final rushing numbers and 2010.

2011 Category 2010196 Rushing Yards 36750 Carries 603.9 Yards per Rush 6.17 10+ yard runs 1024 Two yards or less runs 156.0-11 Tackles for Loss 2.0-48-17 3rd Down 10-1311 Rushing First Downs 185 Drives of 20+ yards 87 Drives of 20 yards or less 1

uNavy had four touchdown drives of 73 yards or longer in the 2010 matchup with the Irish. The Mids' longest drive on Oct. 29 went for 59 yards on 12 plays and Notre Dame stopped Navy on downs.uThe Irish forced a trio of Navy three and outs. Notre Dame had forced a total of two three and outs over the last two meetings with the Midshipmen combined.uThe Midshipmen entered the game averaging 325.14 rushing yards per game, which ranked third in the nation behind Army and Air Force. Notre Dame allowed just 196 yards against Navy’s potent triple-option attack, including one meaningless touchdown when the Irish reserves were on the field.u Notre Dame was victimized by two more turnovers inside their own 27-yard line on Oct. 29 against Navy that setup both of the Midshipmen touchdowns. Navy went 27 yards on six plays and 26 yards on two plays for touchdowns on Oct. 29.uNavy faced a third down on 17 occasions against the Notre Dame defense and the Mids had to get less than five yards for a first down only once. The average distance to go for a first down was seven yards for Navy.uApproximately 23 percent of Navy's rushing yards came on its opening drive, which ended with a missed field goal from 47 yards. The Mids had seven rushes of 10 yards or more, but none longer than 15 yards.uNotre Dame accomplished the feat without the starting senior DE tandem of Ethan Johnson and Kapron Lewis-Moore. Freshman DE Stephon Tuitt picked up his first career start, moving inside next to senior NG Sean Cwynar. Senior OLB Darius Fleming and sophomore OLB Prince Shembo each started at defensive end as the Irish implemented a 4-2-5 defensive alignment, which helped take away the fullback dive play that ripped the Irish defense for more than 200 yards in each of the last two games in the series. It also prevented the Midshipmen from picking up more than 15 yards on any single play during the game. Twenty-four of Navy’s 50 rushes on the day went for two yards or less.uHere is a comparison between the final rushing numbers for Navy fullback Alexander Teich on Oct. 29 and his numbers in 2010.

2010 2011Alexander Teich 210-26-8.1 62-15-4.1

uThe 229 yards of total offense was Navy’s lowest yardage figure since putting up just 193 yards of total offense against Georgia Southern on Sept. 9, 2011.uThe 33 yards passing were the fewest by Navy since Nov. 13, 2010 against Central Michigan when the Midshipmen completed just two of their five passes for 33 yards.uNavy punted a season-high tying five times.uThe 42-point win marks Notre Dame's largest margin of victory over Navy since winning 56-13 on Oct. 31, 1987.uThe 56 points by the Irish were the most in the series since posting a 58-21 victory on Oct. 29, 1994.uThe 14 points by the Midshipmen marked their lowest scoring output since last year’s 35-14 Poinsettia Bowl loss to San Diego State.uIt’s also the fewest points Navy has scored in the series since the Irish handed Navy a 38-14 loss in Baltimore on Oct. 28, 2006.

DEFEnSE STYMIES MICHIGAn STATE RUnnInG GAMEu Michigan State managed just one rushing first down the entire game – and it came with two min-utes remaining in the opening half. The Spartans have been held to one rushing first down or less just eight times in school history and three times have come against the Irish (1976, 1981 and 2011). Michigan State has been held to fewer first down rushes, zero, just once in school history and it came against Purdue in 1979.

Fewest Rushing First Downs In Michigan State Single-Game History1. 0 vs. Purdue, 19792. 1 vs. Notre Dame, 2011 1 vs. Iowa, 2010 1 vs. Iowa, 1995 1 vs. Notre Dame, 1981 1 vs. Notre Dame, 1976 1 vs. Mississippi State, 1947 1 vs. Auburn, 1938

u Bob Diaco – Notre Dame's defensive coordinator/inside linebackers coach and two-time all-Big Ten selection at Iowa – played a key role as the starting middle linebacker in the Hawkeyes' dominant effort of the Spartans in 1995 (another game in which Michigan State was held to one rushing first down). u Notre Dame limited Michigan State to 29 yards rushing on 23 carries. It is the fewest rushing yards by the Spartans in the series with Notre Dame since Sept. 19, 1987. Michigan State managed just 21 yards in a 31-8 defeat.u Michigan State entered the game averaging 175.0 yards per game on the ground.u It was the fewest rushing yards allowed by the Irish since limiting Boston College to five yards on the ground on Oct. 2, 2010.

50

Game Notes


u Notre Dame registered 10 quarterback hurries, nine pass breakups, five tackles for loss and two sacks. The Irish also forced a pair of turnovers (both came following an Irish turnover).u Freshman DE Aaron Lynch – seeing the most playing time to that point of his Irish career – absolutely dominated his counterparts on the Michigan State offensive line. He recorded six quarterback hurries, one sack, a forced fumble and five tackles. While Notre Dame tracks quarterback pressures at home, not every Irish opponent does the same on the road. To put into perspective what an incredible number that is, consider that senior DE Ethan Johnson and senior DE Kapron Lewis-Moore, plus senior OLB Darius Fleming, led the Irish in that category — with five apiece for the entire 2010 home season.u Michigan State’s longest run of the game went for eight yards.u Notre Dame limited the Spartans to one yard or less on eight of their 23 carries.u Notre Dame limited Michigan State to 13 yards rushing in the first half on 14 carries (just a 0.9 yards per carry average).u The 13 yards rushing allowed by the Irish were the fewest by a Notre Dame opponent in a half since Western Michigan managed minus-two yards in the second half on Oct. 16, 2010.u Michigan State’s longest run of the first half went for five yards. In fact, the Irish held the Spartans to one yard or less on six of their 14 rushes before halftime.u Michigan State amassed 154 total yards in the first half, 80 of which came on its 11-play touchdown drive early in the second quarter. The Spartans man-aged 74 yards on their other five drives. Notre Dame limited Michigan State to fewer than 17 yards on four of its six drives before halftime.u The Irish allowed a total of 52 yards of total offense in the third quarter on 13 plays, including nine yards rushing on six carries.

DEFEnSE SO OUT OF CHARACTER In FOURTH QUARTER AT MICHIGAnuNotre Dame's defense thoroughly dominated Michigan over the first two quarters and most of the third period. The Irish outgained the Wolverines, 145-27 and 123-63, in the opening 30 minutes (good for a halftime advantage in total yards of 268-90). Notre Dame then outgained Michigan, 142-51, in the third quarter before Denard Robinson's 77-yard pass completion with an Irish nearly defender pulling him down for a sack in the process. Notre Dame led 24-7 with just under two minutes left in the period and had outgained the Wolverines, 410-141, prior to that long pass play.uMichigan then exploded for 28 points and 229 yards in the fourth quarter alone (306 over the final 16 minutes of the game).uNotre Dame had allowed a total of five offensive touchdowns over its previous six games entering the tilt with Michigan. The Irish then limited the Wol-verines to a touchdown over the first three quarters of the game. In fact, Notre Dame's five offensive touchdowns allowed came over a stretch of 28 quarters. Michigan nearly equalled that output in the fourth quarter alone.uJust how out of character was the fourth quarter for the Irish? Here is an interesting comparison between Notre Dame's defense over the previous 28 quarters of football (entering the fourth quarter), the first three quarters against the Wolverines and then the fourth quarter.

Previous 28 Quarters nD OpponentsFirst Downs/Game 14.7 By Rushing/Game 5.9 By Passing/Game 7.9 Penalty/Game 1.0Rushing Yards/Game 118.9 Yards gained rushing/Game 138.1 Yards lost rushing/Game 19.3 Rushing Attempts/Game 34.3 Average Per Rush 3.5 TDs Rushing/Game 0.1Passing Yards/Game 171.3 Completions/Game 16.3 Attempts/Game 29.3 Average Per Attempt 5.8 Average Per Completion 10.2 TDs Passing/Game 0.7 Interceptions/Game 1.4Total Yards/Game 290.1 Total Plays/Game 63.6 Average Per Play 4.63rd-Down Conversions 34/102 3rd-Down Pct 33%4th-Down Conversions 5/10 4th-Down Pct 50%

* excludes the fourth quarter against Michigan

TE'O PACKS A HAWAIIAn PUnCHuJunior LB Manti Te'o was named to a number of preseason award lists, including the Bednarik, Butkus, Lombardi and Nagurski. He was also named to numerous preseason All-American teams. Te'o was named a semifinalist for the Lombardi Award and finalist for the Butkus Award and Lott Trophy.uTe'o leads the Irish in total tackles (115), solo stops (55), assisted tackles (60) and tackles on running plays (86).uTe'o ranks tied for 27th in the FBS in tackles per game (9.58) and tied for 58th in tackles for loss (1.08/game). He ranks 20th in total tackles and tied for 22nd in tackles for loss among linebackers.uHe has accomplished all of this playing most of the season with an injured ankle.

AFCBaltimore RavensSS Tom Zbikowski

Buffalo BillsOT Sam Young

Cleveland BrownsLB Brian Smith*

Denver BroncosSS David BrutonS Kyle McCarthy*QB Brady Quinn

Miami DolphinsTE Anthony Fasano

New England PatriotsDB Sergio Brown

Pittsburgh SteelersWR Arnaz Battle

nFCAtlanta FalconsDB Darrin Walls

Carolina PanthersQB Jimmy ClausenLS J. J. Jansen

Chicago BearsRB Armando Allen Jr.*

Detroit LionsWR Maurice Stovall

Green Bay PackersRB Ryan Grant

Minnesota VikingsTE Kyle RudolphC John Sullivan

New Orleans SaintsDB Terrail Lambert*

New York GiantsDE Justin Tuck

Philadelphia EaglesDE Victor Abiamiri^OT Ryan HarrisDT Trevor Laws

San Francisco 49ersNG Ian Williams

Seattle SeahawksTE John Carlson^WR Golden Tate

Tampa Bay BuccaneersC Jeff Faine

Washington RedskinsOL Eric Olsen*

^ - injured reserve list* - practice squad# - physically unable to perform list

Fighting IrishIn The NFL

4th Quarter vs. UM MichiganFirst Downs 10 By Rushing 2 By Passing 7 Penalty 1Rushing Yards 27 Yards gained rushing 32 Yards lost rushing 5 Rushing Attempts 7 Average Per Rush 3.9 TDs Rushing 1Passing Yards 202 Completions 10 Attempts 7 Average Per Attempt 20.2 Average Per Completion 28.9 TDs Passing 3 Interceptions 1Total Yards 229 Total Plays 17 Average Per Play 13.53rd-Down Conversions 2/2 3rd-Down Pct 100%4th-Down Conversions 0/0 4th-Down Pct 0%

First 3 Quarters vs. UM MichiganFirst Downs 6 By Rushing 3 By Passing 3 Penalty 0Rushing Yards 87 Yards gained rushing 103 Yards lost rushing 16 Rushing Attempts 19 Average Per Rush 4.6 TDs Rushing 0Passing Yards 136 Completions 4 Attempts 14 Average Per Attempt 9.7 Average Per Completion 34.0 TDs Passing 1 Interceptions 2Total Yards 223 Total Plays 33 Average Per Play 6.83rd-Down Conversions 1/7 3rd-Down Pct 14%4th-Down Conversions 0/0 4th-Down Pct 0%


MEDIA INFOGAM



BOWL HISTORY


uOff the gridiron, Te'o has excelled in the classroom and in the community. He has earned a 3.37 cumulative grade-point average at Notre Dame and has volunteered dozens of hours at a local youth center. While he was in high school, the former Eagle Scout volunteered his time at Hawaii Special Olympics and with the Head Start preschool program.uTe'o recorded a game-high 12 tackles in the loss at No. 4 Stanford on Nov. 26. He added 1.5 tackles for loss. Te’o eclipsed 10 or more tackles in eight of Notre Dame’s 12 games in 2011 and 17 different times over his career. He has led Notre Dame in tackles eight times in 2011 and 18 different times over his career.uTe’o finished with a team-high 12 tackles against Boston College on Nov. 19. He added 0.5 tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries. uTe’o registered 12 tackles on Boston College’s 63 offensive plays (19.05%). Luke Kuechly accounted for 14 tackles on Notre Dame’s 78 offensive plays (17.95).uTe'o finished with a game-high 13 tackles in the rout of Navy on Oct. 29. He added 2.5 tackles for loss and half a sack.uTe'o finished with 10 tackles in the loss to USC on Oct. 22.uTe'o paced the Irish defense with 10 tackles, five solo stops, two and a half for loss and one pass breakup, in the victory over Air Force on Oct. 8.uTe'o paced the Irish defense with eight tackles, all solo stops, three for loss and two sacks, in the victory at Purdue on Oct. 1.uTe’o registered a team-high 10 tackles in the victory over Pittsburgh. He also added a sack. uTe'o registered a team-high 12 tackles in the victory over No. 15 Michigan State. uTe'o finished with a game-high 14 tackles in the season opener against USF. He had seven solo stops, seven assisted tackles and one sack. The 14 tackles were the second-most in his career.uTe'o paced the Irish last year with 133 tackles and his nine and a half tackles for loss ranked second on the team. He was named a second-team All-American by SI.com after the season and Te'o was also a semifinalist in 2010 for both the Bednarik Award (top collegiate defender) and Butkus Trophy (top col-legiate linebacker).uThe 133 tackles by Te'o in 2010 were the most by a Notre Dame player since Tony Furjanic made 147 in 1983.uTe'o has recorded 311 tackles in his career, which ranks eighth in school history. He was the 10th player in Irish history to ever reach 300 career stops.

Tackles – Career1. Bob Crable 521 (1978-81)2. Bob Golic 479 (1975-78)3. Steve Heimkreiter 398 (1975-78)4. Bob Olson 369 (1967-69)5. Tony Furjanic 361 (1982-85)6. Mike Kovaleski 353 (1983-86)7. Ross Browner 340 (1973, 1975-77)8. Manti Te'o 311 (2009-)9. Maurice Crum Jr. 306 (2005-08)10. Harrison Smith 303 (2007-)

uTe'o also ranks 14th in the FBS among active players in career tackles per game (8.4).

FBS Active Tackle Leaders/Game Name, School Yr. Pos. GP UT AT TT TT/Gm1. Luke Kuechly, Boston College JR LB 38 299 233 532 14.02. Brian Wagner, Akron JR LB 35 193 216 409 11.73. Trent Mackey, Tulane JR LB 24 159 110 269 11.24. Lavonte David, Nebraska SR LB 26 142 132 274 10.55. Marcus McGraw, Houston SR LB 52 244 256 500 9.66. Carmen Messina, New Mexico SR LB 48 217 237 454 9.57. Travis Freeman, Ball State JR LB 36 125 211 336 9.38. Bobby Wagner, Utah State SR LB 47 195 243 438 9.39. Jamie Bender, UAB SR DB 24 142 71 213 8.910. Keith Smith, San Jose State SO LB 25 113 107 220 8.814. Manti Te'o, Notre Dame Jr. LB 37 150 161 311 8.4

uTe'o also leads the Irish in sacks (4.5) and tackles for loss (13.0).uAmong inside or middle linebackers, Te'o ranks eighth in tackles for loss per game, eighth in total tackles for loss and tied for ninth in solo tackles for loss.

FBS Middle Linebacker Tackle for Loss Leaders Name, School Solo Ast Yds Total PG1. Andrew Jackson, Western Kentucky 11 12 51 17 1.422. Chris Borland, Wisconsin 12 12 37 18 1.383. Dexter Heyman, Louisville 12 7 58 15.5 1.294. Sean Spence, Miami (Fla.) 10 8 39 14 1.275. Steve Beauharnais, Rutgers 12 6 55 15 1.256. Dwayne Woods Jr., Bowling Green 13 2 46 14 1.17 Trent Mackey, Tulane 11 6 53 14 1.178. Manti Te'o, Notre Dame 10 6 30 13 1.08 Mychal Kendricks, California 11 4 56 13 1.08 Adrien Cole, Louisiana Tech 11 4 49 13 1.08

SLAUGHTER HOUSE TWOuSenior S Jamoris Slaughter forced a fumble on Air Force’s first offensive play of the game. The forced fumble was the first of his career.uSlaughter added his first interception of the season and second of his career later in the game.

LO WOOD On A HIGH nOTEu Sophomore CB Lo Wood collected his first career interception in the third quarter against Maryland on Nov. 12. He promptly returned it 57 yards for a touchdown.u Wood’s interception return for a touchdown was the first by an Irish player since Darrin Walls had a 42-yard interception return against Army in 2010 at Yankee Stadium.

HARRISOn SMITH LEADS SECOnDARYu Senior S Harrison Smith registered a career-high 14 tackles in Notre Dame's loss to USC on Oct. 22. He recorded back-to-back 10+ tackle games for the second time in his career. He had 10 and 11 stops against Michigan State (Sept. 18) and Stanford (Sept. 25), respectively, in 2010.u Smith collected a game-high 11 tackles in the victory over Wake Forest on Nov. 5. He registered his ninth career 10 or more tackle game. Smith also chipped in with a tackle for loss. u Smith recorded a team-high 12 stops, including seven solo tackles, against Air Force on Oct. 8.u Smith rebounded from a disappointing effort against Michigan with one of the top games in his Irish career a week later against Michigan State. Smith registered eight tackles, four solo stops and recorded five pass breakups. The five pass breakups are likely the most by an Irish player in single-game school history when you consider 10 over an entire season ranks tied for 10th most in single-season history. Only five players have recorded five or more pass breakups in an entire season dating back to 2007.u The five passes defended against Michigan State tied for the third-most in the FBS this season.

FBS Passes Defended - Game Name, School Opp. Date PD1. Matt Daniels, Duke Richmond Sept. 3 6 Casey Hayward, Vanderbilt Arkansas Oct. 29 63. Harrison Smith, Notre Dame Michigan State Sept. 17 5 David Amerson, North Carolina State Liberty Sept. 3 5 Trey Wilson, Vanderbilt Ole Miss Sept. 17 5 Royce Hill, North Texas Fla. Atlantic Oct. 8 5

u Smith ranks second on the Irish in total tackles (84), solo stops (49) and assisted tackles (35). u Smith finished with four tackles against No. 4 Stanford on Nov. 26. He has now amassed 303 career tackles, which ranks 10th in school history. Smith has 216 career stops as a defensive back, which ranks fifth in Notre Dame defensive back history.u Smith became the 11th Notre Dame player to amass 300 tackles in a career.u Smith registered a forced fumble and fumble recovery on the same play with 3:12 to go in the second quarter. It marked his second career forced fumble (first since 2009) and first career fumble recovery.

Tackles – Career1. Bob Crable 521 (1978-81)2. Bob Golic 479 (1975-78)3. Steve Heimkreiter 398 (1975-78)4. Bob Olson 369 (1967-69)5. Tony Furjanic 361 (1982-85)6. Mike Kovaleski 353 (1983-86)7. Ross Browner 340 (1973, 1975-77)8. Manti Te'o 311 (2009-)9. Maurice Crum Jr. 306 (2005-08)10. Harrison Smith 303 (2007-)

52

Game Notes


u Smith leads the Irish with 10 passes defended in 2011, which ranks tied for 75th in the FBS in total passes defended and 83rd in passes defended/game. He ranks tied for 36th in the FBS in total pass break-ups and tied for 38th in pass breakups/game.

FBS Pass Breakup Leaders Name, School PBUs Name, School PBUs1. Merrill Noel, Wake Forest 19 1. Merrill Noel, Wake Forest 1.582. E.J. Gaines, Missouri 16 2. E.J. Gaines, Missouri 1.333. Broderick Brown, Oklahoma State 15 3. Broderick Brown, Oklahoma State 1.25 Carrington Byndom, Texas 15 Carrington Byndom, Texas 1.25 Josh Robinson, UCF 15 Josh Robinson, UCF 1.25 Najja Johnson, Buffalo 15 Najja Johnson, Buffalo 1.257. Desmond Marrow, Toledo 14 7. Desmond Marrow, Toledo 1.17 Matt Daniels, Duke 14 Matt Daniels, Duke 1.17 Preston Hadley, BYU 14 Preston Hadley, BYU 1.17 Corby Eason, BYU 14 Corby Eason, BYU 1.17 Jonte Green, New Mexico State 14 t-38. Harrison Smith, Notre Dame 0.83t-36. Harrison Smith, Notre Dame 10

u Smith now has registered 28 pass breakups over his career, which ranks tied for second all-time.

Passes Broken Up - Career Interceptions – Season1. Clarence Ellis 32 (1969-71) 1. Mike Townsend 10 (1972)2. Harrison Smith 28 (2007-) 2. Tom MacDonald 9 (1962) Luther Bradley 27 (1973-77) 3. Angelo Bertelli 8 (1942)4. Shane Walton 25 (1999-02) Tony Carey 8 (1964)5. Dave Waymer 22 (1976-79) Todd Lyght 8 (1989)6. Todd Lyght 20.5 (1987-90) 6. Harrison Smith 7 (2010)7. Darrin Walls 20 (2006-10) Tom Schoen 7 (1966) Ralph Stepaniak 20 (1969-71) Clarence Ellis 7 (1970)9. Thomas O’Leary 19 (1965-67) Dave Duerson 7 (1982)10. Vontez Duff 18 (2000-03) Shane Walton 7 (2002)

u Smith has 304 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 28 pass breakups, seven interceptions, three and a half sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery over his Irish career. He is the first Notre Dame player to ever register 200 or more tackles, 15 or more tackles for loss and 15 or more pass breakups.u Smith has recorded 216 of his 303 career tackles as a defensive back, which ranks fifth all-time. His total of 93 tackles in 2010 ranks as the fifth-most in single-season history by an Irish defensive back.u Smith and Kyle McCarthy (2005-09) are the only players in school history to have multiple seasons rank among the top 10 in single-season tackle history for defensive backs.

Tackles - Career - Defensive Back Tackles - Season - Defensive Back1. Tom Zbikowski 300 (2004-07) 1. Kyle McCarthy 110 (2008)2. Kyle McCarthy 240 (2005-09) 2. Kyle McCarthy 101 (2009)3. Jim Browner 228 (1976-78) 3. Chinedum Ndukwe 98 (2006)4. A'Jani Sanders 225 (1996-99) 4. David Bruton 97 (2008)5. Harrison Smith 216 (2008-) 5. Harrison Smith 93 (2010)6. David Bruton 214 (2005-08) 6. Steve Lawrence 92 (1985)7. Brian Magee 206 (1992-95) 7. A'Jani Sanders 91 (1999)8. Deke Cooper 203 (1997-99) 8. David Bruton 85 (2007)9. Jeff Burris 189 (1991-93) 9. Harrison Smith 84 (2011)10. John Covington 184 (1990-93) 10. Brian Magee 81 (1994) Stacey Toran 184 (1980-83) Glenn Earl 81 (2002)

u Smith is Notre Dame's lone season captain. He is the first Irish lone season captain since 1999 when Jarious Jackson held the individual honor. The other single individual captains for Notre Dame in the last 40 years include Jarious Jackson (1999), Rodney Culver (1991) and Mike Kovaleski (1986).

u Smith ranks tied for 16th among active FBS players with 182 career solo tackles.

FBS Career Solo Tackle Leaders Name, School Yr. Pos. UT1. Luke Kuechly, Boston College Jr. LB 2992. Marcus McGraw, Houston Sr. LB 2443. Travis Lewis, Oklahoma Sr. LB 2394. Carmen Messina, New Mexico Sr. LB 2175. Curnelius Arnick, Tulsa Sr. LB 2056. Chris Marve, Vanderbilt Sr. LB 2037. Cody Davis, Texas Tech Jr. DB 2028. Danny Trevathan, Kentucky Sr. LB 1989. Bobby Wagner, Utah State Sr. LB 19510. Brian Wagner, Akron Jr. LB 193t-16. Harrison Smith, Notre Dame Sr. DB 182

u Smith collected three interceptions in the first half alone of the Hyundai Sun Bowl in 2010. The three interceptions not only equaled a school record, but is also equaled the Sun Bowl record. Smith became 14th Notre Dame player to accomplish the feat and first since Shane Walton against Maryland in 2002. Buddy McClinton of Auburn had three interceptions in the 1968 Sun Bowl.u Smith’s three interceptions was an Irish bowl game record. It bested Elmer Layden’s previous school record of two picks set against Stanford in the 1925 Rose Bowl. u Smith finished 2010 with seven interceptions, which ranked fourth nationally in total picks and inter-ceptions per game. Smith also joined Jayron Hosley of Virginia Tech and Marco Nelson of Tulsa as the only three players in the FBS in 2010 to record three interceptions in one game.

JOHnSOn, FLEMInG EnJOYInG THEIR SACK LUnCHESuNotre Dame senior LB Darius Fleming (15.0) and senior DE Ethan Johnson (12.5) have com-bined for 27.5 sacks over their career.uFleming and Johnson are each gaining ground on the career sack totals at Notre Dame. Sacks did not become an officially recognized statistics until 1982.uFleming is also approaching the top 10 list for career tackles for loss.

Sacks – Career Tackles for Loss – Career1. Justin Tuck 24.5 (2002-04) 1. Ross Browner 77–515 (1973, 1975-77)2. Kory Minor 22.5 (1995-98) 2. Kory Minor 44.5–209 (1995-98)3. Victor Abiamiri 21.5 (2003-06) 3. Justin Tuck 42–209 (2002-04)4. Mike Gann 21.0 (1981-84) Anthony Weaver 42–121 (1998-2001)5. Renaldo Wynn 19.5 (1993-96) 5. Victor Abiamiri 40-219 (2003-06)6. Ryan Roberts 19.0 (1999-2002) Walt Patulski 40–264 (1969-71)7. Bryant Young 18.0 (1990-93) 7. Courtney Watson 39–151 (2000-03)8. Anthony Weaver 17.0 (1998-2001) 8. Scott Zettek 38–212 (1976-80)9. Bert Berry 16.5 (1993-96) 9. Brandon Hoyte 36-119 (2002-05)10. Darius Fleming 15.0 (2008-) 10. Derek Landri 34.5-136 (2002-06)-- Ethan Johnson 12.5 (2008-) -- Darius Fleming 32.5-131 (2008-)

LYnCH PIn OF IRISH FROnT FOURuFreshman DE Aaron Lynch has come into his own. He picked up his first career start on Oct. 8 against Air Force. Against Purdue on Oct. 1, Lynch had three solo tackles, including his third sack of the season and third in as many games. Lynch was the first Irish player to register unassisted sacks in three consecutive games since Kyle Budinscak accomplished the feat in the final three games of the 2004 season. In fact, a Notre Dame player had not registered unassisted sacks in three straight regular season games since Justin Tuck in 2003. Ryan Roberts is the last Irish player to have a sack in four straight games – the first four contests of the 2000 season.uLynch had a pair of tackles and a sack in the victory over Pittsburgh on Sept. 24. In the rout of No. 15 Michigan State on Sept. 17, Lynch registered his first career sack and forced fumble on a 3rd and five play late in the first quarter. He not only sacked Spartan QB Kirk Cousins for a loss of 10 yards, but knocked the ball loose and senior DE Ethan Johnson recovered the fumble. uLynch – seeing the most playing time to that point of his Irish career – absolutely dominated his counterparts on the Michigan State offensive line. He recorded six quarterback hurries, one sack, a forced fumble and five tackles. While Notre Dame tracks quarterback pressures at home, not every Irish oppo-nent does the same on the road. To put into perspective what an incredible number that is, consider that senior DE Ethan Johnson and senior DE Kapron Lewis-Moore, plus senior OLB Darius Fleming, led the Irish in that category — with five apiece for the entire 2010 home season.Lynch had a sack and three tackles in the victory over Wake Forest on Nov. 5. uLynch had a career-high six tackles and a half tackle for loss in the loss at No. 4 Stanford on Nov. 26.


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ROBERT "BIG PLAY" BLAnTOn uSenior DB Robert Blanton has turned himself into one of the top defensive backs in the country. Blanton is tied for the team-lead with two interceptions and ranks second in tackles for loss (eight), tied for second in passes defended (seven), tied for second in pass breakups (five), third in tackles (69) and third in solo stops (47).u Blanton's 19.0 career tackles for loss are the most by an Irish defensive back since the start of the 1998 season.u Blanton had a career-high equaling 10 stops, including seven solo tackles, and two for loss in the victory at Wake Forest on Nov. 5. u Blanton has eclipsed the 10-tackle plateau on two different occasions in 2011. u Blanton had 10 stops, including seven solo tackles, one for loss and recovered a fumble in the rout of Air Force on Oct. 8. uBlanton quite possibly registered the best game of his career in the victory over No. 15 Michigan State. He had six tackles, three for loss, three pass breakups, one sack and an interception. After Michigan State recovered a muffed punt deep in Irish territory trailing by 15 points with just over four minutes left in regulation, Blanton picked off a Kirk Cousins' pass and raced 82 yards to set up a field goal that sealed the Notre Dame victory.u Blanton played in 12 games in 2010 and only started one contest, but it did not deter him from making a number of big plays.uBlanton blocked a punt and returned it six yards for a touchdown against Utah on Nov. 13. He was the first Irish player to block a punt since Dec. 24, 2008, against Hawai'i in the Hawai'i Bowl. Blanton was also the first Notre Dame player to return a blocked punt for a touchdown since Toryan Smith (14 yards) on Nov. 15, 2008, against Navy.uThe touchdown was the second of Blanton’s career. He registered a 47-yard interception return for touchdown against Purdue on Sept. 27, 2008.uBlanton registered seven tackles for loss in 2010, which ranked third-best on the team. The seven tackles for loss were the most by an Irish defensive back since A'Jani Sanders had 10.0 during the 1999 season.

FIRST YEAR TRIO OF LYnCH, TUITT, nIX III uThe freshman DE tandem of Aaron Lynch and Stephon Tuitt, as well as sophomore (but first-year player) NG Louis Nix III have been vital to the success of the Irish defensive line in 2011. The trio has helped Notre Dame overcome the injuries that cost senior DE Ethan Johnson four games and senior DE Kapron Lewis-Moore the entire season.uThe trio has seen action in a combined 31 games and made 18 career starts. uNix III, Tuitt and Lynch rank seventh, 13th and 14th, respectively, on the Irish in tackles, including first, third and fourth among the defensive line.uLynch is second on Notre Dame in sacks and fourth in tackles for loss and leads the team with 13 quarterback hurries. While the Irish track quarterback pressures at home, not every Notre Dame opponent does the same on the road. Nonetheless, the 13 quarterback hurries are the most by an Irish player in a single season since the stat began getting tracked in 1998.

GP-GS UT AT TT TFL-Yds Scks-Yds PBU Qbh FR-Yds FF Blkd SafNIX III, Louis 12-10 12 30 42 4.0-8 0.5-1 1 . . . . . LYNCH, Aaron 11-5 17 11 28 5.5-27 4.0-24 2 13 . 1 . .TUITT, Stephon 8-3 9 18 27 2.0-14 1.0-11 1 2 . . . .

DAvID RUFFER HAD PERFECT 20/20 vISIOnu Despite a challenging start to the 2011 season (two of six at one point), senior PK David Ruffer has rebounded and ranks eighth among FBS active leaders in career field goal percentage (84.62). He has connected on 33 of his 39 career field goal attempts. Ruffer actually made the first 23 field goals of his career. The 23 straight field goals was the longest streak in school history.u Ruffer registered his fifth career game with at least three field goals in the victory over Boston College on Nov. 19. He did it three different times in 2010 and once in 2009.u Ruffer connected on eight straight field goals dating back to Purdue (Oct. 1) before missing a 20-yard kick at No. 4 Stanford.u Ruffer is now 10-for-15 (.667) this season and 13-for-14 (.929) on field goals of 40 yards or longer over his career.

FBS Career Field Goal Percentage Leaders Name, School FGA FGM FG %1. Brett Baer, La.-Lafayette 25 23 92.002. Matt Hogan, Houston 41 36 87.803. Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State 23 20 86.964. Ross Krautman, Syracuse 38 33 86.845. Bryson Rose, Ole Miss 29 25 86.216. Derek Dimke, Illinois 43 37 86.057. Justin Tucker, Texas 47 40 85.118. David Ruffer, Notre Dame 39 33 84.629. Jack Griffin, FIU 45 38 84.4410. Grant Ressel, Missouri 62 52 83.87

uRuffer connected on a career-long 52-yard field goal with 2:47 remaining in the first quarter to push the Irish lead to 10-0 over Maryland on Nov. 12.uThe 52-yard field goal is the second-longest in school history. Dave Reeve's 53-yard field goal against Pittsburgh in 1976 still stands alone.

Longest Field Goals1. Dave Reeve (Pittsburgh, 1976) 532. David Ruffer (Maryland, 2011) 523. Nicholas Setta (Maryland, 2002) 51 John Carney (SMU, 1984) +51 Harry Oliver (Michigan, 1980) 51 Dave Reeve (Michigan State, 1977) 517. David Ruffer (Miami, Fla., 2010) 50 David Ruffer (Pittsburgh, 2010) 50 D.J. Fitzpatrick (Syracuse, 2003) 50 Harry Oliver (Georgia, 1980) $50 Harry Oliver (Navy, 1980) 50 +Aloha Bowl$ Sugar Bowl

uRuffer’s previous career-long was 50 yards – set on two different occasions. He is the second place kicker in school history with three or more field goals of 50 yards or longer (Harry Oliver is the other).uRuffer missed two straight kicks after the 23 straight, including a 30-yarder in the loss to USF, but connected on two straight before missing another field goal at Pittsburgh.uPrior to his first career miss against Miami (Fla.) in the Hyundai Sun Bowl in 2010, Ruffer was the only kicker in the FBS in 2010 still perfect in field goal attempts. He also was the only kicker in the FBS still perfect for his career.uRuffer’s 18 straight field goals in one season was an Irish school record.

Most Consecutive Field Goals - Season1. David Ruffer 18 (2010)2. Nick Tausch 14 (2009)3. Mike Johnston 13 (1982)

uRuffer’s 23 straight field goals was the longest active streak in the FBS. The NCAA record for con-secutive field goals converted is 30 by Chuck Nelson of Washington in 1981-82. He also holds the NCAA record for consecutive field goals made in a single season (25, 1982).

Most Consecutive Field Goals – Career1. David Ruffer (Pittsburgh '09 – Miami '10) 232. Nick Tausch (Michigan '09 – Washington St. '09) 143. Mike Johnston (Michigan '82 – Oregon '82) 134. John Carney (Navy '84 – Michigan '85) 105. Nicholas Setta (USC '00 – USC '01) 9 Nicholas Setta (Washington State '03 – Purdue '03) 9 D.J. Fitzpatrick (Navy '03 – BYU '04) 9

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uRuffer’s 18 field goals in 2010 ranked as the third-most in single-season school history.

Field Goals - Season1. John Carney 21-28 (1986)2. Mike Johnson 19-22 (1982)3. David Ruffer 18-19 (2010) Harry Oliver 18-23 (1980) John Carney 18-22 (1985)6. Nick Tausch 14-17 (2009) Brandon Walker 14-24 (2008) Nicholas Setta 14-25 (2002)9. Mike Johnson 12-21 (1983)

uRuffer is the second Irish kicker to ever register multiple field goals of 50 yards or longer in the same season (2010). Harry Oliver had a pair of 50+ yard kicks in 1980.

Extra Points (PAT) - Season1. D.J. Fitzpatrick 52-54 (2005)2. Carl Gioia 49-53 (2006)3. Craig Hentrich 48-48 (1991)4. David Ruffer 45-45 (2011)5. Kevin Pendergast 45-48 (1993) Scott Hempel 45-50 (1968)7. Nicholas Setta 44-45 (2000) Craig Hentrich 44-46 (1992) Craig Hentrich 44-45 (1989)10. Bob Thomas 43-45 (1973)

Extra Points (PAT) Attempted - Season1. D.J. Fitzpatrick 52-54 (2005)2. Carl Gioia 49-53 (2006)3. Steve Oracko 38-52 (1949)4. Scott Hempel 45-50 (1968)5. Kevin Pendergast 45-48 (1993) Craig Hentrich 48-48 (1991)7. Craig Hentrich 44-46 (1992)8. David Ruffer 45-45 (2011) Nicholas Setta 44-45 (2000) Craig Hentrich 44-45 (1989) Bob Thomas 43-45 (1973)

Consecutive Extra Points1. Craig Hentrich 136 (9-30-89 vs. Purdue to 9-26-92 vs. Purdue)2. Nicholas Setta 92 (10-7-00 vs. Stanford to 10-11-03 ended by injury)3. Bob Thomas 62 (11-6-71 vs. Pittsburgh to 10-23-73 vs. Army)4. David Ruffer 61 (10-30-10 vs. Tulsa to Current) D.J. Fitzpatrick 61 (11-6-04 at Tennessee to 11-26-05 at Stanford)6. Brandon Walker 60 (10-6-07 at UCLA to career ended in 2010)7. Mike Johnson 53 (10-18-80 vs. Army to 11-19-83 vs. Air Force)8. Ted Gradel 35 (11-8-86 vs. SMU to 11-28-87 vs. Miami (Fla.)

Extra Points Percentage - Season (min. 20 made)1. Craig Hentrich, 1991 48-48 (1.000) David Ruffer, 2011 45-45 (1.000) Craig Hentrich, 1990 41-41 (1.000) Brandon Walker, 2008 39-39 (1.000) Bob Thomas, 1972 34-34 (1.000) Ted Gradel, 1987 33-33 (1.000) Nicholas Setta, 2002 32-32 (1.000) Stefan Schroffner, 1994 30-30 (1.000) John Carney, 1984 25-25 (1.000) Nicholas Setta, 2001 23-23 (1.000)

Points by Kicking - Season1. David Ruffer 18fg, 37xp, 91pts (2010)2. Craig Hentrich 16fg, 41xp, 89pts (1990)3. Kevin Pendergast 14fg, 45xp, 87pts (1993) John Carney 21fg, 24 xp, 87pts (1986)5. D.J. Fitzpatrick 11fg, 52xp, 85pts (2005)6. Brandon Walker 14fg, 39xp, 81pts (2008)7. John Carney 17fg, 25xp, 76pts (1984) Mike Johnston 19fg, 19xp, 76pts (1982)9. David Ruffer 10fg, 45xp, 75pts (2011)10. Nicholas Setta 14fg, 32xp, 74pts (2002) Craig Hentrich 10fg, 44xp, 74pts (1992)

Points by Kicking - Career1. Craig Hentrich 39fg, 177xp, 294pts (1989-92)2. Dave Reeve 39fg, 130xp, 247pts (1974-77)3. Nicholas Setta 46fg, 104xp, 242pts (2000-03)4. John Carney 51fg, 70xp, 223pts (1984-86)5. D.J. Fitzpatrick 34fg, 103xp, 205pts (2002-05)6. Jim Sanson 28fg, 108xp, 192pts (1996-99)7. David Ruffer 33fg, 91xp, 190pts (2008-)8. Scott Hempel 14fg, 122xp, 164pts (1968-70)

BRInDZA OWnS QUITE THE LEGuFreshman PK Kyle Brindza has averaged 65.1 yards per kickoff on 68 attempts in 2011. He also has recorded 11 touchbacks, which is the most by an Irish kicker since the stat was recorded in 1998. Senior PK David Ruffer had 10 over the course of the entire 2010 season.uBrindza's 65.1 yards per kickoff average is the best since 1998 by a wide margin. The next best effort by an Irish kicker since '98 – David Ruffer's 64.3 yards per kickoff in 2010.uBrindza averaged 70.0 yards per kickoff on his four attempts against USC on Oct. 22. He also added a pair of touchbacks.

AUSTIn COLLInSWORTH POWERS IRISH SPECIAL TEAMSuNotre Dame sophomore S Austin Collinsworth leads the Irish in all three special team tackle categories, including total tackles (15), kickoff return tackles (13) and punt return tackles (tied, two).

ST Tackles KR Tackles PR Tackles1. Austin Collinsworth 15 13 22. Troy Niklas 10 10 03. Chris Salvi 8 8 0 George Atkinson III 8 8 05. Bennett Jackson 7 5 26. Danny Spond 6 6 0 Dan McCarthy 6 5 18. David Posluszny 4 4 09. Kendall Moore 3 3 010. Jamoris Slaughter 3 1 2

BY GEORGE, IT’S ATKInSOn AGAIn uFreshman RB George Atkinson III registered a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the second quarter against USC on Oct. 22. The 96-yard return was the longest at Notre Dame Stadium since Julius Jones went 100 yards against Nebraska on Sept. 9, 2000. It also was the tied for the fifth-longest in Notre Dame Stadium history.uThe kickoff return for a touchdown was Atkinson’s second of the season. He is the first Irish player to have multiple kickoff returns for touchdowns in the same season since Allen Rossum in 1997. uThe two touchdown kickoff returns in a single-season equals the Notre Dame school record. Atkinson III is the second Notre Dame freshman to ever return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same season. Raghib “Rocket” Ismail had a pair in 1988.uAtkinson III was the fourth FBS player in 2011 to register a pair of kickoff returns for touchdowns.uAtkinson III returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to give Notre Dame a 14-3 lead with 1:20 remaining in the first quarter against Michigan State on Sept. 17. uAtkinson III was the first Irish freshman to return a kickoff for a touchdown since Raghib “Rocket” Ismail had two kickoff returns for touchdown against Rice on Nov. 6, 1988. He was the first Notre Dame player to return a kickoff for a touchdown since Armando Allen Jr. raced 96 yards for a score against Hawai’i in the 2008 Hawai’i Bowl.


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uAtkinson III – the fourth Notre Dame rookie to ever return a kickoff for a touchdown – joined the company of running back Al Hunter (1973 Sugar Bowl victory versus Alabama), running back Allen Pinkett (1982 loss to Penn State) and Ismail (two against Rice in 1988). Hunter became Notre Dame’s first 1,000-yard rusher, Pinkett is No. 2 on the school’s all-time rushing chart and Ismail won the Walter Camp Award as a junior. Not a bad club to join.uAtkinson III recorded the first kickoff return for a touchdown by an Irish player at Notre Dame Stadium since Julius Jones against No. 1 Nebraska on Sept. 9, 2000 with his 89-yard kick return against Michigan State.

FBS Kick Return Touchdown Leaders Player, School Cl KR Yds TDs Avg. Ret/Gm1. Taveon Rogers, New Mexico State Sr. 51 1318 3 25.84 4.252. George Atkinson III, Notre Dame Fr. 30 822 2 27.40 2.50 Tyler Lockett, Kansas State Fr. 16 563 2 35.19 1.78 Greg McCoy, TCU Sr. 29 915 2 31.55 2.42 Luther Ambrose, La.-Monroe Sr. 26 811 2 31.19 2.17 De'Anthony Thomas, Oregon Fr. 31 858 2 27.68 2.38 Tavon Austin, West Virginia Jr. 31 821 2 26.48 2.58 Jamal Miles, Arizona State Jr. 30 788 2 26.27 2.50 Tommylee Lewis, Northern Illinois Fr. 26 676 2 26.00 2.60 Justin Gilbert, Oklahoma State So. 22 567 2 25.77 1.83

WALK-On PLAYERS JOIn THE IRISH SQUAD THIS SPRInGuNine walk-on players have been added to the 2011 roster. Junior S Blake Breslau (San Diego, Calif./Francis Parker), freshman S Connor Cavalaris (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest), freshman WR/RB Eric Lee (Pleasant Hill, Iowa/Dowling Catholic), sophomore WR Ryan Liebscher (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain HS), freshman LB Connor Little (Lake Elmo, Minn./Hill-Murray), sopho-more TE Arturo Martinez (Miami, Fla./Belen Jesuit), sophomore RB Tyler Plantz (Frankfort, Ill./Providence Catholic), freshman ILB Joe Schmidt (Orange, Calif./Mater Dei) and senior WR Ryan Sharpley (Marshall, Mich./Marshall).

SIX FOOTBALL STUDEnT-ATHLETES EnTER FIFTH YEARuSix seniors on the University of Notre Dame football team were approved to return for a fifth year by the school's Faculty Board on Athletics.u OT Taylor Dever, CB Gary Gray, OL Andrew Nuss, TE Mike Ragone, PK David Ruffer and S Harrison Smith have all graduated. The sextet are currently enrolled in the graduate studies program at Notre Dame.

nOTRE DAME FOOTBALL—A FAMILY AFFAIRuThe Golic family is one of just several father-son combinations who have played for Notre Dame represented on the 2011 Irish roster. Mike Sr. earned four monograms at Notre Dame from 1981-84, while Mike Jr. is a senior C and Jake is a junior TE. In addition to their father, Mike and Jake's two uncles also played for the Irish. Bob was not only a four-year monogram winner from 1975-78, but he was a two-time All-American and helped the Irish to the 1977 National Title. Greg earned a pair of monograms in 1981 and 1983.uOther current Notre Dame players whose fathers also played for the Irish include sophomore WR TJ Jones (Andre, 1987-90), freshman OT Conor Hanratty (Terry, 1966-68) and senior OLB Jonathan Frantz (Mike, 1970-72).uThe Irish feature a quartet of players who had elder siblings also suit up for Notre Dame. Junior WR Nick Fitzpatrick is the younger brother of former PK D.J. Fitzpatrick (2002-05). Senior RB Patrick Coughlin is the younger brother of former WR Brian Coughlin (2009). Senior WR Ryan Sharpley is the younger brother of former QB Evan Sharpley (2006-09). Senior S Dan McCarthy is the younger brother of former S Kyle McCarthy (2006-09).uIn addition to the Golic brothers, the Irish 2011 roster has two other sets of brothers – Zack and Nick Martin as well as George III and Josh Atkinson. Zack is a junior OT and Nick is a freshman OT. George III is a freshman RB and Josh is a freshman CB.

OFFICIAL nOTRE DAME FOOTBALL POSTGAME SHOWuThe Official Notre Dame Football Postgame Show will again be broadcast live following every Notre Dame game on Newsradio 960 WSBT and Sunny 101.5 FM, and televised live on UND.com. The show is hosted by Jack Nolan and Irish All-Americans Reggie Brooks and Mirko Jurkovic. The televised version of the show on UND.com also features game highlights.

IRISH ATHLETES AGAIn RAnK #1 In nCAA GRADUATIOn RATInGSuThe University of Notre Dame can once again claim the 2011 national championship for graduating its student-athletes. Both the federal graduation-rate figures and the NCAA's Graduation Success Rate (GSR) numbers for all Notre Dame student-athletes rate the Irish first among the 120 football-playing institutions in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A). This marks the fifth year in a row Notre Dame has led the way among FBS institutions in GSR ratings for all student-athletes--and it's the second year in a row Notre Dame has been number one in the federal rates. Whether measured by the federal government in its Department of Education report or by the NCAA through its GSR numbers, graduation rates for Notre Dame student-athletes one again rank either number one or among the handful of national leaders in five major categories among all major football-playing colleges and universities. Notre Dame's institutional research found that Irish student-athletes rank number one in eight of 10 major categories--ranking tied for second in one and fifth in the other. Those match the best results for Notre Dame in the seven years the NCAA has published both the GSR and federal numbers. The eight number-one rankings equal the same number of top rankings that came each of the last two years (in 2009 and 2010 figures). For the third year in a row Notre Dame leads the nation in all five GSR categories--for all student-athletes (at 99), male student-athletes (98), female student-athletes (100), black student-athletes (98) and football student-athletes (97, up one point from 2010). Notre Dame also ranks number one in the federal numbers for all student-athletes (91), male student-athletes (87) and female student-athletes (96). In calculations that include all student-athletes in all sports, Notre Dame ranks first among the FBS schools in the GSR figures, which were initiated in 2005 by the NCAA. The University's 99 percent GSR for all its student-athletes ranks ahead of the 97 figures for Duke and Boston College. Using the federal for-mula, Notre Dame graduated a four-year average of 91 percent of its student-athletes, just ahead of Stanford at 90. Notre Dame graduated 96 percent of all women competing in varsity athletics, to rank first among its peer institutions based on the federal calculations (ahead of Stanford and Rice at 94). Among men, Notre Dame's 87 percent federal rate also was first, ahead of Stanford and Northwestern at 86. Notre Dame graduated 85 percent of its black student-athletes, ranking tied for second nationally (behind Rice) based on the federal rate, and Irish football players graduated at an 83 percent rate, to rank fifth. In the GSR standings, the Irish scored a clean sweep in all five categories. In addition to its number-one ranking for all student-athletes, Notre Dame finished by itself in first among female student athletes at 100, first among male student-athletes at 98 percent (ahead of Duke and the U.S. Naval Academy at 96), first among football players at 97 percent, and first among black student-athletes at 98 percent (ahead of runner-up Rice at 96).

All Student-AthletesFederal Rate1. Notre Dame 912. Stanford 903. Northwestern 884. Duke 85 Boston College 85 Rice 857. Penn State 79 Wake Forest 799. Michigan 76 Virginia 76

Male Student-AthletesFederal Rate1. Notre Dame 872. Northwestern 86 Stanford 864. Duke 80 Boston College 806. Rice 787. Penn State 75 Wake Forest 759. Vanderbilt 7210. Miami (Ohio) 71

GSR1. Notre Dame 992. Duke 97 Boston College 974. Northwestern 96 U.S. Naval Academy 966. Rice 957. Stanford 94 Wake Forest 949. Vanderbilt 9210. Virginia Tech 91

GSR1. Notre Dame 982. Duke 96 U.S. Naval Academy 964. Boston College 955. Northwestern 946. Rice 937. Stanford 928. Wake Forest 919. U.S. Air Force Academy 90 U.S. Military Academy 90

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Black Student-AthletesFederal Rate1. Rice 932. Notre Dame 85 Northwestern 854. Stanford 775. Vanderbilt 76 Wake Forest 767. Duke 748. Penn State 73 Rutgers 7310. Miami (Ohio) 70

Football Student-AthletesFederal Rate1. Boston College 872. Northwestern 863. Rice 84 Stanford 845. Notre Dame 836. Penn State 807. Duke 798. Rutgers 769. TCU 7510. Miami (Ohio) 73

uSince the NCAA first published GSR numbers in 2005, here are the trends for Notre Dame in all 10 categories over the seven years of graduation rates (includes ranking and raw graduation percentage; SA stands for student-athletes):

Category 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011All SAs Fed. 1st at 90 2nd at 89 3rd at 89 2nd at 89 2nd at 90 1st at 91 1st at 91 GSR 2nd at 98 2nd at 98 1st at 98 1st at 98 1st at 99 1st at 99 1st at 99Male SAs Fed. 1st at 87 1st at 87 3rd at 85 2nd at 87 1st at 88 1st at 87 1st at 87 GSR 2nd at 98 2nd at 97 2nd at 97 2nd at 97 1st at 98 1st at 98 1st at 98Female SAs Fed. 1st at 96 2nd at 94 1st at 94 1st at 93 1st at 94 1st at 94 1st at 94 GSR 5th at 99 2nd at 99 1st at 100 1st at 100 1st at 100 1st at 100 1st at 100Black SAs Fed. 6th at 78 6th at 84 8th at 75 1st at 84 1st at 85 2nd at 86 2nd at 85 GSR 6th at 93 3rd at 95 4th at 91 2nd at 96 1st at 97 1st at 98 1st at 98Football SAs Fed. 4th at 85 6th at 84 6th at 79 4th at 85 3rd at 85 4th at 85 5th at 83 GSR 2nd at 96 3rd at 95 3rd at 93 2nd at 94 1st at 96 1st at 96 1st at 97

uOver the seven years worth of numbers of both the federal rates and the GSR, Notre Dame had 70 possible rankings in the five categories (among the FBS institutions) and 35 times ranked first, 17 times ranked second and six times ranked third.uThe federally mandated NCAA Graduation-Rates Report, the 21st such survey issued by the associa-tion, covers students who enrolled between 2001 and 2004 at all Division I institutions. The federal graduation rates are based on the raw percentage of student-athletes who entered an institution and graduated within six years. Students who leave or transfer, regardless of academic standing, are consid-ered non-graduates. All those receiving athletics aid are included in the statistics. All military academies are exempt from the federal survey because they do not offer grants-in-aid to student-athletes. The GSR was created to more accurately reflect actual graduation rates by including transfer data in the calcula-tion. College and university presidents asked the NCAA to develop a new methodology that takes into account the mobility among students in today's higher education environment. Research indicates that approximately 60 percent of all new bachelor's degree recipients are attending more than one under-graduate institution during their collegiate careers.

GSR1. Notre Dame 982. Rice 963. Duke 914. Boston College 90 Northwestern 906. Miami (Fla.) 887. Penn State 87 Vanderbilt 879. Rutgers 86 U.S. Naval Academy 86

GSR1. Notre Dame 972. Northwestern 943. Boston College 93 Duke 93 Rice 936. U.S. Naval Academy 917. Rutgers 898. Miami (Fla.) 88 U.S. Military Academy 8810. Penn State 87 Stanford 87


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BOWL HISTORY


George Atkinson III, Fr., RBuPhil Steele Second team Freshman All-AmericanuFBS Independent Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 23)uCollege Football Performance Awards National Kickoff

Returner of the Week (Oct. 23)uCollege Football Performance Awards National Kickoff

Returner of the Week (Sept. 18)uFBS Independent Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 18)uSI.com Honorable Mention All-American

Robert Blanton, Sr., CBu Notre Dame’s Back of the Year AwarduCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Defensive Back (Sept. 18)uFBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 18)

Kyle Brindza, Fr., PKuCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Kickoff Specialist (Oct. 23)

Braxston Cave, Sr., CuRimington Trophy Watch List

Austin Collinsworth, So., Su Notre Dame’s Special Teams Player of the Year AwarduIndependent Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 7)

Tyler Eifert, Jr., TEuWalter Camp First Team All-AmericanuMackey Award FinalistuMackey Award SemifinalistuRivals Third Team All-AmericanuMackey Award Watch ListuPhil Steele Third team All-AmericanuSporting News’ Midseason All-American First TeamuSI.com Honorable Mention All-AmericanuPhil Steele Midseason All-American First TeamuAP Second Team All-AmericanuCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention

Tight End (Nov. 27)uCollege Football Performance Awards National Tight End of

the Week (Nov. 13)uCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention

Tight End (Nov. 6)uCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention

Tight End (Oct. 23)uCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention

Tight End (Oct. 9)uFBS Independent Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 25)uCollege Football Performance Awards National Tight End of

the Week (Sept. 25)uCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention

Tight End (Sept. 5)

Darius Fleming, Sr., LBu Notre Dame’s Lineman of the Year AwarduButkus Award Watch List

Michael Floyd, Sr., WRu Notre Dame’s Monogram Club Most Valuable Player AwarduBiletnikoff Award SemifinalistuPhil Steele Midseason All-American Second TeamuBiletnikoff Award Watch ListuWalter Camp Award Watch Listu Phil Steele Second team All-AmericanuMaxwell Award Watch Listu SI.com Honorable Mention All-AmericanuCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention

Wide Receiver (Sept. 5)uFBS Independent Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 5)uFBS Independent Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 12)uFBS Independent Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 31)u Pro Football Weekly Honorable Mention All-America

Dan Fox, So., ILBuNotre Dame’s Defensive Newcomer of the Year Award

Everett Golson, Fr., QBuNotre Dame’s Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year Award

Jonas Gray, Sr., RBu Notre Dame’s Offensive Newcomer of the YearuCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention

Running Back (Oct. 30)

Ethan Johnson, Sr., DEuHendricks Award Watch List

Kapron Lewis-Moore, Sr., DEuHendricks Award Watch List

Aaron Lynch, Fr., DEu Phil Steele First team Freshman All-Americanu Scouts Inc. #3 Freshman All-American

Zack Martin, Jr., OTuNotre Dame’s Guardian of the Year AwarduOutland Trophy Watch List

Brandon Newman, Sr., NGuNotre Dame’s Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year Award

Tommy Rees, So., QBuFBS Independent Offensive Player of the Week (Nov. 14)uCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention

Quarterback (Oct. 9)uFBS Independent Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 11)

David Ruffer, Sr., PKuFBS Independent Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 21)uCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention

Place Kicker (Nov. 20)uFBS Independent Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 14)uLou Groza Award Watch List

Jamoris Slaughter, Sr., SuFBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 11)

Harrison Smith, Sr., SuNotre Dame’s Nick Pietrosante AwarduIndependent Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 7)uPhil Steele Midseason All-American Third TeamuNagurski Trophy Watch ListuThorpe Award Watch List

Manti Te’o, Jr., LBuNotre Dame’s Rockne Student-Athlete of the Year AwarduCapital One Academic All-America Second TeamuAcademic All-District VuWalter Camp Second Team All-Americanu Rivals Second Team All-AmericanuLott Trophy Finalistu Phil Steele Second team All-AmericanuButkus Award FinalistuLombardi Award Semifinalistu SI.com Second Team All-AmericanuLott Trophy Semifinalistu AP Second Team All-AmericanuButkus Award SemifinalistuPhil Steele Midseason All-American First TeamuFBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 21)uFBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 31)uCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention

Linebacker (Oct. 30)uFBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 3)uBednarik Award Watch ListuButkus Award Watch ListuRotary Lombardi Award Watch ListuNagurski Trophy Watch List

Robby Toma, Jr., WRuNotre Dame’s Next Man In Award

Stephen Tuitt, Fr., DEuPhil Steele Third team Freshman All-American

Cierre Wood, Jr., RBuFBS Independent Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 3)uCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention

Running Back (Oct. 2)uWalker Award Watch ListuHornung Award Watch List

2011 IrishHonors/Awards

58

Game Notes


Was held scoreless: ...................................................................................... at Boston College, 2008 (17-0)Was held scoreless at home: . ........................................................................................... USC, 2007 (38-0)Was held scoreless on the road: .................................................................. at Boston College, 2008 (17-0)Was held without offensive touchdown: ...................................................................... at USC, 2008 (38-3)Held opponent scoreless: ........................................................................................ vs. Nevada, 2009 (35-0)Held opponent scoreless at home: ......................................................................... vs. Nevada, 2009 (35-0)Held opponent scoreless on the road: ...................................................................... at Purdue, 1993 (17-0)Held opponent without offensive touchdown: ...........................................................vs. Army, 2010 (27-3)Held opponent scoreless at neutral site:................................................................vs. Maryland (Giants Stadium - East Rutherford, NJ), 2002 (22-0)Held two or more opponents scoreless in a season:..................................................................................................2002 vs. Maryland (22-0) vs. Rutgers (42-0)Held three or more opponents scoreless in a season:............................................................. 1976 vs. Purdue (23-0) at Northwestern (49-0), vs. Oregon (41-0)Held four or more opponents scoreless in a season:......................................................... 1966 vs. Army (35-0) vs. North Carolina (32-0), at Oklahoma (38-0),..................................................................................... vs. Pittsburgh (40-0) vs. Duke (64-0), at USC (51-0)Held five or more opponents scoreless in a season:......................................................... 1966 vs. Army (35-0) vs. North Carolina (32-0), at Oklahoma (38-0),..................................................................................... vs. Pittsburgh (40-0) vs. Duke (64-0), at USC (51-0)Held six or more opponents scoreless in a season:......................................................... 1966 vs. Army (35-0) vs. North Carolina (32-0), at Oklahoma (38-0),..................................................................................... vs. Pittsburgh (40-0) vs. Duke (64-0), at USC (51-0)Had multiple players with multiple TDs in a game:............................................................................................vs. Navy, 2011 (Jonas Gray - 3, Cierre Wood - 2)

TurnoversDid not commit a turnover: ..............................................................................................vs. Maryland, 2011Committed six or more turnovers: .................................................................................... vs. Navy, 1984 (6)Committed five turnovers: .......................................................................................... at Michigan, 2011 (5)Lost four or more fumbles: ................................................................................vs. Michigan State, 1999 (4)Lost three fumbles: ...................................................................................................... at Michigan, 2011 (3)Recorded six or more takeaways: .............................................................................. vs. Michigan, 2008 (6)Recorded five takeaways: ..................................................................................vs. Boston College, 2009 (5)Returned two or more interceptions for TDs: ..............................................................vs. Stanford, 2002 (2)...............................................................................(Shane Walton - 18 yards, Courtney Watson - 34 yards)Returned an interception for a TD: .............................................................................vs. Maryland, 2011 (1).........................................................................................................................................(Lo Wood - 57 yards)Returned a fumble for a TD: ....................................................................................... vs. Michigan, 2008 (1)................................................................................................................................... (Brian Smith - 35 yards)

DefenseHeld opponent 50 or fewer rushing yards: .....................................................vs. Michigan State, 2011 (29)Held opponent to 100 or fewer passing yards: .............................................................. vs. Navy, 2011 (33)Held opponent to 201-300 yards total offense: ............................................ vs. Boston College, 2011 (250)Held opponent to 200 or fewer yards total offense: ................................................... vs. Army, 2010 (174)Intercepted five or more passes: ....................................................................................vs. Purdue, 1988 (5)Intercepted four passes: .......................................................................................... vs. Miami, Fla., 2010 (4)Intercepted three passes: ............................................................................................ at Michigan, 2011 (3)Scored a safety: ....................................................................................................................at Stanford, 2003Recorded nine or more sacks: ........................................................................................ vs. Rutgers, 1996 (9)Recorded eight sacks: .......................................................................... vs. Hawai'i (Hawai'i Bowl), 2008 (8)Recorded seven sacks: ...................................................................................................at Stanford, 2005 (7)Recorded six sacks: .....................................................................................................at Pittsburgh, 2011 (6)Recorded five sacks: ........................................................................................................... vs. Tulsa, 2010 (5)Held opponent to 10 or fewer first downs: .......................................................................vs. Army, 2010 (8)

Special TeamsReturned a punt for a TD: .........................................................at Pittsburgh, 2009 (Golden Tate, 87 yards)Returned a blocked punt for a TD: ................................................ vs. Utah, 2010 (Robert Blanton, 6 yards)Returned a kickoff for a TD: ....................................................vs. USC, 2011 (George Atkinson III, 96 yards)Returned a blocked FG for a TD ............................................. at Air Force, 2006 (Terrail Lambert, 76 yards)Blocked a punt: ............................................................................................vs. Utah, 2010 (Robert Blanton)Punted 10 or more times: ...................................................................................................... USC, 2007 (10)

nOTRE DAMERushingHad 400 or more yards: ..................................................................................at Boston College, 1996 (426)Had 300 or more yards: .............................................................................................at Stanford, 2003 (320)Had 70 or more rushing attempts: .................................................................vs. Michigan State, 1991 (76)Had 60 or more rushing attempts: ................................................................................. vs. Navy, 2007 (63)Had 50 or more rushing attempts: ................................................................................. vs. Navy, 2008 (51)Had eight or more rush TDs: .................................................................................... vs. Pittsburgh, 1965 (9)Had seven rush TDs: .......................................................................................................... vs. Navy, 2011 (7)Had six rush TDs: ............................................................................................................... vs. Navy, 1996 (6)Had five rush TDs: ................................................................................................................. at USC, 2000 (5)Had four rush TDs: ....................................................................................................... vs. Air Force, 2011 (4)Had two players with 100 rush yards in a game: .............................................................vs. Stanford, 2002................................................................................................... (Rashon Powers-Neal 108, Ryan Grant 103)

PassingHad 500 or more yards: .....................................................................................................at USC, 1970 (526)Had 400-499 yards: ....................................................................................................... vs. Navy, 2009 (452)Had 300-399 yards: ................................................................................................. at Michigan, 2011 (315)Had 50 or more pass attempts: ......................................................................................vs. Tulsa, 2010 (56)Had 40 or more pass attempts: ........................................................................................vs. USC, 2011 (43)Had 30-39 pass attempts: ...........................................................................................at Stanford, 2011 (37)Had 35-39 pass completions: ......................................................................................... vs. Navy, 2009 (37)Had 30-34 pass completions: ..................................................................................vs. Maryland, 2011 (30)Had 25-29 pass completions: ...........................................................................................vs. USC, 2011 (27)Had six or more passing TDs ................................................................................................vs. BYU, 2005 (6)Had five or more passing TDs: ......................................................................................at Stanford, 2009 (5)Had four or more passing TDs: .................................................................................... vs. Air Force, 2011 (4)Had three or more passing TDs: ...................................................................................... at Purdue, 2011 (3)Had five or more passes intercepted: .................................................................................vs. USC, 1967 (7)Had four or more passes intercepted: ................................................................ at Boston College, 2008 (4)Had three or more passes intercepted: ............................................................................... vs. USF, 2011 (3)

ReceivingHad two players with 100 receiving yards in a game:.......................................................................at Pittsburgh, 2009 (Golden Tate - 113, Michael Floyd - 107)Had a player with over 150 receiving yards in a game:........................................................................................................ at Michigan, 2011 (Michael Floyd - 159)Had two players with 10 catches in a game:............................................................................ vs. BYU, 2005 (Maurice Stovall - 14, Jeff Samardzija - 10)

Combination OffenseHad a 200-yard passer and 100-yard rusher in a game:...........................................................................vs. Maryland, 2011 (Tommy Rees - 296, Jonas Gray - 136)Had a 100-yard receiver and 100-yard rusher in a game:........................................... at Purdue, 2011 (Michael Floyd – 137 receiving; Cierre Wood – 191 rushing)

Total OffenseHad 600 or more yards total offense: .......................................................................at Stanford, 2005 (663)Had 500-599 yards total offense: ..........................................................................vs. Maryland, 2011 (508)Had 400-499 yards total offense: .................................................................vs. Boston College, 2011 (417)Had 85 or more plays total offense: .............................................................................. vs. Navy, 2007 (90)Had 75-84 plays total offense: ........................................................................ vs. Boston College, 2011 (78)

ScoringScored 60 or more points: ...........................................................................................vs. Rutgers, 1996 (62)Scored 50-59 points: ....................................................................................................... vs. Navy, 2011 (56)Scored 40-49 points: ................................................................................................vs. Maryland, 2011 (45)Scored 30-39 points: .....................................................................................................at Purdue, 2011 (38)Scored a two-point conversion: .......................................................................................at Pittsburgh, 2011Allowed 60 or more points: ................................................................................................................... NeverAllowed 50-59 points: ......................................................................................... at Miami (Fla.), 1985 (58)Allowed 40-49 points: ................................................................................................at Stanford, 2009 (45)Allowed 30-39 points: ......................................................................................................vs. USC, 2011 (31)

TheLast Time


MEDIA INFOGAM



BOWL HISTORY


ReceivingCaught 15 or more passes: ..................................................................................................................... NeverCaught 10-14 passes: .............................................................. Michael Floyd vs. Boston College, 2011 (10)Caught seven to nine passes: ................................................................. Michael Floyd at Stanford, 2011 (8)Had 200 or more yards receiving: ........................................................Golden Tate at Stanford, 2009 (201)Had 175-199 yards receiving: ............................................................Michael Floyd vs. Nevada, 2009 (189)Had 150-174 yards receiving: ......................................................... Michael Floyd at Michigan, 2011 (159)Had 100-149 yards receiving: ............................................................... Michael Floyd vs. Navy, 2011 (121) Caught four or more TDs: .......................................................................... Maurice Stovall vs. BYU, 2005 (4)Caught three TDs: ..............................................................Michigan Floyd vs. Western Michigan, 2010 (3)Caught two TDs: .................................................................................... Theo Riddick at Michigan, 2011 (2)

Total OffenseHad 500 or more yards total offense: .................................................... Joe Theismann at USC, 1970 (512)Had 400-499 yards total offense: ....................................................... Jimmy Clausen vs. Navy, 2009 (447)Had 100 yards both passing and rushing:...................................................................Jarious Jackson vs. Oklahoma, 1999 (276 passing, 107 rushing)

ScoringAccounted for four or more touchdowns: ............................... Tommy Rees vs. Air Force, 2010 (4 passing)Accounted for three touchdowns: ..................................................... Jonas Gray vs. Navy, 2011 (3 rushing)

DefenseIntercepted three or more passes: ..................................................Harrison Smith vs. Miami, Fla., 2010 (3) Intercepted two passes: ............................................................ Kyle McCarthy vs. Boston College, 2009 (2)Recovered three or more fumbles: ........................................................................................................ NeverForced two fumbles: .............................................................................Maurice Crum, Jr. at UCLA, 2007 (2)Recovered two fumbles: .........................................................................Brian Smith vs. Michigan, 2008 (2)Recorded 20 or more tackles: .................................................................Manti Te'o vs. Stanford, 2010 (21)Recorded 15-20 tackles: .................................David Bruton (16), Kyle McCarthy (15) vs. Pittsburgh, 2008Recorded 10-14 tackles: ................................................................ Manti Te'o vs. Boston College, 2011 (12)Recorded 4.0 or more sacks: ............................................................Victor Abiamiri at Stanford, 2005 (4.0)Recorded 3.0-3.5 sacks: ..................................................................Victor Abiamiri vs. Stanford, 2006 (3.0)Recorded 2.0-2.5 sacks: ................................................................Darius Fleming at Pittsburgh, 2011 (2.0)

Special TeamsScored 15 or more points kicking: ...................................................Nick Tausch vs. Washington, 2009 (17)Scored 10-14 points kicking: .....................................................David Ruffer vs. Boston College, 2011 (10)Kicked five or more field goals: ..........................................................Nick Tausch vs. Washington, 2009 (5)Kicked four field goals: ..................................................................Brandon Walker vs. Pittsburgh, 2008 (4)Kicked two field goals of 50 or more yards: .......................................................................................... NeverKicked a field goal of 50 or more yards: ............................................. David Ruffer vs. Maryland, 2011 (52)Kicked a punt 70 or more yards: ....................................................................Jim Yoder vs. Texas, 1971 (71)Kicked a punt 60-69 yards: ............................................................................ Geoff Price vs. PSU, 2006 (62)Punted 10 or more times: .............................................................................. Geoff Price vs. USC, 2007 (10)Totaled 175 or more kickoff return yards: ...................................... George Atkinson III vs. USC, 2011 (178)Totaled 100 or more punt return yards: ............................................Golden Tate at Pittsburgh, 2009 (101)

An OPPOSInG TEAMRushingHad 400 or more yards: ..............................................................................................Pittsburgh, 1975 (411)Had 300-399 yards: ...................................................................................................... Air Force, 2011 (363)Had 200-299 yards: .............................................................................................................. USC, 2011 (219)Had 50 or more rushing attempts: .......................................................................................Navy, 2011 (50)Had five or more rush TDs: ....................................................................................................... USC, 2005 (5)Had four rush TDs: ...................................................................................................................Navy, 2010 (4)Had two or more players with 100 rush yards in a game: ..........................................................Navy, 2009........................................................................................................ (Vince Murray - 158, Ricky Dobbs - 102)

PassingHad 400 or more yards: ...........................................................................................Washington, 2005 (408)Had 300-399 yards: ............................................................................................Michigan State, 2011 (329)Had 60 or more pass attempts: ...................................................................................Tennessee, 1990 (60)

Did not punt: ............................................................................................................................ vs. Navy, 2009Blocked a field goal: ................................................................................................ vs. Boston College, 2007Had a field goal blocked: ....................................................................................................... at Purdue, 2011Blocked a PAT kick: ............................................................................................................. vs. Air Force, 2011 Scored on a blocked PAT attempt: .........................................................................................vs. Texas, 1995Missed a kicking PAT: ................................................................................................................. at USC, 2010Had a kicking PAT blocked: ..................................................................................................... vs. Tulsa, 2010Opponent scored on a blocked PAT attempt: ........................................................................ vs. Tulsa, 2010Had a punt blocked: ................................................................................................. at Boston College, 2008

MiscellaneousHad 30 or more first downs: ................................................................................... va. Maryland, 2011 (30)Had 20-29 first downs: ...............................................................................................at Stanford, 2011 (20)Was not penalized: ..................................................................................................................... at LSU, 1997Had 10 or more penalties: ...........................................................................................at Stanford, 2011 (10)Had 120 or more yards in penalties: .......................................................................... at Rutgers, 2000 (120)Had 40 minutes or more of possession time:........................................vs. Washington State, 2009 (40:54)Had 35-40 minutes of possession time: ............................................................... at Michigan, 2011 (37:01)Was involved in a tie game: ......................................................................................... at USC, 1994 (17-17)Was involved in an overtime game: ..........................................................at Michigan State, 2010 (31-34)

A nOTRE DAME PLAYERRushingRushed for 300 or more yards: ............................................................................................................... NeverRushed for 250-299 yards: ................................................................. Julius Jones at Pittsburgh, 2003 (262)Rushed for 200-249 yards: ................................................................... Julius Jones at Stanford, 2003 (218)Rushed for 175-199 yards: .................................................................... Cierre Wood at Purdue, 2011 (191)Rushed for 150-174 yards: ................................................................... Darius Walker vs. Army, 2006 (162)Rushed for 125-149 yards: .................................................................. Jonas Gray vs. Maryland, 2011 (136)Rushed for 100-124 yards: ..........................................................Andrew Hendrix vs. Air Force, 2001 (111)Quarterback rushed for 100 or more yards: ...............................Andrew Hendrix vs. Air Force, 2001 (111)Rushed 40 or more times: ............................................................................ Allen Pinkett at LSU, 1984 (40)Rushed 35-39 times: .................................................................................... Julius Jones vs. BYU, 2003 (35)Rushed 30-34 times: .............................................................................James Aldridge vs. Navy, 2007 (32)Rushed 25-29 times: ..................................................................Cierre Wood vs. Boston College, 2011 (26)Rushed for four or more TDs: ................................................................. Emmett Mosley vs. Navy, 1994 (4)Rushed for three TDs: ......................................................................................Jonas Gray vs. Navy, 2011 (3)Rushed for two TDs: ................................................................................ Jonas Gray vs. Maryland, 2011 (2)Had a run of 80 yards or more: .............................................. Terrance Howard at West Virginia, 2000 (80)Had a run of 70-79 yards: .............................................................Andrew Hendrix vs. Air Force, 2011 (78)Had a run of 60-69 yards: .............................................................................Brady Quinn at USC, 2006 (60)Had a run of 50-59 yards: ....................................................................... Cierre Wood at Purdue, 2011 (55)

PassingPassed for 500 or more yards: ............................................................... Joe Theismann at USC, 1970 (526)Passed for 400-499 yards: .................................................................. Jimmy Clausen vs. Navy, 2009 (452)Passed for 300-399 yards: ................................................................Tommy Rees at Michigan, 2011 (315)Attempted 50 or more passes: ..................................................................Tommy Rees vs. Tulsa, 2010 (54)Attempted 40-49 passes: ........................................................................Tommy Rees at Purdue, 2011 (40)Attempted 30-39 passes: ..........................................................Tommy Rees vs. Boston College, 2011 (39)Completed 30 or more passes: ......................................................... Tommy Rees vs. Maryland, 2011 (30)Completed 20-29 passes: .........................................................Tommy Rees vs. Boston College, 2011 (24)Threw six TDs: ................................................................................................ Brady Quinn vs. BYU, 2005 (6)Threw five or more TDs: ......................................................................Jimmy Clausen at Stanford, 2009 (5)Threw four or more TDs: .......................................................................Tommy Rees vs. Air Force, 2011 (4)Threw three or more TDs ...........................................................................Tommy Rees at Purdue, 2011 (3)Threw five or more interceptions: ................................................................................................Before 1975Threw four interceptions: ......................................................... Jimmy Clausen at Boston College, 2008 (4)Threw three interceptions: .............................................................................Tommy Rees at USC, 2010 (3)Completed a pass of 90 yards or more: ................................................ Dayne Crist vs. Michigan, 2010 (95)Completed a pass of 80-89 yards: ..........................................Dayne Crist vs. Western Michigan, 2010 (80)Completed a pass of 70-79 yards: .....................................................Jimmy Clausen at Stanford, 2009 (78)Completed a pass of 60-69 yards: .......................................... Dayne Crist vs. Washington State, 2009 (64)Completed a pass of 50-59 yards: ............................................................Tommy Rees vs. Navy, 2011 (56)

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60

Game Notes


Had 50-59 pass attempts: .................................................................................... Michigan State, 2011 (53)Had 40-49 pass attempts: ............................................................................................Miami, Fla., 2010 (40)Had 30 or more pass completions: ...................................................................... Michigan State, 2011 (34)Had five or more passing TDs: ................................................................................................. USC, 2004 (5)Had four passing TDs: ........................................................................................................ Stanford, 2011 (4)Had three passing TDs: ............................................................................................................. USC, 2011 (3)

ReceivingHad two players with 100 receiving yards in a game: ................................................................. USC, 2009................................................................................................. (Anthony McCoy 153, Damien Williams 108)

Total OffenseHad 600 or more yards total offense: ....................................................Ohio State, 2006 Fiesta Bowl (617)Had 500-599 yards total offense: ................................................................................ Air Force, 2011 (565)Had 400-499 yards total offense: ................................................................................. Stanford, 2011 (429)Had 80 or more plays: .................................................................................................... Air Force, 2011 (88)Had 75-79 plays: .................................................................................................................... USC, 2011 (79)

ScoringScored 60 or more points: ...................................................................................................................... NeverScored 50-59 points: .................................................................................................Miami (Fla.), 1985 (58)Scored 40-49 points: .......................................................................................................Stanford, 2009 (45)Scored 30-39 points: .............................................................................................................. USC, 2011 (31)Scored a two-point conversion: ..............................................................................................Air Force, 2011

TurnoversDid not commit a turnover: ...........................................................................................Boston College, 2011Had three or more fumbles lost: ......................................................................................Michigan, 2011 (3)Intercepted five or more passes: .............................................................................................. USC, 1967 (7)Intercepted four passes: ...................................................................................................... Purdue, 2003 (4)Intercepted three passes: ..........................................................................................................USF, 2011 (3)Returned an interception for a TD: ................................................................................................Tulsa, 2010..............................................................................................................................(Shawn Jackson - 66 yards)Returned a fumble for a TD: ........................................................................................................... USC, 2011...........................................................................................................................(Jawanza Starling - 80 yards)

DefenseHeld ND to 10 or fewer first downs: ...................................................................................... USC, 2007 (10)Scored a safety: .......................................................................................................................... Purdue, 2010Held ND to 50 or fewer rushing yards: .................................................................................. USC, 2011 (41)Held ND to 101-200 passing yards: ....................................................................... Wake Forest, 2011 (166)Held ND to 100 or fewer passing yards: ..............................................................................UCLA, 2007 (94)Held ND to 201-300 yards total offense: ............................................................................. USC, 2011 (267)Held ND to 200 or fewer yards total offense: ...................................................................... USC, 2007 (165)

Special TeamsReturned a punt for a TD: ............................................................Tulsa, 2010 (Damaris Johnson - 59 yards)Returned a blocked punt for a TD: ............................................................................... Michigan State, 2004.................................................................................................................................. (Jerramy Scott - 0 yards)Returned a kickoff for a TD: .......................................................Michigan, 2009 (Darryl Stonum - 94 yards)Punted 10 or more times: .................................................................................... Boston College, 2010 (11)Did not punt: ......................................................................................................................Miami (Fla.), 1985Missed a kicking PAT: ................................................................................................... Michigan State, 2009

MiscellaneousHad 30 or more first downs: .......................................................................................... Air Force, 2011 (32)Had 20-29 first downs: ................................................................................................... Stanford, 2011 (23)Had 10 or more penalties: ............................................................................................... Stanford, 2011 (11)Had 100 or more yards in penalties: ............................................................................. Stanford, 2011 (113)Had 35 minutes or more of possession time: ................................................................... USC, 2011 (39:11)Had one 100-yard receiver and one 100-yard rusher: ................................................................. USC, 2011.......................................................................... (Curtis McNeal, 118 rushing, Robert Woods, 119 receiving)

An OPPOSInG PLAYERRushingRushed for 300 or more yards: ............................................................Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh, 1975 (303)Rushed for 200-299 yards: ..................................................................... Alexander Teich, Navy, 2010 (210)Rushed for 150-199 yards: ..................................................................... Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh, 2009 (154)Rushed for 100-149 yards: ................................................................... Stepfan Taylor, Stanford, 2011 (120)Rushed 40 or more times: ................................................................. Craig Heyward, Pittsburgh, 1987 (42)Rushed 30-39 times: .......................................................................................Ricky Dobbs, Navy, 2009 (31)Rushed 25-29 times: ................................................................................ Alexander Teich, Navy, 2010 (26)Rushed for five or more TDs: ......................................................................Walter Reyes, Syracuse, 2003 (5)Rushed for four or more TDs: ....................................................................Walter Reyes, Syracuse, 2003 (5)Rushed for three or more TDs: ..........................................................................Ricky Dobbs, Navy, 2010 (3)Rushed for two or more TDs: .......................................................Alex Carder, Western Michigan, 2010 (2)Had a run of 80 yards or more: ........................................................ Denard Robinson, Michigan, 2010 (87)Had a run of 70-79 yards: ........................................................................Walter Reyes, Syracuse, 2003 (71)Had a run of 60-69 yards: ..............................................................Javon Ringer, Michigan State, 2008 (63)Had a run of 50-59 yards: ........................................................................ Alexander Teich, Navy, 2010 (54)

PassingPassed for 500 or more yards: ............................................................................................................... NeverPassed for 400-499 yards: .............................................................................Matt Leinart, USC, 2004 (400)Passed for 300-399 yards: ........................................................... Kirk Cousins, Michigan State, 2011 (329)Attempted 60 or more passes: ................................................................ Andy Kelly, Tennessee, 1990 (60)Attempted 50-59 passes: ............................................................... Kirk Cousins, Michigan State, 2011 (53)Attempted 40-49 passes: ...........................................................Alex Carder, Western Michigan, 2010 (43)Completed 30 or more passes: ...................................................... Kirk Cousins, Michigan State, 2011 (34)Completed 20-29 passes: ........................................................................Andrew Luck, Stanford, 2011 (20)Threw five or more TDs: ...................................................................................... Matt Leinart, USC, 2004 (5)Threw four TDs: ..........................................................................................Andrew Luck, Stanford, 2011 (4)Threw three TDs: ................................................................................................. Matt Barley, USC, 2011 (3)Completed a pass of 90 yards or more: .........................................................Kyle Orton, Purdue, 2004 (97)Completed a pass of 80-89 yards: ............................................................ Curtis Painter, Purdue, 2006 (88)Completed a pass of 70-79 yards: .................................................. Denard Robinson, Michigan, 2011 (77)Completed a pass of 60-69 yards: .................................................. Denard Robinson, Michigan, 2011 (64)Completed a pass of 50-59 yards: ............................................................Andrew Luck, Stanford, 2010 (55)

ReceivingCaught 10 or more passes: ............................................................................Robert Woods, USC, 2011 (12)Caught seven to nine passes: ..................................................................Antavian Edison, Purdue, 2011 (7)Had 200 or more yards receiving: ........................................................ Selwyn Lymon, Purdue, 2006 (238)Had 150-199 yards receiving: ..............................................B.J. Cunningham, Michigan State, 2011 (158)Had 100-149 yards receiving: . ....................................................................Robert Woods, USC, 2011 (119)Caught three or more TD passes: .................................................................. Dwayne Jarrett, USC, 2006 (3)Caught two TD passes: ................................................................................Coby Fleener, Stanford, 2011 (2)

ScoringAccounted for five or more touchdowns: .......... Denard Robinson, Michigan, 2011 (4 passing, 1 rushing)Accounted for four touchdowns: ................................................. Andrew Luck, Stanford, 2011 (4 passing)Accounted for three touchdowns: ........................................................Matt Barkley, USC, 2011 (3 passing)

DefenseIntercepted three or more passes: ...........................................................Rod Johnson, N.C. State, 2003 (3)Intercepted two passes: ........................................................................... Josh Bush, Wake Forest, 2011 (2)Recorded three or more sacks: .......................................................................Bruce Davis, UCLA, 2007 (3.0)Recorded two sacks: ..............................................................................Chase Thomas, Stanford, 2011 (2.0)

Special TeamsKicked four or more field goals: .............................................................. Nate Whitaker, Stanford, 2010 (5)Kicked a field goal 50 or more yards: ...............................................................Matt Payne, BYU, 2004 (53)Kicked a punt of 65 or more yards: .......................................................Jared Armstrong, Purdue, 2006 (69)Totaled 100 or more kick return yards: ........................................Lovell Jackson, Wake Forest, 2011 (114)

TheLast Time


MEDIA INFOGAM



BOWL HISTORY


notre Dame OffenseWR 7 TJ JONES 5-11 187 So./2 81 John Goodman 6-3 207 Sr./3

WR 9 Robby Toma 5-9 185 Jr./2 7 TJ JONES 5-11 187 So./2

LT 70 ZACK MARTIN 6-4 303 Jr./2 72 Nick Martin 6-4 1/4 280 Fr./1

LG 66 Chris Watt 6-3 310 Jr./2 51 Bruce Heggie 6-5 280 So./1

C 57 Mike Golic Jr. 6-3 295 Sr./3 76 Andrew Nuss 6-5 303 Gr./4 RG 78 TREVOR ROBINSON 6-5 311 Sr./4 65 Conor Hanratty 6-4 1/2 315 Fr./1

RT 75 TAYLOR DEVER 6-5 301 Gr./4 74 Christian Lombard 6-5 301 So./1

TE 80 TYLER EIFERT 6-6 249 Jr./2 18 Ben Koyack 6-5 253 Fr./1or 82 Alex Welch 6-4 245 So./1

WR 3 MICHAEL FLOYD 6-3 224 Sr./4 87 Daniel Smith 6-4 215 So./1

QB 11 Tommy Rees 6-2 215 So./2 12 Andrew Hendrix 6-2 220 So./1

RB 20 Cierre Wood 6-0 215 Jr./2 6 Theo Riddick 5-11 198 Jr./3

notre Dame Special TeamsPK 97 DAVID RUFFER 6-1 193 Gr./4 40 Nick Tausch 6-0 190 Jr./3 27 Kyle Brindza 6-1 219 Fr./1

P 35 BEN TURK 5-11 196 Jr./3 27 Kyle Brindza 6-1 219 Fr./1

LS 50 Ryan Kavanagh 6-3 200 Sr./3 60 JORDAN COWART 6-2 215 Jr./3

SS 60 Jordan Cowart 6-2 215 Jr./3 50 Ryan Kavanagh 6-3 200 Sr./3

notre Dame DefenseDE 90 ETHAN JOHNSON 6-4 300 Sr./4 19 Aaron Lynch 6-6 265 Fr./1

NG 9 Louis Nix III 6-3 326 So./1or 98 Sean Cwynar 6-4 285 Gr./3

DE 7 Stephon Tuitt 6-6 1/4 295 Fr./1 50 Chase Hounshell 6-4 1/4 265 Fr./1

OLB 45 DARIUS FLEMING 6-2 255 Sr./4 1 Ishaq Williams 6-5 255 Fr./1

ILB 48 Dan Fox 6-3 240 Jr./2or 44 CARLO CALABRESE 6-1 245 Jr./2 ILB 5 MANTI TE'O 6-2 255 Jr./3 8 Kendall Moore 6-1 242 So./1 OLB 55 Prince Shembo 6-2 250 So./2 58 Troy Niklas 6-6 1/2 250 Fr./1

CB 12 Robert Blanton 6-1 200 Sr./4 23 Lo Wood 5-10 195 So./2

S 22 HARRISON SMITH 6-2 214 Gr./4 15 Dan McCarthy 6-2 205 Sr./3

S 26 Jamoris Slaughter 6-0 198 Sr./3or 17 ZEKE MOTTA 6-2 215 Jr./3 28 Austin Collinsworth 6-1 200 So./2

CB 4 GARY GRAY 5-11 195 Gr./4 2 Bennett Jackson 6-0 185 So./2

notre Dame Special TeamsHLD 50 RYAN KAVANAGH 6-3 200 Sr./3 35 Ben Turk 5-11 196 Jr./3

PR 81 JOHN GOODMAN 6-3 207 Sr./3or 3 Michael Floyd 6-3 224 Sr./4

KR 34 George Atkinson III 6-1 1/4 200 Fr./1 28 Austin Collinsworth 6-1 200 So./2 6 Theo Riddick 5-11 198 Jr. /3 2 BENNETT JACKSON 6-0 185 So./2

KO 27 Kyle Brindza 6-1 219 Fr./1 97 DAVID RUFFER 6-1 193 Gr./4

ALL CAPS - returning starter from 2010

Notre Dame FootballTwo-Deep Depth Chart

62

Game Notes


ALPHABETICALNo. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl./Elg.^ Hometown/High School34 Atkinson III, George RB 6-1.25 200 Fr./1 Stockton, CA/Granada43 Atkinson, Josh CB 5-11.5 185 Fr./1 Stockton, CA/Granada12 ***Blanton, Robert CB 6-1 200 Sr./4 Matthews, NC/Butler49 Breslau, Blake+ S 5-10 180 Jr./2 San Diego, CA/Francis Parker27 Brindza, Kyle K/P 6-1 219 Fr./1 Canton, MI/Plymouth21 Brown, Jalen CB 6-0.5 198 Fr./1 Irving, TX/MacArthur44 *Calabrese, Carlo ILB 6-1 245 Jr./2 Verona, NJ/Verona56 Carrico, Brad OT 6-5 290 Fr./1 Dublin, OH/Coffman40 Cavalaris, Connor+ S 5-10 180 Fr./1 Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest52 **Cave, Braxston C 6-3 303 Sr./3 Mishawaka, IN/Penn73 *Clelland, Lane OT 6-5 297 Sr./3 Owings Mills, MD/McDonogh School28 *Collinsworth, Austin S 6-1 200 So./2 Fort Thomas, KY/Highlands29 *Coughlin, Patrick+ RB 6-0 200 Gr./4 Oak Lawn, IL/Brother Rice30 Councell, Ben OLB 6-4.5 230 Fr./1 Asheville, NC/A.C. Reynolds60 **Cowart, Jordan LS 6-2 215 Jr./3 Plantation, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas98 **Cwynar, Sean DE 6-4 285 Gr./3 McHenry, IL/Marian Central Catholic16 Daniels, DaVaris WR 6-1.5 185 Fr./1 Vernon Hills, IL/Vernon Hills75 **Dever, Taylor OT 6-5 301 Gr./4 Nevada City, CA/Nevada Union80 *Eifert, Tyler TE 6-6 249 Jr./2 Fort Wayne, IN/Bishop Dwenger41 Farley, Matthias WR 5-10.5 194 Fr./1 Charlotte, NC/Christian46 ***Filer, Steve OLB 6-3 245 Sr./4 Chicago, IL/Mount Carmel38 Fitzpatrick, Nick+ WR 5-8 170 Jr./2 Mishawaka, IN/Marian45 ***Fleming, Darius OLB 6-2 255 Sr./4 Chicago, IL/St. Rita3 ***Floyd, Michael WR 6-3 224 Sr./4 St. Paul, MN/Cretin-Derham Hall48 *Fox, Dan ILB 6-3 240 Jr./2 Rocky River, OH/St. Ignatius47 Frantz, Jonathan+ OLB 6-2 215 Sr./3 Avon Lake, OH/St. Ignatius88 Golic, Jake TE 6-4 245 Jr./2 West Hartford, CT/Northwest Catholic57 *Golic Jr., Mike C 6-3 295 Sr./3 West Hartford, CT/Northwest Catholic5 Golson, Everett QB 6-0 185 Fr./1 Myrtle Beach, SC/Myrtle Beach81 **Goodman, John WR 6-3 207 Sr./3 Fort Wayne, IN/Bishop Dwenger59 Grace, Jarrett ILB 6-2.5 240 Fr./1 Cincinnati, OH/Colerain4 ***Gray, Gary CB 5-11 195 Gr./4 Columbia, SC/Richland Northeast25 **Gray, Jonas RB 5-10 230 Sr./4 Pontiac, MI/Detroit Country Day37 Grieco, Mike+ P 6-1 185 Sr./3 Glen Ellyn, IL/St. Ignatius65 Hanratty, Conor OG 6-4.5 315 Fr./1 New Canaan, CT/New Canaan34 Hardy, Eilar S 5-11.25 177 Fr./1 Reynoldsburg, OH/Pickerington Central77 Hegarty, Matt OT 6-4.5 291 Fr./1 Aztec, NM/Atec51 Heggie, Bruce C/OG 6-5 280 So./1 Sorrento, FL/Mount Dora12 Hendrix, Andrew QB 6-2 220 So./1 Cincinnati, OH/Moeller50 Hounshell, Chase DE 6-4.25 265 Fr./1 Kirtland, OH/Lake Catholic2 *Jackson, Bennett CB 6-0 185 So./2 Hazlet, NJ (Raritan)90 ***Johnson, Ethan DE 6-4 300 Sr./4 Portland, OR/Lincoln7 *Jones, TJ WR 5-11 187 So./2 Gainesville, GA/Gainesville50 *Kavanagh, Ryan+ LS 6-3 200 Sr./3 West Chester, PA/Salesianum (Del.)18 Koyack, Ben TE 6-5 253 Fr./1 Oil City, PA/Oil City37 Lee, Eric+ WR/RB 5-9 180 Fr./1 West Des Moines, IA/Dowling Catholic89 **Lewis-Moore, Kapron DE 6-4 300 Sr./3 Weatherford, TX/Weatherford42 *Lezynski, Nick+ CB 5-9 180 Gr./4 Newton, PA/Notre Dame High School39 Liebscher, Ryan+ WR 5-11 190 So./1 Colorado Springs, CO/Cheyenne Mountain93 Little, Connor+ LB 6-3 225 Fr./1 Lake Elmo, MN/Hill-Murray74 Lombard, Christian OT 6-5 301 So./1 Inverness, IL/Fremd19 Lynch, Aaron DE 6-6 265 Fr./1 Cape Coral, FL/Island Coast71 Mahoney, Dennis+ OT 6-7 294 Sr./3 Baltimore, MD/Boys Latin High School72 Martin, Nick C/OG 6-4.25 280 Fr./1 Indianapolis, IN/Bishop Chatard70 *Martin, Zack OT 6-4 303 Jr./2 Indianapolis, IN/Bishop Chatard86 Martinez, Arturo+ TE 6-4 250 So./1 Miami, FL/Belen Jesuit14 Massa, Luke WR 6-4 220 So./1 Cincinnati, OH/St. Xavier15 McCarthy, Dan S 6-2 205 Sr./3 Youngstown, OH/Cardinal Mooney33 McDaniel, Cam RB 5-9.75 192 Fr./1 Coppell,TX/Coppell54 **McDonald, Anthony ILB 6-2 238 Sr./3 Burbank, CA/Notre Dame

nUMERICALNo. Name Pos1 Deion Walker WR1 Ishaq Williams OLB2 Bennett Jackson CB3 Michael Floyd WR4 Gary Gray CB5 Everett Golson QB5 Manti Te’o ILB6 Theo Riddick WR7 TJ Jones WR7 Stephon Tuitt DE8 Kendall Moore ILB9 Louis Nix III NG9 Robby Toma WR11 Tommy Rees QB12 Robert Blanton CB12 Andrew Hendrix QB13 Danny Spond OLB14 Luke Massa WR15 Dan McCarthy S16 DaVaris Daniels WR17 Zeke Motta S17 Matthew Mulvey QB18 Ben Koyack TE19 Aaron Lynch DE20 Cierre Wood RB21 Jalen Brown CB22 Harrison Smith S23 Lo Wood CB24 Chris Salvi S25 Jonas Gray RB26 Jamoris Slaughter S27 Kyle Brindza K/P28 Austin Collinsworth S29 Patrick Coughlin RB30 Ben Councell OLB31 Cameron Roberson RB32 Andrew Plaska CB33 Cam McDaniel RB34 George Atkinson III RB34 Eilar Hardy S35 Joe Romano CB35 Ben Turk P36 David Posluszny ILB37 Mike Grieco P37 Eric Lee RB/WR38 Nick Fitzpatrick WR38 Joe Schmidt ILB39 Ryan Liebscher WR39 Ryan Sheehan CB40 Connor Cavalaris S40 Nick Tausch K41 Matthias Farley WR42 Nick Lezynski CB43 Josh Atkinson CB44 Carlo Calabrese ILB45 Darius Fleming OLB46 Steve Filer OLB47 Jonathan Frantz OLB48 Dan Fox ILB49 Blake Breslau S

Notre Dame FootballRoster Information


MEDIA INFOGAM



BOWL HISTORY


ALPHABETICAL (COnT.)No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl./Elg.^ Hometown/High School8 Moore, Kendall ILB 6-1 242 So./1 Raleigh, NC/Southeast Raleigh17 **Motta, Zeke S 6-2 215 Jr./3 Vero Beach, FL/Vero Beach17 Mulvey, Matthew+ QB 6-2 191 Sr./3 Del Mar, CA/LaJolla99 Newman, Brandon NG 6-0 303 Sr./3 Louisville, KY/Pleasure Ridge Park64 Nichols, Tate OT 6-8 320 So./1 Walton, KY/Ryle58 Niklas, Troy OLB 6-6.5 250 Fr./1 Fullerton, CA/Servite9 Nix III, Louis NG 6-3 326 So./1 Jacksonville, FL/Raines76 **Nuss, Andrew OG 6-5 303 Gr./4 Ashburn, VA/Stone Bridge51 Oxley, Sean+ ILB 6-2 235 Sr./3 Avon Lake, OH/Avon Lake49 Plantz, Tyler+ RB 5-9 195 So./1 Frankfort, IL/Providence Catholic32 Plaska, Andrew+ CB 5-11 185 Sr./3 Zeeland, MI/Zeeland West36 *Posluszny, David ILB 6-0 235 Sr./3 Aliquippa, PA/Hopewell79 Prestwood, Jordan OT 6-5 287 Fr./1 Plant City, FL/Plant City56 Rabasa, Anthony ILB 6-3 240 Fr./1 Miami, FL/Columbus83 ***Ragone, Mike TE 6-4 250 Gr./4 Cherry Hill, NJ/Camden Catholic11 *Rees, Tommy QB 6-2 215 So./2 Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest6 **Riddick, Theo WR 5-11 198 Jr./3 Manville, NJ/Immaculata31 Roberson, Cameron RB 6-0 218 So./1 Newbury Park, CA/Newbury Park78 ***Robinson, Trevor OG 6-5 311 Sr./4 Elkhorn, NE/Elkhorn35 Romano, Joe+ CB 5-9 173 So./1 River Forest, IL/Fenwick97 *Ruffer, David K 6-1 193 Gr./4 Oakton, VA/Gonzaga24 *Salvi, Chris+ S 5-10 190 Sr./3 Lake Forest, IL/Carmel Catholic38 Schmidt, Joe+ ILB 6-0.25 220 Fr./1 Orange, CA/Mater Dei96 *Schwenke, Kona DE 6-4 285 So./2 Hauula, HI/Kahuku85 Sharpley, Ryan+ WR 6-4 210 Sr./1 Marshall, MI/Marshall39 *Sheehan, Ryan+ CB 5-10 177 Gr./4 Purcellville, VA/Loudown Valley55 *Shembo, Prince OLB 6-2 250 So./2 Charlotte, NC/Ardrey Kell26 **Slaughter, Jamoris S 6-0 198 Sr./4 Stone Mountain, GA/Tucker87 *Smith, Daniel WR 6-4 215 So./2 South Bend, IN/Clay22 ***Smith, Harrison S 6-2 214 Gr./4 Knoxville, TN/Knoxville Catholic13 *Spond, Danny OLB 6-2 242 So./2 Littleton, CO/Columbine69 Springmann, Tony NG 6-5.5 280 Fr./1 Fort Wayne, IN/Bishop Dwenger92 Stockton, Tyler NG 6-0 290 Jr./2 Linwood, NJ/Hun School62 Tansey, Matt+ OL 6-6 265 Jr./2 Berkeley Heights, NJ/Governor Livingston40 *Tausch, Nick K 6-0 190 Jr./3 Plano, TX/Jesuit5 **Te’o, Manti ILB 6-2 255 Jr./3 Laie, HI/Punahou9 *Toma, Robby WR 5-9 185 Jr./3 Laie, HI/Punahou7 Tuitt, Stephon DE 6-6.25 295 Fr./1 Monroe, GA/Monroe35 *Turk, Ben P 5-11 196 Jr./3 Davie, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas53 Utupo, Justin ILB 6-1 251 So./1 Lakewood, CA/Lakewood1 Walker, Deion WR 6-3 206 Sr./3 Christchurch, VA/Christchurch66 *Watt, Chris OG 6-3 310 Jr./2 Glen Ellyn, IL/Glenbard West82 Welch, Alex TE 6-4 245 So./1 Cincinnati, OH/Elder94 *Williams, Hafis NG 6-1 295 Sr./3 Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth1 Williams, Ishaq OLB 6-5 255 Fr./1 Brooklyn, NY/Lincoln20 *Wood, Cierre RB 6-0 215 Jr./2 Oxnard, CA/Santa Clara23 *Wood, Lo CB 5-10 195 So./2 Apopka, FL/Apopka^ Class is the academic year they will be this fall/Eligibility is the athletic season they will be this fall+ Walk-on Player * Number of monograms earned

nUMERICAL (COnT.)No. Name Pos49 Tyler Plantz RB50 Chase Hounshell DE50 Ryan Kavanagh LS51 Bruce Heggie C/OG51 Sean Oxley ILB52 Braxston Cave C53 Justin Utupo ILB54 Anthony McDonald ILB55 Prince Shembo OLB56 Brad Carrico OT56 Anthony Rabasa ILB57 Mike Golic Jr. C58 Troy Niklas OLB59 Jarrett Grace ILB60 Jordan Cowart LS62 Matt Tansey OL64 Tate Nichols OT65 Connor Hanratty OG66 Chris Watt OG69 Tony Springmann NG70 Zack Martin OT71 Dennis Mahoney OT72 Nick Martin C/OG73 Lane Clelland OT74 Christian Lombard OT75 Taylor Dever OT76 Andrew Nuss OT77 Matt Hegarty OT78 Trevor Robinson OG79 Jordan Prestwood OT80 Tyler Eifert TE81 John Goodman WR82 Alex Welch TE83 Mike Ragone TE85 Ryan Sharpley WR86 Arturo Martinez TE87 Daniel Smith WR88 Jake Golic TE89 Kapron Lewis-Moore DE90 Ethan Johnson DE92 Tyler Stockton NG93 Connor Little LB94 Hafis Williams NG96 Kona Schwenke DE97 David Ruffer K98 Sean Cwynar NG99 Brandon Newman NG

Notre Dame FootballRoster Information

PROnUnCIATIOn GUIDEBrindza, Kyle – BRIND-zuhCalabrese, Carlo – CAL-uh-breezeCarrico, Brad – CARE-uh-coClelland, Lane – CLELL-undCoughlin, Patrick – COG-linnCowart, Jordan – COW-ertCwynar, Sean – SWIN-areDaniels, DaVaris – duh-VAR-issDever, Taylor – dever (rhymes with never)Eifert, Tyler – EYE-fert

Filer, Steve – FY-lerHardy, Eilar – EYE-larHeggie, Bruce – HEGG-eeKoyack, Ben – KOY-ackLewis-Moore, Kapron – cap-rinMassa, Luke – MASS-uhMulvey, Matthew – MULL-veePosluszny, David – poz-LUZ-neeSchwenke, Kona – sh-wenk-ee, COE-nuhSlaughter, Jamoris – juh-MORE-iss

Tausch, Nick – TOWSHTe’o, Manti – TAY-oh, MAN-tieToma, Robby – TOE-muhTuitt, Stephon – TWO-it, stuh-FONUtupo, Justin – you-TOO-poeWilliams, Hafis – hah-FEESEWilliams, Ishaq – EE-shackWood, Cierre – see-AIR

Over 650 student-athletes on 26 varsity teams excelling in academics, spirituality, community service and athletics - all

made possible courtesy of the generous alumni, parents and friends who support Notre Dame’s rst athletics annual fund – the Rockne Heritage Fund.

The culmination of these gifts assists the University in under-writing athletics scholarships that are the lifeblood of every pro-gram that wants to recruit the best and the brightest and compete for national championships.

Our work has just begun. Scholarships are one of the largest line items in the department of athletics operating budget, accounting for roughly $14 million annually.

Director’s CircleMembers donating to the Rockne Heritage Fund at the $1,500,

$5,000, $10,000 and $25,000 levels, receive a corresponding bene ts package.

For more information on the attractive football ticket bene t, visit our website: und.com/rockneheritagefund.

Make a Gift Today• Send a check payable to the Rockne Heritage Fund;

P.O. Box 519; Notre Dame, IN 46556. • Visit online: supporting.nd.edu and include “Rockne

Heritage Fund” in the comments section.• Specify if your employer has a matching gift program.• Notre Dame employees may request a payroll

deduction form. • All contributions to the Rockne Heritage Fund are credited

toward eligibility in the football ticket lottery.

Contact InformationMary C. Rattenbury • Manager, Rockne Heritage Fund 574.631.9443 • [email protected]/rockneheritagefund twitter.com/NDRockneFund

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65





Student-Athlete Profile uPdAteS

NOTRE DAME vs. FLORIDA STATE

34 GeorGe Atkinson iii

RB / KR / 6-1.5 / 200 / Fr. / Stockton, CA (Granada)

GEORGE AtkinsOn’s HOnORs & AWARDsuPhil Steele Second team Freshman All-AmericanuFBS Independent Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 23)uCollege Football Performance Awards National Kickoff Returner of the Week (Oct. 23)uCollege Football Performance Awards National Kickoff Returner of the Week (Sept. 18)uFBS Independent Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 18)uSI.com Honorable Mention All-American

GEORGE AtkinsOn’s PLACE in tHE iRisH RECORD BOOksuSingle-Game Kickoff Return Yards (Oct. 22, 2011 vs. USC, 178, 3rd)uSingle-Season Kickoff Return Touchdowns (2011, 2, t-1st)uSingle-Season Kickoff Return Yards (2011, 822, 2nd)uSingle-Season Kickoff Returns (2011, 30, 3rd)uSingle-Season Kickoff/Punt Return Yards (2011, 822, 4th)

GEORGE AtkinsOn’s CAREER HiGHsTackles: 2, at Purdue (Oct. 1, 2011)Kick Returns: 5, twice (last vs. USC, Oct. 22, 2011)Kick Return Yards: 178, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)Touchdowns: 1, twice (last vs. USC, Oct. 22, 2011) Kick Return Average: 35.6, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)Kick Return Touchdowns: 1, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)Rushing Touchdowns: 1, twice (last vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)

FRESHMAN SEASON (2011): Played in all 12 games for the Irish, proving to be a key asset on special teams ... returned a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns ... first was an 89-yarder against Michigan State (Sept. 17) ... second was 96-yarder against USC (Oct. 22) ... the return against the Trojans was the fifth-longest in Notre Dame Stadium history and the longest since Julius Jones went 100 yards against Nebraska on Sept. 9, 2000 ... became first Irish player since Allen Rossum in 1997 to have a pair of kick returns for TDs in a season ... two kickoff returns also ties Notre Dame’s season record ... became first freshman with two kickoff returns for TDs in a season since Raghib “Rocket” Ismail in 1988 ... averaged season-best 35.6 yards a return against USC, returning five kicks for 178 yards and a TD ... also registered over 100 yards in a game against Michigan State and Air Force ... averaged 27.4 yards a return on the season ... notched rushing TDs as a reserve running back in games against Air Force (Oct. 8) and Navy (Oct. 29).. also recorded eight tackles on special teams ... for a complete bio, go to page 73 of the 2011 media guide.

GEORGE AtkinsOn’s CAREER RusHinG stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS ATT YDS TD LG AVG/C AVG/G2011 12-0 9 27 2 15 3.0 2.2TOTAL 12-0 9 27 2 15 3.0 2.2

GEORGE AtkinsOn’s CAREER RECEiVinG stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS REC YDS TD LG REC/G AVG/C AVG/G2011 12-0 1 10 0 10 0.1 10.0 0.8TOTAL 12-0 1 10 0 10 0.1 10.0 0.8

GEORGE AtkinsOn’s CAREER REtuRn stAtsYEAR KR YDS AVG TD LG PR YDS AVG TD LG2011 30 822 27.4 2 96 0 0 0.0 0 0TOTAL 30 822 27.4 2 96 0 0 0.0 0 0

GEORGE AtkinsOn’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2011 12-0 4 4 8 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 12-0 4 4 8 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0

GEORGE AtkinsOn’s GAME-BY-GAME2011 UT-AT TT KR KR YDS TD AVG LGUSF 0-0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0at Michigan 0-0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0Michigan State 0-0 0 4 142 1 35.5 89at Pittsburgh 0-0 0 2 60 0 30.0 36at Purdue 1-1 2 3 73 0 24.3 26Air Force 0-1 1 5 124 0 24.8 40USC 1-0 1 5 178 1 35.6 96Navy 0-0 0 2 58 0 29.5 31at Wake Forest 1-0 1 2 48 0 24.0 32vs. Maryland 0-1 1 3 51 0 17.0 20Boston Coll. 0-1 1 1 17 0 17.0 17at Stanford 1-0 1 3 71 0 23.7 28* - games started

43Josh Atkinson

CB / 5-11.5 / 185 / Fr. / Stockton, CA (Granada)

JOsH AtkinsOn’s CAREER HiGHsTackles: 1, twice (last at Wake Forest, Nov. 5, 2011)Solo Tackles: 1, at Wake Forest (Nov. 5, 2011)Assisted Tackles: 1, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)

FRESHMAN SEASON (2011): Played in seven games, primarily on special teams ... registered a tackle in games against Navy (Oct. 29) and Wake Forest (Nov. 5) ... for a complete bio, go to page 73 of the 2011 media guide.

JOsH AtkinsOn’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2011 7-0 1 1 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 7-0 1 1 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0

JOsH AtkinsOn’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 UT-AT TT TFL SCK FF FR INT PBU BLKUSF Did Not Playat Michigan Did Not PlayMichigan State Did Not Playat Pittsburgh Did Not Playat Purdue Did Not PlayAir Force 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0USC 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Navy 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Wake Forest 1-0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0vs. Maryland 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0 Boston College 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Stanford 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0* - games started

66



12 robert blAnton

CB / 6-1 / 200 / Sr. / Matthews, N.C. (Butler)

BLAntOn’s HOnORs & AWARDsu Notre Dame’s Back of the Year AwarduCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Defensive Back (Sept. 18)uFBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 18)

BLAntOn’s PLACE in tHE iRisH RECORD BOOksuSingle-Game Interception Return Yards (Sept. 17, 2011 vs. Michigan State, 83, 5th)

BLAntOn’s CAREER HiGHsTackles: 10, twice (last at Wake Forest, Nov. 5, 2011)Solo Tackles: 7, three times (last at Wake Forest, Nov. 5, 2011)Assisted Tackles: 6, vs. Miami, Fla. (Dec. 31, 2010)Tackles For Loss: 3.0, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17, 2011)Sacks: 1.0, twice (last vs. Michigan State, Sept. 17, 2011)Interceptions: 1, eight times (last vs. Michigan State, Sept. 17, 2011)Interception Return Yards: 82, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17, 2011)Longest Interception Return: 82, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17, 2011)Interception Return Touchdown: 1, vs. Purdue (Sept. 27, 2008)Forced Fumbles: NoneFumble Recoveries:1 vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Pass Breakups: 3, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17, 2011)Blocked Punt: 1, vs. Utah (Nov. 13, 2010)Blocked Punt Return Yards: 6, vs. Utah (Nov. 13, 2010)Longest Blocked Punt Return: 6, vs. Utah (Nov. 13, 2010)Blocked Punt Return Touchdown: 1, vs. Utah (Nov. 13, 2010)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Started all 12 games, recording 69 tackles, eight for loss, one sack, five pass breakups, two interceptions and one fumble recovery ... is tied for first on team in interceptions and is second on team in tackles for loss and third in tackles ... eight career interceptions is most among active Irish players, while 15 career pass breakups are tied for second on the current roster ... notched a career-high 10 tackles, including one for a loss, and also recovered first career fumble in a 59-33 victory over Air Force (Oct. 8) ... tied career-high in tackles with 10, including two for loss, in a win against Wake Forest (Nov. 5) ... had seven tackles, including six solo stops, in the victory at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24) ... named FBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week and College Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Defensive Back (Sept. 18) ... registered six tackles, three for loss, three pass breakups, one sack and returned an interception 82 yards – from the Irish one-yard line – to set up clinching field goal in fourth quarter against Michigan State (Sept. 17) ... for a complete bio, go to page 21 of the 2011 media guide.

BLAntOn’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2008 12-4 26 7 33 3.0-14 0.0-0 2-47 3 0 0-0 02009 12-8 21 17 38 1.0-1 0.0-0 2-0 2 0 0-0 02010 13-1 29 23 52 7.0-19 1.0-6 2-(-1) 5 0 0-0 12011 12-12 47 22 69 8.0-24 1.0-11 2-82 5 0 1-4 0TOTAL 49-25 123 69 192 19.0-58 2.0-17 8-128 15 0 1-4 1

BLAntOn’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 UT-AT TT TFL SCK FF FR INT PBU BLK*USF 4-2 6 1.0-3 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Michigan 2-2 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 1-0 0 0*Michigan State 3-3 6 3.0-13 1.0-11 0 0-0 1-82 3 0*at Pittsburgh 6-1 7 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Purdue 4-2 6 1.0-1 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Air Force 7-3 10 1.0-2 0.0-0 0 1-4 0-0 0 0*USC 3-1 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Navy 4-3 7 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Wake Forest 7-3 10 2.0-5 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*vs. Maryland 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Boston Coll. 2-1 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Stanford 5-1 6 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 2 0* - games started

27kyle brindzA

K-P / 6-1 / 219 / Fr. / Canton, Mich. (Plymouth)

BRinDzA’s HOnORs & AWARDsuCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Kickoff Specialist (Oct. 23)

FRESHMAN SEASON (2011): Saw action in all 12 games, serving as the team’s kickoff specialist ... kicked off 68 times throughout the year, totaling 4,427 yards ... averaged 65.1 yards a kick ... forced op-ponents into 11 touchbacks ... averaged season-best 70.0 yards a kickoff against USC (Oct. 22, 2011) ... for a complete bio, go to page 73 of the 2011 media guide.

BRinDzA’s kiCkOff stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS KO YDS AVG TB OB2011 12-0 68 4,427 65.1 11 4TOTAL 12-0 68 4,427 65.1 11 4

BRinDzA’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2011 12-0 1 1 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 12-0 1 1 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0

21JAlen brown

CB / 6-0.5 / 198 / Fr. / Irving, Texas (MacArthur)

FRESHMAN SEASON (2011): Did not see game action during the regular season ... for a complete bio, go to page 74 of the 2011 media guide.

67







44CArlo CAlAbrese

ILB / 6-1 / 245 / Jr. / Verona, N.J. (Verona)

CALABREsE’s CAREER HiGHsTackles: 10, twice (last at Boston College, Oct. 2, 2010)Solo Tackles: 8, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)Assisted Tackles: 7, vs. Michigan (Sept. 11, 2010)Tackles For Loss: 3.5, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)Sacks: 1.5, at Michigan State (Sept. 18, 2010)Interceptions: NoneForced Fumbles: NoneFumble Recoveries: NonePass Breakups: 1, three times (last vs. Boston College, Nov. 19, 2011)

JUNIOR SEASON (2011): Saw action in all 12 games as a reserve linebacker ... recorded 35 tackles, including 14 solo stops, one for loss, a sack and three pass breakups ... registered a season-high tying five tackles, including a sack and pass breakup, in the victory at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24) ... also had five tackles in victories over Maryland (Nov. 12) and Air Force (Oct. 8) and in the season-opening game against USF (Sept. 3) ... for a complete bio, go to page 23 of the 2011 media guide.

CALABREsE’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2009 Did Not Play2010 11-8 26 34 60 5.0-18 2.5-11 0-0 0 0 0-0 02011 12-0 14 21 35 1.0-3 1.0-3 0-0 3 0 0-0 0TOTAL 23-8 40 55 95 6.0-21 3.5-14 0-0 3 0 0-0 0

CALABREsE’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 UT-AT TT TFL SCK FF FR INT PBU BLKUSF 1-4 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Michigan 1-0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Michigan State 1-3 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Pittsburgh 4-1 5 1.0-3 1.0-3 0 0-0 0-0 1 0at Purdue 3-1 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Air Force 1-4 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 1 0USC 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Navy 1-0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Wake Forest 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0vs. Maryland 0-5 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Boston College 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 1 0at Stanford 2-1 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0* - games started

56brAd CArriCo

OL / 6-5 / 290 / Fr. / Dublin, Ohio (Coffman)


52 brAxston CAve

C / 6-3 / 303 / Sr. / Mishawaka, Ind. (Penn)

CAVE’s HOnORs & AWARDsuRimington Trophy Watch List

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Started first nine games at center before suffering a season-ending foot injury against Wake Forest ... was named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List in the preseason ... offensive line allowed only five sacks in the nine games he started ... for a complete bio, go to page 24 of the 2011 media guide.

CAVE’s CAREER stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS2008 1-02009 12-02010 13-132011 9-9TOTAL 35-22

73lAne ClellAnd

OT / 6-5 / 297 / Sr. / Owings Mills, Md. (McDonogh School)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Did not see game action during the regular season ... for a complete bio, go to page 24 of the 2011 media guide.

68



28 Austin Collinsworth

S / 6-1 / 200 / So. / Fort Thomas, Ky. (Highlands)

COLLinsWORtH’s HOnORs & AWARDsu Notre Dame’s Special Teams Player of the Year AwarduIndependent Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 7)

COLLinsWORtH’s CAREER HiGHsTackles: 4, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Solo Tackles: 3, twice (last at Michigan (Sept. 10, 2011)Assisted Tackles: 2, twice (last vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Tackles For Loss: NoneSacks: NoneInterceptions: NoneForced Fumbles: 1, vs. Utah (Nov. 13, 2010)Fumble Recoveries: NonePass Breakups: NoneKick Returns: 2, at Wake Forest (Nov. 5, 2011)Kick Return Yards: 67, at Wake Forest (Nov. 5, 2011)Longest Kick Return: 41, at Wake Forest (Nov. 5, 2011)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Participated in all 12 games this year, seeing action primarily on special teams and as a backup safety ... notched 17 tackles on the year ... had career-high four tackles in win against Navy (Oct. 29) ... produced career-highs in kick returns (2), yards (67) and long (41) in a win at Wake Forest (Nov. 5) ... returned three kicks, including a long of 24 yards against USF (Sept. 3) ... for a complete bio, go to page 25 of the 2011 media guide.

COLLinsWORtH’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2010 13-0 5 2 7 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 1 0-0 02011 12-0 12 5 17 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 25-0 17 7 24 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 1 0-0 0

COLLinsWORtH’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 UT-AT TT TFL SCK FF FR INT PBU BLKUSF 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Michigan 3-0 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Michigan State 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Pittsburgh 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Purdue 3-0 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Air Force 1-2 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0USC 1-0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Navy 2-2 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Wake Forest 1-0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0vs. Maryland 1-0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Boston College 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Stanford 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0* - games started

kiCk REtuRns nO YDs tD LGUSF 1 24 0 24at Michigan 1 -10 0 0Michigan State 0 0 0 0at Pittsburgh 1 10 0 10at Purdue 0 0 0 0Air Force 0 0 0 0USC 1 19 0 19Navy 1 33 0 33at Wake Forest 2 67 0 41vs. Maryland 0 0 0 0Boston College 0 0 0 0at Stanford 0 0 0 0

30 ben CounCell

OLB / 6-4.5 / 230 / Fr. / Asheville, N.C. (A.C. Reynolds)


60JordAn CowArt

LS / 6-2 / 215 / Jr. / Plantation, Fla. (St. Thomas Aquinas)

JUNIOR SEASON (2011): Saw action in eight games, serving as the team’s starting short snapper on field goals and extra points ... did not play vs. Air Force, USC, Navy or Wake Forest ... also served as the long snapper for punts for part of the year ... missed four games with a hand injury ... for a complete bio, go to page 25 of the 2011 media guide.

COWARt’s CAREER stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS2009 10-02010 13-02011 8-0TOTAL 31-0

69







98 seAn CwynAr

NG / 6-4 / 285 / Gr. / McHenry, Ill. (Marian Central Catholic)

CWYnAR’s CAREER HiGHsTackles: 6, twice (last vs. Utah, Nov. 13, 2010)Solo Tackles: 3, vs. Navy (Oct. 23, 2010)Assisted Tackles: 5, vs. Utah (Nov. 13, 2010)Tackles For Loss: 1.0, twice (last vs. Tulsa, Oct. 30, 2010)Sacks: NoneInterceptions: NoneForced Fumbles: 1, vs. Pittsburgh (Oct. 9, 2010)Fumble Recoveries: NonePass Breakups: None

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Saw action in 11 games, including a pair of starts against South Florida and Navy ... did not play at Michigan ... notched season-high of four tackles in home games against South Florida and Boston College ... had two-plus tackles in six games ... for a complete bio, go to page 28 of the 2011 media guide.

CWYnAR’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2008 Did Not Play2009 11-1 0 3 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 02010 13-4 9 24 33 3.0-6 0.0-0 0-0 0 1 0-0 02011 11-2 6 15 21 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 35-7 15 42 57 3.0-6 0.0-0 0-0 0 1 0-0 0

CWYnAR’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 UT-AT TT TFL SCK FF FR INT PBU BLK*USF 0-4 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Michigan Did Not PlayMichigan State 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Pittsburgh 1-0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Purdue 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Air Force 1-1 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0USC 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Navy 0-2 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Wake Forest 1-1 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0vs. Maryland 1-2 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Boston College 1-3 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Stanford 1-0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0* - games started

16 dAvAris dAniels

WR / 6-1.5 / 185 / Fr. / Vernon Hills, Ill. (Vernon Hills)


75 tAylor dever

OT / 6-5 / 301 / Gr. / Nevada City, Calif. (Nevada Union)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Started all 12 games at right tackle ... part of a unit that allowed only 13 sacks in 12 games during the regular season ... helped pave the way for a running game that averaged 5.0 yards a carry ... one of six fifth-year scholarship seniors on 2011 roster (Harrison Smith, David Ruffer, Mike Ragone, Gary Gray and Andrew Nuss are the others) ... for a complete bio, go to page 29 of the 2011 media guide.

DEVER’s CAREER stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS2007 DNP2008 12-02009 6-02010 11-102011 12-12TOTAL 41-22

80 tyler eifert

Te / 6-6 / 249 / Jr. / Ft. Wayne, Ind. (Bishop Dwenger)

EifERt’s HOnORs & AWARDsuWalter Camp First Team All-AmericanuMackey Award FinalistuMackey Award SemifinalistuRivals Third Team All-AmericanuMackey Award Watch ListuPhil Steele Third team All-AmericanuSporting News’ Midseason All-American First TeamuSI.com Honorable Mention All-AmericanuPhil Steele Midseason All-American First TeamuAP Second Team All-AmericanuCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Tight End (Nov. 27)uCollege Football Performance Awards National Tight End of the Week (Nov. 13)uCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Tight End (Nov. 6)uCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Tight End (Oct. 23)uCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Tight End (Oct. 9)uFBS Independent Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 25)uCollege Football Performance Awards National Tight End of the Week (Sept. 25)uCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Tight End (Sept. 5)

EifERt’s PLACE in tHE iRisH RECORD BOOksuSingle-Game Receptions By Tight End (Nov. 12, 2011 vs. Maryland, 8, t-2nd)uSingle-Game Receptions By Tight End (Oct. 8, 2011 vs. Air Force, 8, t-2nd)uSingle-Game Receptions By Tight End (Sept. 24, 2011 at Pittsburgh, 8, t-2nd)uSingle-Season Receptions By Tight End (2011, 57, 1st)uCareer Receptions By Tight End (2009-, 84, 5th)uSingle-Season Receiving Yards By Tight End (2011, 713, 2nd)uCareer Receiving Yards By Tight End (2009-, 1,065, 4th)

70



EifERt’s CAREER HiGHsReceptions: 8, three times (last vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 2011)Receiving Yards: 93 vs. USF (Sept. 3, 2011)Longest Reception: 39, vs. Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2010)Receiving Touchdowns: 1, seven times (last vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 2011)

JUNIOR SEASON (2011): Established himself as one of the top tight ends in the country, hauling in 57 catches for 713 yards and five touchdowns during the regular season ... named a finalist for the John Mackey Award, which is awarded to the nation’s top tight end ... started all 12 games for the Irish ... is first in the nation among TEs with 57 catches and is second with 713 yards ... had a catch in every game this season, and had at least two catches in 11 ... tied career high with eight catches in three contests ... eight catches in a game ties him with Kyle Rudolph (twice in 2010), John Carlson (2006), Anthony Fasano (2004) and Ken MacAfee (1977) for second most ever in a game by a Notre Dame tight end ... averaged over 15 yards a catch in five games, including four of the last five ... is first on the team in average per catch and second in catches, yards, TD receptions and yards a game ... named FBS Independent Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 25) and the College Football Performance Awards National Tight End of the Week (Sept. 25) after tying his career high with eight receptions, including four on the 11-play, 85-yard, go-ahead touch-down drive in the fourth quarter at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24) ... the four grabs totaled 34 yards ... also added a the two-point conversion reception to help secure the win ... tied career high in catches with eight for 81 yards and a TD against Air Force (Oct. 8) ... also notched eight catches, this time for 83 yards and a TD, in a win vs. Maryland (Nov. 12) ... named College Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Tight End (Sept. 5) after hauling in six receptions for 93 yards, including a 37-yard grab, in the season opener vs. USF (Sept. 3) ... for a complete bio, go to page 30 of the 2011 media guide.

EifERt’s CAREER RECEiVinG stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS REC YDS TD LG REC/G AVG/C AVG/G2009 1-0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.02010 11-8 27 352 2 39 2.5 13.0 32.02011 12-12 57 713 5 38 4.8 12.5 59.4TOTAL 24-20 84 1,065 7 39 3.5 12.7 44.4

EifERt’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 REC YDS AVG TD LG*USF 6 93 15.5 0 37*at Michigan 4 51 12.8 0 22*Michigan State 2 25 12.5 0 16*at Pittsburgh 8 75 9.4 1 18*at Purdue 4 38 9.5 1 13*Air Force 8 81 10.0 1 22*USC 7 66 9.4 0 11*Navy 1 17 17.0 0 17*at Wake Forest 3 60 20.0 1 38*vs. Maryland 8 83 10.3 1 34*Boston College 2 45 22.5 0 37*at Stanford 4 79 19.8 0 24* - games started

41 mAtthiAs fArley

WR / 5-10.5 / 194 / Fr. / Charlotte, N.C. (Christian)


46 steve filer

OLB / 6-3 / 245 / Sr. / Chicago, Ill. (Mount Carmel)

fiLER’s CAREER HiGHsTackles: 4, twice (last vs. Western Michigan, Oct. 16, 2010)Solo Tackles: 2, four times (last vs. Purdue, Oct. 1, 2011)Assisted Tackles: 4, vs. Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2010)Tackles For Loss: 1.0, twice (last vs. Michigan State, Sept. 17, 2011)Sacks: 1.0, vs. Washington State (Oct. 31, 2009)Interceptions: NoneForced Fumbles: 1, vs. Washington State (Oct. 31, 2009)Fumble Recoveries: NonePass Breakups: None

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Played in first nine games, primarily on special teams, before being sidelined with a season-ending injury ... notched five tackles on the year, including a tackle for loss ... registered tackle for loss in a win against Michigan State (Sept. 17) ... had a pair of tackles in a win at Purdue (Oct. 1) ... for a complete bio, go to page 30 of the 2011 media guide.

fiLER’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2008 11-0 1 0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 02009 12-0 7 10 17 1.5-11 1.5-11 0-0 0 1 0-0 02010 13-0 8 6 14 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 02011 9-0 3 2 5 1.0-3 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 43-0 19 18 37 2.5-14 1.5-11 0-0 0 1 0-0 0

fiLER’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 UT-AT TT TFL SCK FF FR INT PBU BLKUSF 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Michigan 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Michigan State 1-0 1 1.0-3 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Pittsburgh 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Purdue 2-0 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Air Force 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0USC 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Navy 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Wake Forest 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0vs. Maryland Did Not PlayBoston College Did Not Playat Stanford Did Not Play* - games started

71







45 dArius fleminG

OLB / 6-2 / 255 / Sr. / Chicago, Ill. (St. Rita)

fLEMinG’s HOnORs & AWARDsu Notre Dame’s Lineman of the Year AwarduButkus Award Watch List

fLEMinG’s PLACE in tHE iRisH RECORD BOOksuCareer Sacks (2008-, 15.0, 10th)

fLEMinG’s CAREER HiGHsTackles: 8, vs. USF (Sept. 3, 2011)Solo Tackles: 5, twice (last vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Assisted Tackles: 6, vs. USF (Sept. 3, 2011)Tackles For Loss: 3.0, twice (last at Pittsburgh, Sept. 24, 2011)Sacks: 2.0, three times (last at Pittsburgh, Sept. 24, 2011)Interceptions: 1, vs. Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2010)Forced Fumbles: 1, twice (last at Wake Forest, Nov. 5, 2011)Fumble Recoveries: NonePass Breakups: 2, twice (last at Purdue (Oct. 1, 2011)Blocks: 1, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Established himself as one of the top Irish defenders, starting all 12 games at outside linebacker ... had 54 tackles, including seven for loss ... also produced 3.5 QB sacks and had an interception, three pass breakups, a forced fumble and a blocked extra point ... remains Notre Dame’s active career leader in tackles for loss, yards from tackles for loss, total sacks and sack yardage ... named to the preseason Butkus Award Watch List ... had at least four tackles in nine games, including season-best eight in the season opener against South Florida (Sept. 3) ... had second career interception against Stanford (Nov. 26), returning it 34 yards into Cardinal territory ... notched four tackles and a sack in a win against Boston College (Nov. 19) ... had four tackles, including a career-high tying three for loss and two sacks, at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24) ... notched a pair of tackles and two pass breakups at Purdue (Oct. 1) ... recorded seven tackles, two quarterback hurries and an extra point block in a win vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011) ... caused second forced fumble of career to go along with four tackles in a win against Wake Forest (Nov. 5) ... for a complete bio, go to page 32 of the 2011 media guide.

fLEMinG’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2008 13-3 13 11 24 2.5-20 2.5-20 0-0 0 0 0-0 02009 11-7 21 9 30 12.0-35 3.0-19 0-0 0 1 0-0 02010 13-13 27 22 49 11.0-50 6.0-40 1-0 4 0 0-0 02011 12-12 23 31 54 7.0-26 3.5-17 1-34 3 1 0-0 1TOTAL 49-35 84 73 157 32.5-131 15.0-96 2-34 8 2 0-0 1

fLEMinG’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 UT-AT TT TFL SCK FF FR INT PBU BLK*USF 2-6 8 0.5-3 0.5-3 0 0-0 0-0 1 0*at Michigan 1-0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Michigan State 1-4 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Pittsburgh 3-1 4 3.0-12 2.0-8 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Purdue 1-1 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 2 0*Air Force 2-5 7 0.5-1 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 1*USC 3-3 6 1.0-1 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Navy 0-2 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Wake Forest 3-1 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0*vs. Maryland 0-5 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Boston College 1-3 4 1.0-6 1.0-6 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Stanford 5-0 5 1.0-3 0.0-0 0 0-0 1-34 0 0* - games started

3 miChAel floyd

WR / 6-3 / 224 / Sr. / St. Paul, Minn. (Cretin-Derham)

fLOYD’s HOnORs & AWARDsu Notre Dame’s Monogram Club Most Valuable Player AwarduBiletnikoff Award SemifinalistuPhil Steele Midseason All-American Second TeamuBiletnikoff Award Watch ListuWalter Camp Award Watch Listu Phil Steele Second team All-AmericanuMaxwell Award Watch Listu SI.com Honorable Mention All-AmericanuCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Wide Receiver (Sept. 5)uFBS Independent Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 5)uFBS Independent Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 12)uFBS Independent Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 31)u Pro Football Weekly Honorable Mention All-America

fLOYD’s PLACE in tHE iRisH RECORD BOOksuSingle-Game Yards/Reception (Sept. 5, 2009 vs. Nevada, 47.3, 1st)uSingle-Game Receptions (Sept. 11, 2011 at Michigan, 13, t-2nd)uSingle-Game Touchdown Receptions (Oct. 16, 2010 vs. Western Michigan, 3, t-2nd)uSingle-Game Touchdown Receptions (Sept. 5, 2009 vs. Nevada, 3, t-2nd)uSingle-Game Receptions (Oct. 1, 2011 at Purdue, 12, t-4th)uSingle-Game Receptions (Sept. 3, 2011 vs. USF, 12, t-4th)uSingle-Game Receptions (Nov. 27, 2010 at USC, 11, t-8th)uSingle-Game Receptions (Oct. 30, 2010 vs. Tulsa, 11, t-8th)uSingle-Game Receiving Yards (Sept. 5, 2009 vs. Nevada, 189, 10th)uSingle-Season Receptions (2011, 95, 1st)uSingle-Season Receptions (2010, 79, 3rd)uSingle-Season Receiving Yards/Game (2009, 113.6, 3rd)uSingle-Season 100-Yard Receiving Games (2009, 5, 4th)uSingle-Season Touchdown Receptions (2010, 12, 4th)uSingle-Season Receiving Yards (2011, 1,106, 6th)uSingle-Season 100-Yard Receiving Games (2008, 4, t-7th)uSingle-Season 100-Yard Receiving Games (2010, 4, t-7th)uSingle-Season 100-Yard Receiving Games (2011, 4, t-7th)uSingle-Season Receiving Yards (2010, 1,025, 8th)uSingle-Season Touchdown Receptions (2009, 9, t-9th)uCareer Receptions (2008-, 266, 1st)uCareer Receiving Yards (2008-, 3,645, 1st)uCareer Touchdown Receptions (2008-, 36, 1st)uCareer Receiving Yards/Game (2008-, 86.8, 1st)uCareer 100-Yard Receiving Games (2008-, 17, 1st)uCareer Touchdowns (2008-, 37, 3rd)uCareer All-Purpose Yards (2008-, 3,675, 10th)uCareer Scoring (2008-, 222, 9th)

fLOYD’s CAREER HiGHsReceptions: 13, at Michigan (Sept. 10, 2011)Receiving Yards: 189, vs. Nevada (Sept. 5, 2009)Longest Reception: 88, vs. Nevada (Sept. 5, 2009)Receiving Touchdowns: 3, twice (last vs. Western Michigan, Oct. 16, 2010)Carries: 1, three times (last vs. Navy, Oct. 29, 2011)Rushing Yards: 10, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Longest Rush: 10, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Rushing Touchdowns: 1 vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)

72



SENIOR SEASON (2011): Put together stellar senior season to establish himself as one of the best receiv-ers in the country ... ended regular season tied for seventh in the country in catches (95), 22nd in yards (1,106) and 24th in yards per game (92.2) ... 95 catches was a new school single-season record ... also ended regular season sixth in the country in receptions, fourth in yards, third in TDs, ninth in catches per game and seventh in yards per game among active players ... broke numerous school career records as a senior, including receptions, receiving yards, touchdown reception, receiving yards per game and 100-yard receiving games ... went over 3,500 career receiving yards and 1,000 yards for the season in a win vs. Boston College (Nov. 19) ... named to preseason Biletnikoff, Walter Camp and Maxwell Award Watch Lists and selected as a semifinalist for Biletnikoff Award ... turned in four double-digit catch games ... caught at least four balls in every game, including 10 games with five or more ... registered 12 catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener against USF (Sept. 3) ... following USF game, named College Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Wide Receiver (Sept. 5) and the FBS Independent Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 5) ... named FBS Independent Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 12) after re-cording career-high 13 receptions for 159 yards against Michigan (Sept. 10) ... notched 12 receptions for 137 yards and a TD in victory at Purdue (Oct. 1) ... turned in a six catch, 121 yard, one TD performance in a win against Navy (Oct. 29) ... also had first rushing TD of career against the Midshipmen (Oct. 29) ... also had TD catches against Air Force (Oct. 8), Wake Forest (Nov. 5), Maryland (Nov. 12) and Stanford (Nov. 26) ... for a complete bio, go to page 35 of the 2011 media guide.

fLOYD’s CAREER RECEiVinG stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS REC YDS TD LG REC/G AVG/C AVG/G2008 11-10 48 719 7 51 4.4 15.0 65.42009 7-7 44 795 9 88 6.3 18.1 113.62010 12-12 79 1025 12 80 6.6 13.0 85.42011 12-12 95 1106 8 56 7.9 11.6 92.2TOTAL 42-41 266 3645 36 88 6.3 13.7 86.8

fLOYD’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 REC YDS AVG TD LG*USF 12 154 12.8 2 26*at Michigan 13 159 12.2 0 25*Michigan State 6 84 14.0 0 33*at Pittsburgh 4 27 6.8 0 13*at Purdue 12 137 11.4 1 35*Air Force 6 78 13.0 1 34*USC 4 28 7.0 0 0*Navy 6 121 20.2 1 56*at Wake Forest 5 44 8.8 1 16*vs. Maryland 9 90 10.0 1 31*Boston College 10 92 9.2 0 18*at Stanford 8 92 11.5 1 25 * - games started

48 dAn fox

ILB / 6-3 / 240 / Jr. / Rocky River, Ohio (St. Ignatius)

fOx’s HOnORs & AWARDsu Notre Dame’s Defensive Newcomer of the Year Award

fOx’s CAREER HiGHsTackles: 7, vs. Navy (Oct. 23, 2010)Solo Tackles: 4, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)Assisted Tackles: 6, vs. Navy (Oct. 23, 2010)Tackles For Loss: 2.0, vs. Michigan (Sept. 10, 2010)Sacks: 1.0, vs. Michigan (Sept. 10, 2010)Interceptions: NoneForced Fumbles: 1, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)Fumble Recoveries: NonePass Breakups: 1, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)

JUNIOR SEASON (2011): Started all 12 games at inside linebacker during the regular season ... notched 46 tackles, including two for loss ... also turned in a sack, forced fumble and pass breakup ... had three or more tackles in 11 games, including seven with four or more ... had four tackles, including two for loss and a sack at Michigan (Sept. 10) ... registered career-high six tackles in a victory vs. Air Force (Oct. 8) ... had four tackles and first career forced fumble in a win against Maryland (Nov. 12) ... produced four tackles and first career pass breakup against Stanford (Nov. 26) ... for a complete bio, go to page 36 of the 2011 media guide.

fOx’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2009 Did Not Play2010 13-0 9 11 20 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 02011 12-12 20 26 46 2.0-6 1.0-5 0-0 1 1 0-0 0TOTAL 25-12 29 37 66 2.0-6 1.0-5 0-0 1 1 0-0 0

fOx’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 UT-AT TT TFL SCK FF FR INT PBU BLK*USF 0-3 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Michigan 3-1 4 2.0-6 1.0-5 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Michigan State 1-4 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Pittsburgh 2-1 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Purdue 2-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Air Force 2-4 6 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*USC 2-3 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Navy 1-2 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Wake Forest 1-3 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*vs. Maryland 3-1 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0*Boston College 1-2 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Stanford 2-2 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 1 0* - games started

73







88 JAke GoliC

Te / 6-4 / 245 / Jr. / West Hartford, Conn. (Northwest Catholic)

JUNIOR SEASON (2011): Saw action in three games in a reserve role ... for a complete bio, go to page 36 of the 2011 media guide.

57 mike GoliC Jr.

C / 6-3 / 295 / Sr. / West Hartford, Conn. (Northwest Catholic)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Played in 11 games, did not play vs. USC primarily on special teams, before starting the final three games of the regular season at center, replacing injured starter Braxston Cave ... for a complete bio, go to page 37 of the 2011 media guide.

GOLiC JR.’s CAREER stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS2008 Did Not Play2009 3-02010 12-02011 11-3TOTAL 26-3

5 everett Golson

QB / 6-0 / 185 / Fr. / Myrtle Beach, S.C. (Myrtle Beach)

GOLsOn’s’ HOnORs & AWARDsu Notre Dame’s Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year Award


81 John GoodmAn

WR / 6-3 / 207 / Sr. / Fort Wayne, Ind. (Bishop Dwenger)

GOODMAn’s CAREER HiGHsReceptions: 5, twice (last vs. Stanford, Sept. 25, 2010)Receiving Yards: 73, vs. Washington State (Oct. 31, 2009)Longest Reception: 64, vs. Washington State (Oct. 31, 2009)Receiving Touchdowns: 1, vs. Washington State (Oct. 31, 2009)Carries: 1, twice (last vs. USC, Oct. 17, 2009)Rushing Yards: 13, vs. USC (Oct. 17, 2009)Longest Rush: 13, vs. USC (Oct. 17, 2009)Pass Attempts: 1, twice (last vs. Western Michigan, Oct. 16, 2010) Pass Completions: 1, vs. Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2010)Passing Yards: 32, vs. Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2010)Passing Touchdowns: 1, vs. Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2010)Longest Completion: 32, vs. Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2010)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Played in all 12 games, serving as a punter returner and reserve wide receiver for the Irish ... returned punts in four games, with a long return of 13 against Michigan (Sept. 10) ... caught passes in six games, with a long of 17 in a win at Wake Forest (Nov. 5) ... for a complete bio, go to page 37 of the 2011 media guide.

GOODMAn’s CAREER RECEiVinG stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS REC YDS TD LG REC/G AVG/C AVG/G2008 Did Not Play2009 9-1 6 104 1 64 0.7 17.3 11.62010 13-3 15 146 0 30 1.2 9.7 11.22011 12-0 7 65 0 17 0.6 9.3 5.4TOTAL 34-4 28 315 1 64 0.8 11.2 9.3

GOODMAn’s CAREER REtuRn stAtsYEAR KR YDS AVG TD LG PR YDS AVG TD LG2008 Did Not Play2009 0 0 0.0 0 0 5 56 11.2 0 242010 0 0 0.0 0 0 13 17 1.3 0 132011 0 0 0.0 0 0 8 5 0.6 0 13TOTAL 0 0 0.0 0 0 26 78 3.0 0 24

GOODMAn’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 REC YDS AVG TD LGUSF 0 0 0.0 0 0at Michigan 0 0 0.0 0 0Michigan State 0 0 0.0 0 0at Pittsburgh 0 0 0.0 0 0at Purdue 1 8 8.0 0 8 Air Force 1 8 8.0 0 8USC 0 0 0.0 0 0Navy 2 15 7.5 0 0at Wake Forest 1 17 17.0 0 17vs. Maryland 1 11 11.0 0 11Boston College 0 0 0.0 0 0at Stanford 1 6 6.0 0 6* - games started

74



Punt REtuRns nO YDs tD LGUSF 0 0 0 0at Michigan 3 10 0 13Michigan State 2 -3 0 1at Pittsburgh 1 1 0 1at Purdue 2 -3 0 0Air Force 0 0 0 0USC 0 0 0 0Navy 0 0 0 0at Wake Forest 0 0 0 0vs. Maryland 0 0 0 0 Boston College 0 0 0 0 at Stanford 0 0 0 0

59 JArrett GrACe

ILB / 6-2.5 / 240 / Fr. / Cincinnati, Ohio (Colerain)


4 GAry GrAy

CB / 5-11 / 195 /Gr. / Columbia, S.C. (Richland Northeast)

GARY GRAY’s CAREER HiGHsTackles: 12, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)Solo Tackles: 8, vs. Purdue (Sept. 4, 2010)Assisted Tackles: 5, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)Tackles For Loss: 1.0, five times (last vs. Army, Nov. 20, 2010)Sacks: NoneInterceptions: 1, six times (last at Purdue, Oct. 1, 2011)Interception Return Yards: 41, vs. Michigan (Sept. 13, 2008)Longest Interception Return: 41, vs. Michigan (Sept. 13, 2008)Forced Fumbles: 1, vs. Western Michigan (Oct. 16, 2010)Fumble Recoveries: 1, at Wake Forest (Nov. 5, 2011)Pass Breakups: 2, twice (last vs. Air Force, Oct. 8, 2011)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Started all 12 games for the Irish at cornerback ... had 60 tackles during the regular season, good for fourth on the team ... also had two interceptions, fumble recovery and five pass breakups ... notched two double-digit tackle games, including a career-high 12 against USC (Oct. 22) ... recorded five tackles or more in eight games ... had 10 tackles and a pass breakup in a win vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17) ... recorded interceptions in games at Michigan (Sept. 10) and at Purdue (Oct. 1) ... one of six fifth-year seniors on scholarship on the 2011 Irish roster (Harrison Smith, David Ruffer, Mike Ragone, Gary Gray and Taylor Dever are the others) ... for a complete bio, go to page 39 of the 2011 media guide.

GARY GRAY’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2007 Did Not Play2008 9-0 15 0 15 0.0-0 0.0-0 2-65 2 0 0-0 02009 11-7 17 11 28 0.0-0 0.0-0 1-30 1 0 0-0 02010 13-13 48 18 66 5.0-10 0.0-0 1-23 7 1 0-0 02011 12-12 43 17 60 0.5-1 0.0-0 2-13 5 0 1-0 0TOTAL 45-32 123 46 169 5.5-11 0.0-0 6-131 15 1 1-0 0

GARY GRAY’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 UT-AT TT TFL SCK FF FR INT PBU BLK*USF 5-0 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Michigan 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 1-0 0 0*Michigan State 7-3 10 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 1 0*at Pittsburgh 4-1 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Purdue 1-0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 1-13 0 0*Air Force 3-2 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 2 0*USC 7-5 12 0.5-1 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Navy 2-0 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 1 0*at Wake Forest 3-0 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 1-0 0-0 1 0*vs. Maryland 5-1 6 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Boston College 1-4 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Stanford 5-1 6 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0* - games started

25 JonAs GrAy

RB / 5-10 / 230 / Sr. / Pontiac, Mich. (Detroit Country Day School)

JOnAs GRAY’s HOnORs & AWARDsu Notre Dame’s Offensive Newcomer of the YearuCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Running Back (Oct. 30)

JOnAs GRAY’s PLACE in tHE iRisH RECORD BOOksuSingle-Game Rushing Touchdowns (Oct. 29, 2011 vs. Navy, 3, t-7th)uSingle-Season Average Yards/Rush (2011, 6.94, 6th)uSingle-Season Rushing Touchdowns (2011, 12, t-9th)

JOnAs GRAY’s CAREER HiGHsCarries: 21, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)Rushing Yards: 136, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)Longest Rush: 79, at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24, 2011)Rushing Touchdowns: 3, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Receptions: 2, twice (last vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)Receiving Yards: 42, at Purdue (Sept. 26, 2009)Longest Reception: 23, at Purdue (Sept. 26, 2009)Receiving Touchdowns: NoneKickoff Returns: 1, three times (last vs. Stanford, Oct. 25, 2010)Kickoff Return Yards: 16, vs. Stanford (Oct. 25, 2010)Longest Kickoff Return: 16, vs. Stanford (Oct. 25, 2010)All-Purpose Yards: 141, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)

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SENIOR SEASON (2011): Had a breakout senior season, playing in 11 games and starting four before a knee injury forced him to miss the Stanford game ... provided a powerful one-two punch at running back with teammate Cierre Wood ... averaged an impressive 6.9 yards a carry, which was ninth nationally ... average ranked sixth in Notre Dame history ... finished season with 791 yards rushing and 12 TDs ... the 12 TDs placed in the top 30 nationally and tied him for ninth place in Notre Dame single-season history ... set season-bests in all rushing categories ... set career standards in carries (21) and rushing yards (136) to go along with two TDs in a win vs. Maryland (Nov. 12) ... rushed for a then career-best 94 yards on a then career-high 15 carries and a TD in a victory at Purdue (Oct. 1) ... ran for a then career-high 84 yards on three carries, including a career-best 79-yard run at Pittsburgh (Sept. 10) ... the 79-yard run was the longest by an Irish player since Terrance Howard went 80 yards for a touchdown at West Virginia on Oct. 21, 2000 ... recorded first multi-TD game of career against Air Force (Oct. 8) ... had stellar game against Navy, rushing 12 times for 69 yards and a career-best three TDs (Oct. 29) ... the three TDs tied him for seventh in Notre Dame single-game history ... totted the rock a then career-high 19 times for 92 yards and a TD in a win at Wake Forest (Nov. 5) ... had 61 yards and a TD in a win vs. Boston College before going out with an injury ... for a complete bio, go to page 40 of the 2011 media guide.

JOnAs GRAY’s CAREER RusHinG stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS ATT YDS TD LG AVG/C AVG/G2008 7-0 21 90 0 19 4.3 12.92009 8-1 34 119 0 19 3.5 14.92010 7-0 20 100 0 36 5.0 14.32011 11-4 114 791 12 79 6.9 71.9TOTAL 33-5 189 1100 12 79 5.8 33.3

JOnAs GRAY’s CAREER RECEiVinG stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS REC YDS TD LG REC/G AVG/C AVG/G2008 7-0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.02009 8-1 4 54 0 23 0.5 13.5 6.82010 7-0 1 13 0 13 0.1 13.0 1.92011 11-4 6 38 0 15 0.5 6.3 3.5TOTAL 33-5 11 105 0 23 0.3 9.5 3.2

JOnAs GRAY’s GAME-BY-GAME2011 ATT YDS AVG TD LG REC YDS AVG TD LGUSF 4 17 4.3 0 10 0 0 0.0 0 0at Michigan 6 66 11.0 0 38 1 15 15.0 0 15Michigan State 12 65 5.4 0 14 0 0 0.0 0 0at Pitt 3 84 28.0 1 79 0 0 0.0 0 0at Purdue 15 94 6.3 1 18 0 0 0.0 0 0 Air Force 7 69 9.9 2 20 0 0 0.0 0 0USC 4 38 9.5 1 25 2 3 1.5 0 2*Navy 12 69 5.8 3 13 0 0 0.0 0 0 *at Wake Forest 19 92 4.8 1 25 0 0 0.0 0 0*vs. Maryland 21 136 6.5 2 19 1 5 5.0 0 5*Boston College 11 61 5.5 1 26 2 15 7.5 0 12at Stanford Did Not Play* - games started

65 Conor hAnrAtty

OG / 6-4.5 / 315 / Fr. / New Canaan, Conn. (New Canaan)


34 eilAr hArdy

S / 5-11.5 / 177 / Fr. / Reynoldsburg, Ohio (Pickerington Central)


77 mAtt heGArty

OT / 6-4.5 / 291 / Fr. / Aztec, N.M. (Aztec)


51 bruCe heGGie

C-G / 6-5 / 280 / So. / Sorrento, Fla. (Mount Dora)

FRESHMAN SEASON (2011): Participated in two games Air Force and Maryland in a reserve role ... for a complete bio, go to page 42 of the 2011 media guide.

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12 Andrew hendrix

QB / 6-2 / 220 / So. / Cincinnati, Ohio (Moeller)

HEnDRix’ PLACE in tHE iRisH RECORD BOOksuSingle-Game Quarterback Rushing Yards (Oct. 8, 2011 vs. Air Force, 111, 5th)

HEnDRix’s CAREER HiGHsCarries: 12, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Rushing Yards: 111, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Rushing Touchdowns: 1, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Longest Rush: 78, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Pass Attempts: 24, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Pass Completions: 11, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Passing Yards: 192, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Long Completion: 45, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Passing Touchdowns: 1, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Completion Percentage: 100.0 (4-for-4), vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Passing Yards Per Attempt: 8.25, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Passing Yards Per Completion: 17.5, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Passing Efficiency: 169.30, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Interceptions: 1, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2011): Saw action in four games as a change of pace quarterback, before start-ing the second half of the Stanford game ... passed for 225 yards and a TD on 29 attempts, while rushing for 136 yards and a TD on 21 attempts ... saw first action of career against Air Force in reserve duty ... made presence known with 78-yard run in game ... ended contest with 111 yards rushing on six carries ... also went 4-for-4 (33 yards) through the air ... started the second half against the Cardinal, completing 11 passes for 192 yards and a TD, while running for 20 yards and a TD on 12 carries ... for a complete bio, go to page 42 of the 2011 media guide.

HEnDRix’s CAREER OffEnsiVE stAtistiCs PASSING RUSHINGYEAR G-GS COMP ATT INT PCT YDS TD ATT YDS AVG TD2010 Did Not Play2011 4-0 15 29 1 51.7 225 1 21 136 6.5 1TOTAL 4-0 15 29 1 51.7 225 1 21 136 6.5 1

HEnDRix’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs PASSING RUSHING2011 C-A-INT PCT YDS TD ATT YDS AVG TDUSF Did Not Playat Michigan Did Not PlayMichigan State Did Not Playat Pittsburgh Did Not Playat Purdue Did Not PlayAir Force 4-4-0 100.0 33 0 6 111 18.5 0USC 0-1-0 0.0 0 0 2 4 2.0 0Navy Did Not Playat Wake Forest Did Not Playvs. Maryland 0-0-0 0.0 0 0 1 1 1.0 0Boston College Did Not Playat Stanford 11-24-1 45.8 192 1 12 20 1.7 1* - games started

50 ChAse hounshell

De / 6-4.5 / 265 / Fr. / Kirtland, Ohio (Lake Catholic)

FRESHMAN SEASON (2011): Competed in six games in a reserve role for the Irish, tallying four tackles ... played against Air Force, USC, Navy, Maryland, Boston College and Stanford ... all four tackles came in a victory vs. Air Force (Oct. 8) ... had one solo and three assisted tackles ... for a complete bio, go to page 76 of the 2011 media guide.

2 bennett JACkson

CB / 6-0 / 185 / So. / Hazlet, N.J. (Raritan)

JACksOn’s PLACE in tHE iRisH RECORD BOOksuSingle-Game Kickoff Returns (Oct. 23, 2010 vs. Navy, 6, t-3rd)uSingle-Game Kickoff Returns (Oct. 30, 2010 vs. Tulsa, 6, t-3rd)uSingle-Season Kickoff Returns (2010, 29, 4th)uCareer Kickoff Returns (2010-, 32, t-10th)uSingle-Season Kickoff Return Yards (2010, 645, 5th)uSingle-Season Kickoff/Punt Return Yards (2010, 645, 10th)

JACksOn’s CAREER HiGHsTackles: 4, vs. Purdue (Sept. 4, 2010)Kick Returns: 6, twice (last vs. Tulsa, Oct. 30, 2010)Kick Return Yards: 126, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)Longest Kickoff Return: 43, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2011): Played in all 12 regular season games, primarily on special teams ... notched 16 tackles ... also returned three kickoffs for 32 yards ... had a pair of kickoff returns for 31 yards against South Florida (Sept. 3) ... notched three tackles against Purdue (Oct. 1) and Air Force (Oct. 8) ... also had two tackles against USF (Sept. 3) and Wake Forest (Nov. 5) ... for a complete bio, go to page 42 of the 2011 media guide.

JACksOn’s CAREER RusHinG stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS ATT YDS TD LG AVG/C AVG/G2010 13-0 1 20 0 20 20.0 1.52011 12-0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0TOTAL 25-0 1 20 0 20 20.0 0.8

JACksOn’s CAREER REtuRn stAtistiCsYEAR KR YDS AVG TD LG PR YDS AVG TD LG2010 29 645 22.2 0 43 0 0 0.0 0 02011 3 32 10.7 0 17 0 0 0.0 0 0TOTAL 32 677 21.2 0 43 0 0 0.0 0 0

JACksOn’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2010 13-0 9 1 10 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 02011 12-0 10 6 16 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 25-0 19 7 26 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0

77







JACksOn’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 UT-AT TT KR KR YDS TDS AVG LGUSF 1-1 2 2 31 0 15.5 17at Michigan 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Michigan State 0-0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0at Pittsburgh 1-0 1 0 0 0 0.0 0at Purdue 3-0 3 0 0 0 0.0 0Air Force 3-0 3 1 1 0 1.0 1USC 0-0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0Navy 1-2 3 0 0 0 0.0 0at Wake Forest 0-2 2 0 0 0 0.0 0vs. Maryland 1-0 1 0 0 0 0.0 0Boston Coll. 0-1 1 0 0 0 0.0 0at Stanford 0-0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0* - games started

90 ethAn Johnson

De / 6-4 / 300 / Sr. / Portland, Ore. (Lincoln)

JOHnsOn’s HOnORs & AWARDsuHendricks Award Watch List

JOHnsOn’s CAREER HiGHsTotal Tackles: 6, vs. Connecticut (Nov. 21, 2009)Solo Tackles: 5, at USC (Nov. 29, 2008)Assisted Tackles: 4, twice (last vs. Western Michigan, Oct. 16, 2010)Tackles For Loss: 2.0, three times (last vs. Purdue, Sept. 4, 2010)Sacks: 2.0, twice (last vs. Purdue, Sept. 4, 2010)Interceptions: NoneForced Fumbles: 1, vs. Washington (Oct. 3, 2009)Fumble Recoveries: 1, four times (last vs. Michigan State, Sept. 17, 2011)Pass Breakups: 2, at Michigan State (Sept. 20, 2008)Blocked Kicks: 1, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 19, 2009)

JUNIOR SEASON (2011): Started eight games, missing four in the middle of the year with a leg injury ...did not play vs. Air Force, USC, Navy or Wake Forest ... tallied 14 tackles, including a tackle for loss ... also had a fumble recovery and a pass breakup ... had season-high four tackles in the season opener against South Florida (Sept. 3) ... tallied a pair of tackles, three QB hurries, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery in a win vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17) ... for a complete bio, go to page 43 of the 2011 media guide.

JOHnsOn’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2008 13-4 9 9 18 5.0-21 3.5-17 0-0 2 0 0-0 02009 12-11 15 16 31 6.5-39 4.0-32 0-0 1 1 2-0 12010 13-13 13 21 34 6.0-21 5.0-19 0-0 2 0 1-0 02011 8-8 6 8 14 1.0-2 0.0-0 0-0 1 0 1-0 0TOTAL 46-36 43 54 97 18.5-83 12.5-68 0-0 6 1 4-0 1

JOHnsOn’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 UT-AT TT TFL SCK FF FR INT PBU BLK*USF 1-3 4 1.0-2 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Michigan 2-0 2 0.0-0 1.0-5 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Michigan State 0-2 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 1-0 0-0 1 0*at Pittsburgh 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Purdue 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Air Force Did Not PlayUSC Did Not PlayNavy Did Not Playat Wake Forest Did Not Play*vs. Maryland 1-0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Boston College 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Stanford 2-1 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0* - games started

7 tJ Jones

WR / 5-11 / 187 / So. / Gainesville, Ga. (Gainesville)

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2011): Started 11 games did not start vs. USF ... and appeared in all 12, setting career highs in receptions (37) and yards (359) ... also caught three TD passes ... caught a pass in every game, and notched three or more catches in eight games ... had season-bests in catches (6) and yards (58) in season opener against South Florida (Sept. 3) ... caught TD passes against Michigan (Sept. 10), Michigan State (Sept. 17) and Purdue (Oct. 1) ... for a complete bio, go to page 45 of the 2011 media guide.

JOnEs’ CAREER HiGHsReceptions: 6, vs. USF (Sept. 3, 2011)Receiving Yards: 73, vs. Michigan (Sept. 11, 2010)Longest Reception: 53, vs. Michigan (Sept. 11, 2010)Receiving Touchdowns: 1, six times (last at Purdue, Oct., 2011)All-Purpose Yards: 73, vs. Michigan (Sept. 11, 2010)

JOnEs’ CAREER RECEiVinG stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS REC YDS TD LG REC/G AVG/C AVG/G2010 12-7 23 306 3 53 1.9 13.3 25.52011 12-11 37 359 3 26 3.1 9.7 29.9TOTAL 24-18 60 665 6 53 2.5 11.1 27.7

JOnEs’ GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 REC YDS AVG TD LG*USF 6 58 9.7 0 23*at Michigan 3 28 9.3 1 15*Michigan State 3 40 13.3 1 26*at Pittsburgh 3 31 10.3 0 14*at Purdue 5 49 9.8 1 16Air Force 1 23 23.0 0 23*USC 2 23 11.5 0 16*Navy 3 28 9.3 0 13*at Wake Forest 3 16 5.3 0 8*vs. Maryland 2 19 9.5 0 13*Boston College 5 42 8.4 0 18*at Stanford 1 2 2.0 0 2* - games started

78



50 ryAn kAvAnAGh

LS / 6-3 / 200 / Sr. / West Chester, Pa. (Salesianum (Del.))

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Served as the team’s holder on extra points and field goals and as the long snapper on punts for the second half of the season ... quick snaps helped allow for zero blocked punts ... efficient holds helped see only one blocked kick on the year, as kickers went 10-for-15 on field goals and a perfect 46-for-46 on extra points ... recorded an assisted tackle in a win at Wake Forest.

18 ben koyACk

Te / 6-5 / 253 / Fr. / Oil City, Pa. (Oil City Senior)

FRESHMAN SEASON (2011): Played in 11 games, while starting the game against Air Force (Oct. 8), as a freshman ... did not play vs. USF ... caught one pass for five yards in a win at Pittsburgh ... for a complete bio, go to page 76 of the 2011 media guide.

89 kApron lewis-moore

De / 6-4 / 300 / Sr. / Weatherford, Texas (Weatherford)

LEWis-MOORE’s HOnORs & AWARDsuHendricks Award Watch List

LEWis-MOORE’s CAREER HiGHsTotal Tackles: 10, vs. Navy (Oct. 23, 2010)Solo Tackles: 4, six times (last at Pittsburgh, Sept. 24, 2011)Assisted Tackles: 8, vs. Utah (Nov. 13, 2010)Tackles For Loss: 2.0, vs. Washington (Oct. 3, 2009)Sacks: 1.0, five times (last vs. Air Force, Oct. 8, 2011)Interceptions: NoneForced Fumble: 1, three times (last at Michigan, Sept. 10, 2011)Fumble Recoveries: 1, twice (last vs. Pittsburgh, Oct. 9, 2010)Pass Breakups: 1, three times (last at Purdue, Oct. 1, 2011)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Started the first seven games of the year before suffering a season-ending knee injury against USC (Oct. 22) ... tallied 32 tackles, including four for loss, before suffering the injury ... also had 1.5 sacks, two pass breakups and a forced fumble ... had four or more tackles in six games ... turned in season-best seven tackles, including 1.5 for loss and half a sack, against USF (Sept. 3) ... registered four solo tackles in the victory at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24) ... recorded four tackles, half a tackle for loss, one forced fumble and one pass breakup at Michigan (Sept. 10) ... had four tackles and a sack in a victory over Air Force (Oct. 8) ...notched six tackles against USC (Oct. 22) before being injured ... for a complete bio, go to page 46 of the 2011 media guide.

LEWis-MOORE’s CAREER stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2008 Did Not Play2009 12-9 26 20 46 7.0-23 2.5-12 0-0 0 1 1-0 02010 13-13 20 42 62 2.5-19 2.0-19 0-0 1 1 1-0 02011 7-7 16 16 32 4.0-19 1.5-7 0-0 2 1 0-0 0TOTAL 32-29 62 78 140 13.5-61 6.0-38 0-0 3 3 2-0 0

LEWis-MOORE’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 UT-AT TT TFL SCK FF FR INT PBU BLK*USF 1-6 7 1.5-7 0.5-3 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Michigan 3-1 4 0.5-3 0.0-0 1 0-0 0-0 1 0*Michigan State 2-3 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Pittsburgh 4-0 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Purdue 2-0 2 1.0-5 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 1 0*Air Force 2-2 4 1.0-4 1.0-4 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*USC 2-4 6 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Navy Did Not Playat Wake Forest Did Not Playvs. Maryland Did Not PlayBoston College Did Not Playat Stanford Did Not Play* - games started

74 ChristiAn lombArd

OT / 6-5 / 301 / So. / Inverness, Ill. (Fremd)

SOPHMORE SEASON (2011): Backup offensive tackle and special teams performer who played in all 12 games ... for a complete bio, go to page 47 of the 2011 media guide.

19 AAron lynCh

De / 6-6 / 265 / Fr. / Cape Coral, FL (Island Coast)

LYnCH’s HOnORs & AWARDsu Phil Steele First team Freshman All-Americanu Scouts Inc. #3 Freshman All-American

LYnCH’s CAREER HiGHsTotal Tackles: 6, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Solo Tackles: 5, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)Assisted Tackles: 3, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17, 2011)Tackles For Loss: 1.0, four times (last at Stanford, Nov. 26, 2011)Sacks: 1.0, four times (last at Wake Forest, Nov. 5, 2011)Interceptions: NoneForced Fumble: 1, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17, 2011)Fumble Recoveries: NonePass Breakups: 1, at Wake Forest (Nov. 5, 2011)QB Hurries: 6, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17, 2011)

79







FRESHMAN SEASON (2011): Opposing defensive end that turned in a strong freshman campaign, start-ing five games and playing in 11 ... did not play at Michigan ... started against Air Force, USC, Wake Forest, Boston College and Stanford ... registered 28 tackles, including five and a half for loss totaling 27 yards ... also registered four sacks, two pass breakups and a forced fumble ... showed a knack for rushing the quar-terback, tallying 13 QB hurries, which was tops on the team ... turned in strong all around game in a win vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17), tallying five tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a season-best six QB hurries ... had two tackles and a sack in a win at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24) ... followed up with three tackles and a sack in a win at Purdue (Oct. 1) ... had three tackles, a sack and a pass breakup in a win at Wake Forest (Nov. 5) ... notched five tackles in a win vs. Maryland (Nov. 12) ... registered a season-high six tackles, including half a tackle for loss at Stanford (Nov. 26) ... for a complete bio, go to page 77 of the 2011 media guide.

LYnCH’s CAREER stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2011 11-5 17 11 28 5.5-27 4.0-24 0-0 2 1 0-0 0TOTAL 11-5 17 11 28 5.5-27 4.0-24 0-0 2 1 0-0 0

LYnCH’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 ut-At tt tfL sCk ff fR int PBu BLkUSF 0-1 1 0.5-1 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Michigan Did Not PlayMichigan State 2-3 5 1.0-7 1.0-7 1 0-0 0-0 0 0at Pittsburgh 2-0 2 1.0-9 1.0-9 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Purdue 3-0 3 1.0-2 1.0-2 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Air Force 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*USC 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Navy 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Wake Forest 2-1 3 1.0-6 1.0-6 0 0-0 0-0 1 0vs. Maryland 5-0 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Boston College 0-1 1 0.5-1 0-0 0 0-0 0-0 1 0*at Stanford 3-3 6 0.5-1 0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0* - games started

72 niCk mArtin

OL / 6-4.5 / 280 / Fr. / Indianapolis, Ind. (Bishop Chatard)

FRESHMAN SEASON (2011): Younger brother of starting offensive tackle Zack Martin ... did not see any action during the regular season.

70 zACk mArtin

OT / 6-4 / 303 / Jr. / Indianapolis, Ind. (Bishop Chatard)

JOHnsOn’s HOnORs & AWARDsuNotre Dame’s Guardian of the Year AwarduOutland Trophy Watch List

JUNIOR SEASON (2011): Started all 12 games at left tackle ... part of a unit that only allowed 13 sacks in 12 games during the regular season ... helped pave the way for a running game that averaged 5.0 yards a carry ... older brother of freshman offensive lineman Nick Martin.

MARtin’s CAREER stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS2009 Did Not Play2010 13-132011 12-12TOTAL 25-25

14 luke mAssA

WR / 6-4 / 220 / So. / Cincinnati, Ohio (St. Xavier)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Saw action in seven games during the regular season, primarily on special teams ... did not play in first four games or at Wake Forest ... for a complete bio, go to page 48 of the 2011 media guide.

15 dAn mCCArthy

S / 6-2 / 205 / Sr. / Youngstown, Ohio (Cardinal Mooney)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Played in 11 games during the regular season ... did not play at Wake Forest ... saw action primarily on special teams and as a reserve safety ... produced nine tackles ... had four tackles each against Air Force (Oct. 8) and Navy (Oct. 29) ... for a complete bio, go to page 48 of the 2011 media guide.

MCCARtHY’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2009 5-0 1 0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 02010 7-0 3 2 5 0.5-1 0.0-0 0-0 0 1 0-0 02011 11-0 2 7 9 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 23-0 6 9 15 0.5-1 0.0-0 0-0 0 1 0-0 0

80



33 CAm mCdAniel

RB / 5-10 / 192 / Fr. / Coppell, Texas (Coppell)

FRESHMAN SEASON (2011): Played in seven games during the regular season ... did not play in first four games or against Navy ... saw time on special teams and at running back in a reserve role ... had three carries for nine yards and two kick returns for 24 yards ... also tallied a pair of tackles ... for a complete bio, go to page 77 of the 2011 media guide.

MCDAniEL‘s CAREER RusHinG stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS ATT YDS TD LG AVG/C AVG/G2011 7-0 3 9 0 12 3.0 1.3TOTAL 7-0 3 9 0 12 3.0 1.3

MCDAniEL’s CAREER REtuRn stAtsYEAR KR YDS AVG TD LG PR YDS AVG TD LG2011 2 24 12.0 0 18 0 0 0.0 0 0TOTAL 2 24 12.0 0 18 0 0 0.0 0 0

MCDAniEL’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2011 7-0 1 1 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 7-0 1 1 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0

54 Anthony mCdonAld

ILB / 6-2 / 238 / Sr. / Burbank, Calif. (Notre Dame High School)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Played in four games during the regular season ... played against Michigan State, Purdue, Navy and Wake Forest ... tallied three tackles on the year, with all three coming in a win against Navy (Oct. 29) ... for a complete bio, go to page 49 of the 2011 media guide.

MCDOnALD’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2008 Did Not Play2009 12-0 5 5 10 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 02010 11-0 6 5 11 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 02011 4-0 1 2 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 27-0 12 12 24 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0

8 kendAll moore

ILB / 6-1 / 242 / So. / Cary, N.C. (Southeast Raleigh)

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2011): Played in all 12 games during the regular season, seeing action on spe-cial teams and as a reserve linebacker ... tallied 10 tackles and two tackles for loss on the year ... had season-high four tackles, including a tackle for loss, in a win vs. Maryland (Nov. 12) ... also had a tackle for loss in a win vs. Navy (Oct. 29) ... for a complete bio, go to page 50 of the 2011 media guide.

MOORE’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2011 12-0 7 3 10 2.0-3 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 12-0 7 3 10 2.0-3 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0

17 zeke mottA

S / 6-2 / 215 / Jr. / Vero Beach, Fla. (Vero Beach)

MOttA’s CAREER HiGHsTotal Tackles: 11, at Michigan State (Sept. 18, 2010)Solo Tackles: 5, at Michigan State (Sept. 18, 2010)Assisted Tackles: 6, at Michigan State (Sept. 18, 2010)Tackles For Loss: 1.0, vs. Pittsburgh (Oct. 9, 2010)Sacks: 0.5, vs. Washington State (Oct. 31, 2009)Interceptions: 1, twice (last at Michigan, Sept. 10, 2011Forced Fumble: 1, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Fumble Recoveries: 1, vs. Stanford (Sept. 25, 2010Pass Breakups: 1, three times (last vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 2011)

JUNIOR SEASON (2011): Played in all 12 games this season, starting seven at safety ... tallied 38 tackles, an interception, a pass breakup and a forced fumble ... had three or more tackles in six games ... had three six-tackle games ... had six tackles in games against Michigan State (Sept. 17), Boston College (Nov. 19) and Stanford (Nov. 26) ... had second career interception at Michigan (Sept. 10) ... forced first career fumble at Stanford (Nov. 26) ... for a complete bio, go to page 50 of the 2011 media guide.

MOttA’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2009 12-0 6 6 12 0.5-1 0.5-1 0-0 0 0 0-0 02010 13-8 30 20 50 1.5-1 0.0-0 1-0 2 0 1-0 02011 12-7 15 23 38 0.0-0 0.0-0 1-0 1 1 0-0 0TOTAL 37-15 51 49 100 2.0-2 0.5-1 2-0 3 1 1-0 0

MOttA’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 ut-At tt tfL sCk ff fR int PBu BLkUSF 1-4 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Michigan 1-0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 1-0 0 0Michigan State 1-5 6 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Pittsburgh 2-0 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Purdue 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Air Force 1-2 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*USC 0-2 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Navy 1-3 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Wake Forest 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*vs. Maryland 2-0 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 1 0*Boston College 2-4 6 0.5-3 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Stanford 4-2 6 0.0-0 0.0-0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 * - games started

81







17 mAtthew mulvey

QB / 6-2 / 191 / Sr. / Del Mar, Calif. (La Jolla)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Walk-on quarterback who saw late game snaps in a win at Purdue (Oct. 1).

99 brAndon newmAn

NG / 6-0 / 303 / Sr. / Louisville, Ky. (Pleasure Ridge Point)

nEWMAn’s HOnORs & AWARDsuNotre Dame’s Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year Award

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2011): Saw action in Navy game (Oct. 29) as a reserve defensive lineman ... for a complete bio, go to page 51 of the 2011 media guide.

64 tAte niChols

0T/G / 6-8 / 320 / So. / Walton, Ky. (Ryle)

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2011): Did not see any game action during the regular season ... for a com-plete bio, go to page 52 of the 2011 media guide.

58 troy niklAs

OLB / 6-6 .5/ 250 / Fr. / Fullerton, Calif. (Servite)

nikLAs’ CAREER HiGHsTackles: 4, vs. Boston College (Nov. 19, 2011)Solo Tackles: 2, twice (last vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Assisted Tackles: 4, vs. Boston College (Nov. 19, 2011)Tackles For Loss: 0.5, vs. Boston College (Nov. 19, 2011)Sacks: NoneForced Fumbles: NoneFumble Recoveries: 1, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Pass Breakups: NoneInterceptions: None

FRESHMAN SEASON (2011): Played in all 12 games for the Irish during the regular season, starting the game against Michigan State (Sept. 17) ... had career-high four tackles and a half tackle for loss in a win vs. Boston College (Nov. 19) ... had two tackles and first career fumble recovery in a win vs. Navy (Oct. 29) ... had three tackles in start against the Spartans ... for a complete bio, go to page 77 of the 2011 media guide.

nikLAs’ CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2011 12-1 8 12 20 0.5-3 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 1-0 0TOTAL 12-1 8 12 20 0.5-3 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 1-0 0

nikLAs’ GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 ut-At tt tfL sCk ff fR int PBu BLkUSF 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Michigan 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Michigan State 0-3 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Pittsburgh 1-0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Purdue 2-0 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Air Force 1-1 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0USC 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Navy 2-0 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 1-0 0-0 0 0at Wake Forest 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0vs. Maryland 1-1 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Boston College 0-4 4 0.5-3 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Stanford 1-1 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0* - games started

9 louis nix iii

NG / 6-3 / 326 / So. / Jacksonville, Fla. (Raines)

nix iii CAREER HiGHsTotal Tackles: 6, twice (last vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Solo Tackles: 2, four times (last at Stanford, Nov. 26, 2011)Assisted Tackles: 5, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Tackles For Loss: 1.5, at Stanford (Nov. 26, 2011)Sacks: 0.5, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Interceptions: NoneForced Fumble: NoneFumble Recoveries: NonePass Breakups: 1, vs. Boston College (Nov. 19, 2011)

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2011): Started 10 games at nose guard while playing in all 12 during the regu-lar season ... did not play vs. USF or Navy ... collected 40 tackles, including four for loss ... also had a pass breakup and half a sack ... had nine games with two or more tackles and six of four or more ... had a pair of six tackle games ... opened career with six tackles, including a half tackle for loss against South Florida (Sept. 3) ... tied career high in tackles with six, including a half tackle for loss and a half sack in a win against Navy (Oct. 29) ... had four tackles, including a career-high 1.5 tackles for loss, against Stanford (Nov. 26) ... notched five tackles, including a tackle for loss and a pass breakup in a win vs. Boston College (Nov. 19) ... for a complete bio, go to page 52 of the 2011 media guide.

nix iii CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2010 Did Not Play2011 12-10 12 30 42 4.0-8 0.5-1 0-0 1 0 0-0 0TOTAL 12-10 12 30 42 4.0-8 0.5-1 0-0 1 0 0-0 0

82



nix iii GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 ut-At tt tfL sCk ff fR int PBu BLkUSF 1-5 6 0.5-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Michigan 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Michigan State 0-3 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Pittsburgh 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Purdue 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Air Force 1-1 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*USC 0-4 4 0.5-1 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Navy 1-5 6 0.5-1 0.5-1 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Wake Forest 2-2 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*vs. Maryland 2-1 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Boston College 1-4 5 1.0-3 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 1 0*at Stanford 2-2 4 1.5-3 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0* - games started

76 Andrew nuss

OG / 6-5 / 303 / Gr. / Ashburn, Va. (Stone Bridge)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Competed in all 12 games as a reserve offensive lineman and on special teams units ... one of six fifth-year seniors on scholarship on the 2011 Irish roster (Harrison Smith, David Ruffer, Mike Ragone, Gary Gray and Taylor Dever are the others) ... for a complete bio, go to page 52 of the 2011 media guide.

nuss’ CAREER stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS2007 Did Not Play2008 3-02009 10-02010 13-02011 12-0TOTAL 38-0

36 dAvid p0sluszny

ILB / 6-0 / 235 / Sr. / Aliquippa, Pa. (Hopewell)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Played in nine games during the regular season, seeing action on special teams and as a reserve linebacker ... did not play vs. USF, USC or Navy ... had a pair of tackles in a win vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17) ... also had a tackle against Michigan (Sept. 10) and Purdue (Oct. 1) ... for a complete bio, go to page 53 of the 2011 media guide.

POsLusznY’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2009 10-0 2 1 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 02010 6-0 0 1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 02011 9-0 1 3 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 25-0 3 5 8 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0

79 JordAn prestwood

OT / 6-5 / 287 / Fr. / Plant City, Fla. (Plant City)

FRESHMAN SEASON (2011): Did not see any game action during the regular season.

56 Anthony rAbAsA

ILB / 6-3 / 240 / Fr. / Miami, Fla. (Columbus)

FRESHMAN SEASON (2011): Did not see any game action during the regular season.

83







83 mike rAGone

Te / 6-4 / 250 / Gr. / Cherry Hill, N.J. (Camden Catholic)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Saw action in the first two games of the season against South Florida (Sept. 3) and Michigan (Sept. 10) ... had one catch for 10 yards against the Bulls ... missed last 10 games after suffering season ending knee injury ... for a complete bio, go to page 53 of the 2011 media guide.

RAGOnE’s CAREER RECEiVinG stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS REC YDS TD LG REC/G AVG/C AVG/G2007 11-0 1 7 0 7 0.1 7.0 0.62008 Did Not Play2009 12-7 6 60 0 30 0.5 10.0 5.02010 12-2 3 32 0 12 0.2 10.7 2.7 2011 2-0 1 10 0 10 0.5 10.0 5.0TOTAL 37-9 11 109 0 30 0.3 9.9 2.9

11 tommy rees

QB / 6-2 / 215 / So. / Lake Forest. Ill. (Lake Forest)

REEs’ HOnORs & AWARDsuFBS Independent Offensive Player of the Week (Nov. 14)uCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Quarterback (Oct. 9)uFBS Independent Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 11)

REEs’ PLACE in tHE iRisH RECORD BOOksuSingle-Game Consecutive Completions (Nov. 12, 2011 vs. Maryland, 14, t-1st)uSingle-Game Pass Completions (Oct. 30, 2010 vs. Tulsa, 33, 2nd)uSingle-Game Pass Attempts (Oct. 30, 2010 vs. Tulsa, 54, 6th)uSingle-Game Touchdown Passes (Oct. 30, 2010 vs. Tulsa, 4, t-6th)uSingle-Game Touchdown Passes (Oct. 8, 2011 vs. Air Force, 4, t-6th)uSingle-Game Pass Completions (Nov. 12, 2011 vs. Maryland, 30, t-9th)uSingle-Game Consecutive Passes Without Interception (Oct. 1, 2011 at Purdue, 40, t-10th)uSingle-Season Consecutive Completions (2011, 14, t-1st)uSingle-Season Completion Percentage (2011, 65.9, 2nd)uSingle-Season Consecutive Passes Without Interception (2011, 135, 3rd)uSingle-Season Completions/Game (2011, 21.1, 4th)uSingle-Season Pass Completions (2011, 253, 5th)uSingle-Season Pass Attempts (2011, 384, 5th)uSingle-Season Touchdown Passes (2011, 19, t-5th)uSingle-Season Total Offense Plays (2011, 411, 6th)uSingle-Season Pass Attempts/Game (2011, 32.0, 6th)uSingle-Season Passing Yards (2011, 2,708, 6th)uSingle-Season Total Offense Yards (2011, 2,680, 7th)uSingle-Season Completion Percentage (2010, 61.0, 7th)uSingle-Season 300-Yard Passing Games (2011, 1, t-7th)uSingle-Season 300-Yard Passing Games (2010, 1, t-7th)uSingle-Season Passing Yards/Game (2011, 225.7, 8th)uSingle-Season Total Yards/Game (2011, 223.3, 9th)uCareer Completion Percentage (2010-, 64.4, 1st)uCareer Pass Attempts/Game (2010-, 26.1, 3rd)uCareer Completions/Game (2010-, 16.8, 3rd)uCareer Passing Yards/Game (2010-, 181.6, 3rd)uCareer 300-Yard Passing Games (2010-, 2, t-3rd)

uCareer Total Yards/Game (2010-, 180.2, 5th)uCareer Pass Completions (2010-, 353, 6th)uCareer Total Yards/Attempt (2010-, 6.45, 6th)uCareer Touchdown Passes (2010-, 31, t-6th)uCareer Pass Attempts (2010-, 548, 8th)uCareer Efficiency Rating (2010-, 134.3, 9th)u Lowest Career Interception Percentage (2010-, 3.65, 9th)uCareer Passing Yards (2010-, 3,814, 10th)

REEs’ CAREER HiGHsCarries: 5, at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24, 2011)Rushing Yards: 6, twice (last vs. USC, Oct. 22, 2011)Rushing Touchdowns: NoneLongest Rush: 12, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)Pass Attempts: 54, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)Pass Completions: 33, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)Passing Yards: 334, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)Long Completion: 56, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Passing Touchdowns: 4, twice (last vs. Air Force, Oct. 8, 2011)Completion Percentage: 85.7 (6-for-7), vs. Navy (Oct. 23, 2010)Passing Yards Per Attempt: 10.77, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Passing Yards Per Completion: 16.5, vs. Army (Nov. 20, 2010)Passing Efficiency: 181.64, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011)Interceptions: 3, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2011): Started 11 games for the Irish, while appearing in all 12 ... took over for then-starter Dayne Crist at halftime of South Florida game, and started the remaining 11 regular season games ... boasts a 12-3 record as a starter ... passed for over 200 yards in eight games ... threw multiple TDs in six games ... threw a touchdown pass in 11 straight games from last season to this season, which ranks third for the longest streak in school history ... has thrown for 2,708 yards and 19 TDs on the year ... completed 65.9% of passes ... put together strong game in a 38-10 victory over Purdue (Oct. 1), throwing for 254 yards and three scores ... tied career-high with four touchdown passes, all coming in the first half, in a victory over Air Force (Oct. 8) ... four TD passes in first half tied with Brady Quinn for most in a half in Irish history ... named College Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Quarterback and FBS Independent Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 11) for effort against the Falcons ... produced most efficient game of season in win vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011), going 30-for-38 (79.0%) for 296 yards and two TDs ... named FBS Independent Offensive Player of the Week (Nov. 14) for performance against the Terrapins ... threw for 315 yards and three TDs at Michigan (Sept. 10) ... also had two TD tosses against South Florida (Sept. 3) and Wake Forest (Nov. 5) ... for a complete bio, go to page 54 of the 2011 media guide.

REEs’ CAREER OffEnsiVE stAtistiCs PASSING RUSHINGYEAR G-GS COMP ATT INT PCT YDS TD ATT YDS AVG TD2010 9-4 100 164 8 61.0 1106 12 12 -2 -0.2 02011 12-11 253 384 12 65.9 2708 19 27 -28 -1.0 -2.3TOTAL 21-15 353 548 20 64.4 3814 31 39 -30 -0.8 -1.4

REEs’ GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs PAssinG RusHinG2011 C-A-int PCt LG YDs tD Att YDs AVG tDUSF 24-34-2 70.6 37 296 2 2 1 0.5 0*at Michigan 27-39-2 69.2 29 315 3 2 -2 -1.0 0*Michigan State 18-26-1 69.2 33 161 1 4 -7 -1.8 0*at Pitt 24-42-1 57.1 19 216 1 5 6 1.2 0*at Purdue 24-40-0 60.0 35 254 3 1 3 3.0 0*Air Force 23-32-0 72.0 34 261 4 0 0 0.0 0*USC 23-37-1 62.2 25 190 0 1 6 6.0 0*Navy 16-22-1 72.7 56 237 1 1 -9 -9.0 0*at Wake Forest 14-23-2 60.9 38 166 2 2 2 1.0 0*vs. Maryland 30-38-0 79.0 34 296 2 5 -21 -4.2 0*Boston College 24-39-1 61.5 37 256 0 1 3 3.0 3*at Stanford 6-13-1 46.2 23 60 0 3 -16 -3.3 0* - games started

84



6 theo riddiCk

WR / 5-11 / 198 / Jr. / Manville, N.J. (Immaculta)

RiDDiCk’s PLACE in tHE iRisH RECORD BOOksuSingle-Game Kickoff Returns (Oct. 3, 2009 vs. Washington, 6, t-3rd)uSingle-Game Kickoff Returns (Nov. 28, 2009 at Stanford, 6, t-3rd)uSingle-Season Kickoff Returns (2009, 37, 1st)uCareer Kickoff Returns (2009-, 47, t-5th)uSingle-Season Kickoff Return Yards (2009, 849, 1st)uCareer Kickoff Return Yards (2009-, 1,051, 8th)uSingle-Season Kickoff/Punt Return Yards (2009, 849, 3rd)uCareer Kickoff/Punt Return Yards (2009-, 1,049, 10th)

RiDDiCk’s CAREER HiGHsCarries: 9, vs. Washington State (Oct. 31, 2009)Rushing Yards: 51, vs. Washington State (Oct. 31, 2009)Rushing Touchdowns: NoneLongest Rush: 24, at Purdue (Sept. 26, 2009)Receptions: 10, at Michigan State (Sept. 18, 2010)Receiving Yards: 128, at Michigan State (Sept. 18, 2010)Receiving Touchdowns: 2, at Michigan (Sept. 10, 2011)Longest Reception: 37, vs. Michigan (Sept. 11, 2010)Kick Returns: 6, vs. Washington (Oct. 3, 2009)Kick Return Yards: 129, vs. Washington (Oct. 3, 2009)Kick Return Touchdowns: NoneLongest Kick Return: 38, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 19, 2009)Punt Returns: 2, vs. USF (Sept. 3, 2011)Punt Return Yards: -2, vs. USF (Sept. 3, 2011)Punt Return Touchdowns: NoneLongest Punt Return: -2, vs. USF (Sept. 3, 2011)All-Purpose Yards: 152, vs. Navy (Nov. 7, 2009)

JUNIOR SEASON (2011): Played in 10 games during the regular season, starting the first nine before missing two with injury ... proved to be a reliable No. 2 wide receiver, hauling in 36 catches for 429 yards and three TDs ... had seven games with two or more catches ... produced six games with 50 or more yards receiving ... recorded six receptions for 62 yards and two touchdowns at Michigan (Sept. 17), including 29-yard grab late in the fourth quarter to give Irish a 31-28 lead ... collected six more catches (52 yards) in the victory at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24) ... notched season-highs of eight catches and 83 yards with a TD in a victory over Air Force (Oct. 8) ... had a pair of catches for 67 yards against Stanford (Nov. 26) ... for a complete bio, go to page 55 of the 2011 media guide.

RiDDiCk’s CAREER RECEiVinG stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS REC YDS TD LG REC/G AVG/C AVG/G2009 12-1 6 43 0 16 0.5 7.2 3.62010 9-8 40 414 3 37 4.4 10.4 46.02011 10-9 36 429 3 45 3.6 11.9 42.9TOTAL 31-18 82 886 6 45 2.6 10.8 28.6

RiDDiCk’s CAREER RusHinG stAtistiCsYEAR ATT YDS TD LG AVG/C AVG/G2009 29 160 0 24 5.5 13.32010 11 29 0 18 2.6 3.22011 6 27 0 14 4.5 2.7TOTAL 46 216 0 24 4.7 7.0

RiDDiCk’s CAREER REtuRn stAtsYEAR KR YDS AVG TD LG PR YDS AVG TD LG2009 37 849 22.9 0 38 0 0 0.0 0 02010 2 36 18.0 0 19 0 0 0.0 0 02011 8 166 20.8 0 34 2 -2 -1.0 0 0TOTAL 47 1051 22.4 0 38 2 -2 -1.0 0 0

RiDDiCk’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 REC YDs AVG tD LG*USF 3 32 10.7 0 27*at Michigan 6 62 10.3 2 29*Michigan State 1 7 7.0 0 7*at Pittsburgh 6 52 8.7 0 19*at Purdue 0 0 0.0 0 0*Air Force 8 83 10.4 1 24 *USC 5 56 11.2 0 25*Navy 4 58 14.5 0 37*at Wake Forest 1 12 12 0 12vs. Maryland Did Not PlayBoston College Did Not Playat Stanford 2 67 33.5 0 45* - games started

31 CAmeron robinson

RB / 6-0 / 218 / So. / Newbury Park, Calif. (Newbury Park)

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2011): Did not see any game action during the regular season ... for a com-plete bio, go to page 57 of the 2011 media guide.

78 trevor robinson

OG / 6-5 / 311 / Sr. /elkhorn, Ne. (elkhorn)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Started all 12 games at right guard ... part of a unit that allowed only 13 sacks in 12 games during the regular season ... helped pave the way for a running game that averaged 5.0 yards a carry ... for a complete bio, go to page 57 of the 2011 media guide.

ROBinsOn’s CAREER stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS2008 11-32009 11-112010 13-132011 12-12TOTAL 47-39

85







97 dAvid ruffer

PK / 6-1 / 193 / Gr. / Oakton, Va. (Gonzaga)

RuffER’s HOnORs & AWARDsuFBS Independent Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 21)uCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Place Kicker (Nov. 20)uFBS Independent Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 14)uLou Groza Award Watch List

RuffER’s PLACE in tHE iRisH RECORD BOOksuSingle-Season Scoring (2010, 91, 7th)uSingle-Season Field Goals (2010, 18, t-3rd)uSingle-Season Field Goal Percentage (2010, .947, 1st)uSingle-Season Consecutive Field Goals (2010, 18, 1st)uCareer Consecutive Field Goals (2009-10, 23, 1st)uCareer Consecutive Games With a Field Goal (2009-10, 11, 2nd)uSingle-Season Extra Points (2011, 45-45, t-4th)uCareer Consecutive Extra Points (2010-11, 61, 4th)uSingle-Season Extra Points Attempted (2011, 45-45, t-8th)uSingle-Season Extra Point Percentage (2011, 45-45, t-1st)uSingle-Season Points (2010, 91, 1st)uSingle-Season Points (2011, 75, 9th)uCareer Points (2008-, 190, 7th)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Notre Dame’s starting place kicker for the second season in a row ... named to the preseason Lou Groza Award Watch List ... was 10-for-15 on the year in field goals with a long of 52 ... perfect on extra points, going 45-for-45, including 8-for-8 in a win over Navy (Oct. 29, 2011) and 6-for-6 in a victory over Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011) ... booted career-long 52-yard field goal in victory over Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011) ... named FBS Independent Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 14) after game against the Terrapins ... notched three field goals, including the game-winner with 8:08 left in the game, in a win vs. Boston College (Nov. 19, 2011) ... named College Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Place Kicker (Nov. 20) and FBS Independent Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 21) after performance against the Eagles ... one of six fifth-year seniors on scholarship on 2011 Irish roster (Harrison Smith, Mike Ragone, Andrew Nuss, Gary Gray and Taylor Dever are the others) ... for a complete bio, go to page 58 of the 2011 media guide.

RuffER’s CAREER stAtistiCs FIELD GOALS XP KICKOFFSYEAR G M-A PCT LG M-A PCT PTS ATT YDS AVG TB2008 1-0 0-0 .000 - 0-1 .000 0 0 0 - 02009 7-0 5-5 1.000 42 9-10 .900 24 35 2174 62.1 22010 13-0 18-19 .947 50 37-40 .925 91 65 4182 64.3 102011 12-0 10-15 .667 52 45-45 1.000 75 2 31 15.5 0Total 32-0 33-38 .868 52 89-94 .947 188 101 6370 63.1 12

FIELD GOALS BREAKDOwNYEAR 0-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+ LG BLKD2009 0-0 2-2 1-1 2-2 0-0 42 02010 1-1 3-3 7-8 5-5 2-2 50 02011 0-0 3-5 3-5 3-4 1-1 52 0Total 1-1 8-10 11-14 10-11 3-3 52 0

24 Chris sAlvi

S / 5-10 / 190 / Sr. / Lake Forest, Ill. (Carmel Catholic)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Played in all 12 regular season games as a member of the special teams unit ... tallied nine tackles ... had two each in wins over Air Force (Oct. 8), Navy (Oct. 29) and Maryland (Nov. 12) ... also had a tackle against Michigan State (Sept. 17), Purdue (Oct. 1) and Wake Forest (Nov. 5).

sALVi’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2010 9-0 1 1 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 02011 12-0 3 6 9 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 12-0 3 6 9 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0

96 konA sChwenke

De / 6-4 / 285 / So. / Hauula, Hawaii (Kahuku)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Played in three games during the regular season Purdue, Wake Forest and Maryland ... for a complete bio, go to page 59 of the 2011 media guide.

sCHWEnkE’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2010 5-0 2 0 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 1-0 02011 3-0 0 0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 8-0 2 0 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 1-0 0

55 prinCe shembo

OLB / 6-2 / 250 / So. / Charlotte, N.C. (Ardrey Kell)

sHEMBO’s CAREER HiGHsTackles: 6, at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24, 2011)Solo Tackles: 5, at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24, 2011)Assisted Tackles: 4, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Tackles For Loss: 2.0, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)Sacks: 2.0, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)Forced Fumbles: 1, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)Fumble Recoveries: NonePass Breakups: NoneInterceptions: None

86



SENIOR SEASON (2011): Appeared in 11 games for the Irish, while starting eight ...did not play vs. Michigan State ... did not start vs. Air Force, Maryland or Boston College ... notched six games of three tackles or more ... ended regular season with 29 tackles, including four for loss ... also had a pair of sacks ... had a career-high six tackles at Pittsburgh and also had a sack for an 11-yard loss (Sept. 24) ... registered four tackles and a sack in a win at Wake Forest (Nov. 5) ... for a complete bio, go to page 59 of the 2011 media guide.

sHEMBO’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2010 13-0 6 9 15 5.0-40 4.5-39 0-0 0 1 0-0 02011 11-8 15 14 29 3.5-18 2.0-15 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 24-8 21 23 44 8.5-58 6.5-54 0-0 0 1 0-0 0

sHEMBO’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 ut-At tt tfL sCk ff fR int PBu BLk*USF 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Michigan 1-0 1 1.0-2 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Michigan State Did Not Play*at Pittsburgh 5-1 6 1.0-11 1.0-11 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Purdue 2-1 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Air Force 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*USC 3-1 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Navy 0-4 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Wake Forest 3-1 4 1.0-4 1.0-4 0 0-0 0-0 0 0vs. Maryland 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Boston College 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Stanford 2-1 3 0.5-1 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0* - games started

26 JAmoris slAuGhter

S / 6-0 / 198 / Sr. / Stone Mountain, Ga. (Tucker)

sLAuGHtER’s HOnORs & AWARDsuFBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 11)

sLAuGHtER’s CAREER HiGHsTackles: 8, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)Solo Tackles: 4, vs. Army (Nov. 20, 2010)Assisted Tackles: 5, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011) Tackles for Loss: 1.0, twice (last vs. Boston College, Nov. 19, 2011)Sacks: NoneInterceptions: 1, twice (last vs. Air Force (Oct. 8, 2011) Longest Interception Return: 26, vs. Stanford (Sept. 25, 2010)Interception Return Yards: 26, vs. Stanford (Sept. 25, 2010)Pass Breakups: 1, five times (last vs. USC, Oct. 22, 2011)Forced Fumbles: 1, vs. Air Force (Oct. 8)Fumble Recoveries: None

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Started nine games at safety, while appearing in all 12 ... did not start vs. Pittsburgh, USC or Stanford ...tallied 40 tackles, including two for loss ... also had an interception, forced fumble and two pass breakups ... had five games with four or more tackles ... had career game against Air Force (Oct. 8), notching six tackles, while forcing a fumble and intercepting a pass ... named FBS Indepen-dent Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 11) following performance against the Falcons ... notched career high in tackles with eight against USC (Oct. 22) ... had five tackles, including first-career tackle for loss, in a victory over Navy (Oct. 29) ... also had four tackles in a win vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17) and at Stanford (Nov. 26) ... for a complete bio, go to page 60 of the 2011 media guide.

sLAuGHtER’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2008 Did Not Play2009 12-1 12 2 14 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 02010 11-5 20 11 31 0.0-0 0.0-0 1-26 3 0 0-0 02011 12-9 20 20 40 2.0-3 0.0-0 1-0 2 1 0-0 0TOTAL 35-15 52 33 85 2.0-3 0.0-0 2-26 5 1 0-0 0

sLAuGHtER’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 ut-At tt tfL sCk ff fR int PBu BLk*USF 2-0 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Michigan 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Michigan State 2-2 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Pittsburgh 1-1 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Purdue 1-0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Air Force 2-4 6 0.0-0 0.0-0 1 0-0 1-0 1 0USC 3-5 8 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 1 0*Navy 2-3 5 1.0-2 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Wake Forest 0-2 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*vs. Maryland 1-0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Boston College 2-1 3 1.0-1 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Stanford 4-1 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0* - games started

87 dAniel smith

WR / 6-4 / 215 / So. / South Bend, Ind. (Clay)

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2011): Saw action in two games, recording a tackle in a win vs. Navy (Oct. 29) ... for a complete bio, go to page 61 of the 2011 media guide.

22 hArrison smith

S / 6-2 / 214 / Sr. / Knoxville, Tenn. (Knoxville Catholic)

HARRisOn sMitH’s HOnORs & AWARDsuNotre Dame’s Nick Pietrosante AwarduIndependent Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 7)uPhil Steele Midseason All-American Third TeamuNagurski Trophy Watch ListuThorpe Award Watch List

HARRisOn sMitH’s PLACE in tHE iRisH RECORD BOOksuCareer Tackles (2007-, 303, 10th)uSingle-Season Tackles By Defensive Back (2010, 93, 5th)uSingle-Season Tackles By Defensive Back (2011, 84, 9th)uCareer Tackles By Defensive Back (2007-, 217, 5th)uSingle-Game Interceptions (Dec. 31, 2010 vs. Miami, Fla., 3, t-1st)uSingle-Season Interceptions (2010, 7, t-6th)uSingle-Season Pass Breakups (2011, 10, t-6th)uCareer Pass Breakups (2007-, 28, 2nd)

87







HARRisOn sMitH’s CAREER HiGHsTackles: 14, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)Solo Tackles: 8, at Wake Forest (Nov. 5, 2011)Assisted Tackles: 7, four times (last vs. USC, Oct. 22, 2011)Tackles for Loss: 2.0, twice (last vs. Navy, Nov. 7, 2009)Sacks: 2.0, at Washington (Oct. 25, 2008) Interceptions: 3, vs. Miami (Fla.) (Dec. 31, 2010)Longest Interception Return: 23, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)Interception Return Yards: 23, at Boston College (Oct. 2, 2010)Pass Breakups: 5, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17, 2011)Forced Fumbles: 1, vs. Boston College (Oct. 24, 2009)Fumble Recoveries: None

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Turned in another All-America caliber season at safety, starting all 12 games and tallying 84 tackles and breaking up 10 passes ... named to the preseason Nagurski Trophy and Thorpe Award Watch Lists ... selected to Phil Steele’s Midseason All-American Third Team ... had three double-digit tackle games and had nine games with five or more tackles ... team leader with 37 career starts and 46 overall ... became 11th player in Notre Dame history with 300 tackles, surpassing the mark against Stanford (Nov. 26) ... had eight tackles and a career-high five pass breakups vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17) ... notched career-high 14 tackles vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011) ... had 11 tackles and a tackle for loss in a win at Wake Forest (Nov. 5) ... selected as Independent Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 7) after performance against the Demon Deacons ... had 12 tackles in a win against Air Force (Oct. 29) ... for a complete bio, go to page 61 of the 2011 media guide.

HARRisOn sMitH’s CAREER stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2007 Did Not Play2008 13-9 39 18 57 8.5-39 3.5-26 0-0 7 0 0-0 02009 12-12 39 30 69 6.5-12 0.0-0 0-0 4 1 0-0 02010 13-13 56 37 93 0.5-1 0.0-0 7-54 7 0 0-0 02011 12-12 49 35 84 2.0-8 0.0-0 0-0 10 1 1-0 0TOTAL 50-46 183 120 303 17.5-60 3.5-26 7-54 28 2 1-0 0

HARRisOn sMitH’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 ut-At tt tfL sCk ff fR int PBu BLk*USF 3-3 6 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Michigan 4-1 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Michigan State 4-4 8 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 5 0*at Pittsburgh 4-2 6 1.0-4 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Purdue 3-0 3 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 1 0*Air Force 7-5 12 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 1 0*USC 7-7 14 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 1 0*Navy 3-1 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 1 0*at Wake Forest 8-3 11 1.0-4 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*vs. Maryland 3-2 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Boston College 2-5 7 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Stanford 2-2 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 1 1-0 0-0 1 0* - games started

13 dAnny spond

OLB / 6-2 / 242 / So. / Littleton, Col. (Columbine)

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2011): Played in nine games, primarily on special teams and also as a reserve linebacker ... did not play vs. Michigan state, Pittsburgh or Purdue ... had 13 tackles, including seven solo ... had career-best six tackles in a win vs. Maryland (Nov. 12) ... also notched three tackles in a win vs. Navy (Oct. 29) and two tackles in a win vs. Air Force (Oct. 8) ... chipped in with a half tackle for loss against the Falcons (Oct. 8) ... for a complete bio, go to page 63 of the 2011 media guide.

sPOnD’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2010 8-0 1 0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 02011 9-0 7 6 13 0.5-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 17-0 8 6 14 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0

69 tony sprinGmAnn

De / 6-5.5 / 280 / Fr. / Fort Wayne, Ind. (Bishop Dwenger)

FRESHMAN SEASON (2011): Did not see any game action during the regular season ... for a complete bio, go to page 78 of the 2011 media guide.

92 tyler stoCkton

NG / 6-0 / 302 / Jr. / Linwood, N.J. (Hun School)

JUNIOR SEASON (2011): Did not see any game action during the regular season ... for a complete bio, go to page 64 of the 2011 media guide.

stOCktOn’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2010 6-0 1 0 1 1.0-4 1.0-4 0-0 0 0 0-0 02011 0-0 0 0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 6-0 1 0 1 1.0-4 1.0-4 0-0 0 0 0-0 0

88



40 niCk tAusCh

PK / 6-0 / 190 / Jr. / Plano, Texas (Jesuit)

tAusCH’s PLACE in tHE iRisH RECORD BOOksuSingle-Game Field Goals (Oct. 3, 2009 vs. Washington, 5, t-1st)uSingle-Season Field Goals (2009, 14, t-6th)uSingle-Season Consecutive Field Goals (2009, 14, 2nd)uCareer Consecutive Field Goals (2009, 14, 2nd)uSingle-Game Points (Oct. 3, 2009 vs. Washington, 17, t-1st)

JUNIOR SEASON (2011): Did not see any game action during the regular season ... for a complete bio, go to page 64 of the 2011 media guide.

tAusCH’s CAREER stAtistiCs FIELD GOALS XP KICKOFFSYEAR G M-A PCT LG M-A PCT PTS ATT YDS AVG TB2009 9-0 14-17 .824 46 27-30 .900 69 35 2164 61.8 02010 3-0 1-1 1.000 34 0-0 .000 3 8 443 55.4 0Total 12-0 15-18 .833 46 27-30 .900 72 43 2607 60.6 0

FIELD GOALS BREAKDOwNYEAR 0-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+ LG BLKD2009 0-0 5-6 6-7 3-4 0-0 46 02010 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 34 0Total 0-0 5-6 7-8 3-4 0-0 46 0

5 mAnti te’oILB / 6-2 / 255 / Jr. / Laie, Hawaii (Punahou)

tE’O’s HOnORs & AWARDsuNotre Dame’s Rockne Student-Athlete of the Year AwarduCapital One Academic All-America Second TeamuAcademic All-District VuWalter Camp Second Team All-Americanu Rivals Second Team All-AmericanuLott Trophy Finalistu Phil Steele Second team All-AmericanuButkus Award FinalistuLombardi Award Semifinalistu SI.com Second Team All-AmericanuLott Trophy Semifinalistu AP Second Team All-AmericanuButkus Award SemifinalistuPhil Steele Midseason All-American First TeamuFBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 21)uFBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 31)uCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Linebacker (Oct. 30)uFBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 3)uBednarik Award Watch ListuButkus Award Watch ListuRotary Lombardi Award Watch ListuNagurski Trophy Watch List

tE’O’s PLACE in tHE iRisH RECORD BOOksuSingle-Game Tackles (Sept. 25, 2010 vs. Stanford, 21, 6th)uCareer Tackles (2009-, 307, 8th)

tE’O’s CAREER HiGHsTackles: 21, Stanford (Sept. 25, 2010) (8 solo, 13 assisted)Solo Tackles: 8, three times (last at Pittsburgh, Sept. 23, 2011)Assisted Tackles: 13, vs. Stanford (Sept. 25, 2010)Tackles For Loss: 3.0, at Purdue (Oct. 1, 2011)Sacks: 1.0, five times (last at Purdue, Oct. 1, 2011)Forced Fumbles: 1, vs. Michigan (Sept. 11, 2010)Pass Breakups: 1, six times (last vs. Air Force, Oct. 8, 2011)

JUNIOR SEASON (2011): All-America linebacker who started all 12 games at inside linebacker, tally-ing 111 tackles with 12 tackles for loss ... named finalist for some of college football’s most prestegious awards including the Lott and Butkus Awards after being named to numerous preseason awards lists and All-American scrolls ... was a semifinalist for the Bednarik, Butkus and Lombardi Awards and was a quarter-finalist for the Lott Trophy all at the same time, making him one of only three players in the country to be on all four lists ... placed on the Phil Steele Midseason All-America First Team ... notched double-digit tackles in eight games this season ... led team in tackles eight times ... had at least one tackle for loss in six games ... became only 10th Irish player to register 300 tackles for career at Stanford (Nov. 26) ... started 34 consecu-tive games and 35 overall in career ... recorded 14 tackles and a sack against USF (Sept. 3) ... had 12 tackles against Michigan State (Sept. 17) ... tallied 10 tackles and a sack at Pittsburgh (Sept. 24) ... produced eight tackles, including a sack and a career-high three tackles for loss, in a victory at Purdue (Oct. 1) ... named FBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 3) following game against the Boilermakers ... recorded 12 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, and a pass breakup in a victory over Air Force (Oct. 8) ... had productive game against Navy (Oct. 29), tallying 13 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, and a half sack ... named College Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Linebacker (Oct. 30) and FBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 31) following game against the Midshipman ... tallied 12 tackles, including a half tackle for loss, in a win vs. Boston College (Nov. 19) ... named FBS Independent Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 21) following game against the Eagles ... for a complete bio, go to page 65 of the 2011 media guide.

tE’O’s CAREER stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2009 12-10 29 34 63 5.5-25 1.0-12 0-0 1 0 0-0 02010 13-13 66 67 133 9.5-34 1.0-7 0-0 3 1 0-0 02011 12-12 55 60 115 13.0-30 4.5-17 0-0 1 0 0-0 0TOTAL 37-35 150 161 311 28.0-89 6.5-36 0-0 5 1 0-0 0

tE’O’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 ut-At tt tfL sCk ff fR int PBu BLk*USF 6-8 14 1.0-1 1.0-1 0 0-0 0-0 0 0 *at Michigan 5-0 5 1.0-3 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Michigan State 2-10 12 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Pittsburgh 8-2 10 1.0-5 1.0-5 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Purdue 8-0 8 3.0-12 1.0-6 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Air Force 5-5 10 2.5-4 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 1 0*USC 3-7 10 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Navy 5-8 13 2.5-4 0.5-1 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Wake Forest 2-3 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*vs. Maryland 3-1 4 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Boston College 3-9 12 0.5-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0 *at Stanford 5-7 12 1.5-1 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0* - games started

89







9 robby tomA

WR / 5-9 / 185 / Jr. / Laie, Hawaii (Punahou)

tOMA’s HOnORs & AWARDsuNotre Dame’s Next Man In Award

tOMA’s CAREER HiGHsReceptions: 7, vs. Maryland (Nov 12, 2011) Receiving yards: 73, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)Long reception: 27, vs. Boston College (Nov. 19, 2011)All-purpose yards: 73, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)Kick returns: 1, Washington State, Oct 31, 2009 Kick return yards: 11, Washington State, Oct 31, 2009 (1 returns)Long kick return: 11, Washington State, Oct 31, 2009 Tackles: 1, Western Michigan, Oct 16, 2010 (1-0)

JUNIOR SEASON (2011): Saw action in all 12 games, starting the final three after injuries hit the Irish ... caught 15 balls for 173 yards and first career touchdown ... produced career highs in catches (7) and yards (73) in a win vs. Maryland (Nov. 12) ... had five catches for 65 yards in a win vs. Boston College (Nov. 19) ... caught first career TD pass in a win vs. Air Force (Oct. 8) ... for a complete bio, go to page 67 of the 2011 media guide.

tOMA’s CAREER RECEiVinG stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS REC YDS TD LG REC/G AVG/C AVG/G2009 3-0 3 21 0 8 1.0 7.0 7.02010 8-2 14 187 0 26 1.8 13.4 23.42011 12-3 15 173 1 27 1.2 11.5 14.4TOTAL 23-5 32 381 1 27 1.4 11.9 16.6

tOMA’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 REC YDS AVG TD LG USF 0 0 0.0 0 0at Michigan 0 0 0.0 0 0Michigan State 0 0 0.0 0 0at Pitt 1 16 16.0 0 16at Purdue 0 0 0.0 0 0Air Force 1 10 10.0 1 10USC 1 9 9.0 0 9Navy 0 0 0.0 0 0at Wake Forest 0 0 0.0 0 0*vs. Maryland 7 73 10.4 0 26*Boston College 5 65 13.0 0 27*at Stanford 0 0 0.0 0 0* - games started

7 stephon tuitt

De / 6-6.25 / 295 / Fr. / Monroe, Ga. (Monroe Area)

tuitt’s HOnORs & AWARDsuPhil Steele Third team Freshman All-American

tuitt’s CAREER HiGHsTackles: 7, twice (last vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Solo Tackles: 2, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Assisted Tackles: 6, vs. USC (Oct. 22, 2011)Tackles for Loss: 2.0, at Wake Forest (Nov. 5, 2011)Sacks: 1.0, at Wake Forest (Nov. 5, 2011)

FRESHMAN SEASON (2011): Talented freshman that saw action in eight games, while starting three ... started vs. Navy, Wake Forest and Maryland ... did not play vs. Michigan, Purdue, Boston College or Stanford ... showed steady improvement throughout the regular season, tallying 23 of 27 tackles over final five games played ... had season high in tackles with seven in games against USC (Oct. 22) and Navy (Oct. 29) ... notched five and a pass breakup in a win vs. Air Force (Oct. 8) ... turned in most disruptive game in a win at Wake Forest (Nov. 5), compiling four tackles, with two going for a loss of 14 yards ... also had an 11-yard sack ... tallied two tackles each in wins against Michigan State (Sept. 17) and Pittsburgh (Sept. 24) ... for a complete bio, go to page 78 of the 2011 media guide.

tuitt’s CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2011 8-3 9 18 27 2.0-14 1.0-11 0-0 1 0 0-0 0TOTAL 8-3 9 18 27 2.0-14 1.0-11 0-0 1 0 0-0 0

tuitt’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs 2011 ut-At tt tfL sCk ff fR int PBu BLkUSF 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Michigan Did Not PlayMichigan State 1-1 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Pittsburgh 1-1 2 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Purdue Did Not PlayAir Force 1-4 5 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 1 0USC 1-6 7 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*Navy 2-5 7 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*at Wake Forest 3-1 4 2.0-14 1.0-11 0 0-0 0-0 0 0*vs. Maryland 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Boston College Did Not Playat Stanford Did Not Play* - games started

90



35 ben turk

P / 5-11 / 196 / Jr. / Davie, Fla. (St. Thomas Aquinas)

tuRk’s PLACE in tHE iRisH RECORD BOOksuCareer Punts (2009-, 140, t-6th)

tuRk’s CAREER HiGHsPunts: 8, four times (last vs. Boston College, Nov. 19, 2011)Punt Yards: 352, vs. Boston College (Nov. 19, 2011)Long Punt: 58, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)Punt Average: 46.6, vs. Pittsburgh (Oct. 9, 2010)Touchbacks: 3, vs. Boston College (Nov. 19, 2011)Fair Catches: 5, twice (last at Boston College, Oct. 2, 2010)50+ Yard Punts: 2, twice (last vs. Tulsa, Oct. 30, 2010)Inside 20: 4, vs. Michigan (Sept. 11, 2010)

JUNIOR SEASON (2011): Was the team’s starting punter in all 12 games during the regular season ... averaged 41 yards a punt or more per game the last six games and eight games total ... averaged a career-best 40.2 for the season, hitting 46 punts for 1,851 yards ... had a career-long 58 yarder in a win vs. Maryland (Nov. 12) ... had five kicks that went 50+ yards ... forced 13 fair catches and placed 14 inside the 20 yard line ... averaged 44 yards a punt in a win vs. Boston College (Nov. 19) ... also set career highs for punts, punt yards, touchbacks and fair catches against the Eagles ... for a complete bio, go to page 67 of the 2011 media guide.

tuRk’s CAREER PuntinG stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS NO. YDS AVG LG TB FC I20 50+ BLKD2009 6-0 26 994 38.2 53 2 13 9 3 02010 13-0 68 2603 38.3 56 3 22 26 6 02011 12-0 46 1851 40.2 58 4 13 14 5 0TOTAL 31-0 140 5448 38.9 58 9 48 49 14 0

tuRk’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 NO. YDS AVG LG TB FC I20 50+ BLKDUSF 5 171 34.2 41 0 1 0 0 0at Michigan 4 134 33.5 52 0 1 2 1 0Michigan State 4 166 41.5 50 0 0 2 1 0at Pittsburgh 4 149 37.2 47 0 2 3 0 0at Purdue 2 88 44.0 46 0 0 1 0 0Air Force 2 75 37.5 38 0 1 1 0 0USC 4 168 42.0 48 0 1 0 0 0 Navy 1 41 41.0 41 0 0 0 0 0at Wake Forest 3 124 41.3 51 0 1 0 1 0vs. Maryland 3 131 43.7 58 0 0 2 1 0Boston College 8 352 44.0 55 3 1 1 1 0at Stanford 6 252 42.0 48 1 4 2 0 0* - games started

53 Justin utupo

ILB / 6-1 / 251 / So. / Lakewood, Calif. (Lakewood)

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2011): Saw action in 11 games on the year, primarily on special teams ... did not play vs. USF ... for a complete bio, go to page 68 of the 2011 media guide.

1 deion wAlker

WR / 6-3 / 206 / Sr. / Christchurch, Va. (Christchurch)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Did not see any game action during the regular season ... for a complete bio, go to page 69 of the 2011 media guide.

WALkER’s CAREER RECEiVinG stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS REC YDS TD LG REC/G AVG/C AVG/G2008 Did Not Play2009 5-0 1 15 0 15 0.2 15.0 3.02010 Did Not Play2011 2-0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0TOTAL 7-0 1 15 0 15 0.1 15.0 2.1

66 Chris wAtt

OG / 6-3 / 310 / Jr. / Glen ellyn, Ill. (Glenbard West)

JUNIOR SEASON (2011): Started all 12 games at left guard ... part of a unit that allowed only 13 sacks in 12 games during the regular season ... helped pave the way for a running game that averaged 5.0 yards a carry ... for a complete bio, go to page 69 of the 2011 media guide.

WAtt’s CAREER stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS2009 Did Not Play2010 13-02011 12-12TOTAL 25-12

91







82 Alex welCh

Te / 6-4 / 245 / So. / Cincinnati, Ohio (elder)

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2011): Saw action in nine games, catching one pass for eight yards and record-ing three tackles on special teams ... caught pass in a win vs. Navy (Oct. 29) ... tackles came in wins against the Midshipman (Oct. 29), Maryland (Nov. 5) and Maryland (Nov. 12) ... for a complete bio, go to page 70 of the 2011 media guide.

94 hAfis williAms

NG / 6-1 / 295 / Sr. / elizabeth, N.J. (elizabeth)

SENIOR SEASON (2011): Saw action in five games as a reserve nose guard ... registered eight tackles, including 1.5 for loss ... had two tackles each against Michigan (Sept. 10), Purdue (Oct. 1), Navy (Oct. 29) and Maryland (Nov. 12) ... for a complete bio, go to page 70 of the 2011 media guide.

HAfis WiLLiAMs’ CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2008 Did Not Play2009 6-0 0 0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 02010 13-0 6 5 11 0.5-1 0.0-0 0-0 1 0 0-0 02011 5-0 4 4 8 1.5-4 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 24-0 10 9 19 2.0-5 0.0-0 0-0 1 0 0-0 0

1 ishAQ williAms

OLB / 6-5 / 255 / Fr. / Brooklyn, N.Y. (Lincoln)

FRESHMAN SEASON (2011): Saw action in 10 games as a reserve outside linebacker ... had five tackles on the season, including a tackle for loss ... did not play against USC or Wake Forest ... notched a tackle against Michigan (Sept. 10), Purdue (Oct. 1), Air Force (Oct. 8), Navy (Oct. 29) and Maryland (Nov. 12) ... for a complete bio, go to page 78 of the 2011 media guide.

isHAq WiLLiAMs’ CAREER DEfEnsiVE stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS UT AT TT TFL SCK INT PBU FF FR BLK2011 10-0 3 2 5 1.0-2 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0TOTAL 10-0 3 2 5 1.0-2 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0

isHAq WiLLiAMs’ CAREER HiGHsTackles: 1, four times (last vs. Maryland, Nov. 12, 2011)Solo Tackles: 1, twice (last vs. Navy, Oct. 29, 2011)Assisted Tackles: 1, vs. Maryland (Nov. 12, 2011)Tackles for Loss: 1, vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)

isHAq WiLLiAMs’ GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 ut-At tt tfL sCk ff fR int PBu BLkUSF 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Michigan 1-0 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Michigan State 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Pittsburgh 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Purdue 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Air Force 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0USC Did Not PlayNavy 1-0 1 1.0-2 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Wake Forest Did Not Playvs. Maryland 0-1 1 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0Boston College 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0at Stanford 0-0 0 0.0-0 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0* - games started

92



20 Cierre wood

RB / 6-0 / 215 / Jr. / Oxnard, Calif. (Santa Clara)

CiERRE WOOD’s HOnORs & AWARDsuFBS Independent Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 3)uCollege Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Running Back (Oct. 2)uWalker Award Watch ListuHornung Award Watch List

CiERRE WOOD’s PLACE in tHE iRisH RECORD BOOksuSingle-Season Receptions By Running Back (2011, 26, 9th)uSingle-Season Touchdown Receptions By Running Back (2010, 2, t-9th)uCareer Receptions By Running Back (2010-, 46, t-9th)

CiERRE WOOD’s CAREER HiGHsCarries: 26, vs. Boston College (Nov. 19, 2011)Rushing Yards: 191, at Purdue (Oct. 1, 2011)Longest Rush: 55, at Purdue (Oct. 1, 2011)Rushing Touchdowns: 2, twice (last vs. Navy (Oct. 29, 2011)Receptions: 6, vs. Michigan State (Sept. 17, 2011)Receiving Yards: 57, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)Longest Reception: 31, vs. USF (Sept. 3, 2011)Receiving Touchdowns: 2, vs. Tulsa (Oct. 30, 2010)Kickoff Returns: 5, two times (last vs. Stanford, Sept. 25, 2010)Kickoff Return Yards: 95, vs. Stanford (Sept. 25, 2010)Longest Kickoff Return: 38, vs. Purdue (Sept. 4, 2010)All-Purpose Yards: 212, at Purdue (Oct. 1, 2011)

JUNIOR SEASON (2011): Quick, shifty back who put together the 16th 1,000 yard season in Notre Dame history ... provided a powerful one-two punch at running back with teammate Jonas Gray ... played in all 12 games, and started eight ... did not start vs. Navy, Wake Forest, Maryland and Boston College ... averaged 86.8 yards a game and an impressive 5.2 yards a carry ... rushed for 1,042 yards on 199 carries with nine TDs ... all three categories were career highs ... had three 100-yard rushing games ... had two multi-touchdown games ... named to the preseason Walker and Hornung Award watch lists ... had career-high 26 carries in a win vs. Boston College (Nov. 19) ... eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark for the season against the Eagles ... produced a then career-high in yards (134) and carries (25) against Michigan (Sept. 10) ... scored two TDs in a 31-13 win over Michigan State (Sept. 17) ... also had career-high six receptions against the Spartans (Sept. 17) ... recorded two more rush TDs in a win vs. Navy (Oct. 29) ... smashed career-high in yards (191), all-purpose yards (212) and longest run (55) in victory at Purdue (Oct. 1) ... named College Football Per-formance Awards Honorable Mention Running Back (Oct. 2) and FBS Independent Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 3) following game against the Boilermakers ... had 99 yards and a TD in a win vs. Maryland (Nov. 12) ... for a complete bio, go to page 71 of the 2011 media guide.

CiERRE WOOD’s CAREER RusHinG stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS ATT YDS TD LG AVG/C AVG/G2010 13-5 119 603 3 39 5.1 46.42011 12-8 199 1042 9 55 5.2 86.8TOTAL 25-13 318 1645 12 55 5.2 65.8

CiERRE WOOD’s CAREER RECEiVinG stAtistiCsYEAR G-GS REC YDS TD LG REC/G AVG/C AVG/G2010 13-5 20 170 2 23 1.5 8.5 13.12011 12-8 26 181 0 31 2.2 7.0 15.1TOTAL 25-13 46 351 2 31 1.8 7.6 14.0

CiERRE WOOD’s GAME-BY-GAME stAtistiCs2011 Att YDs AVG tD LG REC YDs AVG tD LG*USF 21 104 5.0 1 18 3 44 14.7 0 31*at Michigan 25 134 5.4 1 24 0 0 0.0 0 0*Michigan State 14 61 4.4 2 22 6 5 0.8 0 7 *at Pitt 23 94 4.1 0 18 1 10 10.0 0 10*at Purdue 20 191 9.6 1 55 2 22 11.0 0 20*Air Force 10 66 6.6 1 24 2 11 5.5 0 11*USC 5 5 1.0 0 7 6 41 6.8 0 15Navy 11 66 6.0 2 14 2 13 6.5 0 9at Wake Forest 14 87 6.2 0 27 1 17 17.0 0 17vs. Maryland 18 99 5.5 1 21 2 15 7.5 0 10Boston College 26 94 3.6 0 9 0 -3 -0.3 0 0*at Stanford 12 41 3.4 0 13 1 6 6.0 0 6* - games started

23 lo wood

CB / 5-10 / 195 / So. / Apopka, Fla. (Apopka)

FRESHMAN SEASON (2011): Played in 10 games for the Irish during the regular season ... did not play vs. Wake Forest or USC ... tallied six tackles and an interception, which went for a 57-yard touchdown in a win vs. Maryland (Nov. 12) ... had a pair of tackles in a win vs. Air Force (Oct. 8) ... for a complete bio, go to page 72 of the 2011 media guide.

93






Head coacH

BriAn KElly, A vETErAn OF 21 SEASOnS AS A COllEgiATE HEAd COACH – HEAdS inTO HiS SECOnd BOwl gAmE in TwO SEASOnS AS THE 29TH HEAd FOOTBAll COACH AT THE UnivErSiTy OF nOTrE dAmE.

Currently the fifth-winningest active coach in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, Kelly has guided Notre Dame to 16 wins over the last two seasons. His 110 victories as a head coach since 2001 are more than all but two active FBS head coaches – Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops and Mack Brown of Texas.

When Kelly was hired at Notre Dame he said two things he needed to accomplish ear-ly in his tenure were shoring up the defense and getting the players to be mentally and physically stronger so they could compete for all four quarters of all 12 games. Through his first two seasons, Kelly’s defense is one of 15 units in the FBS that has allowed less than 21 points per game in both seasons. It’s the first time an Irish defense has accom-plished that feat in a decade. The month of November had not been kind to Notre Dame in the three years that preceded Kelly’s arrival in South Bend. The Irish had won only three of 13 games in the final month of the regular season. Through rigorous strength and conditioning workouts and Kelly’s coaching style, Notre Dame is 6-1 in November games since 2010. The Irish also had a hard time hanging onto leads prior to Kelly’s arrival. Notre Dame was a combined 9-6 when leading at halftime in 2008 and 2009 but have improved under Kelly to 15-2 when taking an advantage into the locker room.

Notre Dame was one of 24 schools that opened 2011 with an 0-2 record but was one of only three teams (Georgia and Western Kentucky the others) to rebound and have a winning season. Since 2001, 275 FBS teams started 0-2 and Notre Dame became one of only 27 schools that won at least eight of its next 10 games. The Irish offense that Kelly directed eclipsed 500 yards of offense in five games, equal to the combined number of 500-yard games Notre Dame tallied in the previous five seasons. Notre Dame scored at least 45 points in three games in 2011, the most by an Irish offense since 1996.

The Irish were led on offense by wide receiver Michael Floyd’s school-record 95 recep-tions and the running back duo of Cierre Wood and Jonas Gray that combined for 1,833 yards and 21 touchdowns. Floyd capped off his career by breaking former teammate Golden Tate’s two-year-old school record of single-season receptions. Wood and Gray formed a potent one-two punch out of the backfield. The tandem was one of only two running back duos in the FBS to each have at least nine rushing TDs in 2011. The other two running back teammates played on the high-octane offenses at Oregon and Okla-homa State.

Defensively, Notre Dame held 11 of 12 teams below their season scoring average and held 10 of 12 schools below their season rushing average. When Kelly arrived at Notre Dame, the Irish were coming off a season where the defense ranked 86th in the nation in total defense at 397.8 yards per game. Two years later, Notre Dame’s defense ranked 34th in yards allowed per game at 349.2 and were 28th in scoring defense.

Junior linebacker Manti Te’o was named a finalist for the 2011 Butkus Award and Lott Trophy after leading Notre Dame with 115 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and four and a half sacks. Senior safety and team captain Harrison Smith paced the secondary with 84 tackles and 10 pass breakups.

Despite enduring a slew of injuries at key positions, Kelly’s first Irish squad in 2010 came on strong to play perfectly in November. In addition to a convincing 28-3 victory over once-beaten and 15th-ranked Utah (Notre Dame’s widest margin over an Associated Press top 20 opponent in 14 years), the Irish defeated Army in the historic first football game ever played at the new Yankee Stadium – then ended an eight-game losing streak at the hands of archrival USC with a come-from-behind win at the Los Angeles Coli-seum. Then, in the convincing 33-17 Hyundai Sun Bowl triumph against Miami, the Irish charged to a 30-3 lead after three periods, as Kelly became the first Notre Dame football coach ever to record a bowl victory in his first season on the Notre Dame sidelines.

The Irish success down the stretch came mainly because of its defense, as Notre Dame went 13 consecutive periods over one late, four-game stretch without allowing an of-fensive touchdown (the best sequence in that category in 30 years). In those final four wins Notre Dame’s defense limited the Utes, Black Knights, Trojans and Hurricanes to combined averages of 9.8 points (best stretch for an Irish team since 1989), 91.8 yards on the ground and 276.5 total yards. In the last four contests, the Irish defense faced teams that were averaging 38 points (Tulsa), 41 (Utah), 31 (Army) and 32 (USC) per game, yet yielded only two offensive touchdowns, combined, to that quartet. Among individual defensive leaders was Te’o, Notre Dame’s top tackler in 2010 with 133 and a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award and Dick Butkus Award.

Each of those four victories came in the first four career starts by Rees, following a season-ending injury to Dayne Crist. Among the pacesetters for Kelly’s spread offense was Floyd who caught 79 balls in 2010 for 1,025 yards and 12 touchdowns and was

Kelly’s head coaching resume includes:• Two seasons at Notre Dame where he has fashioned a 16-9 record that has included five losses by a

combined 15 points. He has helped the Irish win eight of their last 10 games in 2011 and 15 of the last 21 games dating back to 2010. Kelly became the first Irish head coach to win a bowl game in his first season and has defeated opponents ranked in the top 15 in both seasons. • Three seasons at Cincinnati from 2007-09, including a 34-6 record (.850) and two straight outright

BIG EAST Conference title teams that earned BCS appearances in 2008 (FedEx Orange Bowl) and ’09 (Allstate Sugar Bowl). At the time he accepted the position at Notre Dame, he qualified as the winningest active BIG EAST football coach and the only league coach with more than 150 wins. • Three seasons at Central Michigan University from 2004-06, including a 19-16 overall record (.542)

featuring a 9-4 mark and Mid-American Conference title in 2006.• hirteen seasons at Grand Valley State University from 1991-2003, including a 118-35-2 record (.767)

highlighted by NCAA Division II national championships in 2002 (14-0) and 2003 (14-1).•An overall record of 187-66-2 (.737) in those 21 seasons as a head coach.

Brian Kelly

Head Coach 29th year coaching Second year at notre dame


Head coacH

named the MVP of the Hyundai Sun Bowl (six catches for 109 yards and two TDs in that contest).

Meanwhile, the Irish kicking game also sparkled in 2010, thanks to placekicker David Ruffer, who successfully converted his first 18 field-goal attempts (18 of 19 overall in 2010 and 23 for 24 in his career). Ruffer became one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award as the top placekicker in the nation.

Kelly’s debut season in South Bend saw the 2010 Irish play arguably the most difficult schedule in the country, as all but one of the Notre Dame opponents finished .500 or bet-ter – something no other team in the country could claim. Notre Dame’s agenda ranked first nationally in the official NCAA schedule strength standings at the end of the regular season, with Irish opponents playing at a .652 clip (79-42).

On the academic side, Kelly’s first season at Notre Dame featured a first-team ESPN Academic All-America honor for Ruffer, an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship for offensive lineman Chris Stewart (he attended law school at Notre Dame during the 2010 season) as a National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete selec-tion – and a first-place finish by Notre Dame among all FBS programs in the latest NCAA Graduation Success Rate standings with a 96 mark.

Architect of two consecutive Bowl Championship Series appearances at the Uni-versity of Cincinnati, including a perfect 12-0 regular season in 2009 that earned him national-coach-of-the-year honors. Kelly earned the ESPN/Home Depot Na-tional Coach of the Year Award in 2009, was the BIG EAST Conference Coach of the Year in 2007, 2008 and 2009 (the first time a BIG EAST football coach won the award three straight years) -- and received the American Football Coaches Asso-ciation Division II Coach of the Year Award in both 2002 and 2003. He also in ’09 was a finalist for four other national awards – the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award (Football Writers Association of America), Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Award (National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association), Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award and the George Munger Coach of the Year Award (Maxwell Football Club).

He boasted a 2-1 record at Cincinnati in postseason bowl games – including a 27-24 win over Western Michigan in the International Bowl after the 2006 season (he coached in that game immediately after taking the job at Cincinnati), a 31-21 win over Southern Mississippi in the Papajohns.com Bowl after the ’07 season and a 20-7 loss to Virginia Tech in the FedEx Orange Bowl after the ’08 campaign. Kelly’s ’06 Central Michigan team finished 9-4 and qualified for the Motor City Bowl (Cen-tral Michigan defeated Middle Tennessee 31-14, though he did not coach after ac-cepting the head coaching position at Cincinnati) – and his 12-0 team in ’09 earned an Allstate Sugar Bowl assignment against once-beaten Florida.

In six NCAA Division II playoff appearances at Grand Valley State, Kelly’s teams combined for an 11-4 (.733) postseason record – including four straight victories in winning both the ’02 and ’03 NCAA titles. His ’01 Grand Valley State team fell 17-14 to North Dakota in the Division II national title game.

Kelly’s ’09 team at Cincinnati finished third in the final BCS standings and fourth in both the final regular-season Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls. His ’08 team ended up 11-3 and 17th in both polls – and his ‘07 Bearcat squad finished 10-3 and 17th (AP) and 20th (USA Today/ESPN) in the final polls.

Through the end of the 2009 regular season, his Cincinnati team won all 12 of its games, led the nation in passing efficiency (166.19), ranked second in kickoff returns (29.2 each) and sixth in total offense (464.25 yards per game), passing yardage (320.33) and scoring (39.83 points). Meanwhile, Kelly’s Bearcat defense rated third nationally in tackles for losses (8.42 per game) and eighth in sacks (2.92). The ’09 Cincinnati squad set Bearcat single-season records for points (495), passing yards (3,844), fewest fumbles (10), fewest fumbles lost (two) and fewest turnovers (10). Cincinnati concluded the ’09 campaign with a record 18 straight regular-season victories.

Among the standouts Kelly coached on the ’09 Bearcat roster were first-team All-America receiver Mardy Gilyard (he ranked second nationally in all-purpose yards at 203.5 per game at the end of the regular season) and quarterback Tony Pike (ninth in passing efficiency at 155.36). Eleven Cincinnati players merited all-BIG EAST honors for ’09 (five first-team selections), including Gilyard, the league’s Special Teams Player of the Year for the second straight season. In three years at the helm of the program, Kelly put together a 34-6 record and led the Bearcats to their first two BIG EAST championships in 2008 and ‘09. Cincinnati achieved a then-school-record 11 victories in 2008, followed that up with a dozen wins in ’09, and had back-to-back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in school history. Kelly’s Bearcats in ’08 won the school’s first outright conference championship

yEAr By yEAr wiTH BriAn KEllyYear School Position Record/Postseason1983 Assumption Defensive Coordinator/ 4-5 Linebackers1984 Assumption Defensive Coordinator/ 4-4 Linebackers1985 Assumption Defensive Coordinator/ 5-3 Linebackers1986 Assumption Defensive Coordinator/ 1-8 Linebackers

1987 Grand Valley State Graduate Assistant/ 7-4 Defensive Backs 1988 Grand Valley State Graduate Assistant/ 7-4 Defensive Backs1989 Grand Valley State Defensive Coordinator/ 11-1/NCAA Division II playoffs (0-1) Recruiting Coordinator1990 Grand Valley State Defensive Coordinator/ 10-2/NCAA Division II playoffs (0-1) Recruiting Coordinator

1991 Grand Valley State Head Coach 9-3/NCAA Division II playoffs (0-1)1992 Grand Valley State Head Coach 8-31993 Grand Valley State Head Coach 6-3-21994 Grand Valley State Head Coach 8-4/NCAA Division II playoffs (0-1)1995 Grand Valley State Head Coach 8-31996 Grand Valley State Head Coach 8-31997 Grand Valley State Head Coach 9-21998 Grand Valley State Head Coach 9-3/NCAA Division II playoffs (0-1)1999 Grand Valley State Head Coach 5-52000 Grand Valley State Head Coach 7-42001 Grand Valley State Head Coach 13-1/NCAA Division II runner-up (3-1)2002 Grand Valley State Head Coach 14-0/NCAA Division II champion (4-0)2003 Grand Valley State Head Coach 14-1/NCAA Division II champion (4-0)

2004 Central Michigan Head Coach 4-72005 Central Michigan Head Coach 6-52006 Central Michigan Head Coach 9-4/qualified for Motor City Bowl vs. Middle Tennessee

2006 Cincinnati Head Coach 1-0/International Bowl: W 27-24 vs. Western Michigan2007 Cincinnati Head Coach 10-3/Papajohns.com Bowl: W 31-21 vs. Southern Mississippi Final Rankings: 17th AP, 20th USA Today2008 Cincinnati Head Coach 11-3/FedEx Orange Bowl: L 7-20 vs. Virginia Tech Final Rankings: 17th AP and USA Today2009 Cincinnati Head Coach 12-0/qualified for Allstate Sugar Bowl vs. Florida Rankings: 4th AP and USA Today

2010 Notre Dame Head Coach 8-5/Hyundai Sun Bowl: W 33-17 vs. Miami (Fla.)2011 Notre Dame Head Coach 8-4/Champs Sports Bowl vs. Florida State

grand valley State Totals (13 seasons) 118-35-2 .767Central michigan Totals (3 seasons) 19-16 .542Cincinnati Totals (3 seasons) 34-6 .850notre dame Totals (2 seasons) 16-9 .640Overall Totals (21 seasons) 187-66-2 .737

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since 1964 and earned the school’s first berth in a BCS game, playing against Virginia Tech in the 75th FedEx Orange Bowl. In ’08 Cincinnati achieved its then-highest ranking to close the regular season – 12th in the AP and USA Today/ESPN polls and the BCS standings entering the Orange Bowl. The Bearcats held down a postseason ranking of 17th in both polls, tying the top postseason ranking in school history.

Following the close of the ’08 regular season, Kelly was named the BIG EAST Coach of the Year for the second straight season. He also was named the American Football Monthly Schutt Sports FBS Coach of the Year, earned AFCA Region 1 Coach of the Year honors and was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year by Sporting News.

Cincinnati placed 10 players on the 2008 all-BIG EAST teams (including first-team se-lection Connor Barwin) – with kick returner Gilyard named the BIG EAST Special Teams Player of the Year and punter Kevin Huber earning the first AFCA All-America nod in program history. Huber became the first two-time AP first-team All-America selection in Bearcat football history.

The Bearcats’ 27-24 bowl victory over Western Michigan in 2006 came just 34 days after Kelly was hired. Then, in his first full season at the helm in ‘07, he put Cincinnati on the national radar by jumping out to a 6-0 start and earning the Bearcats their first appearance in the polls in more than 30 years. By winning 10 games for the first time since 1951, Cincinnati earned its 10th bowl appearance in program history and sixth bowl appearance in eight years. The Bearcats finished 17th in the AP poll and 20th in the USA Today/ESPN rankings, earning their first appearances in the final polls.

Along the way to the 2007 Papajohns.com Bowl victory, the Bearcats’ third straight bowl win, Kelly earned BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors. Cincinnati listed seven indi-viduals on the all-BIG EAST teams, including BIG EAST Special Teams Player of the Year and consensus All-America punter Huber. The national leader in punting, Huber was one

of three Bearcats to be named to an All-America team. Cincinnati ranked second in the BIG EAST and 24th nationally in passing offense (254.1), and was also second in the league and 27th nationally in passing efficiency (139.4). At the same time, the Bearcat defense led the BIG EAST in sacks (2.9) and tackles for a loss (6.5). Kelly’s Bearcats led the FBS in net punting (41.5 yards per punt), and Cincinnati also paced the BIG EAST in kickoff returns (24.2).

During his three years at Central Michigan, he transformed a Chippewa program that had won more than three games only once in the past four seasons into a conference champion. Central Michigan posted a 9-4 regular-season record in 2006 en route to win-ning the MAC title and qualifying for its first bowl game in 12 years. Kelly inherited a program that had produced a mere 12 wins over its previous four seasons when he took the helm at Central Michigan in 2004. He guided the Chippewas to a 4-7 record in 2004 and a 6-5 slate -- the school’s first winning season in seven years -- in 2005.

The Chippewas in 2005 defeated both defending MAC divisional champions, Miami and Toledo, and also knocked off eventual ‘05 league champ Akron. Central Michigan ranked first nationally in fewest turnovers (10) and fewest fumbles lost (four), while the team’s rushing defense ranked 20th and led the MAC at 113.7 yards per game (compared to 245.8 in ’03 -- the year before Kelly arrived).

In 2006 Central Michigan rolled up a 7-1 record in conference play to win the MAC West, then dominated Ohio 31-10 in the league championship game. Central Michigan boasted the 19th-most prolific passing attack in the nation, averaging 252.4 yards per game, set a Chippewa season mark with 28 TD passes and led the MAC in total offense (375.3 yards per game) and scoring (29.7 points). MAC Freshman of the Year Dan LeFe-vour passed for 2,869 yards and 25 TDs to rank 20th nationally in passing efficiency and 14th in total offense.

Kelly had 12 of his players achieve first-team all-conference honors over his three years at Central Michigan (including ’05 MAC Defensive Player of the Year Daniel Bazuin) -- and three advanced to the NFL (including 2005 draftees Eric Ghiacuic and Adam Kieft and free agent Tory Humphrey). Bazuin, who led the nation in ’05 in tackles for losses, also was a ’06 first-team Academic All-American.

Kelly arrived at Central Michigan after winning the back-to-back NCAA Division II national titles at Grand Valley State in Allendale, Mich. The all-time winningest program in NCAA Division II history, the Lakers were 41-2 in Kelly’s final three seasons, at one

BriAn KElly’S POSTSEASOn rECOrd (14-5)1991 Grand Valley State NCAA Div. II Playoffs L 15-38 vs. East Texas State 1994 Grand Valley State NCAA Div. II Playoffs L 27-35 vs. Indiana (Pa.)1998 Grand Valley State NCAA Div. II Playoffs L 14-37 vs. Slippery Rock2001 Grand Valley State NCAA Div. II Playoffs W 42-13 vs. Bloomsburg* W 33-30 vs. Saginaw Valley State* W 34-16 vs. Catawba* L 14-17 vs. North Dakota#2002 Grand Valley State NCAA Div. II Playoffs W 62-13 vs. C.W. Post* W 62-21 vs. Indiana (Pa.)* W 44-7 vs. Northern Colorado* W 31-24 vs. Valdosta State#2003 Grand Valley State NCAA Div. II Playoffs W 65-36 vs. Bentley W 10-3 vs. Saginaw Valley State W 31-3 vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville W 10-3 vs. North Dakota#2006 Cincinnati International Bowl W 27-24 vs. Western Michigan 2007 Cincinnati Papajohns.com Bowl W 31-21 vs. Southern Mississippi2008 Cincinnati FedEx Orange Bowl L 7-20 vs. Virginia Tech2010 Notre Dame Hyundai Sun Bowl W 33-17 vs. Miami* home games played in Allendale, Mich.# NCAA Division II championship games


Head coacH

point winning 32 consecutive games. Grand Valley State went 14-0 in 2002 en route to its first national title and was 14-1 in 2003 when it claimed its second crown. Kelly was named the AFCA Division II Coach of the Year after both seasons. Kelly led the Lakers to five conference titles (1992-97-98-2001-02) and six Division II playoff appearances in his 13 seasons at Grand Valley. The Lakers never finished lower than third in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference.

Kelly mentored a pair of finalists for the Harlon Hill Award, presented annually to the top player in Division II. Quarterback Curt Anes won the award in 2002 after finishing as runner-up in 2001. He threw for 10,581 career yards and 114 TD passes – 48 in ’01 and 47 in ‘02 (12 games with at least five TD passes). Anes still holds the NCAA Divi-sion II single-season passing efficiency record for ’01 at 221.6 (189 for 271 for 3,086 yards, with 21 TDs, three interceptions). Quarterback Jeff Fox was third in the balloting in 1998, as he became the first Laker quarterback to throw for more than 2,000 in multiple seasons. Kelly’s Grand Valley State players earned 77 All-America awards (11 in 2002 alone). Four players moved on to the NFL and another three to the Canadian Football League.

His 2001 national runner-up squad set 77 NCAA, GLIAC and school records, including the all-time Division II scoring record by averaging 58.4 points per game (and an aver-age victory margin of 48.0 points). The 2001 team also became the first Division II unit in 53 years to average more than 600 yards per game in total offense (600.8), leading the nation in that category.

Grand Valley State followed up its record-shattering 2001 season by averaging 497.5 yards and a nation-leading 46.7 points during its undefeated 2002 national champion-ship run in which Kelly’s squad went wire to wire as the top-rated Division II squad. That ’02 campaign ended with a 31-24 championship game win over second-ranked and unbeaten Valdosta State – as All-America receiver David Kircus caught passes for 270 yards and three TDs. Kircus holds the NCAA Division II season record for TD receptions with 35 in ’02, catching at least one TD pass in 24 straight games in 2001-02. He ended his career with 4,142 receiving yards and 76 TD catches and led the nation (Division II) in scoring in both ’01 and ’02.

The 2003 team, meanwhile, became more noted for its defense, leading the country in rushing defense at 62.0 yards per game. The Lakers defeated North Dakota 10-3 in the 2003 national title game (played annually in Florence, Ala.). In 10 of his 13 seasons at Grand Valley State, Kelly’s teams won eight or more games – and he finished with a 103-22-2 mark in GLIAC contests. The seniors on his final team in ’03 won 47 of their final 49 games (and finished 34-4 in four seasons of GLIAC play) and won 20 straight games in 2002-03. Kicker David Hendrix led the nation in ’03 with 25 field goals.

Born Oct. 25, 1961, in Everett, Mass., and raised in Chelsea, Mass., Kelly attended St. John’s Prep School in Danvers, Mass. He was a four-year letter-winner at Assumption College (Worcester, Mass.) as a linebacker, captaining the squad in both ’81 and ’82 under coach Paul Cantiani on teams that finished 8-3 and 7-1-1. After graduating from Assumption in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, he served as linebacker coach and defensive coordinator (as well as softball coach) from 1983-86 at Assumption under head football coach Bernie Gaughan.

Kelly joined the Grand Valley State staff in 1987 as a graduate assistant and defensive backs coach. He became the defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator in 1989 and took over (at age 28) as head coach in 1991 (replacing Tom Beck, who left to be-come running backs coach at Notre Dame under Lou Holtz). His very first team Laker team finished 9-3 and qualified for the NCAA playoffs. In 2009 Kelly was inducted into

the Grand Valley State Athletics Hall of Fame and in 2011 Grand Valley State renamed its Laker Turf Building the Kelly Family Sports Center. The Kelly Family Sports Center is a 138,000 square foot building that houses a regulation football field, a six-lane, 300-me-ter track, all of the amenities for field events, batting cages that drop from the ceiling, an athletic training room, locker rooms, multi-purpose rooms, classrooms, bleacher seating for 800 in the grandstand and bleachers on the field level for another 260 spectators. In addition to intercollegiate athletics, the movement science department, campus recre-ation/intramurals and club sports also use the facility.

Kelly was announced as the Notre Dame head coach on Dec. 10, 2009. He signed a five-year contract to coach the Irish.

In June 2010 Kelly and his wife Paqui made a $250,000 gift to the University of Notre Dame in support of endeavors in research, academics and community engagement. The benefaction directly supports three Notre Dame initiatives -- cancer research, the Hesburgh Libraries and the Robinson Community Learning Center (RCLC). In the area of cancer research -- the fight against breast cancer is a deeply personal cause for the Kelly family -- the gift benefits the Mike and Josie Harper Cancer Research Institute that opened this past summer in Notre Dame’s new Harper Hall. The institute brings together scientists from Notre Dame and Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend to collaborate to advance basic and clinical research as it pertains to the diagnosis, treat-ment and prevention of cancer. The gift also provides financial support for the Hesburgh Libraries, which consist of the main Hesburgh Library and 11 subject branches across campus. The funding enables senior library personnel to identify and purchase the learn-ing and teaching materials most in demand by Notre Dame scholars. At the RCLC, the gift underwrites innovative tutoring, violence-prevention, youth entrepreneurship and performing arts projects for adults and children in South Bend’s Northeast Neighbor-hood. Sponsored by Notre Dame in partnership with local residents, the RCLC serves an estimated 500 youths and adults each week, in addition to another 8,000 children annually through its outreach programs. In conjunction with the gift, Kelly launched the “Coach Kelly Challenge,” an effort aimed to encourage all members of the Notre Dame family to offer financial support to the University through one of its annual giving pro-grams: the Notre Dame Annual Fund, the MBA and Law School annual funds, and the Rockne Heritage Fund.

Notre Dame’s head football coach and his wife play host to a series of events benefit-ting the Kelly Cares Foundation, established by Brian and Paqui Kelly to support organi-zations, initiatives and programs that closely align with the goals and values of the Kelly family in three main areas: personal involvement, with emphasis on breast cancer re-search, prevention, education and awareness; education and institutional advancement; and, community involvement in selected initiatives and projects. In addition to several charity golf events, Kelly co-hosted the Irish Legends Golf Classic in June 2011 with former Notre Dame coaches Ara Parseghian and Lou Holtz. Proceeds from that event were split evenly between the charities of the three coaches. Football 101 has become a must-attend event in the summers of 2010 and 2011 as more than 900 women had the opportunity to meet the Notre Dame football coaching staff, learn fun facts about Fight-ing Irish football and enjoy an upscale taste of South Bend. The participants also got a behind-the-scenes look at the Notre Dame football facilities – with proceeds benefitting breast cancer prevention, awareness and early detection initiatives.

Kelly and his wife Francisca (Paqui) are parents of three children – Patrick, Grace and Kenzel.

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COACHing ACCOmPliSHmEnTS › Semifinalist for the 2011 Broyles Award, presented annually to college football’s top assistant

coach. › Led a defense that has held 11 of 12 opponents below their season scoring average and 10

of 12 teams below their season rushing average. The pass defense jumped 20 spots in the rankings compared to last year.

› For the first time in 10 years, Notre Dame’s defense has allowed fewer than 21 points per game in consecutive seasons. The Irish are one of 15 teams to allow less than 21 points per game in each of the last two years.

› Diaco’s defense surrendered 14 points or less in five games in 2011, the most since 2002. › The rush defense has been stingy near the goal line as only eight rushing TDs have been scored

against Notre Dame in 2011. Only four schools have permitted fewer rushing TDs. Of the eight rushing TDs this year, only three have been by running backs.

› The Irish defense was nothing short of sensational in the third quarter as Pittsburgh was the only team to score against Notre Dame in the first period following halftime.

› Coached the linebackers and helped the growth of Manti Te’o who led the team with 115 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and four and a half sacks. Te’o was a finalist for the Butkus Award and Lott Trophy in 2011.

› In his first season at Notre Dame, Diaco switched defensive schemes from a blitzing 4-3 defense the Irish utilized in 2009 and instilled a 3-4 no-crease defense.

› Diaco’s defense was drastically better than the 2009 Notre Dame defense. The Irish allowed 5.69 fewer points per game, 40.5 fewer yards per game, averaged one half sacks more per game and forced more turnovers in 2010 than 2009.

› The 2010 defense was dramatically improved compared to the 2009 defense in almost every statistical category: scoring defense (from 63rd in ’09 to 23rd in ’10), pass efficiency (82nd to 25th), rushing defense (89th to 50th) and total defense (86th to 50th).

› In the final three games of the regular season, Diaco’s defense limited teams averaging at least 31 points per game to 22 combined points – the fewest points allowed by a Notre Dame defense in three straight games since the 1993 season.

› Only four touchdowns were scored against the Irish defense in the final five games of the regular season.

› Working with the inside linebackers, Diaco helped turn Te’o into an All-America candidate in 2010. The Bednarik Award and Butkus Award semifinalist led the Irish with 133 tackles and posted 9.5 tackles for loss as a sophomore.

› Working with the inside linebackers, Diaco helped turn sophomore Manti Te’o into an All-America candidate. The Bednarik Award and Butkus Award semifinalist led the Irish with 133 tackles and posted 9.5 tackles for loss.

› In his only season at Cincinnati, he was charged with replacing 10 starters on the Bearcats’ defense, including every player on the front seven for 2009.

› The Bearcats recorded 110 tackles for loss in 2009 (8.46 per game) to rank third in the nation. They totaled 37 sacks and tied for 10th in the country averaging 2.85 sacks per contest. Cincinnati’s defense allowed 3.6 rushing yards per carry.

› Focused on the inside linebackers in 2009 at Cincinnati and helped Andre Revels and JK Schaffer experience career years in their first seasons as starters. Revels led the Bearcats with 108 tackles and added 4.5 tackles for loss and one interception, while Schaffer ranked second on the team with 100 tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and three interceptions.

› Safety Aaron Webster was named first-team all-BIG EAST in 2009 after pacing Cincinnati with four interceptions and five pass breakups. Defensive end Ricardo Mathews was named second-team all-BIG EAST as a first-year starter after he recorded a team-best 12.5 tackles for loss.

› Prior to Cincinnati, spent three years as the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator on Al Groh’s coaching staff at the University of Virginia from 2006-08.

› At the conclusion of the 2008 season, was promoted to the Cavaliers’ defensive coordinator position, but he left two months later to take the same position at Cincinnati.

› Diaco’s linebackers were critical to Virginia allowing only 3.7 yards per carry and just over 21 points per game to their opponents in 2008.

› Only four schools permitted fewer rushing touchdowns than Virginia’s nine in 2007, and the Cavaliers allowed 106.9 rushing yards per game, 13th in the nation. Virginia ranked 16th nationally at 19.7 points allowed per game and were 23rd in total defense, allowing 332.5 yards per game.

› Served as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach under Brian Kelly at Central Michigan in 2005.

› In his only season with the Chippewas, Diaco turned around Central Michigan’s rushing defense that just two years earlier had ranked last in the Mid-American Conference.

› Under Diaco’s watch, Central Michigan led the MAC, allowing only 113.7 rushing yards per game. He also helped defensive end Dan Bazuin lead the nation with 26.5 tackles for loss and tie a MAC record with 16 sacks.

› First full-time position was at Western Illinois where he was the running backs coach and special teams coordinator in 1999 and 2000. The Leathernecks won the Gateway Conference crown in 2000 and made an appearance in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.

PErSOnAl inFOrmATiOn › Twice an all-Big Ten selection at Iowa under Hall of Fame coach Hayden Fry and was a

semifinalist for the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker in 1995. That same season he was named the team’s co-MVP.

› Led the Hawkeyes in tackles in both 1994 and 1995 and finished his career as the seventh-leading tackler in Iowa history with 334 career stops. Started all 23 games during his final two seasons.

dynAmiC diSCiPlES › LB Manti Te’o

2011 Second-Team All-American; Finalist for Butkus Award and Lott Trophy › S Aaron Webster (Cincinnati)

2009 first-team all-Big East › LB Clint Sintim (Virginia)

Led nation in sacks by a linebacker in 2007

BOB DiaCO

defensive Coordinator/linebackers 15th year coaching Second year at notre dame

THE diACO FilEAge on Dec. 29 38 Hometown Cedar Grove, N.J.High School Cedar Grove High SchoolCollege Iowa (Sociology, 1995)Wife JuliaChildren Sons: Angelo and Michael; Daughter: Josephine

COACHing CArEEr1996-97 Iowa Graduate Assistant1999-2000 Western Illinois RB/Special Teams Coord.2001 Eastern Michigan RB/Special Teams Coord.2002 Eastern Michigan LB/Special Teams Coord.2003 Eastern Michigan OLB/Special Teams Coord.2004 Western Michigan LB/Special Teams Coord.2005 Central Michigan Co-Defensive Coord./LB2006-08 Virginia LB/Special Teams Coord.2009 Cincinnati Defensive Coord./ILB2010 Notre Dame Defensive Coord./ILB2011 Notre Dame Defensive Coord./LB

BOwlS/PlAyOFFS COACHEd1996 Iowa Alamo1997 Iowa Sun2000 Western Illinois NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs-First Round2007 Virginia Gator 2010 Cincinnati Sugar2010 Notre Dame Sun2011 Notre Dame Champs Sports

Playing Experience1991-95 Iowa Linebacker

BOwlS/PlAyOFFS PlAyEd1991 Iowa Holiday1993 Iowa Alamo 1995 Iowa Sun

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CHarley MOlnar

Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks 28th year coaching Second year at notre dame

COACHing ACCOmPliSHmEnTS › Named head coach at the University of Massachusetts on Dec. 8. The Champs Sports Bowl will

be his last game at Notre Dame. › The Irish offense eclipsed 500 yards of total offense in five of 12 regular-season games. That

equaled the combined number of 500-yard games from 2006-10. › Notre Dame’s offense is one of nine in the FBS to have a 1,000-yard rusher (Cierre Wood),

1,000-yard receiver (Michael Floyd) and 2,700-yard passer (Tommy Rees). › The Irish posted at least 45 points in three games in 2011 and scored 132 points over a three-

game stretch. Both were the best by an Irish offense since 1996. › Sophomore QB Tommy Rees is 8-3 as a starter in 2011 and 12-3 in his career (.800). Rees

owns a better winning percentage than Joe Montana and Rick Mirer. › Rees has completed 253 of 384 pass attempts for 2,708 yards with 19 TDs and 12 interceptions.

His 65.9 completion percentage is the second best in a season by a Notre Dame quarterback. The 19 TD passes are the fifth most by a Notre Dame player.

› Helped install new offensive system in 2010 and developed both Dayne Crist and Rees as first-time starting quarterbacks.

› Crist started the first nine games of ’10 and passed for 2,033 yards with 15 touchdowns before injuring a knee in the first quarter of the ninth game.

› Rees played the rest of the ninth game after Crist was injured and completed 33 of 54 passes for 334 yards with four TDs and three interceptions. He started the final four games and led the Irish to wins over No. 15 Utah, Army, at USC and Miami (Fla.) in Hyundai Sun Bowl.

› Under Molnar’s tutelage, Rees set Notre Dame freshman records in TD passes (12) and completion percentage (61.0). Rees also ranked in the top five in completions (third, 100), yards (second, 1,106) and passing efficiency (second, 132.70) by a freshman Irish quarterback.

› Was passing game coordinator and coached wide receivers at Cincinnati from 2007-09. Oversaw the two most prolific passing seasons in Cincinnati history and mentored a pair of record-setting receivers.

› Cincinnati wide receivers Mardy Gilyard and Dominick Goodman flourished with Molnar as their coach. Goodman initially set Cincinnati career records with 2,512 receiving yards and 22 receiving touchdowns. Goodman also tied the previous school record with 204 career catches. Gilyard broke Goodman’s career records by recording 3,053 receiving yards and 25 TD catches. Gilyard also finished his Bearcat career with 204 receptions, tying Goodman’s record.

› 2009 passing attack averaged 308.77 yards per game to rank eighth in nation and the 4,014 passing yards set Cincinnati single-season record. Bearcats ranked fourth in country in passing efficiency (161.21), thanks, in part, to a school record 39 TD passes.

› Gilyard became just the second Cincinnati player ever named an All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. He caught a school-record 87 passes for 1,191 yards with 11 TDs and became the Bearcats’ first player with multiple 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

› Gilyard and Goodman both experienced career seasons in 2008 as Gilyard set the Cincinnati record with 1,276 receiving yards and Goodman totaled 1,028 yards receiving. The duo became the first Bearcats players to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards together in the same season since 1968 (Jim O’Brien and Tom Rossley). Gilyard caught 81 passes and 11 TDs in his breakthrough season and ranked eighth in the nation in total receiving yards, en route to being named first-team all-BIG EAST.

› In 2007, Molnar’s aerial attack proved a harbinger of things to come for Bearcats fans as Cincinnati passed for 3,720 yards and 36 TDs – both school records, at the time. The Bearcats ranked eighth in the country in passing efficiency (149.38) and averaged 286.2 passing yards per game to rank 20th nationally. Marcus Barnett was selected second-team all-BIG EAST and a Rivals.com first-team freshman All-American after tallying a school-record 13 TD receptions.

› Joined Brian Kelly’s Central Michigan staff in 2006 and coached quarterbacks and wide receivers. Developed the most prolific freshman quarterback and wide receiver duo in the nation in 2006.

› Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour was named MAC Freshman of the Year and was selected first-team all-MAC after he led the conference in passing TDs, passing yards, passing efficiency, completion percentage, total completions and total yards. LeFevour set school records for passing yards (3,031) and TD passes (26), and his 3,552 total yards were also a Central Michigan record.

› Freshman wide receiver Bryan Anderson snagged a school-record 73 passes for 877 yards and five TDs in 2006. Anderson was named first-team all-MAC and was selected a first-team freshman All-American.

› Molnar completed a rare coaching feat at the conclusion of the 2006 season. Not only was he on the sidelines for 15 contests, including the 2006 MAC Championship Game, 2006 Motor City Bowl and 2007 International Bowl, but he coached the MVP in all three postseason games.

› As the associate head coach and offensive coordinator at Indiana State, Molnar’s offense broke six school passing records, including passing yards, completion percentage and TD passes.

› Coached quarterbacks from 2003-04 at Western Michigan and was forced to develop multiple signal-callers each season. In 2004, Molnar helped three quarterbacks combine to pass for 2,913 yards (264.8 yards per game) with 23 passing TDs. He also prepared three Bronco quarterbacks in 2003 and guided them to the eighth-ranked passing attack in the nation with 3,701 passing yards (308.4 yards per game) and 31 TDs.

dynAmiC diSCiPlES › WR Mardy Gilyard (Cincinnati), St. Louis Rams

2009 AFCA first-team All-American; 2008-09 first-team all-BIG EAST; Cincinnati’s all-time record holder in career receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns

› QB Dan LeFevour (Central Michigan), Cincinnati Bengals2006 Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year and first-team all-MAC

› QB Blayne Baggett (Indiana State)Indiana State record holder for most passing yards in a season

› TE O.J. Santiago (Kent State)1997 third-round NFL draft pick by Atlanta

THE mOlnAr FilEAge on Dec. 29 50Hometown Morristown, N.J.High School Bayley-Ellard (N.J.) High SchoolCollege Lock Haven (Political Science, 1984)Wife MegChildren Sons: Charley III, Tate, Bryce, Mitch and Dominic; Daughters:

Gillian, Gemma and Gianna

COACHing CArEEr1984-86 Lock Haven WR/TE/RB/PK1987-88 Virginia Graduate Assistant1989 Western Carolina QB1990-93 Illinois State Offensive Coord./QB/WR1994 Kent State QB1995 Kent State QB/WR1996-97 Kent State Offensive Coord./QB/WR1998-2000 Kent State Offensive Coord./QB2001 Eastern Illinois WR2002 Eastern Michigan QB2003-04 Western Michigan QB2005 Indiana State Assoc. Head Coach/Offensive Coord./QB2006 Central Michigan QB/WR2007-09 Cincinnati Passing Game Coord./WR2010-11 Notre Dame Offensive Coord./QB

BOwlS/PlAyOFFS COACHEd1987 Virginia All-American2001 Eastern Illinois NCAA 1-AA First Round2006 Central Michigan Motor City2007 Cincinnati International2007 Cincinnati Papajohns.com2009 Cincinnati Orange2010 Cincinnati Sugar2010 Notre Dame Sun2011 Notre Dame Champs Sports

99





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TOny alFOrD

wide receivers 17th year coaching Third year at notre dame

THE AlFOrd FilEAge on Dec. 29 43Hometown Colorado Springs, Colo.High School Doherty (Colo.) High SchoolCollege Colorado State (Exercise and Sports Science, 1992)Wife TrinaChildren Sons: Rylan, Kyler and Braydon

COACHing CArEEr1993 Fort Collins (Colo.) H.S.1994 Lake Wales (Fla.) H.S.1995 Mount Union RB1996 Kent State RB1997-2000 Iowa State RB2001 Washington RB2002-06 Iowa State Asst. Head Coach/RB2007-08 Louisville RB2009 Notre Dame RB2010-11 Notre Dame WR

BOwlS/PlAyOFFS COACHEd2000 Iowa State Insight.com2001 Washington Holiday2002 Iowa State Humanitarian2004 Iowa State Independence2005 Iowa State Houston2010 Notre Dame Sun2011 Notre Dame Champs Sports

PlAying EXPEriEnCE1987-90 Colorado State Running Back

BOwlS/PlAyOFFS PlAyEd1990 Colorado State Freedom Bowl

COACHing ACCOmPliSHmEnTS › In his second season as wide receivers coach after spending his previous 15 years as a running

backs coach. › Notre Dame wide receivers accounted for 172.9 yards of 258.1 receiving yards per game (67

percent). › Senior Michael Floyd led the Irish with a Notre Dame single-season record 95 receptions for

1,106 yards and eight TDs. He became just the second Irish player to record multiple seasons of at least 60 receptions. Floyd owns career records of receptions, receiving yards, receiving TDs, yards per game and 100-yard games.

› Floyd was a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist and an honorable mention selection to Pro Football Weekly’s All-America team.

› Junior Theo Riddick recorded a career-high 429 receiving yards despite missing over two games with a hamstring injury.

› Sophomore TJ Jones and junior Robby Toma both set career highs in receptions and receiving yards. Toma was recipient of the Next Man In Award at the Notre Dame football awards banquet.

› Named one of six finalists for national recruiter of the year by 247Sports.com following 2011 signing day and was tabbed one of nation’s top 25 recruiters in 2011 by Rivals.com.

› Helped the Irish receiving game average 253.1 yards per contest in the 2010 regular season. › With Alford’s coaching, Floyd recorded a breakthrough season at Notre Dame. Floyd led the

Irish with 79 receptions for 1,025 yards and 12 TDs. His 2010 totals all rank in the top 10 on Notre Dame’s single-season records list.

› In his first season as a wide receiver, Riddick flourished under Alford’s tutelage as Riddick ranked second on the squad with 40 catches for 414 yards and three TDs in nine games. Prior to ’10, Riddick had only played running back.

› Jones and Toma became consistent receiving options under Alford in 2010 as Jones totaled 306 yards and three TDs on 22 receptions and Toma caught 14 passes for 187 yards.

› Notre Dame’s running backs Armando Allen, Robert Hughes, Riddick and Jonas Gray averaged 4.8 yards on 293 carries in 2009 while the top four Irish rushers in 2008 averaged 3.9 yards per carry.

› Prior to Notre Dame, spent his entire 14-year coaching career working with running backs at five different schools and produced a 1,000-yard rusher seven times.

› During the 2008 season, one of Alford’s pupils, redshirt freshman Victor Anderson, rushed for 1,047 yards with eight touchdowns and became the first Louisville running back to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards since 2005. Anderson was named the BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Year and second-team all-BIG EAST. He was also placed on Sporting News’ Freshman All-America squad.

› Louisville averaged 164.5 yards rushing per game in 2008 and scored 18 rushing touchdowns. › Spent nine years during two stints as running backs coach at Iowa State (1997-2000, 2002-

06) where he developed three of the school’s top six career rushing leaders (the last five years at Iowa State he also held the title of assistant head coach). Darren Davis, Ennis Haywood and Stevie Hicks combined for five 1,000-yard seasons with Alford as their position coach.

› Four of the 10 best single-game rushing totals in Cyclone history occurred during Alford’s tenure, and Iowa State had a 200-yard rushing effort by one of his running backs eight times during his nine-year stint in Ames.

› Hicks became the third Cyclone rusher under Alford to surpass 1,000 rushing yards in a season, as he led Iowa State with 1,062 yards in 2004.

› Iowa State was one of only three FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) schools that produced a 1,000-yard rusher annually from 1995-2001.

› Haywood continued the tradition in 2000, as he led the Big 12 Conference and ranked 10th nationally with 1,237 rushing yards. Haywood was a first-team all-Big 12 running back as the Cylcones’ rushing attack averaged 209.0 yards per game and totaled 27 rushing TDs.

› During his initial four years in Ames (1997-2000), Iowa State improved from 103rd to 17th nationally in rushing.

› Under Alford’s guidance, Davis produced three consecutive seasons over 1,000 yards en route to becoming the second-most prolific rusher in school history.

› Davis gained 1,005 yards as a sophomore in 1997, 1,116 yards in 1998 and ranked ninth in the nation in 1999 with a Big 12-best 1,388 rushing yards.

› Sandwiched between Alford’s stints at Iowa State was a year as Washington’s running backs coach in 2001. Under Alford, Husky tailback Willie Hurst became the ninth back in school history to rush for more than 2,000 career yards.

PErSOnAl inFOrmATiOn

› Alford was a first-team all-Western Athletic Conference running back as a player for Colorado State in 1989 and was an honorable mention selection on USA Today’s All-America team. He played for the Rams from 1987-90 and was a 1989 Doak Walker Award nominee. Alford ran for a school-record 310 yards versus Utah during the 1989 season.

› Participated in Denver Broncos training camp in 1991 and played for the World League of American Football’s Birmingham Fire in 1992.

› His brother, Aaron, is the director of high school relations at the University of Utah.

dynAmiC diSCiPlES › WR Michael Floyd (Notre Dame)

Owner of five Notre Dame career receiving records › RB Victor Anderson (Louisville)

2008 BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Year; ’08 Freshman All-American › RB Ennis Haywood (Iowa State)

2000 all-Big 12 first team › RB Darren Davis (Iowa State)

1999 all-Big 12 first team; Iowa State’s No. 2 career rusher › RB Astron Whatley (Kent State)

1996 all-Mid-American Conference first team

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Kerry COOKS

Cornerbacks ninth year coaching Second year at notre dame

COACHing ACCOmPliSHmEnTS › Former all-Big Ten Conference safety and National Football League veteran is in his ninth

season coaching in college football and his first year with Notre Dame’s cornerbacks in 2011. › Coached the cornerbacks in 2011 and helped the Irish improve 20 spots in pass defense. Notre

Dame’s secondary helped limit opponents to 202.2 passing yards per game and ranks 34th in the FBS.

› Senior Robert Blanton has had his best season in his Irish career in 2011 as he ranks third on the team with 69 tackles, ranks second with eight tackles for loss and added five pass breakups, two interceptions, one sack and one fumble recovery.

› Senior Gary Gray is the fourth-leading tackler with 60 stops and has tied his career-high with two interceptions while adding five pass breakups.

› Helped develop sophomores Lo Wood and Bennett Jackson as capable backups to Blanton and Gray. Wood returned his first career interception 57 yards for a TD vs. Maryland.

› Invited to attend 2011 NCAA Champion Forum, a seminar for minority coaches where they learn from current athletics directors how to interview for head coaching jobs and run a football program.

› Worked with the outside linebackers in his first season at Notre Dame and helped improve the production of Darius Fleming, Kerry Neal, Brian Smith and Prince Shembo.

› Notre Dame’s outside linebackers combined for 12 sacks and 20 tackles for loss in 2010. › Fleming tallied career highs of six sacks and 49 tackles and he led the Irish in sacks and with

11 tackles for loss.

› Coached defensive backs at Wisconsin for four seasons and helped develop 10 all-Big Ten honorees, including three first-team selections.

› Helped lead the Badgers to a 38-14 record from 2006-09, with Wisconsin finishing the season ranked in the top 25 three times.

› In 2009, two members of Cooks’ secondary received all-Big Ten accolades and a third player burst onto the scene as a first-year starter.

› Safeties Jay Valai and Chris Maragos directed the Badgers defensive backfield and ranked in the top 10 in tackles on the team in 2009.

› Valai was named a second-team all-Big Ten performer for the second year in a row in 2009 while Maragos garnered honorable mention all-conference accolades.

› Cooks’ star pupil in 2008 was cornerback Allen Langford who earned first-team all-Big Ten plaudits and was named the team’s MVP after recording 47 tackles, two interceptions and a team-best 13 pass breakups.

› Valai was named second-team all-Big Ten as a sophomore after posting 56 tackles and forcing three fumbles in his first season as a starter.

› Cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu led the Badgers and tied for third in the conference in 2007 with 16 passes defended en route to being named first-team all-Big Ten.

› Free Safety Shane Carter was a consensus honorable mention all-conference pick in 2007 after his seven interceptions led the Big Ten and tied for sixth nationally.

› In his first season at Wisconsin in 2006, Cooks helped the Badgers lead the nation in pass efficiency defense (84.19 rating), and the 138.3 passing yards allowed per game ranked second in the nation.

› Cooks helped Wisconsin allow 111.5 fewer passing yards per game in 2006 than 2005 and opposing quarterbacks only completed 47.8 percent of their passes against the Badgers.

› Wisconsin finished 12-1 in 2006 and ranked fifth in the final coaches’ poll after defeating Arkansas in the Capital One Bowl.

› Each of Cooks’ four starting defensive backs in 2006 received postseason recognition from the Big Ten, including Ikegwuonu who earned first-team honors after tallying 41 tackles, two interceptions and 11 pass breakups.

› Free safety Roderick Rogers was named to the Big Ten second team in 2006 while Langford and strong safety Joe Stellmacher both were named honorable mention all-Big Ten.

› Cooks spent one season at Minnesota coaching defensive backs in 2005. His defensive backs allowed opponents to complete just 55.3 percent of their passes during the Big Ten season, second best in the league.

› Prior to his year at Minnesota, Cooks coached defensive backs and assisted on special teams for one season at Western Illinois in 2004. The Leathernecks limited opponents to a Gateway Conference-best 157.2 passing yards per game, held opponents to the lowest completion percentage (45.4) in the conference and finished second in the league with 17 interceptions.

› Cooks began coaching at his alma mater, Nimitz (Texas) High School, in 2003 before joining the coaching staff at Kansas State as a graduate assistant for the 2003 campaign.

› While with the Wildcats, he worked mostly with defensive game plan preparation and assisted with the Kansas State secondary.

PErSOnAl inFOrmATiOn › A four-year letterwinner and two-year starter as a strong safety at Iowa, Cooks played for the

Hawkeyes from 1993-97. › As a senior, he was a team captain and earned all-Big Ten honors. › A fifth-round draft choice of the Minnesota Vikings in the 1998 NFL Draft, Cooks also played

for Green Bay, Atlanta and Jacksonville before retiring from the NFL in 2001. He also played for the XFL’s Chicago Enforcers in 2001.

› Graduated from Iowa in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.

dynAmiC diSCiPlES › CB Allen Langford (Wisconsin)

2008 first-team all-Big Ten › CB Jack Ikegwuonu (Wisconsin), Philadelphia Eagles

2006 and 2007 first-team all-Big Ten

THE COOKS FilEAge on Dec. 29 37Hometown Irving, TexasHigh School Nimitz (Texas) High SchoolCollege Iowa (Sociology, 2000)Wife ElvernChildren Daughters: Kerrington and Kennedy

COACHing CArEEr2003 Kansas State Graduate Assistant2004 Western Illinois DB/Asst. Special Teams2005 Minnesota DB2006-09 Wisconsin DB/Asst. Special Teams2010 Notre Dame OLB2011 Notre Dame CB2011 Notre Dame Cornerbacks

BOwlS/PlAyOFFS COACHEd2004 Kansas State Fiesta2005 Minnesota Music City2007 Wisconsin Outback2008 Wisconsin Champs Sports2009 Wisconsin Champs Sports2010 Notre Dame Sun2011 Notre Dame Champs Sports

PlAying EXPEriEnCE

1993-97 Iowa Strong SafetyBOwlS/PlAyOFFS PlAyEd1993 Iowa Alamo1995 Iowa Sun1996 Iowa Alamo1997 Iowa Sun

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MiKe DenBrOCK

Tight Ends 26th year coaching Fifth year at notre dame

THE dEnBrOCK FilEAge on Dec. 29 47Hometown Albion, Mich.High School Homer (Mich.) High SchoolCollege Grand Valley State (Communications, 1987)Wife DianneChildren Son: Chase

COACHing CArEEr1986-87 Grand Valley State Graduate Assistant1988-89 Michigan State Graduate Assistant1990-91 Illinois State OT/TE1992-95 Grand Valley State Offensive Coord./QB/WR1996-98 Grand Valley State Defensive Coord./LB1999-2000 Buffalo (AFL) Asst. Head Coach/Defensive Coord./OL/DL2001 Stanford OT/TE2002-04 Notre Dame OT/TE2005-08 Washington OL2009 Indiana State Assoc. Head Coach/Special Teams Coord.LB2010-11 Notre Dame TE

BOwlS/PlAyOFFS COACHEd1989 Michigan State Gator1989 Michigan State Aloha1994 Grand Valley State Division II First Round1998 Grand Valley State Division II First Round2000 Buffalo Playoffs2001 Stanford Seattle2003 Notre Dame Gator2004 Notre Dame Insight2010 Notre Dame Sun2011 Notre Dame Champs Sports

PlAying EXPEriEnCE1982-85 Grand Valley State Tight End

COACHing ACCOmPliSHmEnTS › Denbrock returned in 2010 to Notre Dame where he previously coached Notre Dame’s

offensive tackles and tight ends from 2002-04. › Earlier in his career he spent a combined eight seasons with head coach Brian Kelly at Grand

Valley State. Kelly served as the Lakers’ head coach and Denbrock was on his coaching staff from 1992-98. The two were graduate assistants together at Grand Valley State in 1987.

› Selected one of Tom Lemming’s Assistant Coaches of the Year in 2011. › Coached junior tight end Tyler Eifert to one of the best seasons ever by a Notre Dame tight end.

Eifert ranks second on the team with 57 receptions for 713 yards and five TDs. › A Mackey Award finalist, Eifert leads all FBS tight ends in receptions and ranks second in

receiving yards. His 57 catches are a Notre Dame record for receptions by a tight end and he ranks second all-time in single-season receiving yards by a Notre Dame tight end.

› Eifert was selected to the Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America first team. He became Notre Dame’s 185th All-America first-team selection and the first Irish tight end named first team All-America since Derek Brown in 1991.

› Developed sophomore Alex Welch and freshman Ben Koyack into contributors after injuries to senior Mike Ragone and junior Jake Golic ended their seasons.

› Coached 2010 preseason All-American Kyle Rudolph as he collected 28 receptions for 328 yards and three touchdowns in first six games before a hamstring injury ended his season. Rudolph earned John Mackey Tight End of the Week honors following the Michigan game where he set career highs with eight catches for 164 yards and one touchdown.

› Developed Eifert in Rudolph’s absence and turned the sophomore tight end into a reliable receiving option for the Irish. Eifert snagged 27 passes for 352 yards and two touchdowns and was named John Mackey Award Tight End of the Week following his performance vs. Army where he caught four passes for 78 yards with one touchdown.

› At Indiana State in 2009, helped turn redshirt freshman linebacker Aaron Archie into an all-conference player in his first season of collegiate football. He was named a second-team performer in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and was a member of the league’s all-newcomer team.

› Junior return specialist Darrius Gates earned honorable mention accolades in 2009 from the Missouri Valley Football Conference after leading the league and ranking fifth nationally averaging 27.1 yards per kickoff return.

› Coached offensive line at Washington and in 2007, the Husky line helped running back Louis Rankin become the first 1,000-yard rusher at Washington since 1997. Quarterback Jake Locker also nearly eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards in 2007 as he gained 986 yards on the ground. Rankin and Locker ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in rushing yards per game among Pac-10 players.

› Center Juan Garcia earned second-team all-Pacific-10 honors in 2007. › Denbrock’s offensive line paved the way for the Huskies to average 203.1 rushing yards per

game in 2007. Washington ranked 18th nationally in rushing and second in the Pac-10 Conference.

› Coached several players at Notre Dame who became NFL Draft selections, including offensive tackles Ryan Harris (2007, third round, Denver), Jim Molinaro (2004, seventh round, Washington), Jordan Black (2003, fifth round, Kansas City) and Brennan Curtin (2003, sixth round, Green Bay) plus tight ends John Carlson (2008, second round, Seattle), Anthony Fasano (2006, second round, Dallas) and Jerome Collins (2005, fifth round, St. Louis).

› Prior to coming to Notre Dame, Denbrock worked in a similar capacity with the offensive tackles and tight ends at Stanford. His line helped lead the way for a Stanford rushing attack which ranked 23rd in the nation, averaging more than 200 yards per game and scoring 27 TDs.

› Developed Kwame Harris into one of the top offensive tackles in the Pac-10 Conference. Harris earned second-team all-Pac-10 honors following 2001 and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers with the 26th pick in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft.

› Prior to his two years in Buffalo, Denbrock returned to his alma mater, Grand Valley State, where he coached with Kelly.

› Denbrock served as the Lakers’ defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 1996-98 and his defensive unit ranked among the nation’s top 30 in total defense, scoring defense and rushing defense each season.

› His 1996 defense led the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference and was 11th nationally in scoring defense while also leading the conference in total defense.

› As the offensive coordinator, Denbrock’s squad was first in the MIFC in both total and scoring offense from 1992-94.

› In 1995, his offense ranked eighth in the nation in scoring and 12th in total offense. › Eight of his players earned first-team All-America honors during his seven years at Grand

Valley State. › Denbrock’s first full-time coaching assignment came in 1990-91 as the tackles and tight ends

coach at Illinois State. › He focused on the offensive line as a graduate assistant at Michigan State in 1989 and helped

with the quarterbacks and receivers on the 1988 Spartans squad. › He broke into coaching as a graduate assistant from 1986-87 at Grand Valley State where he

worked with the offensive tackles and tight ends.

dynAmiC diSCiPlES › TE Tyler Eifert (Notre Dame)

2011 Mackey Award Finalist; First-Team All-American › TE John Carlson (Notre Dame), Seattle Seahawks

2008 second-round NFL draft pick by Seattle › OT Ryan Harris (Notre Dame), Denver Broncos

2007 third-round NFL draft pick by Denver › TE Anthony Fasano (Notre Dame), Miami Dolphins

2006 second-round NFL draft pick by Dallas › OT Kwame Harris (Stanford)

2002 first-round NFL draft pick by San Francisco

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MiKe elSTOn

defensive line/Special Teams Coordinator 13th year coaching Second year at notre dame

COACHing ACCOmPliSHmEnTS › Led a defensive line unit that helped permit only 3.9 rushing yards per carry (best since 2006) and

held 10 of 12 opponents below their season rushing average. › Opened year with three veteran players on defensive line: NG Sean Cwynar, DE Ethan Johnson

and DE Kapron Lewis-Moore. All three players suffered injuries at various points of the season that caused them to miss 10 combined games.

› Developed first-year players DE Aaron Lynch, NG Louis Nix III and DE Stephon Tuitt. The young trio combined to start 18 games and totaled 97 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and eight and a half sacks.

› George Atkinson ranks 15th in the nation in kickoff return average at 27.4 and was a key reason the Irish kick returns moved from 75th in the NCAA in 2010 to 33rd in 2011.

› Kicker David Ruffer has made more PATs without a miss this season than anyone in Notre Dame history (45-45).

› In first season at Notre Dame, helped turn around Irish defense as well as coordinated special teams efforts that included an All-American caliber placekicker.

› The defensive line aided the Irish efforts in holding opponents to 4.0 yards per carry in 2010, almost a yard fewer than the ’09 Irish defense permitted. In Notre Dame’s four-game win streak to close the 2010 season, the Irish allowed only 2.9 yards per rush against Utah, Army, USC and Miami. Those

four teams combined to average 4.9 yards per carry against the rest of their respective schedules. › The starting defensive line of Lewis-Moore, Ian Williams, Cwynar and Johnson combined for 12

sacks and 15 tackles for loss. › Ruffer flourished with Elston’s tutelage as he was named one of three finalists for the Groza Award,

presented annually to college football’s top kicker. He converted his first 18 field goal attempts of 2010 before missing his final kick of the season, snapping his school record streak for most consecutive made field goals in a season (18) and career (23).

› In his only season as Cincinnati’s defensive line coach, Elston was forced to replace all of his starters while helping to implement a new defensive scheme.

› The results were an attacking defensive front in 2009 that limited its opponents to 3.6 rushing yards per carry and helped lead Cincinnati’s defense to the third-most tackles for loss and 10th-most sacks in the nation.

› The Bearcats’ defensive line combined for 57 tackles for losses and 25.5 of the team’s 37 sacks for the season.

› Cincinnati was led in 2009 by Ricardo Mathews and Alex Daniels, two first-year starters at defensive end. Mathews received second-team all-BIG EAST honors and led Cincinnati with 12.5 tackles for loss. Daniels paced the defensive line with 56 tackles and led the team with 8.5 sacks.

› Elston served as special teams coordinator in 2009 for the third straight season and helped Mardy Gilyard earn the BIG EAST Special Teams Player of the Year award for the second consecutive year. Gilyard averaged 30.5 yards on 42 kickoff returns and returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. He also averaged 12.6 yards on 16 punt returns including one punt return for TD.

› Elston’s kickoff return unit ranked second in the nation, averaging 28.5 yards per kickoff return, and only three schools returned more kickoffs for TDs than Cincinnati’s three returns. His punt return unit averaged 13.0 yards per return which ranked 17th in the nation.

› Under Elston’s direction, Kevin Huber was selected as the first-team punter on the Associated Press’ All-America team in 2007 and 2008. Huber was also tabbed a first-team All-American in 2008 by the American Football Coaches Association and the Football Writers Association of America. He ranked seventh in the nation, averaging 45.0 yards per punt, and helped the Bearcats lead the nation in net punting at 41.5 yards.

› Cincinnati became only the fourth team in NCAA FBS history to lead the nation in net punting in consecutive seasons.

› Huber was selected in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. › Gilyard also was named BIG EAST Special Teams Player of the Year in 2008 after leading the BIG

EAST and ranking 11th nationally by averaging 27.6 yards on 36 kickoff returns. Gilyard returned two kickoffs for TDs, the first a 97-yarder at Oklahoma and the second for 100 yards at West Virginia.

› In 2007, Huber was named a consensus All-American and recipient of the BIG EAST Special Teams Player of the Year award after he led the nation averaging 46.9 yards per punt. Huber also helped the Bearcats rank first in the nation in net punting at 39.6 yards.

› In 2006, he served as Central Michigan’s special teams coordinator and linebackers coach and instructed two all-Mid-American Conference linebackers, including the top tackler in the league.

› Elston’s work with special teams in 2006 sparked a drastic improvement in the punting unit, which finished 19th nationally in net punting.

› Spent the 2005 season as the Central Michigan co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach. He helped develop a unit that led the MAC in rushing defense, allowing 113.7 yards per game, a major improvement for a team that ranked last in the MAC in rushing defense two years earlier.

› Worked directly with defensive end Dan Bazuin who led the nation with 26.5 tackles for loss and tied a MAC record with 16 sacks.

› Bazuin later became a second-round NFL draft pick by the Chicago Bears in 2007.

PErSOnAl inFOrmATiOn › Elston was a member of Michigan’s football team from 1993-96 and lettered for the

Wolverines as an outside linebacker from 1994-96. Michigan finished in the top 20 each year he lettered and he helped the Wolverines to a 25-12 record in his three seasons.

dynAmiC diSCiPlES › David Ruffer

2010 Lou Groza Award finalist › Dan Bazuin (Central Michigan)

Led NCAA with 26.5 tackles for loss in 2005 and tied MAC record with 16 sacks; Second-round NFL draft pick of Chicago Bears in 2007

› Kevin Huber (Cincinnati), Cincinnati Bengals2007 and 2008 first-team All-American; 2007 BIG EAST Special Teams Player of the Year

› Mardy Gilyard (Cincinnati), St. Louis Rams2008 and 2009 BIG EAST Special Teams Player of the Year

THE ElSTOn FilEAge on Dec. 29 37Hometown St. Marys, OhioHigh School Memorial (Ohio) High SchoolCollege Michigan (Sport Management and Communications, 1998)Wife Beth (Broyles)Children Daughters: Olivia, Sophia and Isabella

COACHing CArEEr1997 Michigan Student Assistant1998 Michigan Video Intern1999-2000 Michigan Graduate Assistant (OLB)2001 Eastern Michigan DE2002-03 Eastern Michigan DL/Recruiting Coordinator2004 Central Michigan DL2005 Central Michigan Co-Defensive Coordinator/DL2006 Central Michigan LB/Special Teams Coordinator2007-08 Cincinnati TE/ Special Teams Coord./Recruiting Coord.2009 Cincinnati Asst. Head Coach/DL/Special Teams Coord.2010-11 Notre Dame DL/Special Teams Coord.

BOwlS/PlAyOFFS COACHEd1998 Michigan Rose1999 Michigan Citrus2000 Michigan Orange2001 Michigan Citrus2006 Central Michigan Motor City2007 Cincinnati Papajohns.com2009 Cincinnati Orange2010 Cincinnati Sugar2010 Notre Dame Sun2011 Notre Dame Champs Sports

PlAying EXPEriEnCE1993-96 Michigan Outside Linebacker

BOwlS/PlAyOFFS PlAyEd1993 Michigan Hall of Fame1994 Michigan Holiday1995 Michigan Alamo 1997 Michigan Outback

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TiM HinTOn

running Backs 30th year coaching Second year at notre dame

COACHing ACCOmPliSHmEnTS › The Irish are one of four teams in the FBS to have a pair of running backs rank among the top

72 in rushing yards per game in 2011. Junior Cierre Wood ranks 46th in the nation in rushing while senior Jonas Gray ranks 72nd.

› Wood became the 10th Notre Dame player to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards in a season. His 1,042 rushing yards are the 16th-most in Irish history.

› Wood (nine rushing TDs) and Gray (12 rushing TDs) are one of three running back tandems in the FBS where both running backs have at least nine rushing TDs. The other two duos play in the electric offenses at Oregon and Oklahoma State.

› Gray averaged 6.9 yards per carry, the 10th-best average by an FBS running back this year and fifth-best average for a season by a Notre Dame running back. His 9.5 carries per touchdown ratio ranks third in the FBS.

› The 12 rushing TDs totaled by Gray are tied for the ninth most in a season in school history. › Coached stable of four running backs that combined to rush for 1,517 yards on 314 carries and

averaged 4.8 yards per carry. › Senior Armando Allen started seven of the eight contests he appeared and was Notre Dame’s

leading rusher before an injury sidelined him for the final five games of 2010. Allen totaled 514 yards on 107 carries with two touchdowns and added 17 receptions for 138 yards.

› Wood picked up the slack as a sophomore in Allen’s absence and was Notre Dame’s leading rusher in his first season of collegiate competition. Wood rushed 119 times for 603 yards with three touchdowns and his 5.1 yards per carry average was the second best by an Irish running back with at least 100 carries in the last 14 seasons.

› Robert Hughes gained 300 yards on 68 carries and two touchdowns in his senior season, including 55 rushes for 222 yards with both touchdowns in the last five games.

› Hinton’s top two running backs in 2009 combined to average 6.4 yards per carry, as Isaiah Pead and Jacob Ramsey gained 1,245 yards on 195 carries and scored 13 touchdowns.

› Pead and Ramsey also proved to be threats out of the backfield, as they caught 38 combined passes for 346 yards and four TDs. They were also reliable rushers and blockers as neither player lost a fumble nor allowed a sack.

› Hinton developed Pead during his sophomore season as Pead was the Bearcats’ top ballcarrier in 2009. He gained 806 yards on 121 carries with nine TDs and had a breakthrough performance against West Virginia when he gained 175 yards on 18 carries and one TD. Pead also averaged 10.1 yards on 20 receptions.

› Ramsey and John Goebel shouldered most of the load in 2008, as Pead rushed just 30 times in his freshman season. The trio combined to rush for 1,465 yards and nine TDs while averaging 4.7 yards per carry.

› Ramsey led the way for the Bearcats in 2008 with 664 yards on 152 carries with two TDs, while Goebel rushed 133 times for 607 yards and seven TDs. Goebel proved to be a receiving threat out of the backfield, recording 283 receiving yards on 26 catches.

› Hinton shifted to linebackers in Kelly’s first season at Cincinnati and two of Hinton’s pupils ranked in the top three on the Bearcats in tackles in 2007.

› Corey Smith ranked second on the 2007 squad with 80 tackles including six tackles for loss and two sacks while starting all but one game at weakside linebacker. Ryan Manalac tallied 76 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss at middle linebacker in his first season starting at Cincinnati.

› Under head coach Mark Dantonio, Hinton worked with the Bearcats’ running backs from 2004-06.

› In 2006, three Cincinnati running backs combined to rush for 1,358 yards and 10 TDs. › In Hinton’s first year with the Bearcats, he helped turn Richard Hall into a 1,000-yard rusher

and an all-Conference USA player as Cincinnati’s ground attack averaged 183.4 rushing yards per contest.

› Prior to Cincinnati, Hinton had great success as a high school head football coach in Ohio. › From 1993-2003, he was head coach at Harding High School in Marion, Ohio, where he

directed his teams to five conference titles and five appearances in the state playoffs. Two of his teams advanced to the regional finals, and during his tenure at Harding he sent 13 players to the major college playing ranks. In 1995, he was named Ohio Division I Co-Coach of the Year.

› His first two head coaching jobs came at Zane Trace High School in Chillicothe, Ohio, where he coached the 1987 and 1988 seasons and at Van Wert High School in Van Wert, Ohio, in 1989.

› Hinton’s first exposure to major college football came as a graduate assistant at Ohio State from 1985-86.

› In 1986, Hinton worked primarily with Ohio State’s wide receivers and helped Cris Carter set school records in single-season receptions, receiving yards and touchdown receptions. Carter was named a first-team All-American after the season.

› Under head coach Earle Bruce, Hinton was on the Buckeyes’ staff for two bowl game appearances. The 1986 team finished 10-3 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten Conference, earning a share of the Big Ten championship.

dynAmiC diSCiPlES › Isaiah Pead (Cincinnati)

Averaged 6.7 yards per carry and 10.1 yards per reception in 2009 › Richard Hall (Cincinnati)

All-Conference USA in 2004 › Cris Carter (Ohio State)

1986 first-team All-American; Set Ohio State school record for receptions and receiving yards in a season

THE HinTOn FilEAge on Dec. 29 51Hometown Amanda, OhioHigh School Amanda ClearcreekCollege B.A. Wilmington College (Industrial Education, 1982); M.A.

Ohio State (Educational Policy and Leadership, 1987)Wife BevChildren Daughters: Dawn and Drew

COACHing CArEEr1981 Wilmington College Student Asst.1982-84 Wilmington College TE/WR1985-86 Ohio State Graduate Asst.1987-88 Zane Trace (Ohio) H.S. Head Coach1989 Van Wert (Ohio) H.S. Head Coach1990 Ohio University WR1991-92 Ohio University DL/Strength and Coord. Coach1993-2003 Marion (Ohio) Harding H.S. Head Coach2004-06 Cincinnati RB2007 Cincinnati LB2008 Cincinnati RB2009 Cincinnati RB/Recruiting Coord.2010-11 Notre Dame RB

BOwlS/PlAyOFFS COACHEd1982 Wilmington College NAIA First-Round Playoffs1983 Wilmington College NAIA First-Round Playoffs1986 Ohio State Citrus1987 Ohio State Cotton2004 Cincinnati Fort Worth2007 Cincinnati International2007 Cincinnati Papajohns.com2009 Cincinnati Orange2010 Cincinnati Sugar2010 Notre Dame Sun2011 Notre Dame Champs Sports

104

coacHing staff


CHUCK MarTin

Safeties/recruiting Coordinator 20th year coaching Second year at notre dame

THE mArTin FilEAge on Dec. 29 43Hometown Park Forest, Ill.High School Rich East (Ill.) High SchoolCollege Millikin (Ill.) (Accounting, 1990)Wife DulcieChildren Son: Max; Daughter: Emma

COACHing CArEEr1992-93 Mankato State (Minn.) Graduate Asst.1994-95 Wittenberg (Ohio) LB1996-97 Millikin (Ill.) Defensive Coordinator/DB1998-99 Eastern Michigan LB2000-02 Grand Valley State DB2003 Grand Valley State Defensive Coordinator/DB2004-09 Grand Valley State Head Coach2010 Notre Dame DB/Recruiting Coord.2011 Notre Dame S/Recruiting Coord.

BOwlS/PlAyOFFS COACHEd1995 Wittenberg (Ohio) Division III First Round2001 Grand Valley State Division II National Finalist2002 Grand Valley State Division II Champions2003 Grand Valley State Division II Champions2004 Grand Valley State Division II Regional2005 Grand Valley State Division II Champions2006 Grand Valley State Division II Champions2007 Grand Valley State Division II Semifinal2008 Grand Valley State Division II Regional2009 Grand Valley State Division II National Finalist2010 Notre Dame Sun2011 Notre Dame Champs Sports

PlAying EXPEriEnCE1986-90 Millikin (Ill.) Safety

BOwlS/PlAyOFFS PlAyEd 1989 Millikin (Ill.) Division II Quarterfinals

COACHing ACCOmPliSHmEnTS › In the season prior to Martin’s arrival at Notre Dame, the Irish ranked 76th in the nation in pass

defense. Notre Dame currently ranks 34th in pass defense, allowing 202.2 yards per game. › Focused on safeties in 2011 and got great performances from senior Harrison Smith, senior

Jamoris Slaughter and junior Zeke Motta. › Smith ranks second on the Irish with 84 tackles and became the 11th Notre Dame player to

reach 300 career tackles. His 216 career tackles as a defensive back are the fifth most in school history.

› Motta and Slaughter combined to record 78 tackles, two interceptions and three pass breakups in 2011.

› In first season at Notre Dame, helped improve the defensive statistical categories when compared to 2009: passing defense (76th to 54th) and pass efficiency defense (82nd to 25th).

› Members of his secondary combined to total 15 of team’s 18 interceptions and 28 of team’s 46 passes broken up.

› The improved coverage and tackling by the defensive backs under Martin led to the Irish allowing only 10.2 yards per completion in 2010, the fewest yards allowed by a Notre Dame defense since 1993. The 10.2 yards per completion average was seventh-best in the FBS in 2010.

› Smith became one of Notre Dame’s most consistent players as he ranked fourth in nation with team-best seven interceptions and was second on Irish with 93 tackles.

› Named one of top 25 recruiters in nation by ESPN.com in February 2011 and was named to Rivals.com’s Tom Dienhart’s second team assistant coach dream team coaching staff in March 2011.

› Led Grand Valley State University to two NCAA Division II national championships and won over 91 percent of his games as Lakers’ head coach.

› Replaced Brian Kelly as Lakers’ head coach after Kelly was named head coach at Central Michigan University.

› Under Martin’s watch, Grand Valley went 74-7 (.914) and won NCAA Division II national championships in 2005 and 2006. The Lakers were runners-up in 2009.

› Guided the Lakers to five Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference championships in six years and posted a 16-4 record in Division II playoffs.

› Martin’s .914 winning percentage was the second best among active college football coaches, regardless of division (Mount Union’s Larry Kehres owned a .925 winning percentage).

› A member of the Lakers coaching staff since 2000, Martin helped Grand Valley State post a 122-13 record from 2000-09, including winning 121 of its last 130 games.

› As Grand Valley State head coach, helped develop 34 players who earned various All-America honors and 114 players who earned all-GLIAC plaudits, including 56 first-team selections.

› The Lakers were ranked number one in the American Football Coaches Association Coaches Poll for 56 of 70 weeks the poll was released during his tenure.

› From 2004 to 2009, directed Grand Valley State to 48 consecutive regular-season victories and 45 straight wins in GLIAC action. He also guided the Lakers to a Division II record 40-game winning streak from 2005-07.

› Guided the Lakers to 13-2 record and school’s fifth consecutive GLIAC championship in 2009. Grand Valley State also made its ninth straight NCAA Division II playoff appearance and advanced to national championship game for third time in five seasons (falling to Northwest Missouri State, 30-23). It marked the sixth time since 2001 the Lakers had advanced to NCAA Division II finals.

› The 2008 team turned in its fourth straight undefeated regular season and finished with an 11-1 record. The Lakers advanced to quarterfinals of Division II playoffs before falling to eventual national champion Minnesota-Duluth in double overtime.

› 2007 squad cruised through regular season undefeated and led GLIAC in scoring defense (14.5 points per game), total defense (303.6 yards per game), pass efficiency defense (95.6) and quarterback sacks (42). The Lakers advanced to national semifinals but were defeated at Northwest Missouri State.

› Claimed his second national championship and Grand Valley State’s fourth title in 2006 after the Lakers defeated Northwest Missouri State for the second straight year, 17-14. The win capped off a perfect 15-0 season that saw Grand Valley State outscore its GLIAC foes by an average score of 37.1-14.6.

› In his second season as head coach, guided Lakers to an undefeated season (13-0) and their third national championship.

› Led Grand Valley State to a 10-3 mark and a berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs (lost in quarterfinals) in first season at the helm in 2004. The 10 wins by Martin were the most of any first-year head coach in school history.

› Served as defensive coordinator under Kelly in 2003 and helped the Lakers to the national championship. Grand Valley State rode its defense to the title as it limited its final three opponents in the playoffs to just a field goal apiece.

› Coached the linebackers at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, from 1994-95 and also served as head golf coach and assistant baseball coach.

PErSOnAl inFOrmATiOn › Martin was an All-America safety at Millikin and was also selected a GTE Academic All-

American. He also doubled as an all-conference placekicker for the football team and received academic all-district honors for Millikin’s basketball team. He was inducted into the Millikin Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.

dynAmiC diSCiPlES › CB Brandon Carr (Grand Valley State); Kansas City Chiefs

Started all 48 games at cornerback in first three seasons with the Chiefs › OL Brandon Barnes (Grand Valley State)

2007 Gene Upshaw Award winner (top offensive lineman in NCAA Division II) › QB Cullen Finnerty (Grand Valley State)

2006 Harlon Hill Award runner-up (top player in NCAA Division II) › DL Mike McFadden (Grand Valley State)

2005 and 2006 Gene Upshaw Award winner

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coacHing staff


eD Warinner

Offensive line/run game Coordinator 28th year coaching Second year at notre dame

THE wArinnEr FilEAge on Dec. 29 50Hometown Strasburg, OhioHigh School Strasburg Franklin (Ohio) High SchoolCollege B.A. Mount Union (Physical Education, 1984); M.A. Akron (Edu-

cation, 1985)Wife Mary BethChildren Daughters: Madisyn and Merideth; Son: Edward

COACHing CArEEr1984 Akron RB1985-86 Michigan State LB/Secondary1987 Army C/G1988-90 Army Executive Assistant/Recruiting1991 Army DL1992-97 Army OL1998-99 Army Offensive Coordinator/QB2000-02 Air Force OL2003 Kansas OL2004 Kansas OL/Run Game Coord.2005-06 Illinois OL/Run Game Coord.2007-08 Kansas Offensive Coordinator/QB2009 Kansas Assoc. Head Coach/Offensive Coord./QB2010 Notre Dame OL2011 Notre Dame OL/Run Game Coord.

BOwlS/PlAyOFFS COACHEd1985 Michigan State All-American1988 Army Sun1996 Army Independence2000 Air Force Silicon Valley2002 Air Force San Francisco2003 Kansas Tangerine2008 Kansas Orange 2008 Kansas Insight2010 Notre Dame Sun2011 Notre Dame Champs Sports

PlAying EXPEriEnCE1979-83 Mount Union (Ohio) Running Back/Quarterback

COACHing ACCOmPliSHmEnTS › Named one of three finalists for Offensive Line Coach of the Year by FootballScoop.com. › In his first season as run game coordinator, Notre Dame has increased its rushing output by

31.1 percent in 2011, the 13th-best improvement (percentage wise) in the FBS. The 39.4-yard improvement in the ground game is the 17th-best improvement (yards wise).

› The Irish have rushed for 1,992 yards this year and are on pace to rush for 2,158 yards. That would be the best total by a Notre Dame team since 2000.

› The offensive line have opened holes allowing the Irish to average 5.0 yards per carry this year, the best average since 1996.

› Notre Dame QBs have been sacked only 13 times (1.08 per game) on 452 actual pass attempts. The Irish have yielded a sack once ever 34.8 pass attempts.

› The offensive line did not allow a sack in the month of October. In fact, the Irish went 195 consecutive passes from a game on Sept. 24 to Nov. 12 without allowing a sack.

› Named one of the top 20 assistant coaches primed to become a head coach in the near future by Rivals.com’s Tom Dienhart in June 2011.

› In his first season at Notre Dame, developed three first-time starters on the offensive line and improved the average yards per rush and decreased sacks allowed compared to 2009.

› The Irish averaged 4.0 rushing yards per game, the best rushing average by a Notre Dame team since 2003.

› Notre Dame’s offensive line allowed a sack on 4.0 percent of the overall pass attempts in 2010 and the 1.54 sacks allowed per game was the fewest by an Irish offensive line since 1998 (0.8 per game).

› Over the final six games of the 2010 season, Warinner’s offensive line faced defenses that were cumulatively averaging 2.3 sacks per game but the Irish O-line allowed only five sacks in 202 pass attempts in those six contests.

› Directed offenses that led the nation in rushing (Air Force, 2002), were tops in Big Ten Conference rushing (Illinois, 2006) and ranked second in the nation in scoring (Kansas, 2007).

› From 2007-09, the Jayhawks posted the three highest yards-per-game averages and the three most prolific passing seasons in Kansas history. Three of the top seven scoring seasons in school history came under his direction.

› Under Warinner’s watch as offensive coordinator, the Jayhawks averaged 445.5 total yards per game, 302.1 passing yards per contest and 35.3 points on a combined basis from 2007-09.

› Todd Reesing started all three years for Warinner and also worked with him as his position coach. Reesing set every major single-season and career passing record at Kansas, including career records in completions (932), attempts (1,461), passing yards (11,194), touchdown passes (90), 300-yard games (18), 200-yard games (31), total offense (11,840), total plays (1,796) and TDs accounted for (105).

› Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier became the most prolific pass-catchers in Jayhawk history. › Briscoe recorded 219 receptions for 3,240 yards with 31 receiving TDs to set school records in

receiving yards and TD receptions. Meier caught 226 passes for 2,309 yards with 18 TDs and set the Kansas record for career receptions.

› In 2009, Warinner was named one of three finalists for the American Football Coaches Association’s National Assistant Coach of the Year award, following a campaign in which Kansas finished seventh in the NCAA in passing offense and 25th in total offense.

› The Jayhawks set a school record by averaging 310.3 passing yards per game in 2009, and the 422.4 total yards per game were the third most in school history.

› Reesing led Big 12 in total offense (311.3 yards per game) and ranked sixth nationally in passing yards per game (301.3) in 2009.

› In 2008, Warinner’s offense averaged 432.4 yards per game and ranked eighth nationally in passing yards per game (305.6). The Jayhawks averaged 33.4 points per game, the third-best points-per-game average in school history.

› Reesing completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 3,888 yards with 32 TD passes. › The 2007 offense was the nation’s second-highest scoring unit (42.8 points per game) and

helped the Jayhawks to a 12-1 season including a victory in the FedEx Orange Bowl. › Kansas set a school record by averaging 479.8 total yards per game and ranked eighth

nationally in that category. The Jayhawks averaged 291.0 passing yards per game (17th in the nation) and 188.8 rushing yards per contest (31st in the nation).

› Twenty school records were set in 2007, including 17 offensive records, and offensive lineman Anthony Collins was named first-team All-America.

› In his first season as a starter, Reesing passed for 3,486 yards with 33 TDs and seven interceptions in 2007. He set 20 different school records, was a Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist and was named second-team all-Big 12.

› In his second season at Illinois, Warinner’s rushing attack led the Big Ten and finished 10th in the nation in rushing yards per game, averaging 188.3 in 2006. That average was the best output by an Illini team since 1973.

› Coached the offensive line under Fisher DeBerry at Air Force from 2000-02 and helped the Falcons lead the nation with 307.8 rushing yards per game in 2002.

PlAying CArEEr › Played football and baseball at Mount Union College from 1979-83. › Led the team in many categories while earning his fourth letter in 1983. Also received two

letters in baseball at Mount Union.

dynAmiC diSCiPlES › QB Todd Reesing (Kansas)

Set every major single-season and career passing record at Kansas › WR Kerry Meier (Kansas), Atlanta Falcons

First at Kansas in career receptions and second in receiving yards and TD receptions › WR Dezmon Briscoe (Kansas), Tampa Bay Buccaneers

School record holder in career receiving yards and TD receptions › OT Anthony Collins (Kansas), Cincinnati Bengals

2007 first-team All-American


support staff

PaUl lOnGO

director of Football Strength and Conditioning 25th year in collegiate athletics Second year at notre dame

THE lOngO FilEAge on Dec. 29 53Hometown Sterling Heights, Mich.High School Adlai Stevenson (Mich.) High SchoolCollege Wayne State (Physical Education, 1983)Wife ShannonChildren Son: Anthony; Daughter: Natalie

CArEEr1987 Wisconsin Assistant Strength Coach1988-92 Iowa Assistant Football Strength Coach1993-98 Iowa Head Football Strength Coach1999-2003 Iowa Olympic Sports Strength Coach2004-06 Central Michigan Head Strength Coach2007-09 Cincinnati Director of Football Strength and Condi-

tioning2010-11 Notre Dame Director of Football Strength and Condi-

tioning

BOwlS/PlAyOFFS1988 Iowa Peach1991 Iowa Rose1991 Iowa Holiday1993 Iowa Alamo1995 Iowa Sun1996 Iowa Alamo1997 Iowa Sun2006 Central Michigan Motor City2007 Cincinnati International2007 Cincinnati Papajohns.com2009 Cincinnati Orange2010 Cincinnati Sugar2010 Notre Dame Sun2011 Notre Dame Champs Sports

PlAying EXPEriEnCE1978-81 Wayne State Wide Receiver

PrOFESSiOnAl ACCOmPliSHmEnTS › Veteran strength and conditioning coach with 24 years of experience at NCAA Football Bowl

Subdivision schools. › Worked in a similar capacity from 2007-09 at the University of Cincinnati and has worked

alongside current Irish head football coach Brian Kelly as his speed, strength and conditioning coach since Kelly’s first season at Central Michigan in 2004.

› Longo has instilled a grueling strength and conditioning program at Notre Dame that has helped the Irish become one of the top closing teams in the nation.

› Through two years at Notre Dame, Longo and Kelly have helped the Irish secure a 14-2 record when leading after three quarters and are 15-2 when entering halftime with a lead.

› Under Kelly’s watch at Cincinnati, the Bearcats were 32-0 when entering a fourth quarter with a lead and 29-2 when leading at halftime.

› Since 2005 at Central Michigan, Kelly’s teams are 55-3 when leading after three quarters and 54-4 when taking the lead into halftime.

› Stops at Wisconsin (1987), Iowa (1988-98), Central Michigan (2004-06) and Cincinnati (2007-09) have helped Longo produce more than 50 NFL draft picks. Eight Bearcats were selected in 2008 and 2009 combined, equal to the combined total of NFL draft picks from Cincinnati in the previous five drafts.

› At Central Michigan, Longo served as the head strength coach and helped develop five NFL

draft selections, including Longo’s prized pupil, Joe Staley. Staley entered Central Michigan in 2003 as a tight end and graduated as a left tackle and the first Chippewa to be a NFL first-round draft pick.

› Staley caught 11 passes for 130 yards and one touchdown in his freshman season. Longo arrived with Kelly prior to the 2004 season and helped Staley pack on 80 pounds during his Chippewa career as he grew into an offensive tackle. He started 11 games at right tackle as a sophomore and moved to left tackle where he started all 25 games from 2005-06 and allowed only one combined sack in his final two seasons.

› After becoming just the fifth Central Michigan player to participate in the Senior Bowl, Staley became the 28th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, picked by the San Francisco 49ers.

› From 1988-2003, Longo served on the strength and conditioning staff at Iowa and worked primarily with football from 1988-98.

› Worked with Hall of Fame coach Hayden Fry as Longo served as the assistant strength coach for the football program from 1988-92 before being promoted to head strength coach for the Hawkeye football team in 1993.

› Longo played a critical role in helping the Hawkeyes to seven bowl games including the 1991 Rose Bowl after Iowa claimed the Big Ten Conference championship in 1990.

› The 1991 Hawkeyes compiled a 10-1-1 record and finished second in the Big Ten with a 7-1 ledger. Iowa was ranked 10th in the final polls after tying BYU in the Holiday Bowl.

› Longo also made two trips to the Sun and Alamo Bowls and one appearance in the Peach Bowl.

› Longo began his career as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Wisconsin in 1987.

PErSOnAl inFOrmATiOn › He was a four-year starter at wide receiver on the Warriors’ football team, set season and

career receiving records and twice was the MVP. › Totaled 91 career receptions for 1,154 yards at Wayne State and paced the Warriors in receiving

from 1978-80. › Longo went to training camps as a free agent with four professional teams in three different

leagues.

dynAmiC diSCiPlES › WR Mardy Gilyard (Cincinnati)

2009 All-American; 2008-09 first-team all-BIG EAST › OT Joe Staley (Central Michigan), San Francisco 49ers

28th overall selection in first round of 2007 NFL Draft by San Francisco › CB Tom Knight (Iowa)

Ninth overall selection in first round of 1997 NFL Draft by Arizona › OT Ross Verba (Iowa)

30th overall section in first round of 1997 NFL Draft by Green Bay

107






support staff

JOn CarPenTer

defensive graduate Assistant

Jon Carpenter is in his second sea-son at Notre Dame as the graduate assistant for the Irish defense after spending the previous two seasons as a graduate assistant for the defen-sive coaching staff at the University of Cincinnati.Carpenter played four seasons as a running back and linebacker at Cin-cinnati from 2004-07 and totaled 72 tackles, including two sacks, while

contributing to the Bearcats’ special teams. In 2008 he was presented the Jim Kelly Spirit Award, presented annually to the Cincinnati foot-ball player who best displayed dedication, teamwork and loyalty to the program.While at Cincinnati, Carpenter was selected to the BIG EAST all-aca-demic team three times. He graduated in the spring of 2008 with a degree in industrial management.Carpenter’s father, Rob, played in the NFL for 11 seasons and Jon’s older brother, Bobby, is a linebacker for the Detroit Lions. Jon’s younger brother, George, will be a senior linebacker at Marshall University this fall and his youngest brother, Nathan, will be a sophomore safety at Ohio University this fall.Born Sept. 1, 1985, Carpenter is a native of Lancaster, Ohio. He is single and resides in Mishawaka.

MiCHael PainTer

defensive graduate Assistant

After spending three seasons as a staff associate for the University of Cincinnati’s football program, Mi-chael Painter is in his second year at the University of Notre Dame as a defensive graduate assistant.Painter’s role at Cincinnati was simi-lar to his previous position at Cen-tral Michigan, where he assisted in all facets of football operations. An integral part of forming the practice

routine and working with the scout team and special teams, Painter helped the Chippewas win both the 2006 Mid-American Conference and Motor City Bowl titles.Raised in Sandusky, Ohio, Painter participated in three sports at Perkins High School, earning four letters in both football and track to comple-ment the two letters earned in basketball.He attended Mount Union College where he was a member of the Purple Raiders’ football team that won the 2003 Ohio Athletic Confer-ence Championship and played for the 2003 NCAA Division II national championship. After an injury ended his playing career, Painter transferred to Bowling Green where he graduated in 2006 with a degree in sport manage-ment. At Cincinnati, he worked towards his master’s degree in criminal justice.Born Aug. 6, 1984, Painter is single and resides in Mishawaka.

Bill SCHOll

deputy Athletics director

Bill Scholl is in his third year as deputy athletics director sixth year as a senior associate athletics direc-tor at his alma mater, the University of Notre Dame. He works with the Irish football squad on a daily basis from an administrative standpoint, working in concert with athlet-ics director Jack Swarbrick in that regard.Serving as one of the department’s

two deputy directors, Scholl focuses his attention on external functions such as development, the Team Notre Dame program, marketing and ticketing operations. Among those areas reporting to Scholl is the newly created position designed to manage the department’s relationship with former student-ath-letes.A 20-year veteran of the Notre Dame athletics department, Bill Scholl was promoted to his current post as deputy athletics director in August 2009 after serving as senior associate athletics director since 2004. His primary duties in that role include the creation, coordination, man-agement and implementation of all annual, endowment, and capital development activities on behalf of the athletics department in align-ment with the University’s central development office.In coordination with the central development office, Scholl oversees the Rockne Heritage Fund -- the first-ever athletics annual fund that directly benefits student-athlete grant-in-aid scholarships. This is in support of the University’s Scholarship Implementation Plan that now offers the full NCAA complement (more than 320) grant-in-aid schol-arships to Irish student-athletes in all 26 varsity sports.Prior to his role as senior associate athletics director, Scholl spent three years as the associate athletics director for marketing and was executive director of the Notre Dame Monogram Club, an organization of Notre Dame student-athletes, student-managers and cheerlead-ers who have earned monograms during their years at Notre Dame through participation in one or more of its intercollegiate sports. Founded by Knute Rockne in 1916, today the club is comprised of more than 4,000 dues-paying members.In addition, Scholl oversaw all aspects of the athletics ticket office, including ticketing, parking, staffing, systems and customer relations. His sport administration duties include providing supervision for the men’s soccer as well as assisting the director of athletics with the men’s basketball program.Prior to being named an associate athletic director and the execu-tive director of the Monogram Club, Scholl served seven years as an assistant athletic director for marketing, overseeing the Notre Dame marketing and promotions programs. As the promotions manager at Notre Dame, he greatly expanded the horizons of Notre Dame’s Olympic sports profile. Scholl was responsible for developing and implementing marketing and promotions plans for all athletic events. His activities included coordinating special events, giveaways, clinics, group nights and other general functions that broadened the com-munity’s awareness of Notre Dame’s Olympic sports.The former director of financial development for the 1987 Internation-al Summer Special Olympic Games, Scholl served in the same position for one year at South Bend’s Logan Center which offers services to per-sons with developmental disabilities. He also spent five years with the Juhl Advertising Agency in Mishawaka.While working for Special Olympics, the Lakewood, Ohio, native was responsible for raising a $4.8 million budget from national and lo-cal corporations, foundations, governments, special events and the general public. Through his efforts, the final amount raised for the ‘87 Games was in excess of $8 million. In June 2000, the Notre Dame Monogram Club awarded him an honorary monogram.Born Sept. 2, 1957, Scholl is a 1979 Notre Dame graduate. He and his wife, Julie, have three children: Michael (a 2009 Notre Dame gradu-ate), Stefanie and Kelly (a Notre Dame freshman).

CHaD KlUnDer

director of Football Operations

Chad Klunder is in his seventh season as director of football operations at Notre Dame this fall. In his role, Klunder co-ordinates and oversees all day-to-day administrative and operational details including team travel, budgets, pre-season camp arrangements, the annual coaches clinic and summer camps.A former graduate assistant coach at Notre Dame in 2003-04, Klunder worked with the Irish offense for two

seasons. He previously served as run-ning backs coach and coordinator of football operations at Harvard from 1998 through 2002. During his tenure at Harvard, his running backs led the Ivy League in rushing on three occasions. He coached three all-Ivy League players, including Chris Menick, Harvard’s all-time leading rusher. Harvard in 2001 finished 9-0 in the Ivy League and became the first Harvard team to go unbeaten or untied in conference play since 1913.Klunder also served as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach at Minnesota – and worked as a graduate assistant football coach at St. Cloud State. At St. Cloud, he coached Randy Martin, who was a finalist in 1995 and ’96 for the Harlon Hill Trophy that goes to the NCAA Division II player of the year. The Waverly, Iowa, native played defensive back at Wartburg College in Waverly. He earned four letters, was twice a unanimous all-league pick and gained honorable mention All-America recognition. He served as a Wartburg co-captain in 1994 when his team advanced to the NCAA Division III quar-terfinals.Born Aug. 28, 1972, Klunder received a degree in sports management from Wartburg in 1995 and has done master’s degree coursework at St. Cloud State, Minnesota and Notre Dame. He is married to the former Lisa Malin who is executive director of the College Football Hall of Fame. The couple have one daughter, Allyson.

TiM MCDOnnell

director of Player Personnel

Tim McDonnell is in his seventh season with the Irish football office this fall and first year as director of player personnel. For the previous four seasons, McDonnell served as the director of football personnel. In this capacity, McDonnell covered a variety of football-related matters, serving as a liaison between the team and NFL personnel, assisting with recruiting efforts, and helping to coordinate the

walk-on program. In his current role, McDonnell will continue many of his previous job responsibilities but adds a greater role in the recruiting depart-ment by organizing and administering the Irish recruiting efforts.From 2005-06, McDonnell served as the coordinator of quality control under previous head coach Charlie Weis. In this role, McDonnell assisted the head football coach in all football-related matters, handled special projects for the coaching staff and assisted with personnel development and recruiting.A 2005 graduate of Holy Cross College in Worcester, Mass., and a three-year football letterman as a receiver. McDonnell was the inaugural recipient of the Daniel Allen Sportsmanship Award in 2005, presented to the Holy Cross var-sity athlete who best exemplifies the qualities of sportsmanship that coach Daniel Allen exhibited throughout his life. He also received the 2004 Unsung Hero Award as the player who supported the team spiritually, emotionally and physically for the good of the team.A native of Harrison, N.Y., McDonnell graduated from Iona Prep before start-ing his collegiate career at Holy Cross. Born April 15, 1983, he is the grandson of the late Wellington Mara, former president of the New York Giants who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997. McDonnell was married in July 2011 to the former Marisa Meister.


support staff

DaviD PelOqUin

director of Football development

The 2011 football season is Dave Peloquin’s eighth season with the Notre Dame football program, and his fifth year as director of football development. In this role, Pelo-quin’s responsibilities deal primar-ily with the administration of Irish recruiting efforts. He works closely with recruiting coordinator Chuck Martin and played an integral role in piecing together a consensus

top-10 recruiting class in 2011. Peloquin has helped oversee the last five recruiting efforts, three of which netted top-10 classes.Prior to being promoted to director of football development, Pelo-quin served as coordinator of player personnel development for two seasons in numerous administrative duties regarding Notre Dame’s recruiting. In 2004, Peloquin served in a similar capacity as a recruiting assistant, a role in which he worked with the entire coaching staff as-sisting in all recruiting aspects.Before rejoining the Irish, Peloquin worked as a sales representative for State Farm Insurance and Financial Services in the Chicago area.A 2003 Notre Dame graduate with a bachelor’s degree in business marketing from the Mendoza College of Business, Peloquin served as a student manager from 2000 to 2002 and was named head senior manager for the 2002 season.Born May 14, 1981, Peloquin is a native of Blue Island, Ill. He was mar-ried to the former Jamie Meisenhelder in July 2011.

BeTH rex

director of Football Administration

Beth Rex is in her second year as director of football administration at Notre Dame after serving as the football program associate from 2008-09 at the University of Cin-cinnati. Rex served as the assistant to cur-rent Irish head football coach Brian Kelly at Cincinnati and that contin-ues to be part of her duties at Notre Dame. She serves as the liaison be-

tween Notre Dame’s sports performance department and the football office as well as serves as the primary contact person in all matters for Kelly. Rex also coordinates Kelly’s schedule, is responsible for all football staff and office operations as well as assists in event planning.Rex has worked in athletics for 15 years, primarily as an athletics trainer. She served as an athletics trainer at Cincinnati from 2001-08 and worked with the football, baseball, women’s basketball, men’s soccer, tennis, men’s and women’s golf, cheerleading and dance teams. Among her various duties, Rex managed the administrative responsibilities of the athletics training room, oversaw the budget, handled all purchases and inventory and processed all medical claims for Cincinnati’s student-athletes.Rex also served as an adjunct professor at Cincinnati from 2006-08 and taught medical terminology, sports administration and athletics training.Prior to Cincinnati, Rex was an assistant athletics trainer at the Univer-sity of Memphis for two years (1999-2001) and one year at the Col-lege of Wooster (1998-99). She worked with the baseball, women’s basketball and men’s soccer teams at Memphis and at Wooster she managed the athletic training duties for 21 varsity sports. While living in Memphis, she assisted the Memphis Maniax of the Xtreme Football League in the spring of 2001.From 1997-98, Rex worked at the National Athletic Trainers Associa-tion in Dallas where she was a continuing education assistant.

Rex graduated in 1996 from Cincinnati with a bachelor’s degree in education. She began her career as a graduate assistant at Eastern Kentucky where she earned her master’s degree in physical education with an emphasis in sports administration.A native of Tiffin, Ohio, Rex is married to Byron Rex and the couple resides in South Bend.

rOB HUnT

Head Football Athletic Trainer

The 2011 football season is Rob Hunt’s first season at Notre Dame as head football athletic trainer. Hunt joined Notre Dame in March 2011 and has 14 years of experience as an athletic trainer at NCAA institu-tions.Prior to Notre Dame, Hunt worked at Oklahoma State University for five years, serving as the head foot-ball athletic trainer from 2006-07

and the head athletic trainer for the Cowboys since 2007. At Oklahoma State, Hunt served as athletic trainer for the football team all five years and in his final four years in Stillwater he coordinated all aspects of medical care for the athletic department’s 16 athletics teams as well as supervised six assistant athletic trainers, eight graduate assistants and two insurance coordinators.Hunt spent 10 years in the state of Missouri prior to moving to Oklaho-ma State. From 2004-06 he was the head athletic trainer at Southeast Missouri State after serving as an assistant athletic trainer with the University of Missouri football team from 1999-2004. In his final year with the Tigers, Hunt also served as director of rehabilitation services.A graduate of Ball State in 1997 with a major in athletic training, Hunt earned his master’s degree in education at Missouri and served as a graduate assistant athletic trainer from 1997-99. In 1996 Hunt worked as an athletic trainer during the preseason with the New England Pa-triots.A native of West Lafayette, Ind., Hunt is a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association. He and his wife Krista are parents of four children: Robbie, Alexa, Rachel and Cole.

ryan GrOOMS

Head Football Equipment manager

Ryan Grooms enters his second season at Notre Dame as the head football equipment manager. In his position, Grooms directs all facets of athletic equipment manage-ment for the Irish football team and oversees one assistant equipment manager, three senior managers and 21 junior managers.Grooms came to Notre Dame fol-lowing two years at the University

of Minnesota where he served in a similar capacity. Prior to Minnesota he spent five seasons as an equipment specialist for the United States Air Force Academy football program.During his time at Air Force, Grooms supervised 30 Cadet student managers and oversaw the daily football operations that included laundry for more than 240 Cadet varsity and junior varsity football players. He was responsible for organization and upkeep of the Falcon Athletic Center equipment room and bi-annual inventory. Grooms also handled equipment for boxing, cross country, track and field and wa-ter polo at the Air Force Academy.Grooms has been involved in equipment management since 2000, when he was a student at Ohio University. He spent two seasons with the Bobcat football team working with equipment and also taking

part in film exchange and highlight videos.Following graduation, Grooms was an equipment intern for the New Orleans Saints’ summer training camp. He spent one year as a gradu-ate assistant equipment manager at Marshall University where he supervised 12 student managers and assisted in the organization of equipment travel.Grooms is a member of the Athletic Equipment Manager Association and was a 2008 nominee for the Knight Pickard Award as the District 7 Equipment Manager of the Year. He also serves on the McDavid Ad-visory Committee.He and his wife Lynzee have one child, Easton, and live in Granger.

aDaM MyerS

Assistant Equipment manager

A former assistant equipment man-ager at the University of Minnesota, Adam Myers is in his second season in a similar role at the University of Notre Dame. Myers assisted head football equipment manager Ryan Grooms at Minnesota and was hired at Notre Dame shortly after Grooms arrived in South Bend.Myers spent two years at Minne-sota where he managed the Golden

Gophers’ student equipment managers, repaired damaged equipment and packed team trunks for travel to away games.Prior to joining the Minnesota staff, Myers served as a graduate as-sistant equipment manager at Marshall University where he was responsible for fitting student-athletes with helmets, shoulder pads, footwear and other equipment. He was also charged with equipment repair, inventory, laundry, transportation assistance and other duties at Marshall.He served as a student manager at Marshall from 2002 through 2007 and worked with the wide receivers and quarterbacks in addition to handling laundry duties.Myers completed a summer internship in 2005 with the New York Jets and he was involved in laundry, maintenance of protective equipment, packing trunks for home preseason games and sideline and locker room setup for home preseason games.A member of the Athletic Equipment Managers Association since 2006, Myers was certified by the AEMA in June 2006.Myers is single and resides in Granger.

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support staff

TiM COllinS

video Coordinator

The 2011 football season is Tim Col-lins’ 21st year in charge of all video and filming needs for Notre Dame’s athletic department as its video systems coordinator. In addition to traveling to shoot Irish football games, Collins compiles all video packages utilized by Notre Dame’s football coaches in their scout-ing and game preparation. Collins and his staff also tape men’s and

women’s home basketball games as well as hockey.A native of South Bend, Collins is a 1987 graduate of John Adams High School and attended Indiana Vocational Technical College. He also spent three years as a part-time news photographer at WNDU-TV, the NBC affiliate in South Bend. Collins was named the independent con-ference video coordinator of the year in 1997, 1998, 2003 and 2004 by the Collegiate Sports Video Association.In 2001, Collins was elected an executive officer of the CSVA, serving as secretary, and in 2002 was named treasurer of the organization. In 2004, the Notre Dame Monogram Club awarded Collins an honorary monogram in recognition of his years of service.Collins, born Dec. 10, 1968, and his wife, the former Michelle William-son, married in 1990, and have a son, Carson, born Nov. 15, 2003.

ryan GOUlD

Assistant video Coordinator

Ryan Gould is in his first season as the assistant video coordinator for the Notre Dame football team, serving as the primary assistant to video coordinator Tim Collins. In this role, Gould assists Collins with all video and filming needs for the football team in addition to trav-eling to all football games. Gould helps compile all video packages utilized by Notre Dame’s football

coaches in their scouting and game preparation and also works on special assignments within the program, such as highlight videos. A 2011 graduate from State University of New York-Cortland with a bachelor’s degree in sports management, Gould worked with the Irish as a temporary employee during spring practices before being hired full time in June. Gould worked as an intern in the Syracuse University football video department during the 2010 season where he filmed practice and filled other requests.As a student at SUNY-Cortland, Gould was a member of the sports management club where he volunteered in a variety of roles at sport-ing events, including selling tickets, fundraising, working as security for an event and many other duties.A native of Newburgh, N.Y., Gould attended Burke Catholic High School. He is single and resides in South Bend.Gould is a member of the Collegiate Sports Video Association.

JaCOB FlinT

Assistant director of Strength and Conditioning

Jacob Flint is in his second year at Notre Dame this fall as assistant di-rector of strength and conditioning. Flint previously served as a member of strength and conditioning staff at the University of Cincinnati from 2007-09.Flint served the 2009 season as an assistant strength coach with the Bearcats and helped Cincinnati win the BIG EAST championship for the

second straight season. Flint had been a member of Cincinnati’s strength and conditioning staff since 2007, helping the Bearcats to a 33-6 record during that time. He played for Kelly at Central Michigan as a walk-on and was rewarded for his dedication to the football program with a scholarship. Following his graduation, Flint worked as a staff assistant at Central Michigan, serving primarily in the weight room and assisting the de-velopment of the running backs.Flint competes in the 85-kilogram weight class in USA weightlifting and qualified for nationals in 2009. He is currently ranked 25th in the nation in his weight class.Born Oct. 19, 1982, Flint is a native of Shepherd, Mich. He was a four-sport letterwinner at Shepherd High School and was twice named an all-league running back. Flint graduated with honors from Central Michigan in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in education. He is married to the former Katie Schafer and they have one daughter, Blayke.

lOrenzO GUeSS

Assistant director of Strength and Conditioning

Lorenzo Guess is in his second season as an assistant director of strength and conditioning at Notre Dame. Guess was a member of Brian Kelly’s coaching staff at the University of Cincinnati in 2009.Guess helped guide the Bearcats to a 12-1 season in 2009 and an ap-pearance in the Allstate Sugar Bowl following Cincinnati’s second straight

BIG EAST championship.Guess coached the Cincinnati tight ends in 2009 and helped Ben Guidugli earn second-team all-BIG EAST Conference honors. Guidugli ranked fourth on the team with 27 receptions and totaled 364 receiv-ing yards and three touchdowns.Prior to Cincinnati, Guess worked on the strength and conditioning staffs at South Florida (2009), Alcorn State (2008), Kentucky State (2007), Cincinnati (2006) and Tiffin (2005).At USF, Guess served as the assistant strength and conditioning coach and worked with the men’s basketball team. In 2008, Guess was the head strength and conditioning coach at Alcorn State.In 2007, Guess coached the secondary coach at Kentucky State and doubled as the assistant strength and conditioning coach. He held the same positions in 2005 at Tiffin.Guess first worked with head strength coach Paul Longo and Kelly in 2006 as a staff assistant for Cincinnati’s strength and conditioning staff, focusing on the football team.Guess earned a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State in 2002. He graduated from Tiffin University in 2007 with a master of business administration degree. While at Michigan State, Guess was a four-year letterman in football and also earned two letters with the Spartans’ basketball team. He was part of two Big Ten titles and an NCAA Final Four appearance (1999)

with the basketball team. As a defensive back, Guess helped Michigan State defeat Florida in the 2000 Citrus Bowl and Fresno State in the 2001 Silicon Valley Bowl.Guess was an academic all-Big Ten selection in 1998. He was a major component of the 1999 defense that ranked number one in the Big Ten and seventh nationally under head coach Nick Saban. During the 2000 and 2001 seasons, his defensive units led the Big Ten in pass defense and were among the nation’s top 10 in those categories.Born Sept. 16, 1978, Guess attended Memorial High School in Wayne, Mich. He is married to the former Bianca Williams. The couple has one daughter, Nadia, and reside in Mishawaka.

JUlie DeBUySSer

Senior Staff Assistant, Offensive Coaches

A 29-year employee of the Univer-sity of Notre Dame, Julie DeBuysser just completed her 25th season as the secretary for the offensive coaching staff in the Irish football office. In her role, DeBuysser serves as the primary assistant to Notre Dame’s offensive coaches. A native of South Bend, DeBuysser is mar-ried to Denny DeBuysser and the couple has a son, Chris Martin, a

2003 Notre Dame graduate.

Karen DeMeTer

recruiting Services Coordinator

Karen Demeter returned to the Notre Dame football office in 2010 and is in her second season as recruiting services coordinator. Demeter assists recruiting coordi-nator Chuck Martin and director of football development Dave Pelo-quin. She previously served as the recruiting administrative assistant for the Irish from 2001-03 before becoming senior administrative as-

sistant to the head coach from 2004-08. Demeter spent the 2009-10 school year as the senior administrative assistant to senior deputy ath-letics director Missy Conboy. A native of Akron, Ohio, Demeter and her husband, Darryl, are the parents of two daughters: Jocelyn and Lauren.

JOy SCHOSKer

Senior Staff Assistant

Joy Schosker is in her third year in the Irish football office and her 11th year overall at the University of Notre Dame. She serves as the primary contact for all general communication at the Guglielmino Athletics Complex. Prior to joining the Irish football office, Schosker worked at Notre Dame’s Hesburgh Library for eight years. A native of Lakeville, Ind., she is married to

Mike Schosker and the couple have three sons: Kyle, Kayne and Mi-chael.


support staff

SCOTT BOOKer

intern (Offense)

Scott Booker is in his second season with the Irish football staff. His pri-mary duty is assisting the offensive coaches in a variety of areas in his capacity as intern. He is responsible for film breakdowns, scouting re-ports, playbooks and other duties assigned by head coach Brian Kelly and the offensive staff.Prior to coming to Notre Dame, Booker coached defensive backs for

five seasons at two schools. He worked with the secondary at Western Kentucky in 2009 and was the defensive backs coach at his alma ma-ter, Kent State, from 2005-08.At Kent State, Booker helped develop two NFL draft picks in Jack Williams and Usama Young. Williams earned second-team all-Mid-American Conference honors in 2007 and was a fourth round selection by the Denver Broncos in the 2008 NFL Draft. Young received second-team all-MAC accolades in 2006 and was selected in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints.Under Booker’s tutelage, Kent State ranked first or second in the MAC in pass defense efficiency, pass defense and interceptions in 2006. In 2005, the Golden Flashes allowed only 190.5 passing yards per game to rank 24th in the nation.Booker served as a graduate assistant at Kent State in 2004 and was a student assistant in 2003.As a player, Booker was a four-year regular at safety and on special teams for Kent State from 1999-2002. He was named to the MAC all-academic team in 2001 and graduated in the spring of 2003 with a degree in business administration. He was co-winner of the athletic departments Judy Devine Excellence in Leadership Award as a senior and earned his master’s degree in sports studies from Kent State in 2006.Born Oct. 7, 1980, Booker is originally from Pittsburgh, Pa., and at-tended Shady Side Academy where he earned three letters in football and basketball and one letter in track.He and his wife, Jen, reside in Mishawaka.

Bill BreCHin

intern (Offense)

Bill Brechin is in his second sea-son working with the Notre Dame football team. His primary duty is assisting the offensive coaches in a variety of areas in his capac-ity as intern. He is responsible for film breakdowns, scouting reports, playbooks and other duties as as-signed by head coach Brian Kelly or the offensive coaching staff.Brechin joins the Irish following a

two-year stint as graduate assistant at Grand Valley State where he worked with the Lakers’ safeties. In 2009, Grand Valley State advanced to the NCAA Division II national championship game.Brechin was an all-conference performer at Grand Valley State from 2005-07 as a defensive back. In his career with the Lakers he tallied 82 tackles, 24 pass deflections and eight interceptions. He helped lead Grand Valley State to back-to-back national championships in 2005 and 2006. The Lakers posted a 40-1 record during his playing career.Born Sept. 29, 1982, Brechin is a native of Addison, Ill. He and his wife Jessica have one son, John.

DaviD GriMeS

intern (Player development)

Former Notre Dame football captain David Grimes returned to the Fight-ing Irish football family in 2011 as an intern in the player development department. Grimes reports to Tim McDonnell and serves as a resource for the current Notre Dame football players. Acting as a liaison between the players and coaching staff, Grimes serves as a primary contact be-

tween Notre Dame’s student welfare and development office and aca-demic services for student-athletes department. Through the student welfare and development office, Grimes helps coordinate community service projects through the “Irish Around the Bend” program. He also helps coordinate and monitor the study hall sessions at the Guglielmi-no Athletics Complex.Grimes graduated from Notre Dame in 2009 with a degree in market-ing and participated in the training camps of the Denver Broncos in 2009 and Kansas City Chiefs in 2010. Voted one of three team captains as a senior, Grimes played wide receiver for the Irish from 2005-08 and caught 90 passes for 900 yards with seven touchdowns. He played in 45 games during his Notre Dame career and started 24 contests. Grimes played in three bowl games, including two Bowl Championship Series games (2006 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and 2007 Allstate Sugar Bowl), and he helped the Irish snap their nine-game bowl losing streak by winning his final col-legiate game in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl (defeated Hawaii 49-21).Born Dec. 31, 1986, in Los Angeles, Calif., Grimes graduated from St. Martin DePorres High School in Detroit, Mich., and was valedictorian at his senior year commencement. Grimes resides in South Bend.

JUSTin CUllen, Claire

KUeny anD naTHan

FelDPaUSCH

Senior managers

Three senior managers lead the Notre Dame student managers who work with the 2011 Irish football team. Justin Cullen, the head man-ager for equipment, is from Storm Lake, Iowa, and is a political science and finance double major. Nathan Feldpausch, the head manager for administration, is from St. Johns, Mich., and is majoring in electrical engineering. Claire Kueny, the head manager for personnel, is from Richboro, Pa., and is an information technology management major. The three senior managers are responsible for overseeing the Student Manager Organization as well as tending to all matters regarding play-ers and coaches. A group of 21 junior managers will assist the team this fall: Andrew Alea (Fort Myers, Fla.), Amanda Brady (Three Rivers, Mich.), Alex Clemente (Warren, N.J.), Andru Creighton (Indianapolis, Ind.), Gabriel Delatte (Lafayette, La.), Sean Hannon (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Ally Jones (Naperville, Ill.), Mary Kate Lamp (Hoffman Estates, Ill.), Jim Lampariello (Nutley, N.J.), Brigitte Lawless (Morristown, N.J.), John Madison (Saginaw, Mich.), Keith Marrero (New Orleans, La.), Russell McFall (Calabasas Hills, Calif.), Chris Mertens (Safety Harbor, Fla.), Brian Metz (Knoxville, Tenn.), Robert Mountel (Indianapolis, Ind.), Ciara O’Halloran (Atlanta, Ga.), Katie Schwab (Ironton, Ohio), Chris Samuelson (Pasadena, Calif.), Case Sketch (Independence, Ky.) and Brian Vega (Oradell, N.J.).

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NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Skip Holtz returned to a place that educated and shaped him. As soon as he reached campus, his memories from Notre Dame jumped out.

And now he’s created an even more vivid one. Holtz and the South Florida Bulls came to South Bend and upset the 16th-ranked Irish 23-20 Saturday in a wild game that was twice disrupted by heavy storms.

“I don’t know if all that’s hit me yet. Notre Dame’s a special place,” Holtz said. “And it was great to come back.”

His dad, Lou Holtz, wasn’t there Saturday. But there were plenty of family members there to see one of Skip Holtz’s biggest wins.

Lou led Notre Dame to its last national title in 1988. Skip graduated from Notre Dame, played a year for his father and then coached with him in South Bend.

The weather wasn’t cooperating for this homecoming.Officials asked fans to leave the stadium at halftime because of severe weather, mostly light-

ning, and the teams then stayed in their locker rooms for 2 hours, 10 minutes until it cleared. South Florida led 16-0 at the time.

Then with 4:21 to play, the game was delayed for 43 minutes and again fans departed the stadium with wicked lightning flickering around the stadium.

USF’s Kayvon Webster returned a fumble return 96 yards for a TD four minutes into the game, taking all the momentum from the Irish. They couldn’t recover. The score came after Notre Dame took the opening kickoff and drove smartly to the USF 1.

What followed was a nightmare first half for the Irish that included two fumbles, a holding penalty that nullified a Cierre Wood TD run and then an interception of Dayne Crist by USF’s Devekeyan Lattimore in the end zone.

Maikon Bonani kicked three field goals, and the Bulls had a 16-0 halftime lead.Then things got even stranger.With the crowd getting restless over Notre Dame’s erratic play as the teams left the field for

halftime, the storms moved in and officials asked fans to evacuate Notre Dame Stadium. The teams were kept in their locker rooms.

When the Irish finally emerged, they had switched quarterbacks from Crist to Tommy Rees, who led them to four straight victories as the starter at the end of last season. Crist was 7-of-15 for 85 yards.

Right after the second delay late in the fourth quarter, Jerrell Young intercepted Rees - Notre Dame’s fifth turnover of the game.

Rees threw an 8-yard TD pass to Michael Floyd to cap a 99-yard drive with 21 seconds left as the Irish closed to 23-20. But USF recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock. Rees went 24 for 34 for 296 yards.

With the delays, the game lasted 5 hours, 59 minutes.Rees also hit Floyd with a scoring pass in the third quarter and Cierre Wood’s 1-yard scoring

run with 7:35 left made it 23-13 before the Irish failed to convert a 2-point attempt. Floyd made 12 catches and became the Irish’s career leader in receptions, passing Jeff Samardzija (179). Floyd now has 183.

USF’s B.J. Daniels completed 18-of-30 for 128 yards and also carried 12 times for a net of 37.The Irish moved from the 20 to the South Florida 1 on the opening drive as Wood went 31

yards with a swing pass from Crist on the game’s first scrimmage play and Floyd later grabbed a 26-yarder.

Wood had four carries for 21 yards to get the ball to the 1, but his backup Jonas Gray fumbled near the goal line as USF’s Young stripped the ball. Webster picked it up and ran 96 yards down the sideline, a score upheld by video replay.

Bonani hit a 49-yarder to put the Bulls up 10-0 and then USF threatened to pull way ahead. After back-to-back facemask penalties on Notre Dame safety and captain Harrison Smith, the Bulls had a first down at the Irish 5.

But the Irish defense held and when Daniels was stopped on a third down from the 1 for no gain, the Bulls sent in Bonani for a 17-yarder that made it 13-0.

Later in the first half, Riddick fumbled a punt and Victor Marc recovered for USF. Bonani hit again from 36 yards out and the lead was 16-0.

Rees completed a 15-yard pass to Floyd early in the third to put the ball at the 5, but once again the Irish couldn’t convert. Rees’ pass intended for TJ Jones hit the receiver and deflected in the air, resulting in an interception by South Florida’s Michael Lanaris.

But on the next series, Rees hooked up tight end Tyler Eifert on a 37-yard pass and then hit Floyd for a 29-yard TD with 7:12 to go in the quarter, cutting the lead to 16-7.

Notre Dame’s David Ruffer, who was 23-of-24 on field goals in his career, missed a 30-yard attempt later in the third quarter after Rees hit Riddick with a 27-yard pass and Floyd with one of 15.

Sept. 3, 2011 • Notre Dame, Ind. • Notre Dame StadiumScore by Quarters 1 2 3 4 F

USF 13 3 0 7 23 Record: (1-0)

#16/18 Notre Dame 0 0 7 13 20 Record: (0-1)

First Quarter11:00 USF Webster 96 yd fumble recovery (Bonani kick)4:45 USF Bonani 49 yd field goal, 8-41 3:041:08 USF Bonani 17 yd field goal, 5-39 2:31Second Quarter4:04 USF Bonani 36 yd field goal, 4-1 0:59

Third Quarter7:12 ND Floyd 24 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 5-66 1:21Fourth Quarter11:05 USF Landi 2 yd pass from Daniels (Bonani kick), 14-80 5:027:35 ND Wood, C. 1 yd run (Rees, pass failed), 12-76 3:300:21 ND Floyd 8 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 10-99 1:58

USF ND USF NDFIRST DOWNS 20 27RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 42-126 29-117PASSING YDS (NET) 128 391Passes Att-Comp-Int 30-18-0 49-31-3TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 72-254 78-508Fumble Returns-Yards 1-96 0-0Punt Returns-Yards 1-34 2--2Kickoff Returns-Yards 4-67 5-110Interception Returns-Yards 3-0 0-0

Punts (Number-Avg) 7-36.6 5-34.2Fumbles-Lost 1-0 4-2Penalties-Yards 9-43 8-73Possession Time 31:06 28:54Third-Down Conversions 2 of 14 5 of 14Fourth-Down Conversions 1 of 1 0 of 0Red-Zone Scores-Chances 3-3 2-6Sacks By: Number-Yards 2-14 2-7

RUSHING: USF-Murray 14-40; Daniels 12-37; Scott 12-33; Lamar 2-18; Team 2-minus 2. Notre Dame-Wood 21-104; Gray, J. 4-17; Rees 2-1; Crist 2-minus 5.PASSING: USF-Daniels 18-30-0-128. Notre Dame-Rees 24-34-2-296; Crist 7-15-1-95.RECEIVING: USF-Griffin 8-75; Landi 3-14; Love 2-26; Lamar 2-3; Shields 1-12; Murray 1-1; Marc 1-minus 3. Notre Dame-Floyd 12-154; Eifert 6-93; Jones 6-58; Wood 3-44; Riddick 3-32; Ragone 1-10.INTERCEPTIONS: USF-Lattimore 1-0; Young 1-0; Lanaris 1-0. Notre Dame-None.FUMBLES: USF-Daniels 1-0. Notre Dame-Riddick 2-1; Rees 1-0; Gray 1-1.SACKS (UA-A): USF-Forte 1-0; Davis 1-0. Notre Dame-Te'o 1-0; Fleming 0-1; Lewis-Moore 0-1.TACKLES (UA-A): USF-Lejiste 6-4; Lanaris 5-5; Lattimore 5-4; Barrington 2-7; Young 5-2; Washington 5-2; Jeune 1-2; Webster 1-2; Sanchez 0-3; Giddins 0-3; Forte 2-0; McCaskill 1-1; Jenkins 0-2; Grisson 1-0; Davis 1-0; Cliett 1-0; Mitchell 1-0; Hampton 1-0; Boyd 0-1; Watson 0-1; Shaw 0-1. Notre Dame-Te'o 4-5; Fleming 3-5; Lewis-Moore 1-7; Nix 2-5; Blanton 4-2; Smith 3-3; Johnson 1-5; Gray, G. 5-0; Calabrese 1-4; Motta 1-4; Fox 0-4; Cwynar 0-4; Slaugh-ter 2-0; Jackson 1-1; Turk 1-0; Wood 1-0; Lynch 0-1; Shembo 0-1; Niklas 0-1.

USF game SUmmary


First Quarter9:05 ND Riddick 7 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 7-57 3:461:56 ND Wood, C. 4 yd run (Ruffer kick), 10-83 5:35

Second Quarter10:18 UM Hemingway 43 yd pass from Robinson (Gibbons kick), 2-45 0:481:40 ND Ruffer 38 yd field goal, 8-29 2:53

Third Quarter2:13 ND Jones 15 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 7-71 3:55

Fourth Quarter14:54 UM Robinson 1 yd run (Gibbons kick), 4-83 2:1910:47 UM Gallon 14 yd pass from Robinson (Gibbons kick), 5-40 2:351:12 UM Smith 21 yd pass from Robinson (Gibbons kick), 5-58 1:040:30 ND Riddick 29 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 4-61 0:420:02 UM Roundtree 16 yd pass from Robinson (Gibbons kick), 3-80 0:30

Sept. 10, 2011 • Ann Arbor, Mich. • Michigan StadiumScore by Quarters 1 2 3 4 F

Notre Dame 14 3 7 7 31 Record: (0-2)

Michigan 0 7 0 28 35 Record: (2-0)

ND UM ND UMFIRST DOWNS 28 16RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 33-198 26-114PASSING YDS (NET) 315 338Passes Att-Comp-Int 39-27-2 24-11-3TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 72-513 50-452Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0Punt Returns-Yards 3-10 1-21Kickoff Returns-Yards 6-89 5-98Interception Returns-Yards 3-0 2-18


RUSHING: Notre Dame-Wood, C. 25-134; Gray, J. 6-66; Rees 2-minus 2. Michigan-Robinson 16-108; Hopkins 5-10; Smith 1-3; Shaw 2-minus 3; Team 2-minus 4.PASSING: Notre Dame-Rees 27-39-2-315. Michigan-Robinson 11-24-3-338.RECEIVING: Notre Dame-Floyd 13-159; Riddick 6-62; Eifert 4-51; Jones 3-28; Gray, J. 1-15. Michigan-Hemingway 3-165; Gallon 2-78; Smith 2-26; Grady 1-27; Roundtree 1-16; Mc-Colgan 1-15; Koger 1-11.INTERCEPTIONS: Notre Dame-Blanton 1-0; Motta 1-0; Gray, G. 1-0. Michigan-Floyd 1-16; Kovacs 1-2.FUMBLES: Notre Dame-Rees 2-1; Collinsworth 1-1; Wood, C. 1-1. Michigan-Hopkins 1-0.SACKS (UA-A): Notre Dame-Fox 1-0. Michigan-None.TACKLES (UA-A): Notre Dame-Te'o 5-0; Smith, H. 4-1; Fox 3-1; Blanton 2-2; Collinsworth 3-0; Lewis-Moore 2-1; Johnson 2-0; Williams, H. 1-1; Calabrese 1-0; Watt 1-0; Williams, Ish. 1-0; Shembo 1-0; Motta 1-0; Fleming 1-0; Nix III 0-1; Slaughter 0-1; Posluszny 0-1; Filer 0-1; Niklas 0-1; Moore 0-1. Michigan-Demens 8-4; Gordon 4-5; Kovacs 5-3; Robinson 5-2; Floyd 5-1; Hawthorne 4-2; Ryan 2-2; Black 3-0; Woolfolk 3-0; Martin 1-2; Van Bergen 2-0; Avery 0-2; Gallon 1-0; McColgan 1-0; Smith 1-0; Hemingway 1-0; Fitzgerald 1-0; Wile 1-0; Clark 1-0; Morgan 0-1.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) – Denard Robinson stunned Notre Dame in the final minute again, capping a heart-pounding, pom-pom pumping night under the lights at the Big House.

Michigan’s star quarterback threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Roy Roundtree with 2 sec-onds left to lift the Wolverines to a thrilling 35-31 win over Notre Dame on Saturday night.

“It’s never over until you see zeros on the clock,” Robinson said.In the first prime-time game at Michigan Stadium, matching up storied programs trying to

restore their luster, new Michigan coach Brady Hoke could have chosen to kick a field goal to force overtime.

But Hoke gave Robinson a shot, and it proved to be good idea.“Coach took a stab,” Roundtree said.On a night when Michigan Stadium was vibrant, with an NCAA-record crowd of 114,804

fired up an hour before kickoff, the Wolverines took their first lead on Robinson’s 21-yard pass to Vincent Smith with 1:12 left.

Then they lost it.Briefly.Tommy Rees threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Theo Riddick with 30 seconds left, but the

Fighting Irish left Jeremy Gallon wide open on a pass that let Michigan go from its 20 to the Notre Dame 16.

“That was an exciting football game,” Hoke said. “Both teams fought for 60 minutes. It wasn’t pretty at times on both ends, but as I told my players, it’s great to win.”

The Wolverines (2-0) have won three straight against the rival Irish (0-2) on late-game plays by their quarterbacks. Last year at Notre Dame, Robinson ran for a touchdown with 27 seconds left, and Tate Forcier threw a TD pass against the Irish two years ago with 11 seconds left.

“It’s devastating,” Irish receiver Michael Floyd said. “It’s hard to take this one in. It’s distressing.”It’s the first time Michigan has beaten Notre Dame three straight times since 1908.

Robinson didn’t match his game last year against Notre Dame, when he had a school-record 502 total yards, but Notre Dame couldn’t stop him when it mattered.

He was 11 of 24 for 338 yards with four TDs and three interceptions and ran 11 times for 108 yards and a score.

That one came on a fortunate bounce, when he scooped up Stephen Hopkins’ fumble inside the Notre Dame 1 and trotted in.

“It was kind of crazy,” Robinson said. “I’ve never scored like that before.”With a new patch on his jersey bearing Desmond Howard’s name, Junior Hemingway,

caught three passes for 165 yards and a TD. Michigan honored the former Heisman Trophy winner - who made a diving catch on fourth down against the Irish in 1991 - by announcing that the No. 21 jersey would always have his name on it.

Notre Dame was doomed by turnovers for the second straight week.Rees threw two interceptions, one near the end zone, and fumbled deep in Michigan terri-

tory. Cierre Wood, who gave Notre Dame a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, also fumbled.“You can’t have turnovers. Period,” Rees said. “You have to eliminate them.”In his first loss in five starts, Rees was 27 of 39 for 315 yards with three TDs and two intercep-

tions.Wood ran for 134 yards and a score on 25 carries.Floyd caught 13 passes for 159 yards, becoming Notre Dame’s career leader in yards receiv-

ing, and matched a school record with his 15th 100-yard receiving game.The Fighting Irish did whatever they wanted on the ground, through the air and on defense

early on.In the end, though, they couldn’t make enough plays on both sides of the ball to get a

needed win for second-year coach Brian Kelly.

michigan game SUmmary

113






Sept. 17, 2011 • Notre Dame, Ind. • Notre Dame StadiumScore by Quarters 1 2 3 4 F

#15/15 Michigan State 3 7 0 3 13 Record: (2-1)


First Quarter10:41 ND Wood, C. 22 yd run (Ruffer kick), 8-76 4:191:32 MSU Conroy 40 yd field goal, 4-4 1:271:20 ND Atkinson III 89 yd kickoff return (Ruffer kick)

Second Quarter11:57 MSU Sims 6 yd pass from Cousins, Kirk (Conroy kick), 11-80 4:233:36 ND Wood, C. 6 yd run (Ruffer kick), 10-92 4:49

Third Quarter9:30 ND Jones 26 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 8-71 3:47

Fourth Quarter10:56 MSU Conroy 35 yd field goal, 8-42 3:533:11 ND Ruffer 33 yd field goal, 4-(-5) 0:21

MSU ND MSU NDFIRST DOWNS 21 18RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 23-29 32-114PASSING YDS (NET) 329 161Passes Att-Comp-Int 54-34-1 26-18-1TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 77-358 58-275Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0Punt Returns-Yards 0-0 2--3Kickoff Returns-Yards 4-129 4-142Interception Returns-Yards 1-34 1-82Punts (Number-Avg) 6-39.7 4-41.5

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-2Penalties-Yards 12-86 6-53Possession Time 32:28 27:32Third-Down Conversions 5 of 17 5 of 12Fourth-Down Conversions 1 of 3 0 of 0Red-Zone Scores-Chances 2-5 2-2Sacks By: Number-Yards 1-7 2-18

RUSHING: Michigan State-Bell 7-27; Baker 10-26; Cunningham 1-minus 1; Martin 1-minus 3; Cousins 4-minus 20. Notre Dame-Gray, J. 12-65; Wood, C. 14-61; Team 2-minus 5; Rees 4-minus 7.PASSING: Michigan State-Cousins 34-53-1-329; Sonntag 0-1-0-0. Notre Dame-Rees 18-26-1-161.RECEIVING: Michigan State-Cunningham 12-158; Martin 5-32; Bell 5-23; Caper 4-25; Sims 3-38; Baker 2-15; Anderson 1-21; Nichol 1-9; Linthicum 1-8. Notre Dame-Floyd 6-84; Wood, C. 6-5; Jones 3-40; Eifert 2-25; Riddick 1-7.INTERCEPTIONS: Michigan State-Drummond 1-34. Notre Dame-Blanton 1-82.FUMBLES: Michigan State-Cousins 1-1. Notre Dame-Rees 1-1; Atkinson III 1-0; Goodman 1-1.SACKS (UA-A): Michigan State-Pickelman 1-0. Notre Dame-Lynch 1-0; Blanton 1-0.TACKLES (UA-A): Michigan State-Lewis 5-4; Allen 4-3; Rush 3-4; Norman 2-5; Adams 4-1; Worthy 3-1; Gholston 3-1; Robinson 2-1; Pickelman 2-1; Dennard 2-0; Bullough 1-1; Gainer 1-1; Drummond 1-0; Bell 1-0; Freeman 0-1; Elsworth 0-1; Jones 0-1; White 0-1; Mumphery 0-1. Notre Dame-Te'o 2-10; Gray, G. 7-3; Smith, H. 4-4; Blanton 3-3; Motta 1-5; Lewis-Moore 2-3; Lynch 2-3; Fox 1-4; Fleming 1-4; Slaughter 2-2; Calabrese 1-3; Niklas 0-3; Nix III 0-3; Tuitt 1-1; Johnson 0-2; Posluszny 0-2; Wood, C. 1-0; Brindza 1-0; Filer 1-0; Coughlin 0-1; Salvi 0-1; Cwynar 0-1.

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (AP) – No surprises this time for Notre Dame.The Irish used two touchdown runs from Cierre Wood, an electrifying 89-yard kickoff return

from freshman George Atkinson III and a key late interception from Robert Blanton to beat No. 15 Michigan State 31-13 Saturday for their first win.

“We wake up every morning and prepare to win,” said Blanton, part of an Irish defense that limited the Spartans to 29 rushing yards and only a field goal in the second half. “We just had to show we could go out and get the job done.”

The Irish also showed they can stop a play off a fake field goal.The Spartans (2-1) stunned Notre Dame in overtime a year ago with a game-winning TD

pass off a fake field goal and tried to surprise the Irish again after lining up for a field goal near the end of the first half.

Notre Dame (1-2) was ready this time. On fourth-and-goal from the 2, Ethan Johnson broke up a shovel pass attempt and the Irish led 21-10 at the half.

Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins, who had 11 straight completions at one juncture of the sec-ond half, was 34 of 53 for 329 yards but he was intercepted at the Notre Dame 6 with just under four minutes left by Blanton, who returned it 82 yards to the 12.

The Spartans had just recovered a fumbled punt by Notre Dame’s John Goodman at the Irish 21 and were ready to set the stage for another frantic finish between the rivals. But with the Spartans trailing 28-13 and having a first and goal at the 3, Blanton came up with a juggling interception and then took off on his long return that sealed the win.

Notre Dame pushed the lead to 28-10 in the third quarter when Tommy Rees hit Michael Floyd on a 22-yard pass and then lofted a perfect 26-yarder to TJ Jones for a touchdown. The Irish were penalized on the ensuing kickoff for unsportsmanlike conduct after Jones made a hand signal following his catch.

Cousins came right back after a 42-yard kickoff return by Nick Hill gave the Spartans good field position. His 21-yard pass to Todd Anderson and an 11-yarder to Cunningham gave the Spartans a first down at the Irish 8.

But after the drive stalled, MSU lined up for a field goal, only to have their attempt at trickery turned away.

After Notre Dame took an early 7-0 lead on a Wood TD run, the teams traded turnovers twice.Rees took a hard blindside hit from Kevin Pickelman and fumbled with MSU’s Jerel Worthy

recovering. But just moments later, Notre Dame freshman defensive end Aaron Lynch drove into Cousins from behind, forcing a fumble and Johnson recovered for the Irish. But three plays later Rees’ pass was picked off by Kurtis Drummond and returned 34 yards to the Irish 27, setting up Conroy’s 40-yard field goal that made it 7-3. It was Notre Dame’s 12th turnover of the season.

But 12 seconds later, Atkinson - the son of the former NFL star defensive back - took the en-suing kickoff, broke to the sideline and sprinted in for the touchdown. It was Notre Dame’s first kickoff return for a TD by a freshman since Raghib Ismail returned two against Rice in 1988.

“That kickoff return was a huge play for them and I think it kind of deflated us momentarily on the sideline,” MSU linebacker Max Bullough said. “When a team can make plays like that in their own stadium, it is tough to beat them.”

Whether Notre Dame can build on the victory remains to be seen. On this one, the Irish got some validation for their effort.

“We’re 1-2 right now and we’re not happy with it, but it’s great to get a win,” said Johnson, who also recovered a fumble in addition to snuffing the fake field goal. “You have to enjoy the wins and get over the losses.”

michigan State game SUmmary


PittSbUrgh game SUmmary

First Quarter2:16 PITT Harper 45 yd field goal, 4--5 1:13Second Quarter13:44 ND Gray, J. 79 yd run (Ruffer kick), 1-79 0:149:13 PITT Harper 23 yd field goal, 11-54 4:31

Third Quarter6:36 PITT Graham, H. 3 yd pass from Sunseri (Anderson rush failed), 19-80 8:24Fourth Quarter6:48 ND Eifert 6 yd pass from Rees (Eifert pass from Rees), 11-85 4:40

Sept. 24, 2011 • Pittsburgh, Pa. • Heinz FieldScore by Quarters 1 2 3 4 F


Pittsburgh 3 3 6 0 12 Record: (2-2)

ND PITT ND PITT FIRST DOWNS 23 19RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 32-182 38-103PASSING YDS (NET) 216 165Passes Att-Comp-Int 41-24-1 32-22-0TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 73-398 70-268Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0Punt Returns-Yards 1-1 1-10Kickoff Returns-Yards 3-70 1-16Interception Returns-Yards 0-0 1-1


RUSHING: Notre Dame-Wood, C. 23-94; Gray, J. 3-84; Rees 5-6; Team 1-minus 2. PITT-Graham, R. 21-89; Brown 3-12; Sunseri 12-6; Team 1-minus 1; Gonzalez 1-minus 3.PASSING: Rees 24-41-1-216. Pittsburgh-Sunseri 22-30-0-165; Anderson 0-2-0-0; Gonzalez 0-0-0-0.RECEIVING: Notre Dame-Eifert 8-75; Riddick 6-52; Floyd 4-27; Jones 3-31; Toma 1-16; Wood 1-10; Koyack 1-5. Pittsburgh-Graham, R. 8-43; Shanahan 6-64; Street 2-21; Jones 2-18; Saddler 1-8; Patton 1-5; Graham, H. 1-3; Brinson 1-3.INTERCEPTIONS: Notre Dame-None. Pittsburgh-Hendricks 1-1.FUMBLES: Notre Dame-Rees 1-1. Pittsburgh-None.SACKS (UA-A): Notre Dame-Fleming 2-0; Shembo 1-0; Calabrese 1-0; Te'o 1-0; Lynch 1-0. Pittsburgh-Taglianetti 1-0; Lindsey 1-0.TACKLES (UA-A): Notre Dame-Te'o 8-2; Blanton 6-1; Shembo 5-1; Smith, H. 4-2; Calabrese 4-1; Gray, G. 4-1; Lewis-Moore 4-0; Fleming 3-1; Fox 2-1; Motta 2-0; Lynch 2-0; Slaugh-ter 1-1; Tuitt 1-1; Jackson 1-0; Niklas 1-0; Nuss 1-0; Cwynar 1-0; Johnson 0-1; Nix III 0-1. Pittsburgh-Gruder 3-5; Williams, K. 6-1; Thomas 4-2; Holley 3-3; Roberts 4-1; Hendricks 4-1; Alecxih 3-2; Gordon 3-0; Taglianetti 3-0; Williams, G. 2-1; Ifill 2-1; Lindsey 1-2; Price 2-0; Caragein 1-0; Donald 1-0; Reed 0-1; Pecora 0-1; Jackson 0-1.

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh spent 45 minutes knocking Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees around.

The sophomore needed less than five minutes to knock the Panthers out.Rees shrugged off a slow start to hit tight end Tyler Eifert on a 6-yard touchdown pass with

less than 7 minutes to go and lift Notre Dame to a 15-12 win on Saturday. The score and subsequent two-point conversion - also to Eifert - capped 4:40 of perfection from Rees, as the Irish (2-2) won their second in a row.

Rees went 8 for 8 on the game-winning drive, remaining patient even as the Panthers (2-2) bottled up Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd.

Did Rees want to go deep to his favorite target? Sure. Yet he reined in his inner swashbuckler and ignored the beating he took over the first three quarters to play with the kind of poise that has earned him the starting job and his teammates’ respect.

“You’ve just got to make the right decisions,” Rees said. “We did some good things getting the ball underneath and just kind of chipping away at their defense.”

Rees finished 24 of 41 for 216 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and running back Jonas Gray scored on a 79-yard touchdown run for Notre Dame, which overcame eight penalties and two costly turnovers.

It wasn’t pretty. Then again, it beats the alternative for a team that already has a couple of aesthetically pleasing losses - from a statistical standpoint anyway - under their belt.

Notre Dame, which began the day tied for last in the country with 13 turnovers, only gave it away twice against the Panthers, but both were costly.

Rees took a shot in the first quarter and ended up fumbling to set up a Pitt field goal. He later threw an interception at the Pitt goal line in the second quarter to cut short a lengthy Notre Dame drive.

When it mattered, however, Rees delivered, showcasing why he took the starting job away

from senior Dayne Crist three weeks ago. The youthful mistakes he’s mixed in between flashes of solid play disappeared in the fourth quarter.

“He’s growing up and seeing some things,” said Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly. “There were some new looks for him that he had not seen before that we had to adjust. And after Tommy sees it, he gets much more comfortable.”

Rees certainly looked like it in the fourth and with Floyd double-covered had no problem zeroing in on Eifert.

The junior caught four passes on the clinching drive, including an 18-yard gain that gave Notre Dame a first down at the Pitt 9. He landed hard on the play but brushed off the trainers and immediately caught a 3-yard pass and then followed it up by holding onto a laser from Rees, who split a pair of Pitt defenders and found Eifert just past the goal line.

Pitt had one last chance and drove to Notre Dame 40 before going backward.Aaron Lynch sacked Sunseri on first down and Prince Shembo racked up Notre Dame’s fifth

and final sack on third down, setting the Panthers up with a fourth-and-26.No chance.Sunseri’s pass to Mike Shanahan was incomplete and Rees came on to lead the Irish to one

more first down and run out the clock.Ray Graham ran for 82 yards and added 43 yards receiving for Pitt, but the Panthers could

do little else. Sunseri, who has struggled getting the ball downfield, didn’t complete a pass longer than 18 yards.

Cierre Wood ran 23 times for 96 yards for Notre Dame but it was Gray who provided the big play. The senior sprinted 79 yards down the sideline in the second quarter for his first career score, the school’s longest rush since Terrance Howard darted 80 yards against West Virginia in 2000.

115






PUrdUe game SUmmary

Oct. 1, 2011 • West Lafayette, Ind. • Ross-Ade StadiumScore by Quarters 1 2 3 4 F


Purdue 0 3 0 7 10 Record: (2-2)

First Quarter14:36 ND Floyd 35 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 2-35 0:100:03 ND Gray, J. 2 yd run (Ruffer kick), 13-82 4:12Second Quarter9:06 ND Wood, C. 55 yd run (Ruffer kick), 3-79 1:033:39 PUR Wiggs 27 yd field goal, 14-70 5:27

Third Quarter12:00 ND Eifert 6 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 7-69 3:002:07 ND Jones 11 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 12-87 4:45Fourth Quarter8:06 ND Ruffer 21 yd field goal, 16-70 7:340:21 PUR Edison 13 yd pass from TerBush (Wiggs kick), 11-95 3:59

ND PUR ND PURFIRST DOWNS 34 17RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 40-287 27-84PASSING YDS (NET) 264 192Passes Att-Comp-Int 41-25-0 38-19-1TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 81-551 65-276Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0Punt Returns-Yards 2--3 0-0Kickoff Returns-Yards 3-73 7-151Interception Returns-Yards 1-13 0-0Punts (Number-Avg) 2-44.0 7-42.6Fumbles-Lost 2-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 8-85 13-118Possession Time 33:11 26:49Third-Down Conversions 4 of 11 5 of 14Fourth-Down Conversions 1 of 1 1 of 1Red-Zone Scores-Chances 4-5 2-2Sacks By: Number-Yards 3-12 0-0

RUSHING: Notre Dame-Wood, C. 20-191; Gray, J. 15-94; Rees 1-3; Goodman 1-2; McDaniel 1-1; Team 2-minus 4. Purdue-Hunt 3-25; Bolden 6-17; Edison 2-14; Marve 3-10; TerBush 6-8; Shavers 5-4; Pegram 1-4; Bush 1-2.PASSING: Notre Dame-Rees 24-40-0-254; Crist 1-1-0-10. Purdue-Marve 9-22-0-91; Ter-Bush 10-15-1-101; Thomas 0-1-0-0.RECEIVING: Notre Dame-Floyd 12-137; Jones 5-49; Eifert 4-38; Wood, C. 2-22; Atkinson III 1-10; Goodman 1-8. Purdue-Edison 7-105; Siller 4-26; Gravesande 2-22; Ross 2-13; Wright 1-9; Shavers 1-7; Bush 1-6; Hunt 1-4.INTERCEPTIONS: Notre Dame-Gray, G. 1-13. Purdue-None.FUMBLES: Notre Dame-Gray, J. 1-0; Floyd 1-0. Purdue-None.SACKS (UA-A): Notre Dame-Lynch 1-0; Te'o 2-0. Purdue-None.TACKLES (UA-A): Notre Dame-Te'o 8-0; Blanton 4-2; Calabrese 3-1; Jackson 3-0; Collinsworth 3-0; Smith, H. 3-0; Lynch 3-0; Shembo 2-1; Fox 2-0; Lewis-Moore 2-0; Niklas 2-0; Filer 2-0; Atkinson III 1-1; Williams, H. 1-1; Fleming 1-1; Wood, L. 1-0; Slaughter 1-0; Gray, G. 1-0; Moore 1-0; Williams, Ish. 1-0; Posluzny 1-0; Salvi 0-1. Purdue-Evans 9-2; Allen 8-2; Feichter 8-0; Beckford 6-2; Holland 4-2; Charlot 2-3; Johnson 3-0; Harris 1-2; Carlino 2-0; Short 2-0; Link 1-1; Russell 1-1; Maci 1-0; Gooden 1-0; Siller 1-0; Lucas 1-0; Team 1-0; Greaves 1-0; Taylor 0-1.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) – So much for Michael Floyd the decoy.Twenty-four seconds into Notre Dame’s game against Purdue, the star receiver surpassed

his yardage total from the previous week. His 35-yard touchdown catch from Tommy Rees sparked a 38-10 rout of Purdue on Saturday night.

Floyd caught four passes for 27 yards against Pittsburgh, and he talked during the week about his willingness to do his job and help the team’s other talented receivers get open.

This week, Floyd was featured.“Getting Mike Floyd the ball early on really gave us a lot of confidence offensively,” Notre

Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “It was more of a concerted effort to make sure he got his touch-es, and making it part of our game plan that he has to touch the ball and not just if the offense comes to him, it comes to him. We’re not going to play that way. Mike has to get the ball and that’s what we saw.”

Floyd’s excellence was just one element of the team’s most dominant performance of the season. Notre Dame outgained Purdue 551 yards to 276. It was a season-high yardage total for the Irish and their third game with at least 500 yards of offense.

Tommy Rees passed for 254 yards and three touchdowns for the Fighting Irish (3-2).Cierre Wood ran for a career-high 191 yards on 20 carries and Jonas Gray rushed for 94 yards,

highlighting a running game that churned out 287 yards on 40 attempts.The Irish had committed 15 turnovers in their first four games, but none against Purdue.

This time, Notre Dame’s opponent made the mistakes. The Boilermakers also committed 13 penalties for 118 yards.

Antavian Edison’s performance was one of the few bright spots for Purdue (2-2). He caught seven passes for 105 yards and a score.

The Boilermakers entered the game with a two-quarterback system, and they left it with nothing settled. Caleb TerBush started and completed 10 of 15 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. Robert Marve relieved him in the second quarter and got the start in the second half, but couldn’t move the team. TerBush re-entered the game and threw a touchdown pass, but it came in the final minute with Purdue down 38-3.

“We didn’t play well,” Purdue coach Danny Hope said. “We didn’t have any luck. We didn’t match up well. We’re a better team than that.”

Purdue’s TerBush threw an interception right to Notre Dame’s Gary Gray on the first play from scrimmage and two plays later, Rees found Floyd beyond Purdue’s defense for their long touchdown connection.

Later in the first quarter, Purdue had Notre Dame stopped on a third-and-goal, but an un-sportmanlike conduct penalty on Albert Evans gave the Irish a first down. Notre Dame then scored on a 2-yard run by Gray to take a 14-0 lead.

Ruffer missed a 49-yard field goal early in the second quarter, and Marve entered the game for Purdue’s next possession.

Purdue went three-and-out, and Notre Dame quickly took advantage. Catching Purdue in a blitz, Wood broke into the secondary and ran 55 yards to give the Irish a 21-0 lead with 9:06 left in the second quarter.

Purdue finally got on the board when Carson Wiggs made a 27-yard field goal with 3:39 left in the second quarter to trim Notre Dame’s lead to 21-3.

Marve didn’t fare as well as TerBush statistically, but he moved the team more effectively and earned the start in the second half.

Before he even got on the field, though, Notre Dame scored again. Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame’s improving tight end who had just one catch in the first half, caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Rees to make it 28-3. Later in the quarter, Jones caught an 11-yard pass from Rees to push the lead to 35-3.

Purdue finally got into the end zone late in the game. TerBush finished a 95-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Antavian Edison with 21 seconds remaining.

Notre Dame’s defense was as impressive as its offense. Purdue entered the game ranked 11th nationally in rushing, but finished with 84 yards on 27 carries.

“We made good decisions, we ran hard, and we exerted our will on the opposing team,” Kelly said.


air Force game SUmmary

First Quarter12:13 ND Floyd 34 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 8-81 3:068:21 ND Eifert 5 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 9-59 3:335:48 AF Herrington 34 yd field goal, 8-64 2:334:07 ND Toma 10 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 4-51 0:00Second Quarter13:41 AF Jefferson 3 yd run (Herrington kick blockd), 14-80 5:2611:39 ND Gray, J. 5 yd run (Ruffer kick), 5-38 2:026:10 ND Wood, C. 8 yd run (Ruffer kick), 6-44 2:271:41 AF MacArthur 6 yd pass from Jefferson (Herrington kick), 12-80 4:290:32 ND Riddick 24 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 6-74 1:09

Third Quarter6:49 ND Gray, J. 6 yd run (Ruffer kick), 6-64 1:54Fourth Quarter14:56 AF Herrington 32 yd field goal, 18-54 6:5310:12 ND Ruffer 39 yd field goal, 9-56 4:446:22 ND Atkinson III 1 yd run (Grieco kick), 4-80 2:004:32 AF Coleman 36 yd pass from Dietz (Lacoste rush), 4-74 1:500:33 AF Lee 8 yd run (Hart rush failed), 7-67 1:41

Oct. 8, 2011 • Notre Dame, Ind. • Notre Dame StadiumScore by Quarters 1 2 3 4 F

Air Force 3 13 0 17 33 Record: (3-2)


AF ND AF ND FIRST DOWNS 32 28RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 60-363 29-266PASSING YDS (NET) 202 294Passes Att-Comp-Int 28-16-1 36-27-0TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 88-565 65-560Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 1-4Punt Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0Kickoff Returns-Yards 6-125 7-137Interception Returns-Yards 0-0 1-0


RUSHING: Air Force-Clark 11-102; Jones 5-50; Dewitt 7-49; Lacoste 2-26; Lee 3-25; Getz 7-24; Jefferson 10-22; Baska 1-19; Strickland 2-18; Cobb 5-16; Dietz 2-10; Hart 1-3; Warzeka 3-2; Hunter 1-minus 3. Notre Dame-Hendrix 6-111; Gray, J. 7-69; Wood, C. 10-66; Riddick 1-14; McDaniel 2-8; Atkinson III 2-1; Team 1-minus 3.PASSING: Air Force-Jefferson 12-24-1-137; Tipton 2-2-0-24; Dietz 2-2-0-41. Notre Dame-Rees 23-32-0-261; Hendrix 4-4-0-33.RECEIVING: Air Force-Warzeka 6-71; Coleman 2-50; Freeman 2-32; Hirneise 2-15; Kauth 1-13; Dewitt 1-9; MacArthur 1-6; Hunter 1-6. Notre Dame-Riddick 8-83; Eifert 8-81; Floyd 6-78; Wood, C. 2-11; Jones 1-23; Toma 1-10; Goodman 1-8.INTERCEPTIONS: Air Force-None. Notre Dame-Slaughter 1-0.FUMBLES: Air Force-Clark 1-1; Jefferson 1-0. Notre Dame-None.SACKS (UA-A): Air Force-None. Notre Dame-Lewis-Moore 1-0.TACKLES (UA-A): Air Force-Davis 7-5; Lindsay 2-7; Hall 4-3; Waiwaiole 1-5; Cooks 2-3; Wooding 0-5; Kusan 1-3; Wright 1-3; Amack 0-4; Hennessy 2-1; Batts 1-1; Kehs 0-2; Adeji-Paul 0-2; Jablonsky 0-2; Champaign 0-2; Siderberg 1-0; Niklas 1-0; Benson 1-0; Pierce 1-0; Chamberrs 0-1; Watkins 0-1; Avery 0-1; Mays 0-1; Dejulio 0-1; Jones 0-1. Notre Dame-Smith, H. 7-5; Blanton 7-3; Te'o 5-5; Fleming 2-5; Fox 2-4; Slaughter 2-4; Gray, G. 3-2; Calabrese 1-4; Tuitt 1-4; Lewis-Moore 2-2; Hounshell 1-3; McCarthy 1-3; Jackson 3-0; Motta 1-2; Col-linsworth 1-2; Salvi 2-0; Niklas 1-1; Wood, L. 1-1; Moore 1-1; Cwynar 1-1; Nix III 1-1; Spond 0-2; McDaniel 0-1; Shembo 0-1; Williams, I. 0-1; Lynch 0-1; Atkinson III 0-1.

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (AP) – Notre Dame showed just how its spread offense is supposed to work.

Tommy Rees found four different receivers with first-half TD passes, and seven Irish players reached the end zone Saturday as Notre Dame scored its most points since the end of the Lou Holtz era 15 years ago and routed Air Force 59-33.

“We have got very good diversity within our offense. We can run and throw it. We are hard to defend right now,” coach Brian Kelly said after his team’s fourth straight victory.

“We are making the strides. ... We have not arrived. The pieces are starting to come together for us. We are getting there.”

Notre Dame (4-2) got TDs on all six of its first-half possessions and led 42-16 at the intermis-sion. The Irish now head into a bye week with a four-game winning streak.

Rees was 19 of 25 for 208 yards in the first half and finished 23 of 32 for 261 yards.The wide-open game featured the most combined points ever for a game at Notre Dame Sta-

dium, breaking the previous mark of 90. And the 59 points were the most by Notre Dame since beating Rutgers 62-0 in 1996 - Holtz’s final home game as Irish coach.

The two teams combined for 1,125 yards total offense - 565 by Air Force and 560 by Notre Dame.

Air Force tried everything - a no-huddle and option offense that ran up big yards, an onside kick the Falcons’ didn’t recover, a fake punt that resulted in a 19-yard gain. Air Force finished the first half with 311 yards and was 5-for-5 on fourth down conversions in the game.

But the Falcons (3-2) were simply no match physically for the Irish, especially Notre Dame’s big offensive front that allowed Rees ample time to find wide open receivers and running backs to dance through huge holes.

“Frankly, when you see them playing live, you’re a little bit surprised that the record is not even

better, and it can be as they go,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said of the Irish.Two Falcons turnovers, a fumble by Asher Clark on Air Force’s first play from scrimmage and an

interception, helped send the Irish onto TD drives.“We put our defense out there with some short fields, absolutely,” Calhoun said.The Irish also showed a new wrinkle and a new weapon in Kelly’s attack when sophomore

Andrew Hendrix was inserted as a change-of-pace quarterback in place of Rees.Hendrix completed all four of his passes and broke off a 78-yard run to the 2 in the fourth

quarter, showing off his ability and giving a glimpse perhaps of the Irish’s future. Hendrix finished with six carries for 111 yards.

Tim Jefferson’s 6-yard TD pass to Ty MacArthur, set up after punter David Baska’s 19-yard run and another 30-yard jaunt by Mike DeWitt, got Air Force within 35-16 in the second quarter.

But just as they did all day, the Irish played pitch-and-catch and went right down the field for another score. This time it was Riddick catching a pass over the middle as Rees was hit. Riddick sailed through the defense on a 24-yard play that made it 42-16.

Notre Dame scored on its first drive and kept going.Michael Floyd leaped high over Air Force’s Bobby Watkins III to grab a pass from Rees at the front

pylon of the end zone. Initially ruled a touchdown, the play was reviewed - and even though replays showed that Floyd’s left foot appeared on the line - the score was upheld.

The 34-yard TD pass capped an 81-yard drive, one that took under three minutes and also in-cluded a Rees-to-Riddick hookup of 24 yards.

After a field goal by Air Force’s Parker Herrington, the Irish got a 40-yard kickoff return by George Atkinson III and moved in for another TD in four plays. Hendrix hit Eifert for 22 yards, setting up Rees’ 10-yarder to Robby Toma for the score.

117






USc game SUmmary


USC 14 3 7 7 31 Record: (6-1)


First Quarter6:16 USC Telfer 2 yd pass from Barkley (Heidari kick), 13-66 7:391:01 USC Woods 3 yd pass from Barkley (Heidari kick), 6-62 2:47

Second Quarter3:34 USC Heidari 25 yd field goal, 14-69 4:543:22 ND Atkinson III 96 yd kickoff return (Ruffer kick)0:21 ND Ruffer 25 yd field goal, 10-68 1:34

Third Quarter0:53 USC Starling 80 yd fumble recovery (Heidari kick)

Fourth Quarter14:07 ND Gray, J. 25 yd run (Ruffer kick), 5-62 1:467:47 USC Woods 14 yd pass from Barkley (Heidari kick), 3-18 0:59

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (AP) – USC safety Jawanza Starling saw the ball rolling around and bouncing on the ground and knew if he could control it, somehow pick it up, an open field was in front of him.

Talk about a game-changing play. Starling made the biggest one Saturday night, an 80-yard return of a fumbled snap as the Trojans started strong and then held off Notre Dame for a 31-17 victory.

With the Trojans nursing a 17-10 lead, Notre Dame had the ball at the USC 1 and was on the verge of tying the game when backup quarterback Dayne Crist lost the handle on the snap.

Matt Barkley passed for three TDs for the Trojans (6-1), who jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first half.

USC, which has now won nine of the last 10 meetings in the long rivalry, had a 443-267 advantage in total yards. Notre Dame (4-3) had three second-half turnovers, couldn’t stop the Trojans’ rushing attack and saw its four-game winning streak end.

When starter Tommy Rees hurt his knee after being hit and had to come out momentarily, Crist replaced him.

Crist, who lost the starter’s job after the first half of the season opener, completed 4 of 5 passes to help the Irish reach the 1. But when he couldn’t control the snap, the ball got loose and Starling picked it up and ran in for the long TD. Instead of a potentially tied game, USC went up 24-10 late in the third.

“That was a big momentum swing,” Starling said. “They were driving the ball, and we come out and get a play like that on defense, it just turns the whole tone of the game.”

Rees returned to the game on the next series and immediately led the Irish to a score, that coming on Jonas Gray’s 25-yard TD run, cutting the lead to a touchdown early in the fourth.

After USC’s Andre Heidari missed a 32-yard field goal with 9:13 to go, the Trojans’ Chris Galippo came up with the second of three second-half turnovers by the Irish. He recovered what was ruled a fumbled lateral when Rees threw a pass behind the line to Cierre Wood, who didn’t catch the ball. The play was upheld by video replay, giving the Trojans a first down at the 18 with 8:46 to go.

Marc Tyler was open in the end zone but his foot hit the sideline as he caught a pass from Barkley. But two plays later, Barkley made a great pump fake and hit Robert Woods with a 14-yard TD pass for a 31-17 lead. That play was also upheld by video replay.

Any hope of an Irish comeback evaporated when Rees was intercepted by Nickell Robey on the next series.

Barkley completed 24 of 35 passes for 224 yards, and Curtis McNeal finished as the Trojans’ leading rusher with 118 yards on 24 carries. USC had 219 yards total rushing on 44 carries. Woods, meanwhile, made 12 catches for 119 yards and two TDs.

USC’s defense held Notre Dame star Michael Floyd to just four catches for 28 yards and lim-ited the Irish to 41 yards rushing on 14 carries.

USC dominated most of the first half with its offense behind the running of Tyler and the passing of Barkley and built the 17-0 lead late in the second quarter.

But Irish freshman George Atkinson III broke loose for a 96-yard TD kickoff return and got both his team and the crowd back in the game with just over three minutes remaining in the half. It was his second kickoff return for a score this season.

Then, after the Irish defense forced USC’s first punt of the game, Rees completed 6 of 9 passes and took the Irish on a late drive that reached USC 7. It stalled and David Ruffer’s 25-yard field goal got Notre Dame within 17-10 at the half.

USC ND USC ND FIRST DOWNS 29 17RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 44-219 14-41PASSING YDS (NET) 224 226Passes Att-Comp-Int 35-24-0 43-27-1TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 79-443 57-267Fumble Returns-Yards 1-80 0-0Punt Returns-Yards 3-38 0-0Kickoff Returns-Yards 2-41 6-197Interception Returns-Yards 1-6 0-0


RUSHING: USC-McNeal 24-118; Tyler 13-67; Barkley 4-19; Farmer 1-11; Woods 1-5; Team 1-minus 1. Notre Dame-Gray, J. 4-38; Riddick 1-7; Rees 1-6; Wood, C. 5-5; Hendrix 2-4; Crist 1-minus 19.PASSING: USC-Barkley 24-35-0-224. Notre Dame-Rees 23-37-1-190; Crist 4-5-0-36; Hen-drix 0-1-0-0.RECEIVING: USC-Woods 12-119; Lee 2-36; Carswell 2-23; Telfer 2-14; Grimble 2-12; Farmer 1-9; Butler 1-5; McNeal 1-4; Ellison 1-2. Notre Dame-Eifert 7-66; Wood, C. 6-41; Riddick 5-56; Floyd 4-28; Jones 2-23; Gray, J. 2-3; Toma 1-9.INTERCEPTIONS: USC-Robey 1-6. Notre Dame-None.FUMBLES: USC-None. Notre Dame-Wood, C. 1-1; Crist 1-1.SACKS (UA-A): USC-None. Notre Dame-None.TACKLES (UA-A): USC-Pullard 5-3; Bailey 3-3; Robey 2-4; Perry 2-4; McDonald 1-4; Starling 1-3; Cumming 0-3; Kennard 2-0; Horton, S. 1-1; Tupou, C. 1-1; Dawson 0-2; Wiley 0-2; Mad-den 0-2; Wright 0-2; Romness 1-0; Galippo 0-1; Uko 0-1; Horton, W. 0-1; Jones 0-1. Notre Dame-Smith, H. 7-7; Gray, G. 7-5; Te'o 3-7; Slaughter 3-5; Tuitt 1-6; Fleming 3-3; Lewis-Moore 2-4; Fox 2-3; Blanton 3-1; Shembo 3-1; Nix III 0-4; Motta 0-2; Collinsworth 1-0; Eifert 1-0; Atkinson III 1-0; Filer 0-1; Calabrese 0-1; Moore 0-1; Spond 0-1; Cwynar 0-1; Lynch 0-1.


First Quarter4:52 ND Gray, J. 4 yd run (Ruffer kick), 5-70 2:140:31 ND Wood, C. 1 yd run (Ruffer kick), 6-63 2:24

Second Quarter11:06 NAVY Greene 9 yd pass from Miller (Teague, Jon kick), 6-27 2:4210:51 ND Floyd 56 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 1-56 0:229:07 ND Gray, J. 2 yd run (Ruffer kick), 4-22 1:373:37 ND Wood, C. 1 yd run (Ruffer kick), 10-56 3:59

Third Quarter2:59 ND Floyd 10 yd run (Ruffer kick), 9-86 4:23

Fourth Quarter13:38 ND Gray, J. 5 yd run (Ruffer kick), 5-43 2:039:25 NAVY Cummings 12 yd run (Teague kick), 2-26 0:343:49 ND Atkinson III 1 yd run (Ruffer kick), 10-53 5:36


Navy 0 7 0 7 14 Record: (2-6)


NAVY ND NAVY NDFIRST DOWNS 16 21RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 50-196 35-182PASSING YDS (NET) 33 260Passes Att-Comp-Int 13-5-0 25-19-1TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 63-229 60-442Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0Punt Returns-Yards 1-1 0-0Kickoff Returns-Yards 9-174 3-91Interception Returns-Yards 1-9 0-0


RUSHING: Navy-Teich 15-62; Miller 19-55; Cummings 6-24; Howell 2-22; Aiken 1-14; Staten 1-11; Snelson 2-5; Diggs 1-2; Greene 3-1. Notre Dame-Gray, J. 12-69; Wood, C. 11-66; Atkinson III 7-26; Toma 1-12; Floyd 1-10; Crist 2-8; Rees 1-minus 9.PASSING: Navy-Miller 5-13-0-33. Notre Dame-Rees 16-22-1-237; Crist 3-3-0-23.RECEIVING: Navy-Aiken 2-16; Teich 2-8; Greene 1-9. Notre Dame-Floyd 6-121; Riddick 4-58; Jones 3-28; Goodman 2-15; Wood, C. 2-13; Eifert 1-17; Welch 1-8.INTERCEPTIONS: Navy-Warrick 1-9. Notre Dame-None.FUMBLES: Navy-Thomas 1-1. Notre Dame-Rees 1-1.SACKS (UA-A): Navy-None. Notre Dame-Nix III 0-1; Te'o 0-1.TACKLES (UA-A): Navy-Ferguson 1-8; Bush 3-5; Warrick 0-8; Gaines 4-3; French 3-1; Myers 3-0; King 1-2; Ryder 1-2; Sperry 0-3; Mitchell 2-0; Shannon 1-1; Jones 1-1; Tuani 1-1; Brewer 0-2; O'Boyle 1-0; Lynch 1-0; Sturdivant 0-1; Dowling-Fitz 0-1; Paulson 0-1. Notre Dame-Te'o 5-8; Blanton 4-3; Tuitt 2-5; Nix III 1-5; Slaughter 2-3; Smith, H. 3-1; Collinsworth 2-2; Mc-Carthy 1-3; Motta 1-3; Shembo 0-4; Spond 2-1; Fox 1-2; Jackson 1-2; McDonald 1-2; Gray, G. 2-0; Niklas 2-0; Williams, H. 1-1; Salvi 1-1; Fleming 0-2; Cwynar 0-2; Moore 1-0; Williams, I. 1-0; Welch 1-0; Calabrese 1-0; Smith, D. 0-1; Atkinson 0-1.

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (AP) – Notre Dame needed less than two minutes to make its prob-lems disappear.

Michael Floyd and Jonas Gray scored in a span of 1 minute, 59 seconds Saturday, and Notre Dame rolled from there, rebounding from its rough week with a 56-14 thrashing of Navy. The Irish (5-3) rushed for seven touchdowns, their most in 19 years, while limiting Navy (2-6) to a season-low 229 yards of total offense in the Midshipmen’s sixth straight loss.

Notre Dame scored on five of its first six possessions, and had two running backs score mul-tiple touchdowns (Gray had three, Cierre Wood had two) for the first time since 2001. Floyd also had two TDs, scoring on a 56-yard catch and a 10-yard lateral for Notre Dame, which beat Navy for only the second time in five years after winning 43 straight from 1964 to 2006.

The game was so out of hand, the starters spent the fourth quarter on the sidelines.Not that everything was perfect.Notre Dame has struggled with turnovers all season, and its sloppiness cost the Irish again

early in the second quarter. Theo Riddick couldn’t get his hands on a swing pass from Tommy Rees, and Navy end Jabree Tuani scooped the ball up. Though the play was initially ruled a forward pass and, thus an incompletion, that was overturned, giving the Middies the ball at the Notre Dame 27.

Six plays later, Gee Gee Greene scored on a 9-yard pass from young quarterback Trey Miller, playing in place of the injured Kriss Proctor, to cut Notre Dame’s lead to 14-7.

Instead of falling apart, though, the Irish roared back with two touchdowns in a 2-minute span.

George Atkinson III, who returned his second kick for a score last week against Southern California, gave the Irish great field position, putting the ball at the Notre Dame 44. Rees then

found Floyd, who took advantage of Navy’s defensive breakdowns and strolled into the end zone untouched for a 56-yard score.

“He was great,” Kelly said of Floyd. “He had talked about it all week, coming out this week and having a great game, and you know, he was not going to be denied today.”

Navy then botched the kickoff return, with Marcus Thomas never getting up to the ball and watching helplessly as it bounced off the ground. He gave chase, but Troy Niklas beat him to the ball to give Notre Dame back possession at the Navy 22. Four plays later, Gray scored on a 2-yard run to give Notre Dame a 28-7 lead.

“Coach Kelly did a great job getting his guys ready, bouncing back after the USC game,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “They came prepared and focused, and they got after us ... offensively, defensively and special teams. Just a total butt whipping.”

Though there was still almost 40 minutes left to play, the game was effectively over.The Irish defense hounded Miller all afternoon. He finished just 5 of 13 for 33 yards, and Navy

could only manage 196 yards on the ground - well below its average of 325 yards.Fullback Alexander Teich, who ran roughshod over the Irish last year for a career-high 210

yards on 26 carries, was held to just 62 on 15 touches.“You have to give those guys some credit,” Teich said. “Last year ... it was like night and day.

Those guys just flat got after it.”Notre Dame is now 13-8 under Kelly. While that’s not nearly good enough for zealous Irish

fans, it’s the same record Lou Holtz had in his first 21 games at Notre Dame.“We want a consistency about how we play each and every game,” Kelly said. “We’ve got

to play together, play a brand of football that I’m starting to see. Today was a great example. Everybody was playing together, everybody was playing hard for each other, and that’s what we expect.”

navy game SUmmary

119






Nov. 5, 2011 • Winston-Salem, N.C. • BB&T FieldScore by Quarters 1 2 3 4 F


Wake Forest 10 7 0 0 17 Record: (5-4)

First Quarter10:52 WF Pendergrass 20 yd pass from Price (Newman kick) 8-70 4:086:15 ND Ruffer 44 yd field goal 10-28 4:284:07 WF Newman 46 yd field goal 4-4 1:583:38 ND Eifert 38 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick) 2-50 0:23

Second Quarter0:28 WF Harris 2 yd run (Newman kick) 11-81 4:49

Third Quarter12:54 ND Gray, J. 1 yd run (Ruffer kick) 6-62 1:589:04 ND Floyd 16 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick) 6-65 2:22

ND WF ND WFFIRST DOWNS 20 21RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 38-175 37-110PASSING YDS (NET) 166 187Passes Att-Comp-Int 24-14-2 24-17-0TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 62-341 61-297Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0Punt Returns-Yards 0-0 1--2Kickoff Returns-Yards 4-115 5-136Interception Returns-Yards 0-0 2-54


RUSHING: Notre Dame-Gray, J. 19-92; Wood, C. 14-87; Rees 2-2; Team 3-minus 6. Wake Forest-Pendergrass 17-47; Givens 4-39; Harris 7-11; Price 6-10; Reynolds 2-5; Team 1-minus 2.PASSING: Notre Dame-Rees 14-23-2-166; Goodman 0-1-0-0. Wake Forest-Price 17-24-0-187.RECEIVING: Notre Dame-Floyd 5-44; Eifert 3-60; Jones 3-16; Wood, C. 1-17; Goodman 1-17; Riddick 1-12. Wake Forest-Campanaro 6-74; Givens 6-57; Pendergrass 2-29; Ford 1-16; Parker 1-15; Reynolds 1-minus 4.INTERCEPTIONS: Notre Dame-None. Wake Forest-Bush 2-54.FUMBLES: Notre Dame-Gray, J. 1-0. Wake Forest-Pendergrass 1-1.SACKS (UA-A): Notre Dame-Tuitt 1-0; Shembo 1-0; Lynch 1-0. Wake Forest-None.TACKLES (UA-A): Notre Dame-Smith, H. 8-3; Blanton 7-3; Te'o 2-3; Shembo 3-1; Fleming 3-1; Tuitt 3-1; Nix III 2-2; Fox 1-3; Gray, G. 3-0; Lynch 2-1; Cwynar 1-1; Slaughter 0-2; Jackson 0-2; Atkinson, J. 1-0; Collinsworth 1-0; Martin 1-0; Jones 1-0; Atkinson III 1-0; Motta 0-1; Salvi 0-1; Kavanagh 0-1. Wake Forest-Jackson 5-3; Bush 5-3; Olson 2-6; Ehrmann 2-5; Dorty 3-3; Thompson 0-6; Noel 5-0; Whitlock 0-5; Wilber 2-2; Okoro 3-0; Marshall 1-1; Quarles 1-1; Lowe 1-0; Allen 1-0; Mack 0-1; Cooper 0-1; Betros 0-1.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) – With the game on the line, Notre Dame gave up plenty of yardage to Wake Forest. What the Fighting Irish refused to surrender was the lead.

Tommy Rees threw two touchdown passes and Notre Dame shut out the Demon Deacons in the second half of a 24-17 victory on Saturday night.

“The words I would use? Gritty. Tough,” Irish coach Brian Kelly said. “You’ve got to win games like this where it’s just a gritty, tough performance.”

Rees finished 14 of 23 for 166 yards with scoring passes of 38 yards to Tyler Eifert and 16 yards to Michael Floyd. Jonas Gray added a 1-yard touchdown run for the Irish (6-3), who outgained the Demon Deacons 341-297. Notre Dame scored on its first two possessions of the second half and held on to win its second straight.

Twice in the second half, Wake Forest had the ball at or inside the Notre Dame 10 while down by a touchdown - and came away with no points.

“That really killed us,” Wake Forest receiver Chris Givens said. “It was devastating for our offense.”Tanner Price was 17 of 24 for 187 yards with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Pend-

ergrass. Josh Harris added a 2-yard touchdown run for Wake Forest (5-4), which led 17-10 at halftime but has lost three of four.

The Demon Deacons squandered Josh Bush’s long interception return midway through the third quarter when Pendergrass fumbled at the Irish 9. Wake Forest then had a first-and-goal from the 10 midway through the fourth, but lost 15 yards on its next three plays and David New-man’s 42-yard field goal sailed wide right with 5:24 left.

Gray and Cierre Wood then took over on the ground for the Irish, who ran out the clock.Gray finished with 92 yards for the Irish.“Obviously, the third quarter was the deciding part of this game in terms of our ability to put

points on the board,” Kelly said. “We did a great job in the second half ... closing out the game running the football.”

Gray tied it at 17 when he took a pitch untouched around left end for his ninth touchdown of the season. That came two plays after Gray appeared to score from 26 yards out, but an official review determined his elbow touched the turf inside the 1-yard line.

Notre Dame went back to work 1 1/2 minutes later, with Wood’s 27-yard run up the middle setting up Rees’ go-ahead touchdown pass. Floyd slipped behind a pair of Wake Forest defenders and pulled down a perfectly thrown ball in the right corner of the end zone before 6 minutes had elapsed in the half.

Ball security has been a problem all year for the Irish, who entered ranked 118th nationally in turnover margin, and it looked like the Demon Deacons were going to make them pay for Rees’ second interception to Bush before Pendergrass’ costly fumble swung momentum back to the Irish.

Harris put Wake Forest up 17-10 when he powered in with 28 seconds left before halftime. That capped an 11-play, 81-yard march that chewed up nearly five minutes and ended with just the fifth rushing touchdown allowed all year by the Irish.

The first meeting between the schools - and the only one scheduled in Winston-Salem - was billed as one of the biggest in Wake Forest history with an announced crowd of 36,307 at the 31,500-seat BB&T Field, the smallest venue to host Notre Dame since 1945.

The teams combined to provide plenty of early fireworks, with both scoring on their first two possessions before the defenses finally settled down.

Price capped the Demon Deacons’ opening drive with his scoring pass to Pendergrass down the right sideline just over four minutes in. They traded field goals - Notre Dame’s David Ruffer kicking one from 44 yards out, and Newman following with a 46-yarder - before Eifert slipped through a seam in the defense and Rees found him for a long score that tied it at 10-10 with 3:38 left in the quarter.

Wake ForeSt game SUmmary


First Quarter11:25 ND Gray, J. 1 yd run (Ruffer kick), 8-67 2:332:47 ND Ruffer 52 yd field goal, 11-57 2:39

Second Quarter8:29 ND Floyd 19 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 7-80 2:315:18 MD McCree 13 yd pass from O'Brien (Ferrara kick), 9-61 3:040:29 ND Gray, J. 1 yd run (Ruffer kick), 13-70 4:43

Third Quarter8:48 ND Wood, C. 3 yd run (Ruffer kick), 14-84 6:067:18 ND Wood, L. 57 yd interception return (Ruffer kick)

Fourth Quarter14:02 MD Brown 24 yd run (Ferrara kick), 10-97 3:165:31 ND Eifert 34 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 7-77 3:230:37 MD Adams 2 yd run (Ferrara kick), 13-67 4:49

Nov. 12, 2011 • Landover, Md. • FedEx FieldScore by Quarters 1 2 3 4 F

Maryland 0 7 0 14 21 Record: (2-8)


MD ND MD NDFIRST DOWNS 20 30RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 35-145 46-212PASSING YDS (NET) 219 296Passes Att-Comp-Int 31-20-1 38-30-0TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 66-364 84-508Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0Punt Returns-Yards 1-14 0-0Kickoff Returns-Yards 7-133 4-57Interception Returns-Yards 0-0 1-57


RUSHING: Maryland-Adams 16-55; Meggett 9-37; Brown 3-31; O'Brien 4-18; Cierski 3-4. Notre Dame-Gray, J. 21-136; Wood, C. 18-99; Hendrix 1-1; TEAM 1-minus 3; Rees 5-minus 21.PASSING: Maryland-O'Brien 14-21-1-132; Brown 6-10-0-87. Notre Dame-Rees 30-38-0-296.RECEIVING: Maryland-McCree 5-76; Boykins 3-37; Dorsey 3-25; Furstenburg 3-23; Tyler 2-27; Adams 2-13; Campbell 1-12; Meggett 1-6. Notre Dame-Floyd 9-90; Eifert 8-83; Toma 7-73; Jones 2-19; Wood, C. 2-15; Goodman 1-11; Gray, J. 1-5.INTERCEPTIONS: Maryland-None. Notre Dame-Wood, L. 1-57.FUMBLES: Maryland-Meggett 1-0. Notre Dame-Atkinson III 1-0.SACKS (UA-A): Maryland-Bowers 0-1; Whitfield 1-0; Monroe 0-1; Twine 1-0. Notre Dame-None.TACKLES (UA-A): Maryland-Hartsfield 9-4; Hendy 9-4; Twine 7-5; Franklin 4-8; Vellano 5-3; Drakeford 3-4; Hughes 2-4; Whitfield 2-2; Francis 1-3; Bowers 2-1; Till 2-0; McDougle 2-0; Claiborne 0-2; Monroe 0-2; Chism 1-0; Au.Walker 1-0; Goree 0-1; Farrand 0-1. Notre Dame-Gray, G. 5-1; Spond 5-1; Nix III 4-2; Lynch 5-0; Smith, H. 3-2; Fleming 0-5; Calabrese 0-5; Moore 4-0; Fox 3-1; Te'o 3-1; Cwynar 1-2; Motta 2-0; Niklas 1-1; Williams, H. 1-1; Salvi 0-2; Jackson 1-0; Slaughter 1-0; Johnson 1-0; Collinsworth 1-0; Welch 1-0; Wood, L. 1-0; Brindza 0-1; Shembo 0-1; Williams, I. 0-1; Atkinson III 0-1.

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) – Notre Dame’s no-huddle offense created more than enough feel-good moments for the Fighting Irish and their “hometown” crowd.

Jonas Gray ran for a career-high 136 yards and two touchdowns, Tommy Rees threw for 296 yards and two scores, and Notre Dame cruised to a 45-21 victory over skidding Maryland on Saturday night.

Rees completed 30 of 38 passes, including 14 of 15 after halftime. The Irish (7-3) amassed 508 yards in offense and ran an astonishing 84 plays.

“We wanted to go with a hurry-up tempo offense,” Rees said. “Throughout the game they were getting tired with our tempo.”

The Irish have made a habit of playing one “home” game a year at a neutral site. Although this one was held at a stadium only 12 miles from the Maryland campus, both end zones read “Notre Dame” and most fans in the crowd of 70,251 at FedEx Field were pulling for the Irish.

They were not disappointed. Notre Dame led 7-0 after four minutes, 24-7 at halftime and 38-7 midway through the third quarter.

Gray led the charge, running for 84 yards and a pair of 1-yard touchdowns in the first half.Maryland (2-8) dropped its sixth straight and also lost starting quarterback Danny O’Brien,

who broke a bone in his left arm and is out for the season.The right-hander was replaced by C.J. Brown, who ran 24 yards for a touchdown in the

fourth quarter to cap a 97-yard drive.Both teams were dressed for success. Notre Dame wore green jerseys and affixed large

shamrocks onto their gold helmets, and Maryland pulled out its garish “Pride” uniforms - a white, red, black and yellow salute to the state flag. The Terrapins last wore the ensemble in the opener against Miami, a 32-24 win that remains their lone victory over an FBS team this season.

After Gray dictated the action in the first half, Rees went 8 for 8 on an 84-yard drive to open

the third quarter. The march, which was kept alive by Gray’s 19-yard scamper on a third-and-17, ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by Cierre Wood (who finished with 99 yards rushing).

Minutes later, Lo Wood returned an interception 57 yards for a score to make it 38-7.A week ago, Notre Dame needed a second-half comeback to beat Wake Forest. In this one,

the Irish took control early.After holding Maryland without a first down on the opening possession, Notre Dame cruised

67 yards in eight plays to take a 7-0 lead. Gray ran four times for 32 yards, including a touch-down that extended his streak of games with a rushing TD to seven - most by a Notre Dame player since 1998.

Late in the quarter, David Ruffer kicked a career-long 52-yard field goal to cap an 11-play drive and put the Irish up 10-0.

In the second quarter, Notre Dame gave up its first sack in five games and 195 passing at-tempts. That possession ended in a punt, but the Irish quickly got the ball back and went ahead 17-0 on a 19-yard pass from Rees to Michael Floyd, whose 36th career touchdown tied him for third place on the school’s career list behind only Allen Pinkett (53) and Autry Denson (47).

Held to three first downs on its first five possessions, Maryland finally got its offense clicking behind O’Brien, who went 5 for 5 on a 61-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Quintin McCree.

Notre Dame promptly restored the 17-point margin with a 13-play drive that ended with a touchdown run by Gray on a fourth-down play.

The Irish padded the margin soon after halftime. Notre Dame has outscored the opposition 77-13 in the third quarter this year.

maryland game SUmmary

121






Nov. 19, 2011 • Notre Dame, Ind. • Notre Dame StadiumScore by Quarters 1 2 3 4 F

Boston College 0 7 0 7 14 Record: (3-8)


First Quarter12:38 ND Gray, J. 26 yd run (Ruffer kick), 8-80 2:228:15 ND Ruffer 40 yd field goal, 9-46 2:51

Second Quarter3:04 BC Bordner 2 yd run (Freese kick), 9-80 4:081:19 ND Ruffer 41 yd field goal, 7-46 1:45

Fourth Quarter8:08 ND Ruffer 27 yd field goal, 9-55 3:501:57 BC Swigert 7 yd pass from Rettig (Freese kick), 7-72 1:43

BC ND BC NDFIRST DOWNS 14 21RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 25-80 39-161PASSING YDS (NET) 170 256Passes Att-Comp-Int 38-18-0 39-24-1TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 63-250 78-417Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0Punt Returns-Yards 3-20 0-0Kickoff Returns-Yards 3-61 1-17Interception Returns-Yards 1-0 0-0


RUSHING: Boston College-Kimble 10-42; Finch 6-32; Bordner 4-7; Rettig 2-0; Williams 3-minus 1. Notre Dame-Wood, C. 26-94; Gray, J. 11-61; Floyd 1-3; Rees 1-3.PASSING: Boston College-Rettig 18-38-0-170. Notre Dame-Rees 24-39-1-256.RECEIVING: Boston College-Pantale 5-60; Swigert 5-39; Larmond 3-30; Finch 1-17; Cole-man 1-8; Amidon 1-7; Anderson 1-6; Kimble 1-3. Notre Dame-Floyd 10-92; Toma 5-65; Jones 5-42; Eifert 2-45; Gray, J. 2-15; Wood, C. 0-minus 3.INTERCEPTIONS: Boston College-Holloway 1-0. Notre Dame-None.FUMBLES: Boston College-Swigert 1-0. Notre Dame-None.SACKS (UA-A): Boston College-None. Notre Dame-Fleming 1-0.TACKLES (UA-A): Boston College-Kuechly 7-7; Asprilla 1-9; Appiah 2-6; Divitto 1-7; Pierre-Louis 3-4; Hughes 1-6; Holloway 4-2; Fletcher 3-3; Sylvia 2-3; Quinn 0-5; Rositano 1-3; Ede-bali 0-3; Williams 1-1; Duggan 0-2; Mihalik 0-2; O'Neal 0-1. Notre Dame-Te'o 3-9; Smith, H. 2-5; Motta 2-4; Nix III 1-4; Gray, G. 1-4; Fleming 1-3; Cwynar 1-3; Niklas 0-4; Blanton 2-1; Slaughter 2-1; Fox 1-2; Wood, L. 1-0; McDaniel 1-0; Toma 1-0; Calabrese 0-1; Shembo 0-1; Welch 0-1; Johnson 0-1; Atkinson III 0-1; Lynch 0-1; McCarthy 0-1; Spond 0-1; Jackson 0-1; Collinsworth 0-1.

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (AP) – Saddled with awful field position all afternoon, No. 24 Notre Dame needed to recover an onside kick with about 2 minutes left and then stifle a last-gasp flurry of laterals to hold off Boston College 16-14 on Saturday. The victory, rough as it may have been, was the fourth in a row for the Irish (8-3), who have matched last year’s victory total and won eight of nine after beginning the year 0-2.

“Winning is hard in college football,” said Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, whose teams have won 15 straight games in November. “I just like the way our guys now understand how to win games. In November, it’s hard to win unless you’ve got a great mental outlook, and our guys do. They have overcome so many injuries late, and they keep battling.”

Jonas Gray continued his breakout year, rushing for 61 yards and extending his scoring streak to eight games with a 26-yard rumble on the opening drive. But he left with what appeared to be a serious knee injury in the third quarter, and will have more tests Sunday. David Ruffer kicked field goals of 40, 41 and 27 yards for Notre Dame, which has won three straight against Boston College (3-8) after losing six in a row.

The Eagles struggled to get anything going offensively for most of the second half, with Chase Rettig throwing 10 incompletions in a row at one point. He got on track just in time to make things interesting, finding Chris Pantale for a 21-yard gain and throwing a 17-yarder to Rolandan Finch as the Eagles advanced to the Notre Dame 16 with about 3 minutes to play. A pass interfer-ence call on Zeke Motta moved Boston College to the 2 and, after a false start and an incomple-tion, Rettig connected with Bobby Swigert for a 7-yard score.

The Eagles went for the onside kick, but Robby Toma came up with the ball just past midfield.

The Irish tried to run out the ball, but they came up eight seconds short and Ben Turk’s punt went into the end zone, giving the Eagles the ball at their own 20. Rettig threw an 8-yard pass to Colin Larmond Jr., who then lateraled back to Swigert. Swigert fumbled the ball but Bobby Vardaro scooped it up before Irish linebacker Troy Niklas made the final tackle at the Boston College 14 to end the game.

Boston College was just 3 of 13 on third-down conversions, and came away with only Swigert’s score despite advancing to the Irish 44 or beyond three times in the second half.

Notre Dame looked as if it was going to have an easy afternoon when it marched 80 yards on its opening drive, with Gray shredding the Boston College defense on his 26-yard scoring run. But the Irish were hampered by poor field position all afternoon, starting five drives inside their own 10-yard line, and the offense never quite got into gear.

Boston College stopped the Irish just outside the red zone twice, and held them to a third field goal after they’d gotten to the Eagles’ 10. Tommy Rees was picked off around midfield on another drive, and finished 24 of 39 for 256 yards.

Michael Floyd had 10 catches for 92 yards in his final game at Notre Dame Stadium, including a nifty 18-yard reverse in the fourth quarter. But he dropped what almost certainly would have been a touchdown five plays later. He also had an open field on Notre Dame’s second drive, but couldn’t catch up to Rees’ pass.

Cierre Wood had 94 yards for Notre Dame, giving him 1,001 for the season.“It’s a win,” Rees said. “It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t, at times, the most successful offense we’ve had,

obviously. Anytime you can get a win this late in November, you’ll take it.”

boSton college game SUmmary


First Quarter9:16 SU Toilolo 3 yd pass from Luck (Williamson kick), 7-58 3:31

Second Quarter4:45 SU Fleener 28 yd pass from Luck (Williamson kick), 10-80 5:140:10 SU Montgomery 11 yd pass from Luck (Williamson kick), 10-64 1:28

Third Quarter6:21 ND Floyd 6 yd pass from Hendrix (Ruffer kick), 7-77 2:53

Fourth Quarter5:40 SU Fleener 55 yd pass from Luck (Williamson kick), 6-80 2:310:23 ND Hendrix 2 yd run (Ruffer kick), 4-87 0:39

Nov. 26, 2011 • Stanford, Calif. • Stanford StadiumScore by Quarters 1 2 3 4 F


Stanford 7 14 0 7 28 Record: (11-1)

ND SU ND SUFIRST DOWNS 20 23RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 31-57 42-196PASSING YDS (NET) 252 233Passes Att-Comp-Int 37-17-2 31-20-1TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 68-309 73-429Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0Punt Returns-Yards 0-0 1-7Kickoff Returns-Yards 5-89 1-24Interception Returns-Yards 1-34 2-42


RUSHING: Notre Dame-Wood, C. 12-41; Hendrix 12-20; Riddick 4-6; Rees 3-minus 10. Stanford-Taylor 20-118; Gaffney 6-30; Luck 4-20; Stewart 8-19; Wilkerson 3-8; Team 1-1.PASSING: Notre Dame-Hendrix 11-24-1-192; Rees 6-13-1-60. Stanford-Luck 20-30-1-233; Team 0-1-0-0.RECEIVING: Notre Dame-Floyd 8-92; Eifert 4-79; Riddick 2-67; Goodman 1-6; Wood, C. 1-6; Jones 1-2. Stanford-Montgomery 6-77; Fleener 4-97; Hewitt 3-11; Toilolo 2-19; Gaffney 2-17; Whalen 2-12; Ertz 1-0.INTERCEPTIONS: Notre Dame-Fleming 1-34. Stanford-Thomas 1-42; Gatewood 1-0.FUMBLES: Notre Dame-Rees 1-1; Hendrix 1-0. Stanford-Gaffney 1-0; Taylor 1-1.SACKS (UA-A): Notre Dame-None. Stanford-Thomas 2-0; Tarpley 1-0; Mauro 1-0; Gardner 1-0.TACKLES (UA-A): Notre Dame-Te'o 5-3; Blanton 5-1; Lynch 5-1; Gray 5-1; Motta 4-2; Flem-ing 5-0; Slaughter 4-1; Fox 2-2; Nix III 2-2; Smith, H. 2-2; Johnson 3-0; Calabrese 2-1; Shembo 2-1; Niklas 1-1; Cwynar 1-0; Atkinson III 1-0; Toma 1-0. Stanford-Thomas, M. 7-1; Howell 6-2; Lancaster 4-2; Thomas, C. 5-0; Bernard 2-1; Brown 2-0; Masifilo 2-0; Gardner 2-0; Gatewood 1-1; Tarpley 1-1; Bademosi 1-0; Stewart 1-0; Anderson 1-0; Fleener 1-0; Murphy 1-0; Mauro 1-0; Vaughters 1-0; Bergen 0-1; Debniak 0-1.

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) – Andrew Luck set the school record for the most career touchdown passes and eclipsed his own single-season mark, throwing for 233 yards and four scores to lead fourth-ranked Stanford past No. 22 Notre Dame 28-14 in his home finale Saturday night.

Luck topped John Elway’s record of 77 touchdown passes and helped the Cardinal (11-1) build a 21-0 halftime lead. He has thrown for 80 touchdowns in three years and 35 this season.

Tommy Rees threw an interception, lost a fumble and took a bruising blow to the ribs for Notre Dame (8-4) before getting benched. Andrew Hendrix threw for 192 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score in a second-half rally for the Fighting Irish that came up short.

It wasn’t the prettiest performance of Luck’s brilliant college career.Still, he earned a rare place in Stanford history.“We didn’t come here for second prize,” said Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly. “We got off to a slow

start and battled against it. To me, the scoreboard showed 28-14 and that’s not good enough. The slow start put us in a tough position.”

Stanford coach David Shaw shined the spotlight on his program and his quarterback’s Heisman Trophy campaign with a calculated rip of the “flawed” BCS system this week. The Cardinal’s play matched his words for 30 minutes.

For a while, though, it looked like a sloppy second half just might undo everything Stanford had worked for.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly benched Rees in favor of Hendrix to start the third quarter, and the move pumped some life into a stagnant Irish offense.

Notre Dame took advantage of pass interference and roughing the passer penalties for its first score. Hendrix threw a 6-yard TD to Michael Floyd to slice Stanford’s lead to 21-7 halfway through the third quarter. Floyd finished the regular season with 95 catches, breaking the Notre Dame single-season mark of 93 set by Golden Tate in 2009.

The Irish were driving for another score when Hendrix overthrew a receiver, the ball was tipped and intercepted by Michael Thomas. When Notre Dame regained possession, Hendrix was sacked by A.J. Tarpley for a 13-yard loss that sent another drive tumbling.

Luck quickly connected with Coby Fleener for a 55-yard TD pass to extend Stanford’s lead to 28-7 with 5:40 remaining to put the game out of reach. Fleener also caught a 28-yard TD in the first half that gave Luck every major school touchdown record.

Stanford’s Senior Day belonged to the redshirt junior.Luck lobbed a fade to the short corner of the end zone to complete a 3-yard score to Levine

Toilolo, giving Stanford a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Even he had to hold back a smile running to the sideline to a swarm of well-wishes from teammates for the records-tying toss.

But Luck lost his rhythm when a back-side blitzer closed the pocket, and he tossed a short pass that Darius Fleming intercepted and returned 35 yards. Notre Dame took over at the Stanford 10 after a 15-yard penalty on Fleener for a horse collar.

Stanford stifled the Irish on consecutive plays and forced a 20-yard field goal that David Ruffer missed wide right. No luck for the Irish on this night.

The only Luck belonged to Stanford.He followed with a 28-yard TD pass to Fleener. The tight end dragged cornerback Robert Blan-

ton the final 10 yards into the end zone, sealing Luck’s marks in the school record book.With the clock dwindling down before the half, Corey Gatewood intercepted a pass from Rees

and handed Luck and the offense the ball with 1:38 left. Luck led a 10-play, 64-yard drive capped by an 11-yard TD pass to Ty Mongtomery with 10 seconds left to extend the Cardinal’s lead to 21-0.

StanFord game SUmmary

123






2011 reSUltS and StatiSticS

SeaSon ReSultS (8-4)Date Opponent Score Overall Time AttendSept. 3 USF 20-23 L 0-1 5:59 80795Sept. 10 at Michigan 31-35 L 0-2 3:30 114804Sept. 17 #15 MICHIGAN STATE W 31-13 1-2 3:19 80795Sept. 24 at Pittsburgh W 15-12 2-2 3:17 65050Oct. 1 at Purdue W 38-10 3-2 3:21 61555Oct. 8 AIR FORCE W 59-33 4-2 3:23 80795Oct. 22 USC 17-31 L 4-3 3:10 80795Oct. 29 NAVY W 56-14 5-3 3:06 80795Nov. 5 at Wake Forest W 24-17 6-3 3:04 36307Nov. 12 vs Maryland W 45-21 7-3 3:03 70251Nov. 19 BOSTON COLLEGE W 16-14 8-3 3:22 80795Nov. 26 at #4 Stanford 14-28 L 8-4 3:23 50360

InDIVIDual StatSRUSHING GP-GS Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/GCierre Wood 12-8 199 1116 74 1042 5.2 9 55 86.8Jonas Gray 11-4 114 812 21 791 6.9 12 79 71.9Andrew Hendrix 4-0 21 169 33 136 6.5 1 78 34.0George Atkinson III 12-0 9 29 2 27 3.0 2 15 2.2Theo Riddick 10-9 6 31 4 27 4.5 0 14 2.7Michael Floyd 12-12 2 13 0 13 6.5 1 10 1.1Robby Toma 12-3 1 12 0 12 12.0 0 12 1.0Cam McDaniel 7-0 3 13 4 9 3.0 0 12 1.3John Goodman 12-0 1 2 0 2 2.0 0 2 0.2Dayne Crist 4-1 5 14 30 -16 -3.2 0 7 -4.0Team 6-0 10 0 23 -23 -2.3 0 0 -3.8Tommy Rees 12-11 27 39 67 -28 -1.0 0 8 -2.3Total 12 398 2250 258 1992 5.0 25 79 166.0Opponents 12 449 1977 212 1765 3.9 8 42 147.1

PASSING G-GS Effic Cmp-Att-Int Pct Yds TD Lng Avg/GTommy Rees 12-11 135.20 253-384-12 65.9 2708 19 56 225.7Andrew Hendrix 4-0 121.38 15-29-1 51.7 225 1 45 56.2Dayne Crist 4-1 111.57 15-24-1 62.5 164 0 31 41.0John Goodman 12-0 0.00 0-1-0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0Total 12 132.68 283-438-14 64.6 3097 20 56 258.1Opponents 12 127.27 224-378-8 59.3 2426 21 77 202.2

RECEIVING G No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/GMichael Floyd 12 95 1106 11.6 8 56 92.2Tyler Eifert 12 57 713 12.5 5 38 59.4TJ Jones 12 37 359 9.7 3 26 29.9Theo Riddick 10 36 429 11.9 3 45 42.9Cierre Wood 12 26 181 7.0 0 31 15.1Robby Toma 12 15 173 11.5 1 27 14.4John Goodman 12 7 65 9.3 0 17 5.4Jonas Gray 11 6 38 6.3 0 15 3.5George Atkinson III 12 1 10 10.0 0 10 0.8Mike Ragone 2 1 10 10.0 0 10 5.0Alex Welch 9 1 8 8.0 0 8 0.9Ben Koyack 11 1 5 5.0 0 5 0.5Total 12 283 3097 10.9 20 56 258.1Opponents 12 224 2426 10.8 21 77 202.2

PUNT RETURNS No. Yds Avg TD LongJohn Goodman 8 5 0.6 0 13Theo Riddick 2 -2 -1.0 0 0Total 10 3 0.3 0 13Opponents 13 143 11.0 0 34

teaM StatIStICS ND OPPSCORING 366 251 Points Per Game 30.5 20.9FIRST DOWNS 287 248 Rushing 107 97 Passing 153 127 Penalty 27 24RUSHING YARDAGE 1992 1765 Yards gained rushing 2250 1977 Yards lost rushing 258 212 Rushing Attempts 398 449 Average Per Rush 5.0 3.9 Average Per Game 166.0 147.1 TDs Rushing 25 8PASSING YARDAGE 3097 2426 Comp-Att-Int 283-438-14 224-378-8 Average Per Pass 7.1 6.4 Average Per Catch 10.9 10.8 Average Per Game 258.1 202.2 TDs Passing 20 21TOTAL OFFENSE 5089 4191 Total Plays 836 827 Average Per Play 6.1 5.1 Average Per Game 424.1 349.2KICK RETURNS: #-Yards 51-1187 54-1155PUNT RETURNS: #-Yards 10-3 13-143INT RETURNS: #-Yards 8-186 14-164KICK RETURN AVERAGE 23.3 21.4PUNT RETURN AVERAGE 0.3 11.0INT RETURN AVERAGE 23.2 11.7FUMBLES-LOST 21-12 11-5PENALTIES-Yards 78-729 91-768 Average Per Game 60.8 64.0PUNTS-Yards 49-1911 67-2633 Average Per Punt 39.0 39.3 Net punt average 34.0 38.1TIME OF POSSESSION/Game 29:52 30:083RD-DOWN Conversions 74/159 60/170 3rd-Down Pct 47% 35%4TH-DOWN Conversions 6/6 12/19 4th-Down Pct 100% 63%SACKS BY-Yards 20-111 13-96MISC YARDS 0 0TOUCHDOWNS SCORED 48 31FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS 10-15 12-18ON-SIDE KICKS 0-0 0-0RED-ZONE SCORES (36-45) 80% (31-39) 79%RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS (31-45) 69% (23-39) 59%PAT-ATTEMPTS (46-46) 100% (27-28) 96%ATTENDANCE 484770 328076 Games/Avg Per Game 6/80795 5/65615 Neutral Site Games 1/70251

Score By Quarters 1st 2nd 3rd 4th TotalNotre Dame 107 93 84 82 366Opponents 53 81 13 104 251


individUal StatiSticS

FIELD GOALS FGM-FGA Pct 01-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-99 Lg BlkDavid Ruffer 10-15 66.7 0-0 3-5 3-5 3-4 1-1 52 1

FIELD GOAL SEQUENCE Notre Dame OpponentsUSF 30 (49),(17),52,(36)Michigan (38) -Michigan State (33) (40),(35)Pittsburgh 39 (45),(23)Purdue 28,49,(21) (27),54Air Force (39) (34),(32)USC (25) (25),32Navy - 47Wake Forest (44) (46),42Maryland (52) -Boston College (40),(41),(27) -Stanford 20 49Numbers in (parentheses) indicate field goal was made.

PUNTING No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 BlkdBen Turk 46 1851 40.2 58 4 13 14 0Tommy Rees 3 60 20.0 34 1 0 1 0Total 49 1911 39.0 58 5 13 15 0Opponents 67 2633 39.3 61 4 32 25 0

KICKOFFS No. Yds Avg TB OB Retn Net YdLnKyle Brindza 68 4427 65.1 11 4 David Ruffer 2 31 15.5 0 1 Total 70 4458 63.7 11 5 1155 44.0 25Opponents 55 3285 59.7 3 0 1187 37.1 32

ALL PURPOSE G Rush Rec PR KOR IR Tot Avg/GCierre Wood 12 1042 181 0 0 0 1223 101.9Michael Floyd 12 13 1106 0 0 0 1119 93.2George Atkinson III 12 27 10 0 822 0 859 71.6Jonas Gray 11 791 38 0 0 0 829 75.4Tyler Eifert 12 0 713 0 0 0 713 59.4Theo Riddick 10 27 429 -2 166 0 620 62.0TJ Jones 12 0 359 0 0 0 359 29.9Robby Toma 12 12 173 0 0 0 185 15.4Austin Collinsworth 12 0 0 0 143 0 143 11.9Andrew Hendrix 4 136 0 0 0 0 136 34.0Robert Blanton 12 0 0 0 0 82 82 6.8John Goodman 12 2 65 5 0 0 72 6.0Lo Wood 10 0 0 0 0 57 57 5.7Darius Fleming 12 0 0 0 0 34 34 2.8Cam McDaniel 7 9 0 0 24 0 33 4.7Bennett Jackson 12 0 0 0 32 0 32 2.7Gary Gray 12 0 0 0 0 13 13 1.1Mike Ragone 2 0 10 0 0 0 10 5.0Alex Welch 9 0 8 0 0 0 8 0.9Ben Koyack 11 0 5 0 0 0 5 0.5Dayne Crist 4 -16 0 0 0 0 -16 -4.0Team 6 -23 0 0 0 0 -23 -3.8Tommy Rees 12 -28 0 0 0 0 -28 -2.3Total 12 1992 3097 3 1187 186 6465 538.8Opponents 12 1765 2426 143 1155 164 5653 471.1

INTERCEPTIONS No. Yds Avg TD LongGary Gray 2 13 6.5 0 13Robert Blanton 2 82 41.0 0 82Zeke Motta 1 0 0.0 0 0Darius Fleming 1 34 34.0 0 34Lo Wood 1 57 57.0 1 57Jamoris Slaughter 1 0 0.0 0 0Total 8 186 23.2 1 82Opponents 14 164 11.7 0 54

KICK RETURNS No. Yds Avg TD LongGeorge Atkinson III 30 822 27.4 2 96Theo Riddick 8 166 20.8 0 34Austin Collinsworth 7 143 20.4 0 41Bennett Jackson 3 32 10.7 0 17Cam McDaniel 2 24 12.0 0 18Danny Spond 1 0 0.0 0 0Total 51 1187 23.3 2 96Opponents 54 1155 21.4 0 59

FUMBLE RETURNS No. Yds Avg TD LongRobert Blanton 1 4 4.0 0 4Total 1 4 4.0 0 4Opponents 2 176 88.0 2 96

PATsSCORING TD FGs Kick Rush Rcv Pass DXP Saf PointsDavid Ruffer 0 10-15 45-45 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 75Jonas Gray 12 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 72Cierre Wood 9 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 54Michael Floyd 9 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 54Tyler Eifert 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0-0 0 0 32George Atkinson III 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 24TJ Jones 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 18Theo Riddick 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 18Andrew Hendrix 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 6Robby Toma 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 6Lo Wood 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 6Mike Grieco 0 0-0 1-1 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1Tommy Rees 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-2 0 0 0Total 48 10-15 46-46 0-0 1 1-2 0 0 366Opponents 31 12-18 27-28 1-3 0 0-0 0 0 251

TOTAL OFFENSE G Plays Rush Pass Total Avg/GTommy Rees 12 411 -28 2708 2680 223.3Cierre Wood 12 199 1042 0 1042 86.8Jonas Gray 11 114 791 0 791 71.9Andrew Hendrix 4 50 136 225 361 90.2Dayne Crist 4 29 -16 164 148 37.0George Atkinson III 12 9 27 0 27 2.2Theo Riddick 10 6 27 0 27 2.7Michael Floyd 12 2 13 0 13 1.1Robby Toma 12 1 12 0 12 1.0Cam McDaniel 7 3 9 0 9 1.3John Goodman 12 2 2 0 2 0.2Team 6 10 -23 0 -23 -3.8Total 12 836 1992 3097 5089 424.1Opponents 12 827 1765 2426 4191 349.2

125






individUal StatiSticS

DeFenSIVe StatIStICS GP-GS Solo Ast Total TFL-Yds Sck-Yds Int-Yds PBU QBH FR-Yds FF BlkManti Te'o 12-12 55 60 115 13.0-30 4.5-17 . 1 4 . . .Harrison Smith 12-12 49 35 84 2.0-8 . . 10 1 1-0 1 .Robert Blanton 12-12 47 22 69 8.0-24 1.0-11 2-82 5 1 1-4 . .Gary Gray 12-12 43 17 60 0.5-1 . 2-13 5 1 1-0 . .Darius Fleming 12-12 23 31 54 7.0-26 3.5-17 1-34 3 7 . 1 1Dan Fox 12-12 20 26 46 2.0-6 1.0-5 . 1 1 . 1 .Louis Nix III 12-10 12 30 42 4.0-8 0.5-1 . 1 . . . .Jamoris Slaughter 12-9 20 20 40 2.0-3 . 1-0 2 . . 1 .Zeke Motta 12-7 15 23 38 . . 1-0 1 . . 1 .Carlo Calabrese 12-0 14 21 35 1.0-3 1.0-3 . 3 . . . .Kapron Lewis-Moore 7-7 16 16 32 4.0-19 1.5-7 . 2 1 . 1 .Prince Shembo 11-8 16 13 29 3.5-18 2.0-15 . . 2 . . .Aaron Lynch 11-5 19 9 28 5.5-27 4.0-24 . 2 13 . 1 .Stephon Tuitt 8-3 9 18 27 2.0-14 1.0-11 . 1 2 . . .Sean Cwynar 11-2 6 15 21 . . . . 1 . . .Troy Niklas 12-1 8 12 20 . . . . 2 1-0 . .Austin Collinsworth 12-0 12 5 17 . . . . . . . .Bennett Jackson 12-0 10 6 16 . . . . . . . .Ethan Johnson 8-8 7 7 14 1.0-2 . . 1 4 1-0 . .Danny Spond 9-0 7 6 13 0.5-0 . . . . . . .Kendall Moore 12-0 7 3 10 2.0-3 . . . . . . .Chris Salvi 12-0 3 6 9 . . . . . . . .Dan McCarthy 11-0 2 7 9 . . . . . . . .Hafis Williams 5-0 4 4 8 1.5-4 . . . . . . .George Atkinson III 12-0 4 4 8 . . . . . . . .Lo Wood 10-0 5 1 6 0.5-1 . 1-57 . . . . .Ishaq Williams 10-0 3 2 5 1.0-2 . . . 1 . . .Steve Filer 9-0 3 2 5 1.0-3 . . . . . . .Chase Hounshell 6-0 1 3 4 . . . . . . . .David Posluszny 9-0 1 3 4 . . . . . . . .Alex Welch 9-0 2 1 3 . . . . . . . .Anthony McDonald 4-0 1 2 3 . . . . . . . .Josh Atkinson 7-0 1 1 2 . . . . . . . .Cam McDaniel 7-0 1 1 2 . . . . . . . .Kyle Brindza 12-0 1 1 2 . . . . . . . .Patrick Coughlin 5-0 . 1 1 . . . . . . . .Chris Watt 12-12 1 . 1 . . . . . . . .Zack Martin 12-12 1 . 1 . . . . . . . .Robby Toma 12-3 1 . 1 . . . . . . . .TJ Jones 12-11 1 . 1 . . . . . . . .Tyler Eifert 12-12 1 . 1 . . . . . . . .Ryan Kavanagh 12-0 . 1 1 . . . . . . . .Daniel Smith 2-0 . 1 1 . . . . . . . .Cierre Wood 12-8 1 . 1 . . . . . . . .Michael Floyd 12-12 1 . 1 . . . . . . . .Ben Turk 12-0 1 . 1 . . . . . . . .Andrew Nuss 12-0 1 . 1 . . . . . . . .Total 12-0 456 436 892 62-202 20-111 8-186 38 41 5-4 7 1Opponents 12-0 429 418 847 55.0-224 13-96 14-164 36 27 12-176 9 0

Special Teams Tackles: Austin Collinsworth 15, Troy Niklas 10, George Atkinson III 8, Chris Salvi 8, Bennett Jackson 7, Danny Spond 6, Dan McCarthy 6, David Posluszny 4, Kendall Moore 3, Jamoris Slaughter 3, Lo Wood 2, Steve Filer 2, Josh Atkinson 2, Kyle Brindza 2, Alex Welch 2, Cam McDaniel 2, Patrick Coughlin 1, Ryan Kavanagh 1, Ben Turk 1, Daniel Smith 1.

Kickoff Return Tackles: Austin Collinsworth 13, Troy Niklas 10, George Atkinson III 8, Chris Salvi 8, Danny Spond 6, Dan McCarthy 5, Bennett Jackson 5, David Posluszny 4, Kendall Moore 3, Kyle Brindza 2, Josh Atkinson 2, Daniel Smith 1, Jamoris Slaughter 1, Patrick Coughlin 1, Cam McDaniel 1, Lo Wood 1, Steve Filer 1.

Punt Return Tackles: Bennett Jackson 2, Austin Collinsworth 2, Alex Welch 2, Jamoris Slaughter 2, Cam McDaniel 1, Dan McCarthy 1, Steve Filer 1, Andrew Nuss 1, Ben Turk 1, Ryan Kavanagh 1, Lo Wood 1.

taCKleS BReaKDoWnRunning PlaysManti Te'o 82Harrison Smith 52Darius Fleming 42Louis Nix III 40Robert Blanton 31Dan Fox 31Kapron Lewis-Moore 29Stephon Tuitt 25Sean Cwynar 21Aaron Lynch 21Carlo Calabrese 20Jamoris Slaughter 19Gary Gray 19Prince Shembo 18Zeke Motta 16Ethan Johnson 13Hafis Williams 8Troy Niklas 7Bennett Jackson 7Kendall Moore 6Danny Spond 5Ishaq Williams 5Chase Hounshell 4Dan McCarthy 3 Steve Filer 2 Anthony McDonald 2 Austin Collinsworth 1 Lo Wood 1 Chris Salvi 1 TOTALS 531

Passing PlaysGary Gray 41Robert Blanton 37Harrison Smith 31Manti Te'o 24Zeke Motta 20Jamoris Slaughter 17Carlo Calabrese 14Dan Fox 13Prince Shembo 9Darius Fleming 7Aaron Lynch 3Lo Wood 3Troy Niklas 2Danny Spond 2Bennett Jackson 2Anthony McDonald 1Austin Collinsworth 1Stephon Tuitt 1Ethan Johnson 1Louis Nix III 1Kendall Moore 1Steve Filer 1TOTALS 232


game-by-game StarterS

oFFenSe WR LT LG C RG RT TE RB QB WR WRUSF Floyd Z. Martin Watt Cave Robinson Dever Eifert C. Wood Crist Riddick JonesMichigan Floyd Z. Martin Watt Cave Robinson Dever Eifert C. Wood Rees Riddick JonesMichigan State Floyd Z. Martin Watt Cave Robinson Dever Eifert C. Wood Rees Riddick JonesPittsburgh Floyd Z. Martin Watt Cave Robinson Dever Eifert C. Wood Rees Riddick JonesPurdue Floyd Z. Martin Watt Cave Robinson Dever Eifert C. Wood Rees Riddick JonesAir Force Floyd Z. Martin Watt Cave Robinson Dever Eifert C. Wood Rees Riddick Koyack (TE)USC Floyd Z. Martin Watt Cave Robinson Dever Eifert C. Wood Rees Riddick JonesNavy Floyd Z. Martin Watt Cave Robinson Dever Eifert J. Gray Rees Riddick JonesWake Forest Floyd Z. Martin Watt Cave Robinson Dever Eifert J. Gray Rees Riddick JonesMaryland Floyd Z. Martin Watt M. Golic Robinson Dever Eifert J. Gray Rees Toma JonesBoston College Floyd Z. Martin Watt M. Golic Robinson Dever Eifert J. Gray Rees Toma JonesStanford Floyd Z. Martin Watt M. Golic Robinson Dever Eifert C. Wood Rees Toma Jones

DeFenSe DE NG DE OLB ILB ILB OLB CB S S CBUSF Johnson Cwynar Lewis-Moore Fleming Fox Te’o Shembo Blanton H. Smith Slaughter G. GrayMichigan Johnson Nix Lewis-Moore Fleming Fox Te’o Shembo Blanton H. Smith Slaughter G. GrayMichigan State Johnson Nix Lewis-Moore Fleming Fox Te’o Motta (S) Blanton H. Smith Slaughter G. GrayPittsburgh Johnson Nix Lewis-Moore Fleming Fox Te’o Shembo Blanton H. Smith Motta G. GrayPurdue Johnson Nix Lewis-Moore Fleming Fox Te’o Shembo Blanton H. Smith Slaughter G. GrayAir Force Lynch Nix Lewis-Moore Fleming Fox Te’o Slaughter (S) Blanton H. Smith Motta G. GrayUSC Lynch Nix Lewis-Moore Fleming Fox Te’o Shembo Blanton H. Smith Motta G. GrayNavy Shembo (DE) Cwynar Tuitt (DT) Fleming (DE) Fox Te’o Slaughter Blanton H. Smith Motta G. GrayWake Forest Lynch Nix Tuitt Fleming Fox Te’o Shembo Blanton H. Smith Slaughter G. GrayMaryland Johnson Nix Tuitt Fleming Fox Te’o Motta (S) Blanton H. Smith Slaughter G. GrayBoston College Johnson Nix Lynch Fleming Fox Te’o Motta (S) Blanton H. Smith Slaughter G. GrayStanford Johnson Nix Lynch Fleming Fox Te’o Shembo Blanton H. Smith Motta G. Gray

SPeCIalIStS P PK KO H LS SSUSF Turk Ruffer Brindza Kavanagh Cowart CowartMichigan Turk Ruffer Brindza Kavanagh Cowart CowartMichigan State Turk Ruffer Brindza Kavanagh Cowart CowartPittsburgh Turk Ruffer Brindza Kavanagh Cowart CowartPurdue Turk Ruffer Brindza Kavanagh Cowart CowartAir Force Turk Ruffer Brindza Kavanagh Kavanagh CaveUSC Turk Ruffer Brindza Kavanagh Kavanagh CaveNavy Turk Ruffer Brindza Kavanagh Kavanagh CaveWake Forest Turk Ruffer Brindza Kavanagh Kavanagh CaveMaryland Turk Ruffer Brindza Kavanagh Kavanagh CowartBoston College Turk Ruffer Brindza Kavanagh Kavanagh CowartStanford Turk Ruffer Brindza Kavanagh Kavanagh Cowart

127






game-by-game ParticiPation StatiSticS

name GP-GS USF at MICH MSU at PITT at PUR AFA USC NAVY WF vs. MD BC at STANGeorge Atkinson III 12/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXJosh Atkinson 7/- ... ... ... ... ... XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXRobert Blanton 12/12 START START START START START START START START START START START STARTKyle Brindza 12/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXCarlo Calabrese 12/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXBraxston Cave 9/9 START START START START START START START START START ... ... ...Austin Collinsworth 12/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXPatrick Coughlin 5/- ... ... XXX ... ... ... XXX XXX ... XXX XXX ...Jordan Cowart 8/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX ... ... ... ... XXX XXX XXXDayne Crist 4/1 START ... ... ... XXX ... XXX XXX ... ... ... ...Sean Cwynar 11/2 START ... XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX START XXX XXX XXX XXXTaylor Dever 12/12 START START START START START START START START START START START STARTTyler Eifert 12/12 START START START START START START START START START START START STARTSteve Filer 9/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX ... ... ...Darius Fleming 12/12 START START START START START START START START START START START STARTMichael FLoyd 12/12 START START START START START START START START START START START STARTDan Fox 12/12 START START START START START START START START START START START STARTMike Golic Jr. 11/3 ... XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX START START STARTJohn Goodman 12/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXGary Gray 12/12 START START START START START START START START START START START STARTJonas Gray 11/4 XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX START START START START ...Mike Grieco 1/- ... ... ... ... ... XXX ... ... ... ... ... ...Bruce Heggie 2/- ... ... ... ... ... XXX ... ... ... XXX ... ...Andew Hendrix 4/- ... ... ... ... ... XXX XXX ... ... XXX ... XXXChase Hounshell 6/- ... ... ... ... ... XXX XXX XXX ... XXX XXX XXXBennett Jackson 12/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXEthan Johnson 8/8 START START START START START ... ... ... ... START START STARTTJ Jones 12/11 START START START START START XXX START START START START START STARTRyan Kavanagh 12/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXBen Koyack 11/1 ... XXX XXX XXX XXX START XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXKapron Lewis-Moore 7/7 START START START START START START START ... ... ... ... ...Christian Lombard 12/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXAaron Lynch 11/5 XXX ... XXX XXX XXX START START XXX START XXX START STARTDennis Mahoney 2/- ... ... ... ... ... XXX ... ... ... XXX ... ...Zack Martin 12/12 START START START START START START START START START START START STARTLuke Massa 7/- ... ... ... ... XXX XXX XXX XXX ... XXX XXX XXXDan McCarthy 11/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX ... XXX XXX XXXCam McDaniel 7/- ... ... ... ... XXX XXX XXX ... XXX XXX XXX XXXAnthony McDonald 4/- ... ... XXX ... XXX ... ... XXX XXX ... ... ...Kendall Moore 12/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXZeke Motta 12/7 XXX XXX XXX START XXX START START START XXX START START STARTMatthew Mulvey 1/- ... ... ... ... XXX ... ... ... ... ... ... ...Brandon Newman 1/- ... ... ... ... ... ... ... XXX ... ... ... ...Troy Niklas 12/1 XXX XXX START XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXLouis Nix III 12/10 XXX START START START START START START XXX START START START STARTAndew Nuss 12/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXDavid Posluszny 9/- ... XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX ... ... XXX XXX XXX XXXMike Ragone 2/- XXX XXX ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...Tommy Rees 12/11 XXX START START START START START START START START START START STARTTheo Riddick 10/9 START START START START START START START START START ... ... XXXTrevor Robinson 12/12 START START START START START START START START START START START STARTDavid Ruffer 12/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXChris Salvi 12/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXKona Schwenke 3/- ... ... ... ... XXX ... ... ... XXX XXX ... ...Prince Shembo 11/8 START START ... START START XXX START START START XXX XXX STARTJamoris Slaughter 12/9 START START START XXX START START XXX START START START START XXXDaniel Smith 2/- XXX ... ... ... ... ... ... XXX ... ... ... ...Harrison Smith 12/12 START START START START START START START START START START START STARTDanny Spond 9/- XXX XXX ... ... ... XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXManti Te'o 12/12 START START START START START START START START START START START STARTRobby Toma 12/3 XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX START START STARTStephon Tuitt 8/3 XXX ... XXX XXX ... XXX XXX START START START ... ...Ben Turk 12/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXJustin Utupo 11/- ... XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXDeion Walker 2/- ... ... ... ... XXX XXX ... ... ... ... ... ...Chris Watt 12/12 START START START START START START START START START START START STARTAlex Welch 9/- XXX ... ... XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX ... XXX XXX XXXHafis Williams 5/- ... XXX ... ... XXX ... XXX XXX ... XXX ... ...Ishaq Williams 10/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX ... XXX ... XXX XXX XXXCierre Wood 12/8 START START START START START START START XXX XXX XXX XXX STARTLo Wood 10/- XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX ... XXX XXX ...


notre dame game-by-game StatiSticS

RuSHInG ReCeIVInG PaSSInG KICK Ret Punt Ret totDate Opponent No. Yds TD Lg No. Yds TD Lg Cmp-Att-Int Yds TD Lg No Yds TD Lg No Yds TD Lg offSept. 3 USF 29 117 1 18 31 391 2 37 31-49-3 391 2 37 5 110 0 31 2 -2 0 0 508Sept. 10 at Michigan 33 198 1 38 27 315 3 29 27-39-2 315 3 29 6 89 0 34 3 10 0 13 513Sept. 17 MICHIGAN STATE 32 114 2 22 18 161 1 33 18-26-1 161 1 33 4 142 1 89 2 -3 0 1 275Sept. 24 at Pittsburgh 32 182 1 79 24 216 1 19 24-41-1 216 1 19 3 70 0 36 1 1 0 1 398Oct. 1 at Purdue 40 287 2 55 25 264 3 35 25-41-0 264 3 35 3 73 0 26 2 -3 0 0 551Oct. 8 AIR FORCE 29 266 4 78 27 294 4 34 27-36-0 294 4 34 7 137 0 40 0 0 0 0 560Oct. 22 USC 14 41 1 25 27 226 0 25 27-43-1 226 0 25 6 197 1 96 0 0 0 0 267Oct. 29 NAVY 35 182 7 15 19 260 1 56 19-25-1 260 1 56 3 91 0 33 0 0 0 0 442Nov. 5 at Wake Forest 38 175 1 27 14 166 2 38 14-24-2 166 2 38 4 115 0 41 0 0 0 0 341Nov. 12 vs Maryland 46 212 3 21 30 296 2 34 30-38-0 296 2 34 4 57 0 20 0 0 0 0 508Nov. 19 BOSTON COLLEGE 39 161 1 26 24 256 0 37 24-39-1 256 0 37 1 17 0 17 0 0 0 0 417Nov. 26 at Stanford 31 57 1 17 17 252 1 45 17-37-2 252 1 45 5 89 0 28 0 0 0 0 309Notre Dame 398 1992 25 79 283 3097 20 56 283-438-14 3097 20 56 51 1187 2 96 10 3 0 13 5089Opponents 449 1765 8 42 224 2426 21 77 224-378-8 2426 21 77 54 1155 0 59 13 143 0 34 4191

Games played: 12Avg per rush: 5.0Avg per catch: 10.9Pass efficiency: 132.68Kick ret avg: 23.3Punt ret avg: 0.3All purpose avg/game: 538.8Total offense avg/gm: 424.1

taCKleS SaCKS FuMBle PaSS DeFenSe Blkd Pat atteMPtSDate Opponent Solo Ast Total TFL-Yds No-Yds FF FR-Yds Int-Yds QBH Brk Kick A-M Run Rcv Saf PtsSept. 3 USF 30 52 82 6.0-17 2.0-7 0 0-0 0-0 1 1 0 2-2 0 0 0 20Sept. 10 at Michigan 29 12 41 5.0-17 1.0-5 1 0-0 3-0 0 1 0 4-4 0 0 0 31Sept. 17 MICHIGAN STATE 30 58 88 5.0-23 2.0-18 1 1-0 1-82 10 10 0 4-4 0 0 0 31Sept. 24 at Pittsburgh 50 14 64 8.0-44 6.0-36 0 0-0 0-0 4 1 0 1-1 0 1 0 15Oct. 1 at Purdue 46 8 54 7.0-21 3.0-12 0 0-0 1-13 0 4 0 5-5 0 0 0 38Oct. 8 AIR FORCE 46 60 106 6.0-12 1.0-4 1 1-4 1-0 4 7 1 8-8 0 0 0 59Oct. 22 USC 37 54 91 2.0-3 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 7 2 0 2-2 0 0 0 17Oct. 29 NAVY 36 52 88 6.0-11 1.0-2 0 1-0 0-0 5 2 0 8-8 0 0 0 56Nov. 5 at Wake Forest 40 26 66 7.0-33 3.0-21 1 1-0 0-0 0 2 0 3-3 0 0 0 24Nov. 12 vs Maryland 43 28 71 1.0-1 0.0-0 1 0-0 1-57 0 1 0 6-6 0 0 0 45Nov. 19 BOSTON COLLEGE 19 50 69 4.0-11 1.0-6 0 0-0 0-0 9 3 0 1-1 0 0 0 16Nov. 26 at Stanford 50 18 68 5.0-9 0.0-0 2 1-0 1-34 1 4 0 2-2 0 0 0 14Notre Dame 456 432 888 62.0-202 20.0-111 7 5-4 8-186 41 38 1 46-46 0 1 0 366Opponents 429 418 847 55.0-224 13.0-96 9 12-176 14-164 27 36 1 28-27 1 0 0 251

PuntInG FIelD GoalS KICKoFFSDate Opponent No Yds Avg Long Blkd TB FC 50+ I20 A-M Lg Blkd No Yds Avg TB OBSept. 3 USF 5 171 34.2 41 0 0 1 0 0 1-0 0 0 4 220 55.0 0 0Sept. 10 at Michigan 4 134 33.5 52 0 0 1 1 2 1-1 38 0 6 414 69.0 1 0Sept. 17 MICHIGAN STATE 4 166 41.5 50 0 0 0 1 2 1-1 33 0 6 407 67.8 2 0Sept. 24 at Pittsburgh 4 149 37.2 47 0 0 2 0 3 1-0 0 0 3 193 64.3 1 1Oct. 1 at Purdue 2 88 44.0 46 0 0 0 0 1 3-1 21 1 7 450 64.3 0 0Oct. 8 AIR FORCE 2 75 37.5 38 0 0 2 0 1 1-1 39 0 10 675 67.5 3 1Oct. 22 USC 4 168 42.0 48 0 0 1 0 0 1-1 25 0 4 280 70.0 2 0Oct. 29 NAVY 1 41 41.0 41 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 9 552 61.3 0 0Nov. 5 at Wake Forest 4 145 36.2 51 0 0 1 1 1 1-1 44 0 5 319 63.8 0 0Nov. 12 vs Maryland 4 165 41.2 58 0 1 0 1 2 1-1 52 0 8 502 62.8 1 0Nov. 19 BOSTON COLLEGE 8 352 44.0 55 0 3 1 1 1 3-3 41 0 5 310 62.0 0 2Nov. 26 at Stanford 7 257 36.7 48 0 1 4 0 2 1-0 0 0 3 136 45.3 1 1Notre Dame 49 1911 39.0 58 0 5 13 5 15 15-10 52 1 70 4458 63.7 11 5Opponents 67 2633 39.3 61 0 4 32 5 25 18-12 49 0 55 3285 59.7 3 0

129






oPPonent game-by-game StatiSticS

RuSHInG ReCeIVInG PaSSInG KICK Ret Punt Ret totDate Opponent No. Yds TD Lg No. Yds TD Lg Cmp-Att-Int Yds TD Lg No Yds TD Lg No Yds TD Lg offSept. 3 USF 42 126 0 17 18 128 1 18 18-30-0 128 1 18 4 67 0 31 1 34 0 34 254Sept. 10 at Michigan 26 114 1 39 11 338 4 77 11-24-3 338 4 77 5 98 0 24 1 21 0 21 452Sept. 17 MICHIGAN STATE 23 29 0 8 34 329 1 25 34-54-1 329 1 25 4 129 0 42 0 0 0 0 358Sept. 24 at Pittsburgh 38 103 0 42 22 165 1 18 22-32-0 165 1 18 1 16 0 16 1 10 0 10 268Oct. 1 at Purdue 27 84 0 16 19 192 1 24 19-38-1 192 1 24 7 151 0 39 0 0 0 0 276Oct. 8 AIR FORCE 60 363 2 30 16 202 2 36 16-28-1 202 2 36 6 125 0 29 0 0 0 0 565Oct. 22 USC 44 219 0 15 24 224 3 25 24-35-0 224 3 25 2 41 0 21 3 38 0 26 443Oct. 29 NAVY 50 196 1 15 5 33 1 12 5-13-0 33 1 12 9 174 0 26 1 1 0 1 229Nov. 5 at Wake Forest 37 110 1 14 17 187 1 25 17-24-0 187 1 25 5 136 0 59 1 -2 0 0 297Nov. 12 vs Maryland 35 145 2 24 20 219 1 21 20-31-1 219 1 21 7 133 0 27 1 14 0 14 364Nov. 19 BOSTON COLLEGE 25 80 1 16 18 176 1 21 18-38-0 176 1 21 3 61 0 26 3 20 0 14 256Nov. 26 at Stanford 42 196 0 31 20 233 4 55 20-31-1 233 4 55 1 24 0 24 1 7 0 7 429Opponents 449 1765 8 42 224 2426 21 77 224-378-8 2426 21 77 54 1155 0 59 13 143 0 34 4191Notre Dame 398 1992 25 79 283 3097 20 56 283-438-14 3097 20 56 51 1187 2 96 10 3 0 13 5089

Games played: 12Avg per rush: 3.9Avg per catch: 10.8Pass efficiency: 127.27Kick ret avg: 21.4Punt ret avg: 11.0All purpose avg/game: 471.1Total offense avg/gm: 349.2

taCKleS SaCKS FuMBle PaSS DeFenSe Blkd Pat atteMPtSDate Opponent Solo Ast Total TFL-Yds No-Yds FF FR-Yds Int-Yds QBH Brk Kick A-M Run Rcv Saf PtsSept. 3 USF 38 40 78 5.0-23 2.0-14 2 2-96 3-0 1 4 0 2-2 0 0 0 23Sept. 10 at Michigan 49 24 73 4.0-9 0.0-0 1 3-0 2-18 0 2 0 5-5 0 0 0 35Sept. 17 MICHIGAN STATE 34 28 62 9.0-31 1.0-7 2 2-0 1-34 3 2 0 1-1 0 0 0 13Sept. 24 at Pittsburgh 42 22 64 5.0-15 2.0-9 1 1-0 1-1 5 5 0 0-0 0 0 0 12Oct. 1 at Purdue 53 16 69 4.0-12 0.0-0 1 0-0 0-0 0 2 1 1-1 0 0 0 10Oct. 8 AIR FORCE 25 54 79 2.0-5 0.0-0 0 0-0 0-0 4 1 0 2-1 1 0 0 33Oct. 22 USC 19 38 57 1.0-2 0.0-0 0 2-80 1-6 4 4 0 4-4 0 0 0 31Oct. 29 NAVY 23 40 63 2.0-17 0.0-0 0 1-0 1-9 1 1 0 2-2 0 0 0 14Nov. 5 at Wake Forest 31 38 69 2.0-10 0.0-0 1 0-0 2-54 1 2 0 2-2 0 0 0 17Nov. 12 vs Maryland 50 44 94 10.0-39 3.0-22 0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0 3-3 0 0 0 21Nov. 19 BOSTON COLLEGE 26 64 90 3.0-8 0.0-0 0 0-0 1-0 3 6 0 2-2 0 0 0 14Nov. 26 at Stanford 39 10 49 8.0-53 5.0-44 1 1-0 2-42 5 5 0 4-4 0 0 0 28Opponents 429 418 847 55.0-224 13.0-96 9 12-176 14-164 27 36 1 28-27 1 0 0 251Notre Dame 456 432 888 62.0-202 20.0-111 7 5-4 8-186 41 38 1 46-46 0 1 0 366

PuntInG FIelD GoalS KICKoFFSDate Opponent No Yds Avg Long Blkd TB FC 50+ I20 A-M Lg Blkd No Yds Avg TB OBSept. 3 USF 7 256 36.6 46 0 0 3 0 3 4-3 49 0 6 390 65.0 1 0Sept. 10 at Michigan 5 193 38.6 47 0 0 2 0 1 0-0 0 0 6 361 60.2 0 0Sept. 17 MICHIGAN STATE 6 238 39.7 55 0 1 3 1 1 2-2 40 0 4 257 64.2 0 0Sept. 24 at Pittsburgh 5 210 42.0 52 0 0 0 1 3 2-2 45 0 4 262 65.5 1 0Oct. 1 at Purdue 7 298 42.6 61 0 0 4 1 4 2-1 27 0 3 198 66.0 0 0Oct. 8 AIR FORCE 3 120 40.0 54 0 1 1 1 0 2-2 34 0 7 400 57.1 0 0Oct. 22 USC 2 44 22.0 22 0 0 1 0 1 2-1 25 0 6 369 61.5 0 0Oct. 29 NAVY 5 169 33.8 41 0 1 2 0 0 1-0 0 0 3 175 58.3 0 0Nov. 5 at Wake Forest 5 187 37.4 44 0 0 1 0 2 2-1 46 0 4 237 59.2 0 0Nov. 12 vs Maryland 7 285 40.7 49 0 0 5 0 2 0-0 0 0 4 226 56.5 0 0Nov. 19 BOSTON COLLEGE 9 369 41.0 52 0 0 6 1 6 0-0 0 0 3 145 48.3 1 0Nov. 26 at Stanford 6 264 44.0 49 0 1 4 0 2 1-0 0 0 5 265 53.0 0 0Opponents 67 2633 39.3 61 0 4 32 5 25 18-12 49 0 55 3285 59.7 3 0Notre Dame 49 1911 39.0 58 0 5 13 5 15 15-10 52 1 70 4458 63.7 11 5


by QUarter StatiSticS

3rd-Down ConversionsDate Opponent Score Overall 1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th QtrSept. 3 USF L 20-23 5-14 35.7% 0-3 0.0% 1-5 20.0% 1-3 33.3% 3-3 100.0%Sept. 10 at Michigan L 31-35 8-14 57.1% 1-1 100.0% 3-6 50.0% 2-3 66.7% 2-4 50.0%Sept. 17 MICHIGAN STATE W 31-13 5-12 41.7% 1-2 50.0% 1-3 33.3% 3-5 60.0% 0-2 0.0%Sept. 24 at Pittsburgh W 15-12 6-15 40.0% 2-5 40.0% 2-4 50.0% 1-3 33.3% 1-3 33.3%Oct. 1 at Purdue W 38-10 4-11 36.4% 2-4 50.0% 1-3 33.3% 0-0 0.0% 1-4 25.0%Oct. 8 AIR FORCE W 59-33 8-11 72.7% 4-4 100.0% 2-2 100.0% 0-1 0.0% 2-4 50.0%Oct. 22 USC L 17-31 5-13 38.5% 0-2 0.0% 2-5 40.0% 3-5 60.0% 0-1 0.0%Oct. 29 NAVY W 56-14 4-7 57.1% 0-0 0.0% 1-2 50.0% 0-1 0.0% 3-4 75.0%Nov. 5 at Wake Forest W 24-17 6-12 50.0% 2-3 66.7% 1-3 33.3% 2-3 66.7% 1-3 33.3%Nov. 12 vs Maryland W 45-21 10-16 62.5% 4-6 66.7% 2-4 50.0% 3-4 75.0% 1-2 50.0%Nov. 19 BOSTON COLLEGE W 16-14 8-19 42.1% 3-5 60.0% 1-4 25.0% 3-5 60.0% 1-5 20.0%Nov. 26 at Stanford L 14-28 5-15 33.3% 3-4 75.0% 0-4 0.0% 1-3 33.3% 1-4 25.0% Notre Dame 74-159 46.5% 22-39 56.4% 17-45 37.8% 19-36 52.8% 16-39 41.0% Opponents 60-170 35.3% 10-37 27.0% 20-49 40.8% 13-42 31.0% 17-42 40.5%

4th-Down ConversionsDate Opponent Score Overall 1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th QtrSept. 3 USF L 20-23 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0%Sept. 10 at Michigan L 31-35 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0%Sept. 17 MICHIGAN STATE W 31-13 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0%Sept. 24 at Pittsburgh W 15-12 2-2 100.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 1-1 100.0% 1-1 100.0%Oct. 1 at Purdue W 38-10 1-1 100.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 1-1 100.0%Oct. 8 AIR FORCE W 59-33 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0%Oct. 22 USC L 17-31 1-1 100.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 1-1 100.0% 0-0 0.0%Oct. 29 NAVY W 56-14 1-1 100.0% 0-0 0.0% 1-1 100.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0%Nov. 5 at Wake Forest W 24-17 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0%Nov. 12 vs Maryland W 45-21 1-1 100.0% 0-0 0.0% 1-1 100.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0%Nov. 19 BOSTON COLLEGE W 16-14 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0%Nov. 26 at Stanford L 14-28 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% 0-0 0.0% Notre Dame 6-6 100.0% 0-0 0.0% 2-2 100.0% 2-2 100.0% 2-2 100.0% Opponents 12-19 63.2% 2-2 100.0% 3-5 60.0% 3-5 60.0% 4-7 57.1%

time of PossessionDate Opponent Score Overall 1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th QtrSept. 3 USF L 20-23 28:54 9:25 5:38 7:54 5:57Sept. 10 at Michigan L 31-35 37:01 9:21 9:56 8:44 9:00Sept. 17 MICHIGAN STATE W 31-13 27:32 8:28 7:08 7:44 4:12Sept. 24 at Pittsburgh W 15-12 31:00 11:15 6:59 5:32 7:14Oct. 1 at Purdue W 38-10 33:11 9:31 5:49 8:25 9:26Oct. 8 AIR FORCE W 59-33 27:34 8:20 5:38 4:01 9:35Oct. 22 USC L 17-31 20:19 4:34 6:06 7:15 2:24Oct. 29 NAVY W 56-14 28:08 4:38 8:54 6:43 7:53Nov. 5 at Wake Forest W 24-17 29:23 5:25 7:14 8:05 8:39Nov. 12 vs Maryland W 45-21 34:30 7:30 9:50 10:11 6:59Nov. 19 BOSTON COLLEGE W 16-14 33:21 7:43 7:36 7:22 10:40Nov. 26 at Stanford L 14-28 27:28 6:54 5:54 7:46 6:54 Notre Dame Total 358:21 93:04 86:42 89:42 88:53 Avg. 29:51 7:45 7:13 7:28 7:24 Opponents Total 361:39 86:56 93:18 90:18 91:07 Avg. 30:08 7:14 7:46 7:31 7:35

131






red Zone StatiSticS

notre Dame Inside opponent Red Zone Times Times Total Rush Pass FGs Failed to score inside RZDate Opponent Score in RZ Scored Pts TDs TDs TDs Made FGA Down Int Fumb Half GameSept. 3 USF L 20-23 6 2 13 2 1 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 Sept. 10 at Michigan L 31-35 5 3 21 3 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Sept. 17 MICHIGAN STATE W 31-13 2 2 10 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sept. 24 at Pittsburgh W 15-12 1 1 8 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Oct. 1 at Purdue W 38-10 5 4 24 3 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Oct. 8 AIR FORCE W 59-33 6 6 42 6 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Oct. 22 USC L 17-31 2 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 Oct. 29 NAVY W 56-14 7 7 49 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Nov. 5 at Wake Forest W 24-17 2 2 14 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Nov. 12 vs Maryland W 45-21 4 4 28 4 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Nov. 19 BOSTON COLLEGE W 16-14 2 2 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Nov. 26 at Stanford L 14-28 3 2 14 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0Totals 45 36 232 31 20 11 5 3 0 3 3 0 0

Totals 36 of 45 (80.0%)TD Totals 31 of 45 (68.9%)

opponents Inside notre Dame Red Zone Times Times Total Rush Pass FGs Failed to score inside RZDate Opponent Score in RZ Scored Pts TDs TDs TDs Made FGA Down Int Fumb Half GameSept. 3 USF L 20-23 3 3 13 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sept. 10 at Michigan L 31-35 3 3 21 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sept. 17 MICHIGAN STATE W 31-13 5 2 10 1 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 Sept. 24 at Pittsburgh W 15-12 2 2 9 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Oct. 1 at Purdue W 38-10 2 2 10 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Oct. 8 AIR FORCE W 59-33 5 5 25 3 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Oct. 22 USC L 17-31 6 4 24 3 0 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 Oct. 29 NAVY W 56-14 3 2 14 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Nov. 5 at Wake Forest W 24-17 4 2 14 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 Nov. 12 vs Maryland W 45-21 2 2 14 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Nov. 19 BOSTON COLLEGE W 16-14 2 2 14 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Nov. 26 at Stanford L 14-28 2 2 14 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Totals 39 31 182 23 7 16 8 2 3 1 1 1 0

Totals 31 of 39 (79.5%)TD Totals 23 of 39 (59.0%)


Scoring driveS

NOTRE DAME SCORING DRIVESGame Qtr Pts Plays Yds TOP HowUSF 3 7 5 66 1:21 Floyd 24 yd pass from ReesUSF 4 6 12 76 3:30 Wood, C. 1 yd runUSF 4 7 10 99 1:58 Floyd 8 yd pass from ReesMichigan 1 7 7 57 3:46 Riddick 7 yd pass from ReesMichigan 1 7 10 83 5:35 Wood, C. 4 yd runMichigan 2 3 8 29 2:53 Ruffer 38 yd field goalMichigan 3 7 7 71 3:55 Jones 15 yd pass from ReesMichigan 4 7 4 61 0:42 Riddick 29 yd pass from ReesMichigan State 1 7 8 76 4:19 Wood, C. 22 yd runMichigan State 1 7 - - - Atkinson III 89 yd kickoff returnMichigan State 2 7 10 92 4:49 Wood, C. 6 yd runMichigan State 3 7 8 71 3:47 Jones 26 yd pass from ReesMichigan State 4 3 4 -5 0:21 Ruffer 33 yd field goalPittsburgh 2 7 1 79 0:14 Gray, J. 79 yd runPittsburgh 4 8 13 82 4:12 Eifert 6 yd pass from ReesPurdue 1 7 2 35 0:10 Floyd 35 yd pass from ReesPurdue 1 7 13 82 4:12 Gray, J. 2 yd runPurdue 2 7 3 79 1:03 Wood, C. 55 yd runPurdue 3 7 7 69 3:00 Eifert 6 yd pass from ReesPurdue 3 7 12 87 4:45 Jones 11 yd pass from ReesPurdue 4 3 16 70 7:34 Ruffer 21 yd field goalNotre Dame 1 7 8 81 3:06 Floyd 34 yd pass from ReesNotre Dame 1 7 9 59 3:33 Eifert 5 yd pass from ReesNotre Dame 1 7 4 51 1:41 Toma 10 yd pass from ReesNotre Dame 2 7 5 38 2:02 Gray, J. 5 yd runNotre Dame 2 7 6 44 2:27 Wood, C. 8 yd runNotre Dame 2 7 6 74 1:09 Riddick 24 yd pass from ReesNotre Dame 3 7 6 64 1:54 Gray, J. 6 yd runNotre Dame 4 3 9 56 4:44 Ruffer 39 yd field goalNotre Dame 4 7 4 80 2:00 Atkinson III 1 yd runUSC 2 7 - - - Atkinson III 96 yd kickoff returnUSC 2 3 10 68 1:34 Ruffer 25 yd field goalUSC 4 7 5 62 1:46 Gray, J. 25 yd runNavy 1 7 5 70 2:14 Gray, J. 4 yd runNavy 1 7 6 63 2:24 Wood, C. 1 yd runNavy 2 7 1 56 0:22 Floyd 56 yd pass from ReesNavy 2 7 4 22 1:37 Gray, J. 2 yd runNavy 2 7 10 56 3:59 Wood, C. 1 yd runNavy 3 7 9 86 4:32 Floyd 10 yd runNavy 4 7 5 43 2:03 Gray, J. 5 yd runNavy 4 7 10 53 5:36 Atkinson III 1 yd runWake Forest 1 3 10 28 4:28 Ruffer 44 yd field goalWake Forest 1 7 2 50 0:23 Eifert 38 yd pass from ReesWake Forest 3 7 6 62 1:58 Gray, J. 1 yd runWake Forest 3 7 6 65 2:22 Floyd 16 yd pass from ReesMaryland 1 7 8 67 2:33 Gray, J. 1 yd runMaryland 1 3 11 57 2:39 Ruffer 52 yd field goalMaryland 2 7 7 80 2:31 Floyd 19 yd pass from ReesMaryland 2 7 13 70 4:43 Gray, J. 1 yd runMaryland 3 7 14 84 6:06 Wood, C. 3 yd runMaryland 3 7 - - - Wood, L. 57 yd interception returnMaryland 4 7 7 77 3:32 Eifert 34 yd pass from ReesBoston College 1 7 8 80 2:22 Gray, J. 26 yd runBoston College 1 3 9 46 2:51 Ruffer 40 yd field goalBoston College 2 3 7 46 1:45 Ruffer 41 yd field goalBoston College 4 3 9 55 3:50 Ruffer 27 yd field goalStanford 3 7 7 77 2:53 Floyd 6 yd pass from HendrixStanford 4 7 4 87 0:39 Hendrix 2 yd run

OPPONENTS' SCORING DRIVESGame Qtr Pts Plays Yds TOP HowUSF 1 7 -- -- -- Webster 96 yd fumble recoveryUSF 1 3 8 41 3:04 Bonani 49 yd field goalUSF 1 3 5 39 2:31 Bonani 17 yd field goalUSF 2 3 4 1 0:59 Bonani 36 yd field goalUSF 4 7 14 80 5:02 Landi 2 yd pass from DanielsMichigan 2 7 2 45 0:48 Hemingway 43 yd pass from RobinsonMichigan 4 7 4 83 2:19 Robinson 1 yd runMichigan 4 7 5 40 2:35 Gallon 14 yd pass from RobinsonMichigan 4 7 5 58 1:04 Smith 21 yd pass from RobinsonMichigan 4 7 3 80 0:30 Roundtree 16 yd pass from RobinsonMichigan State 1 3 4 4 1:27 Conroy 40 yd field goalMichigan State 2 7 11 80 4:23 Sims 6 yd pass from CousinsMichigan State 4 3 8 42 3:53 Conroy 35 yd field goalPittsburgh 1 3 4 -5 1:13 Harper 45 yd field goalPittsburgh 2 3 11 54 4:31 Harper 23 yd field goalPittsburgh 3 6 19 80 8:24 Graham, H. 3 yd pass from SunseriPurdue 2 3 14 70 5:27 Wiggs 27 yd field goalPurdue 4 7 11 95 3:59 Edison 13 yd pass from TerBushAir Force 1 3 8 64 2:33 Herrington 34 yd field goalAir Force 2 6 14 80 5:26 Jefferson 3 yd runAir Force 2 7 12 80 4:29 MacArthur 6 yd pass from JeffersonAir Force 4 3 18 54 6:53 Herrington 32 yd field goalAir Force 4 8 4 74 1:50 Coleman 36 yd pass from DietzAir Force 4 6 7 67 1:41 Lee 8 yd runUSC 1 7 13 66 7:39 Telfer 2 yd pass from BarkleyUSC 1 7 6 62 2:47 Woods 3 yd pass from BarkleyUSC 2 3 14 69 4:54 Heidari 25 yd field goalUSC 3 7 - - - Starling 80 yd fumble recoveryUSC 4 7 3 18 0:59 Woods 14 yd pass from BarkleyNavy 2 7 6 27 2:42 Greene 9 yd pass from MillerNavy 4 7 2 26 0:34 Cummings 12 yd runWake Forest 1 7 8 70 4:08 Pendergrass 20 yd pass from PriceWake Forest 1 3 4 4 1:58 Newman 46 yd field goalWake Forest 2 7 11 81 4:49 Harris 2 yd runMaryland 2 7 9 61 3:04 McCree 13 yd pass from O'BrienMaryland 4 7 10 97 3:16 Brown 24 yd runMaryland 4 7 13 67 4:49 Adams 2 yd runBoston College 2 7 9 80 4:08 Bordner 2 yd runBoston College 4 7 7 72 1:43 Swigert 7 yd pass from RettigStanford 1 7 7 58 3:31 Toilolo 3 yd pass from LuckStanford 2 7 10 80 5:14 Fleener 28 yd pass from LuckStanford 2 7 10 64 1:28 Montgomery 11 yd pass from LuckStanford 4 7 6 80 2:31 Fleener 55 yd pass from Luck

133






game-by-game comPariSon/ game-by-game individUal StatiSticS

First Downs Rushing Passing Total Offense ReturnOpponent Score Total Rush Pass Pen Number-Yards Comp-Att-Int Yards Plays-Yards Yards TOUSF 20-23 27/20 5/7 18/8 4/5 29-117/42-126 31-49-3/18-30-0 391/128 78-508/72-254 108/197 5/0at Michigan 31-35 28/16 9/5 15/10 4/1 33-198/26-114 27-39-2/11-24-3 315/338 72-513/50-452 99/137 5/3MICHIGAN STATE 31-13 18/21 6/1 8/18 4/2 32-114/23-29 18-26-1/34-54-1 161/329 58-275/77-358 221/163 3/2at Pittsburgh 15-12 23/19 10/9 11/8 2/2 32-182/38-103 24-41-1/22-32-0 216/165 73-398/70-268 71/27 2/0at Purdue 38-10 34/17 15/5 17/10 2/2 40-287/27-84 25-41-0/19-38-1 264/192 81-551/65-276 83/151 0/1AIR FORCE 59-33 28/32 10/17 16/13 2/2 29-266/60-363 27-36-0/16-28-1 294/202 65-560/88-565 141/125 0/2USC 17-31 17/29 5/16 12/11 0/2 14-41/44-219 27-43-1/24-35-0 226/224 57-267/79-443 197/165 3/0NAVY 56-14 21/16 11/11 9/3 1/2 35-182/50-196 19-25-1/5-13-0 260/33 60-442/63-229 91/184 2/1at Wake Forest 24-17 20/21 10/7 9/13 1/1 38-175/37-110 14-24-2/17-24-0 166/187 62-341/61-297 115/188 2/1vs. Maryland 45-21 30/20 15/6 14/12 1/2 46-212/35-145 30-38-0/20-31-1 296/219 84-508/66-364 114/147 0/1BOSTON COLLEGE 16-14 21/14 6/2 13/10 2/2 39-161/25-80 24-39-1/18-38-0 256/176 78-417/63-256 17/81 1/0at Stanford 14-28 20/23 5/11 11/11 4/1 31-57/42-196 17-37-2/20-31-1 252/233 68-309/73-429 123/73 3/2Totals 366-251 287/248 107/97 153/127 27/24 398-1992/449-1765 283-438-14/224-378-8 3097/2426 836-5089/827-4191 1380/1638 26/13

3rd Down 4th Down Time of TOP Avg Avg Avg Punting PenaltiesOpponent Conversions Conversions Possession Margin Yds/Rush Yds/Pass Yds/Play Number-Avg Number-YardsUSF 5-14/2-14 0-0/1-1 28:54/31:06 -2:12 4.0/3.0 8.0/4.3 6.5/3.5 5-34.2/7-36.6 8-73/9-43at Michigan 8-14/3-9 0-0/0-0 37:01/22:59 14:02 6.0/4.4 8.1/14.1 7.1/9.0 4-33.5/5-38.6 9-75/9-82MICHIGAN STATE 5-12/5-17 0-0/1-3 27:32/32:28 -4:56 3.6/1.3 6.2/6.1 4.7/4.6 4-41.5/6-39.7 6-53/12-86at Pittsburgh 6-15/7-17 2-2/1-2 31:00/29:00 2:00 5.7/2.7 5.3/5.2 5.5/3.8 4-37.2/5-42.0 8-85/9-55at Purdue 4-11/5-14 1-1/1-1 33:11/26:49 6:22 7.2/3.1 6.4/5.1 6.8/4.2 2-44.0/7-42.6 8-85/13-118AIR FORCE 8-11/6-17 0-0/5-5 27:34/32:26 -4:52 9.2/6.1 8.2/7.2 8.6/6.4 2-37.5/3-40.0 6-54/6-70USC 5-13/7-15 1-1/1-2 20:19/39:41 -19:22 2.9/5.0 5.3/6.4 4.7/5.6 4-42.0/2-22.0 5-48/2-25NAVY 4-7/8-17 1-1/0-2 28:08/31:52 -3:44 5.2/3.9 10.4/2.5 7.4/3.6 1-41.0/5-33.8 6-51/3-30at Wake Forest 6-12/3-10 0-0/0-0 29:23/30:37 -1:14 4.6/3.0 6.9/7.8 5.5/4.9 4-36.2/5-37.4 3-37/6-55vs. Maryland 10-16/3-12 1-1/2-2 34:30/25:30 9:00 4.6/4.1 7.8/7.1 6.0/5.5 4-41.2/7-40.7 3-35/5-36BOSTON COLLEGE 8-19/3-13 0-0/0-1 33:21/26:39 6:42 4.1/3.2 6.6/4.6 5.3/4.1 8-44.0/9-41.0 6-65/6-55at Stanford 5-15/8-15 0-0/0-0 27:28/32:32 -5:04 1.8/4.7 6.8/7.5 4.5/5.9 7-36.7/6-44.0 10-68/11-113Totals 74-159/60-170 6-6/12-19 358:21/361:39 -3:18 5.0/3.9 7.1/6.4 6.1/5.1 49-39.0/67-39.3 729/768

Note: Game totals are displayed in the format TEAM/OPPONENT for each category.

PaSSInG

Tommy Rees Att Comp Int Pct Yards TD Long Sack-Yds EfficUSF 34 24 2 70.6 296 2 37 1-3 151.4at Michigan 39 27 2 69.2 315 3 29 0-0 152.2MICHIGAN STATE 26 18 1 69.2 161 1 33 1-7 126.2at Pittsburgh 41 24 1 58.5 216 1 19 2-9 106.0at Purdue 40 24 0 60.0 254 3 35 0-0 138.1AIR FORCE 32 23 0 71.9 261 4 34 0-0 181.6USC 37 23 1 62.2 190 0 25 0-0 99.9NAVY 22 16 1 72.7 237 1 56 0-0 169.1at Wake Forest 23 14 2 60.9 166 2 38 0-0 132.8vs. Maryland 38 30 0 78.9 296 2 34 3-22 161.7BOSTON COLLEGE 39 24 1 61.5 256 0 37 0-0 111.5at Stanford 13 6 1 46.2 60 0 23 2-16 69.5TOTALS 384 253 12 65.9 2708 19 56 9-57 135.2

Andrew Hendrix Att Comp Int Pct Yards TD Long Sack-Yds EfficAIR FORCE 4 4 0 100.0 33 0 22 0-0 169.3USC 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0-0 0.0at Stanford 24 11 1 45.8 192 1 45 3-28 118.4TOTALS 29 15 1 51.7 225 1 45 3-28 121.4

Dayne Crist Att Comp Int Pct Yards TD Long Sack-Yds EfficUSF 15 7 1 46.7 95 0 31 1-11 86.5at Purdue 1 1 0 100.0 10 0 10 0-0 184.0USC 5 4 0 80.0 36 0 15 0-0 140.5NAVY 3 3 0 100.0 23 0 13 0-0 164.4TOTALS 24 15 1 62.5 164 0 31 1-11 111.6

John Goodman Att Comp Int Pct Yards TD Long Sack-Yds Efficat Wake Forest 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0-0 0.0TOTALS 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0-0 0.0


game-by-game individUal StatiSticS

RuSHInG No-Yds/TD USF at MICH MSU at PITT at PUR AFA USC NAVY at WF vs. MD BC at STANCierre Wood 199-1042/9 21-104/1 25-134/1 14-61/2 23-94/0 20-191/1 10-66/1 5-5/0 11-66/2 14-87/0 18-99/1 26-94/0 12-41/0Jonas Gray 114-791/12 4-17/0 6-66/0 12-65/0 3-84/1 15-94/1 7-69/2 4-38/1 12-69/3 19-92/1 21-136/2 11-61/1 DNPAndrew Hendrix 21-136/1 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 6-111/0 2-4/0 DNP DNP 1-1/0 DNP 12-20/1George Atkinson III 9-27/2 - - - - - 2-1/1 - 7-26/1 - - - -Theo Riddick 6-27/0 - - - - - 1-14/0 1-7/0 - - DNP DNP 4-6/0Michael Floyd 2-13/1 - - - - - - - 1-10/1 - - 1-3/0 -Robby Toma 1-12/0 - - - - - - - 1-12/0 - - - -Cam McDaniel 3-9/0 DNP DNP DNP DNP 1-1/0 2-8/0 - DNP - - - -John Goodman 1-2/0 - - - - 1-2/0 - - - - - - -Dayne Crist 5--16/0 2--5/0 DNP DNP DNP - DNP 1--19/0 2-8/0 DNP DNP DNP DNPTeam 10--23/0 DNP DNP 2--5/0 1--2/0 2--4/0 1--3/0 DNP DNP 3--6/0 1--3/0 DNP DNPTommy Rees 27--28/0 2-1/0 2--2/0 4--7/0 5-6/0 1-3/0 - 1-6/0 1--9/0 2-2/0 5--21/0 1-3/0 3--10/0

ReCeIVInG No-Yds/TD USF at MICH MSU at PITT at PUR AFA USC NAVY at WF vs. MD BC at STANMichael Floyd 95-1106/8 12-154/2 13-159/0 6-84/0 4-27/0 12-137/1 6-78/1 4-28/0 6-121/1 5-44/1 9-90/1 10-92/0 8-92/1Tyler Eifert 57-713/5 6-93/0 4-51/0 2-25/0 8-75/1 4-38/1 8-81/1 7-66/0 1-17/0 3-60/1 8-83/1 2-45/0 4-79/0Theo Riddick 36-429/3 3-32/0 6-62/2 1-7/0 6-52/0 - 8-83/1 5-56/0 4-58/0 1-12/0 DNP DNP 2-67/0TJ Jones 37-359/3 6-58/0 3-28/1 3-40/1 3-31/0 5-49/1 1-23/0 2-23/0 3-28/0 3-16/0 2-19/0 5-42/0 1-2/0Cierre Wood 26-181/0 3-44/0 - 6-5/0 1-10/0 2-22/0 2-11/0 6-41/0 2-13/0 1-17/0 2-15/0 - 1-6/0Robby Toma 15-173/1 - - - 1-16/0 - 1-10/1 1-9/0 - - 7-73/0 5-65/0 -John Goodman 7-65/0 - - - - 1-8/0 1-8/0 - 2-15/0 1-17/0 1-11/0 - 1-6/0Jonas Gray 6-38/0 - 1-15/0 - - - - 2-3/0 - - 1-5/0 2-15/0 DNPMike Ragone 1-10/0 1-10/0 - DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNPGeorge Atkinson III 1-10/0 - - - - 1-10/0 - - - - - - -Alex Welch 1-8/0 - DNP DNP - - - - 1-8/0 DNP - - -Ben Koyack 1-5/0 DNP - - 1-5/0 - - - - - - - -

Punt RetuRnS No-Yds USF at MICH MSU at PITT at PUR AFA USC NAVY at WF vs. MD BC at STANJohn Goodman 8-5 - 3-10 2--3 1-1 2--3 - - - - - - -Theo Riddick 2--2 2--2 - - - - - - - - DNP DNP -

KICK RetuRnS No-Yds USF at MICH MSU at PITT at PUR AFA USC NAVY at WF vs. MD BC at STANGeorge Atkinson III 30-822 - - 4-142 2-60 3-73 5-124 5-178 2-58 2-48 3-51 1-17 3-71Theo Riddick 8-166 2-55 5-99 - - - 1-12 - - - DNP DNP -Austin Collinsworth 7-143 1-24 1--10 - 1-10 - - 1-19 1-33 2-67 - - -Bennett Jackson 3-32 2-31 - - - - 1-1 - - - - - -Cam McDaniel 2-24 DNP DNP DNP DNP - - - DNP - 1-6 - 1-18Danny Spond 1-0 - - DNP DNP DNP - - - - - - 1-0

InteRCePtIon RetuRnS No-Yds USF at MICH MSU at PITT at PUR AFA USC NAVY at WF vs. MD BC at STANGary Gray 2-13 - 1-0 - - 1-13 - - - - - - -Robert Blanton 2-82 - 1-0 1-82 - - - - - - - - -Darius Fleming 1-34 - - - - - - - - - - - 1-34Lo Wood 1-57 - - - - - - - - DNP 1-57 - DNPZeke Motta 1-0 - 1-0 - - - - - - - - - -Jamoris Slaughter 1-0 - - - - - 1-0 - - - - - -

FuMBle RetuRnS No-Yds USF at MICH MSU at PITT at PUR AFA USC NAVY at WF vs. MD BC at STANRobert Blanton 1-4 - - - - - 1-4 - - - - - -

135







all-PuRPoSe TOTAL USF at MICH MSU at PITT at PUR AFA USC NAVY at WF vs. MD BC at STANCierre Wood 1223 148 134 66 104 213 77 46 79 104 114 91 47Michael Floyd 1119 154 159 84 27 137 78 28 131 44 90 95 92George Atkinson III 859 - - 142 60 83 125 178 84 48 51 17 71Jonas Gray 829 17 81 65 84 94 69 41 69 92 141 76 DNPTyler Eifert 713 93 51 25 75 38 81 66 17 60 83 45 79Theo Riddick 620 85 161 7 52 - 109 63 58 12 DNP DNP 73TJ Jones 359 58 28 40 31 49 23 23 28 16 19 42 2Robby Toma 185 - - - 16 - 10 9 12 - 73 65 -Austin Collinsworth 143 24 -10 - 10 - - 19 33 67 - - -Andrew Hendrix 136 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 111 4 DNP DNP 1 DNP 20Robert Blanton 82 - - 82 - - - - - - - - -John Goodman 72 - 10 -3 1 7 8 - 15 17 11 - 6Lo Wood 57 - - - - - - - - DNP 57 - DNPDarius Fleming 34 - - - - - - - - - - - 34Cam McDaniel 33 DNP DNP DNP DNP 1 8 - DNP - 6 - 18Bennett Jackson 32 31 - - - - 1 - - - - - -Gary Gray 13 - - - - 13 - - - - - - -Mike Ragone 10 10 - DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNPAlex Welch 8 - DNP DNP - - - - 8 DNP - - -Ben Koyack 5 DNP - - 5 - - - - - - - -Dayne Crist -16 -5 DNP DNP DNP - DNP -19 8 DNP DNP DNP DNPTeam -23 - - -5 -2 -4 -3 - - -6 -3 - -Tommy Rees -28 1 -2 -7 6 3 - 6 -9 2 -21 3 -10

FuMBleS loSt No-Lost USF at MICH MSU at PITT at PUR AFA USC NAVY at WF vs. MD BC at STANTommy Rees 7-5 1-0 2-1 1-1 1-1 - - - 1-1 - - - 1-1Jonas Gray 3-1 1-1 - - - 1-0 - - - 1-0 - - DNPCierre Wood 2-2 - 1-1 - - - - 1-1 - - - - -Theo Riddick 2-1 2-1 - - - - - - - - DNP DNP -George Atkinson III 2-0 - - 1-0 - - - - - - 1-0 - -John Goodman 1-1 - - 1-1 - - - - - - - - -Michael Floyd 1-0 - - - - 1-0 - - - - - - -Dayne Crist 1-1 - DNP DNP DNP - DNP 1-1 - DNP DNP DNP DNPAndrew Hendrix 1-0 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP - - DNP DNP - DNP 1-0Austin Collinsworth 1-1 - 1-1 - - - - - - - - - -

FuMBleS FoRCeD No USF at MICH MSU at PITT at PUR AFA USC NAVY at WF vs. MD BC at STANJamoris Slaughter 1 - - - - - 1 - - - - - -Darius Fleming 1 - - - - - - - - 1 - - -Aaron Lynch 1 - DNP 1 - - - - - - - - -Zeke Motta 1 - - - - - - - - - - - 1Kapron Lewis-Moore 1 - 1 - - - - - DNP DNP DNP DNP DNPHarrison Smith 1 - - - - - - - - - - - 1Dan Fox 1 - - - - - - - - - 1 - -

FuMBleS ReCoVeReD No USF at MICH MSU at PITT at PUR AFA USC NAVY at WF vs. MD BC at STANTroy Niklas 1 - - - - - - - 1 - - - -Gary Gray 1 - - - - - - - - 1 - - -Harrison Smith 1 - - - - - - - - - - - 1Robert Blanton 1 - - - - - 1 - - - - - -Ethan Johnson 1 - - 1 - - DNP DNP DNP DNP - - -



total taCKleS UA-A TOT USF at MICH MSU at PITT at PUR AFA USC NAVY at WF vs. MD BC at STANManti Te'o 55-60 115 6-8 5-0 2-10 8-2 8-0 5-5 3-7 5-8 2-3 3-1 3-9 5-7Harrison Smith 49-35 84 3-3 4-1 4-4 4-2 3-0 7-5 7-7 3-1 7-3 3-2 2-5 2-2Robert Blanton 47-22 69 4-2 2-2 3-3 6-1 4-2 7-3 3-1 4-3 7-3 - 2-1 5-1Gary Gray 43-17 60 5-0 - 7-3 4-1 1-0 3-2 7-5 2-0 3-0 5-1 1-4 5-1Darius Fleming 23-31 54 2-6 1-0 1-4 3-1 1-1 2-5 3-3 0-2 4-1 0-5 1-3 5-0Dan Fox 20-26 46 0-3 3-1 1-4 2-1 2-0 2-4 2-3 1-2 1-3 3-1 1-2 2-2Louis Nix III 12-30 42 1-5 0-1 0-3 0-1 - 1-1 0-4 1-5 2-2 4-2 1-4 2-2Jamoris Slaughter 20-20 40 2-0 0-1 2-2 1-1 1-0 2-4 3-5 2-3 0-2 1-0 2-1 4-1Zeke Motta 15-23 38 1-4 1-0 1-5 2-0 - 1-2 0-2 1-3 0-1 2-0 2-4 4-2Carlo Calabrese 14-21 35 1-4 1-0 1-3 4-1 3-1 1-4 0-1 1-0 - 0-5 0-1 2-1Kapron Lewis-Moore 16-16 32 1-6 3-1 2-3 4-0 2-0 2-2 2-4 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNPPrince Shembo 15-14 29 0-1 1-0 DNP 5-1 2-1 0-1 3-1 0-4 3-1 0-1 0-1 1-2Aaron Lynch 17-11 28 0-1 DNP 2-3 2-0 3-0 0-1 0-1 - 2-1 5-0 0-1 3-3Stephon Tuitt 9-18 27 - DNP 1-1 1-1 DNP 1-4 1-6 2-5 3-1 - DNP DNPSean Cwynar 6-15 21 0-4 DNP 0-1 1-0 - 1-1 0-1 0-2 1-1 1-2 1-3 1-0Troy Niklas 8-12 20 0-1 0-1 0-3 1-0 2-0 1-1 - 2-0 - 1-1 0-4 1-1Austin Collinsworth 12-5 17 - 3-0 - - 3-0 1-2 1-0 2-2 1-0 1-0 0-1 -Bennett Jackson 10-6 16 1-1 - - 1-0 3-0 3-0 - 1-2 0-2 1-0 0-1 -Ethan Johnson 6-8 14 1-3 2-0 0-2 0-1 - DNP DNP DNP DNP 1-0 0-1 2-1Danny Spond 7-6 13 - - DNP DNP DNP 0-2 0-1 2-1 - 5-1 0-1 -Kendall Moore 7-3 10 - 0-1 - - 1-0 1-1 0-1 1-0 - 4-0 - -Chris Salvi 3-6 9 - - 0-1 - 0-1 2-0 - 1-1 0-1 0-2 - -Dan McCarthy 2-7 9 - - - - - 1-3 - 1-3 DNP - 0-1 -Hafis Williams 4-4 8 DNP 1-1 DNP DNP 1-1 DNP - 1-1 DNP 1-1 DNP DNPGeorge Atkinson III 4-4 8 - - - - 1-1 0-1 1-0 - 1-0 0-1 0-1 1-0Lo Wood 5-1 6 1-0 - - - 1-0 1-1 - - DNP 1-0 1-0 DNPIshaq Williams 3-2 5 - 1-0 - - 1-0 0-1 DNP 1-0 DNP 0-1 - -Steve Filer 3-2 5 - 0-1 1-0 - 2-0 - 0-1 - - DNP DNP DNPChase Hounshell 1-3 4 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 1-3 - - DNP - - -David Posluszny 1-3 4 DNP 0-1 0-2 - 1-0 - DNP DNP - - - -Anthony McDonald 1-2 3 DNP DNP - DNP - DNP DNP 1-2 - DNP DNP DNPAlex Welch 2-1 3 - DNP DNP - - - - 1-0 DNP 1-0 0-1 -Cam McDaniel 1-1 2 DNP DNP DNP DNP - 0-1 - DNP - - 1-0 -Josh Atkinson 1-1 2 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP - - 0-1 1-0 - - -Kyle Brindza 1-1 2 - - 1-0 - - - - - - 0-1 - -TJ Jones 1-0 1 - - - - - - - - 1-0 - - -Michael Floyd 1-0 1 - - - - - - - - - - - 1-0Chris Watt 1-0 1 - 1-0 - - - - - - - - - -Zack Martin 1-0 1 - - - - - - - - 1-0 - - -Ben Turk 1-0 1 1-0 - - - - - - - - - - -Patrick Coughlin 0-1 1 DNP DNP 0-1 DNP DNP DNP - - DNP - - DNPAndrew Nuss 1-0 1 - - - 1-0 - - - - - - - -Cierre Wood 1-0 1 - - 1-0 - - - - - - - - -Daniel Smith 0-1 1 - DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 0-1 DNP DNP DNP DNPTyler Eifert 1-0 1 - - - - - - 1-0 - - - - -Robby Toma 1-0 1 - - - - - - - - - - 1-0 -Ryan Kavanagh 0-1 1 - - - - - - - - 0-1 - - -

137







taCKleS FoR loSS UA-A TOT USF at MICH MSU at PITT at PUR AFA USC NAVY at WF vs. MD BC at STANManti Te'o 10-6 13.0 1.0-1 1.0-3 - 1.0-5 3.0-12 2.5-4 - 2.5-4 - - 0.5-0 1.5-1Robert Blanton 8-0 8.0 1.0-3 - 3.0-13 - 1.0-1 1.0-2 - - 2.0-5 - - -Darius Fleming 6-2 7.0 0.5-3 - - 3.0-12 - 0.5-1 1.0-1 - - - 1.0-6 1.0-3Aaron Lynch 4-3 5.5 0.5-1 DNP 1.0-7 1.0-9 1.0-2 - - - 1.0-6 - 0.5-1 0.5-1Prince Shembo 3-1 3.5 - 1.0-2 DNP 1.0-11 - - - - 1.0-4 - - 0.5-1Louis Nix III 2-4 4.0 0.5-0 - - - - - 0.5-1 0.5-1 - - 1.0-3 1.5-3Kapron Lewis-Moore 3-2 4.0 1.5-7 0.5-3 - - 1.0-5 1.0-4 - DNP DNP DNP DNP DNPDan Fox 2-0 2.0 - 2.0-6 - - - - - - - - - -Harrison Smith 2-0 2.0 - - - 1.0-4 - - - - 1.0-4 - - -Kendal Moore 2-0 2.0 - - - - - - - 1.0-2 - 1.0-1 - -Stephon Tuitt 2-0 2.0 - DNP - - DNP - - - 2.0-14 - DNP DNPJamoris Slaughter 2-0 2.0 - - - - - - - 1.0-2 - - 1.0-1 -Hafis Williams 1-1 1.5 DNP 0.5-3 DNP DNP 1.0-1 DNP - - DNP - DNP DNPIshaq Williams 1-0 1.0 - - - - - - DNP 1.0-2 DNP - - -Carlo Calabrese 1-0 1.0 - - - 1.0-3 - - - - - - - -Steve Filer 1-0 1.0 - - 1.0-3 - - - - - - DNP DNP DNPEthan Johnson 1-0 1.0 1.0-2 - - - - DNP DNP DNP DNP - - -Gary Gray 0-1 0.5 - - - - - - 0.5-1 - - - - -Lo Wood 0-1 0.5 - - - - - 0.5-1 - - DNP - - DNPDanny Spond 0-1 0.5 - - DNP DNP DNP 0.5-0 - - - - - -

SaCKS UA-A TOT USF at MICH MSU at PITT at PUR AFA USC NAVY at WF vs. MD BC at STANManti Te'o 4-1 4.5 1.0-1 - - 1.0-5 2.0-10 - - 0.5-1 - - - -Aaron Lynch 4-0 4.0 - DNP 1.0-7 1.0-9 1.0-2 - - - 1.0-6 - - -Darius Fleming 3-1 3.5 0.5-3 - - 2.0-8 - - - - - - 1.0-6 -Prince Shembo 2-0 2.0 - - DNP 1.0-11 - - - - 1.0-4 - - -Kapron Lewis-Moore 1-1 1.5 0.5-3 - - - - 1.0-4 - DNP DNP DNP DNP DNPRobert Blanton 1-0 1.0 - - 1.0-11 - - - - - - - - -Stephon Tuitt 1-0 1.0 - DNP - - DNP - - - 1.0-11 - DNP DNPDan Fox 1-0 1.0 - 1.0-5 - - - - - - - - - -Carlo Calabrese 1-0 1.0 - - - 1.0-3 - - - - - - - -Louis Nix III 0-1 0.5 - - - - - - - 0.5-1 - - - -


miScellaneoUS StatiSticS

BIG PLAYS (35+ YARDS)Yards Type Player(s) Opponent*96 KR George Atkinson III USC*89 KR George Atkinson III Michigan State82 INT Robert Blanton Michigan State*79 Rush Jonas Gray Pittsburgh78 Rush Andrew Hendrix Air Force*57 INT Lo Wood Maryland*56 Pass Michael Floyd from Tommy Rees Navy*55 Rush Cierre Wood Purdue45 Pass Theo Riddick from Andrew Hendrix Stanford41 KR Austin Collinsworth Wake Forest40 KR George Atkinson III Air Force38 Rush Jonas Gray Michigan*38 Pass Tyler Eifert from Tommy Rees Wake Forest37 Pass Theo Riddick from Tommy Rees Navy37 Pass Tyler Eifert from Tommy Rees Boston College37 Pass Tyler Eifert from Tommy Rees USF36 KR George Atkinson III Pittsburgh*35 Pass Michael Floyd from Tommy Rees Purdue

OPPONENT BIG PLAYS (35+ YARDS)Yards Type Player(s) Opponent*96 FR Kayvon Webster USF*80 FR Jawanza Starling USC77 Pass Junior Hemingway from Denard Robinson Michigan64 Pass Jeremy Gallon from Denard Robinson Michigan59 KR Lovell Jackson Wake Forest*55 Pass Coby Fleener from Andrew Luck Stanford54 INT Josh Bush Wake Forest45 Pass Junior Hemingway from Denard Robinson Michigan*43 Pass Junior Hemingway from Denard Robinson Michigan42 INT Michael Thomas Stanford42 Rush Ray Graham Pittsburgh42 KR Nick Hill Michigan State41 KR Nick Hill Michigan State39 KR Raheem Mostert Purdue39 Rush Denard Robinson Michigan*36 Pass Drew Coleman from Connor Dietz Air Force* touchdown scored on play

EXPLOSIVE RUNNING PLAYS (15+ YARDS)Yards Player(s) Opponent*79 Jonas Gray Pittsburgh78 Andrew Hendrix Air Force*55 Cierre Wood Purdue38 Jonas Gray Michigan27 Cierre Wood Wake Forest*26 Jonas Gray Boston College*25 Jonas Gray USC25 Jonas Gray Wake Forest24 Cierre Wood Michigan24 Cierre Wood Air Force*22 Cierre Wood Michigan State22 Cierre Wood Michigan21 Cierre Wood Maryland20 Jonas Gray Air Force19 Jonas Gray Maryland19 Cierre Wood Purdue19 Cierre Wood Michigan18 Jonas Gray Purdue18 Cierre Wood Pittsburgh18 Cierre Wood USF17 Jonas Gray Air Force17 Andrew Hendrix Stanford16 Cierre Wood Purdue16 Jonas Gray Purdue16 Cierre Wood Michigan State16 Jonas Gray Michigan15 George Atkinson III Navy

OPPONENT EXPLOSIVE RUNNING PLAYS (15+ YARDS)Yards Player(s) Opponent42 Ray Graham Pittsburgh39 Denard Robinson Michigan31 Stepfan Taylor Stanford30 Mike DeWitt Air Force29 Asher Clark Air Force27 Anthon LaCoste Air Force*24 C.J. Brown Maryland21 Asher Clark Air Force19 David Baska Air Force18 Denard Robinson Michigan17 Darius Jones Air Force17 Lindsey Lamar USF16 Rolandan Finch Boston College16 Akeem Hunt Purdue15 Curtis McNeal USC15 Marc Tyler USC15 Curtis McNeal USC15 Tyler Gaffney Stanford15 John Howell Navy* touchdown scored on play

139






miScellaneoUS StatiSticS

EXPLOSIVE PASSING PLAYS (20+ YARDS)Yards Player(s) Opponent*79 Jonas Gray Pittsburgh*56 Michael Floyd from Tommy Rees Navy45 Theo Riddick from Andrew Hendrix Stanford*38 Tyler Eifert from Tommy Rees Wake Forest37 Theo Riddick from Tommy Rees Navy37 Tyler Eifert from Tommy Rees Boston College37 Tyler Eifert from Tommy Rees USF*35 Michael Floyd from Tommy Rees Purdue*34 Michael Floyd from Tommy Rees Air Force*34 Tyler Eifert from Tommy Rees Maryland33 Michael Floyd from Tommy Rees Michigan State31 Cierre Wood from Dayne Crist USF31 Michael Floyd from Tommy Rees Maryland*29 Theo Riddick from Tommy Rees Michigan27 Robby Toma from Tommy Rees Boston College27 Theo Riddick from Tommy Rees USF*26 TJ Jones from Tommy Rees Michigan State26 Robby Toma from Tommy Rees Maryland26 Michael Floyd from Tommy Rees Navy26 Michael Floyd from Dayne Crist USF25 Michael Floyd from Tommy Rees Michigan25 Michael Floyd from Andrew Hendrix Stanford25 Michael Floyd from Andrew Hendrix Stanford25 Theo Riddick from Tommy Rees USC25 Michael Floyd from Tommy Rees Navy*24 Theo Riddick from Tommy Rees Air Force*24 Michael Floyd from Tommy Rees USF24 Tyler Eifert from Andrew Hendrix Stanford24 Theo Riddick from Tommy Rees Air Force23 TJ Jones from Tommy Rees USF23 Tyler Eifert from Tommy Rees Stanford23 TJ Jones from Tommy Rees Air Force22 Michael Floyd from Tommy Rees USF22 Theo Riddick from Andrew Hendrix Stanford22 Michael Floyd from Tommy Rees Michigan State22 Tyler Eifert from Tommy Rees Michigan22 Tyler Eifert from Andrew Hendrix Air Force21 Michael Floyd from Tommy Rees Michigan21 Michael Floyd from Tommy Rees Michigan20 Robby Toma from Tommy Rees Boston College20 Cierre Wood from Tommy Rees Air Force* touchdown scored on play

tHIRD DoWn atteMPtS BY DIStanCeYards Notre Dame Pct. Opp. Pct.1-2 28-39 71.8 15-27 55.63-4 12-25 48.0 11-29 37.95-9 24-53 45.3 24-70 34.310+ 10-42 23.8 10-44 22.7Total 74-159 46.5 60-170 35.3

FouRtH DoWn atteMPtS BY DIStanCeYards Notre Dame Pct. Opp. Pct.1-2 5-5 100.0 8-11 72.73-4 0-0 0.0 2-2 100.05-9 1-1 100.0 2-4 50.010+ 0-1 0.0 0-2 0.0Total 6-7 85.7 12-19 63.2

OPPONENT EXPLOSIVE PASSING PLAYS (20+ YARDS)Yards Player(s) Opponent77 Junior Hemingway from Denard Robinson Michigan64 Jeremy Gallon from Denard Robinson Michigan*55 Coby Fleener from Andrew Luck Stanford45 Junior Hemingway from Denard Robinson Michigan*43 Junior Hemingway from Denard Robinson Michigan*36 Drew Coleman from Connor Dietz Air Force*28 Coby Fleener from Andrew Luck Stanford27 Kelvin Grady from Denard Robinson Michigan25 B.J. Cunningham from Kirk Cousins Michigan State25 Robert Woods from Matt Barkley USC25 Michael Campanaro from Tanner Price Wake Forest24 Jonathan Warzeka from Tim Jefferson Air Force24 Antavian Edison from Caleb TerBush Purdue22 B.J. Cunningham from Kirk Cousins Michigan State*21 Vincent Smith from Denard Robinson Michigan21 Dion Sims from Kirk Cousins Michigan State21 Todd Anderson from Kirk Cousins Michigan State21 Quintin McCree from C.J. Brown Maryland21 Chris Pantale from Chase Rettig Boston College21 Chris Pantale from Chase Rettig Boston College*20 Brandon Pendergrass from Tanner Price Wake Forest20 Antavian Edison from Caleb TerBush Purdue20 Antavian Edison from Robert Marve Purdue20 Quintin McCree from Danny O'Brien Maryland* touchdown scored on play

NOTRE DAME'S LONGEST PLAYS OF THE SEASONRushing: 79, Jonas Gray vs Pittsburgh (9.24)Rushing Touchdown: 79, Jonas Gray vs Pittsburgh (9.24) Passing: 56, Michael Floyd from Tommy Rees vs Navy (10.29)Passing Touchdown: 56, Michael Floyd from Tommy Rees vs Navy (10.29)Punt Return: 13, John Goodman vs Michigan (9.10)Kick Return: 96, George Atkinson III vs USC (10.22)Interception Return: 82, Robert Blanton vs Michigan State (9.17)Fumble Return: 4, Robert Blanton vs Air Force (10.8)Punt: 58, Ben Turk vs Maryland (11.12)Field Goal: 52, David Ruffer vs Maryland (11.12)

OPPONENTS' LONGEST PLAYS OF THE SEASONRushing: 42, Ray Graham of Pittsburgh (9.24)Rushing Touchdown: 24, C.J. Brown of Maryland (11.12) Passing: 77, Junior Hemingway from Denard Robinson of Michigan (9.10)Passing Touchdown: 55, Coby Fleener from Andrew Luck of Stanford (11.26)Punt Return: 34, Terrence Mitchell of USF (9.3)Kick Return: 59, Lovell Jackson of Wake Forest (11.5)Interception Return: 54, Josh Bush of Wake Forest (11.5)Fumble Return: 96, Kayvon Webster of USF (9.3)Punt: 61, Cody Webster of Purdue (10.1)Field Goal: 49, Maikon Bonani of USF (9.3)


notre dame SUPerlativeS

INDIVIDUAL GAME HIGHSRushes 26 Cierre Wood vs Boston College (11.19)Yards Rushing 191 Cierre Wood at Purdue (10.1)TD Rushes 3 Jonas Gray vs Navy (10.29)Long Rush 79 Jonas Gray at Pittsburgh (9.24)Pass attempts 41 Tommy Rees at Pittsburgh (9.24)Pass completions 30 Tommy Rees vs Maryland (11.12)Yards Passing 315 Tommy Rees at Michigan (9.10)TD Passes 4 Tommy Rees vs Air Force (10.8)Long Pass 56 Tommy Rees vs Navy (10.29)Receptions 13 Michael Floyd at Michigan (9.10)Yards Receiving 159 Michael Floyd at Michigan (9.10)TD Receptions 2 Michael Floyd vs USF (9.3) Theo Riddick at Michigan (9.10)Long Reception 56 Michael Floyd vs Navy (10.29)Field Goals 3 David Ruffer vs Boston College (11.19)Long Field Goal 52 David Ruffer vs Maryland (11.12)Punts 8 Ben Turk vs Boston College (11.19)Punting Avg 44.0 Ben Turk at Purdue (10.1) Ben Turk vs Boston College (11.19)Long Punt 58 Ben Turk vs Maryland (11.12)Punts inside 20 3 Ben Turk at Pittsburgh (9.24)Long Punt Return 13 John Goodman at Michigan (9.10)Long Kickoff Return 96 George Atkinson III vs USC (10.22)Tackles 14 Manti Te'o vs USF (9.3) Harrison Smith vs USC (10.22)Sacks 2.0 Darius Fleming at Pittsburgh (9.24) Manti Te'o at Purdue (10.1)Tackles For Loss 3.0 Robert Blanton vs Michigan State (9.17) Darius Fleming at Pittsburgh (9.24) Manti Te'o at Purdue (10.1)Interceptions 1 Gary Gray at Michigan (9.10) Robert Blanton at Michigan (9.10) Zeke Motta at Michigan (9.10) Robert Blanton vs Michigan State (9.17) Gary Gray at Purdue (10.1) Jamoris Slaughter vs Air Force (10.8) Lo Wood vs Maryland (11.12) Darius Fleming at Stanford (11.26)

TEAM GAME HIGHSRushes 46 vs Maryland (11.12)Yards Rushing 287 at Purdue (10.1)Yards Per Rush 9.2 vs Air Force (10.8)TD Rushes 7 vs Navy (10.29)Pass attempts 49 vs USF (9.3)Pass completions 31 vs USF (9.3)Yards Passing 391 vs USF (9.3)Yards Per Pass 10.4 vs Navy (10.29)TD Passes 4 vs Air Force (10.8)Total Plays 84 vs Maryland (11.12)Total Offense 560 vs Air Force (10.8)Yards Per Play 8.6 vs Air Force (10.8)Points 59 vs Air Force (10.8)Sacks By 6 at Pittsburgh (9.24)First Downs 34 at Purdue (10.1)Penalties 10 at Stanford (11.26)Penalty Yards 85 at Pittsburgh (9.24) at Purdue (10.1)Turnovers 5 vs USF (9.3) at Michigan (9.10)Interceptions By 3 at Michigan (9.10)Punts 8 vs Boston College (11.19)Punting Avg 44.0 at Purdue (10.1) vs Boston College (11.19)Long Punt 58 vs Maryland (11.12)Punts inside 20 3 at Pittsburgh (9.24)Long Punt Return 13 at Michigan (9.10)

141






oPPonent SUPerlativeS

OPPONENT INDIVIDUAL GAME HIGHSRushes 24 Curtis McNeal, vs USC (10.22)Yards Rushing 118 Curtis McNeal, vs USC (10.22) Stephon Taylor, at Stanford (11.26)TD Rushes 1 Denard Robinson, at Michigan (9.10) Tim Jefferson, vs Air Force (10.8) Jonathan Lee, vs Air Force (10.8) Jarvis Cummings, vs Navy (10.29) Josh Harris, at Wake Forest (11.5) D.J. Adams, vs Maryland (11.12) C.J. Brown, vs Maryland (11.12) Josh Bordner, vs Boston College (11.19)Long Rush 42 Ray Graham, at Pittsburgh (9.24)Pass attempts 53 Kirk Cousins, vs Michigan State (9.17)Pass completions 34 Kirk Cousins, vs Michigan State (9.17)Yards Passing 338 Denard Robinson, at Michigan (9.10)TD Passes 4 Denard Robinson, at Michigan (9.10) Andew Luck, at Stanford (11.26)Long Pass 77 Denard Robinson, at Michigan (9.10)Receptions 12 B.J. Cunningham, vs Michigan State (9.17) Robert Woods, vs USC (10.22)Yards Receiving 165 Junior Hemingway, at Michigan (9.10)TD Receptions 2 Robert Woods, vs USC (10.22) Coby Fleener, at Stanford (11.26)Long Reception 77 Junior Hemingway, at Michigan (9.10)Field Goals 3 Maikon Bonani, vs USF (9.3)Long Field Goal 49 Maikon Bonani, vs USF (9.3)Punts 9 Ryan Quigley, vs Boston College (11.19)Punting Avg 46.4 Cody Webster, at Purdue (10.1)Long Punt 61 Cody Webster, at Purdue (10.1)Punts inside 20 6 Ryan Quigley, vs Boston College (11.19)Long Punt Return 34 Terrance Mitchell, vs USF (9.3)Long Kickoff Return 59 Lovell Jackson, at Wake Forest (11.5)Tackles 14 Luke Kuechly, vs Boston College (11.19)Sacks 2.0 Chase Thomas, at Stanford (11.26)Tackles For Loss 3.0 Alex Twine, vs Maryland (11.12) Chase Thomas, at Stanford (11.26)Interceptions 2 Josh Bush, at Wake Forest (11.5)

OPPONENT TEAM GAME HIGHSRushes 60 vs Air Force (10.8)Yards Rushing 363 vs Air Force (10.8)Yards Per Rush 6.1 vs Air Force (10.8)TD Rushes 2 vs Air Force (10.8) vs Maryland (11.12)Pass attempts 54 vs Michigan State (9.17)Pass completions 34 vs Michigan State (9.17)Yards Passing 338 at Michigan (9.10)Yards Per Pass 14.1 at Michigan (9.10)TD Passes 4 at Michigan (9.10) at Stanford (11.26)Total Plays 88 vs Air Force (10.8)Total Offense 565 vs Air Force (10.8)Yards Per Play 9.0 at Michigan (9.10)Points 35 at Michigan (9.10)Sacks By 5 at Stanford (11.26)First Downs 32 vs Air Force (10.8)Penalties 13 at Purdue (10.1)Penalty Yards 118 at Purdue (10.1)Turnovers 3 at Michigan (9.10)Interceptions By 3 vs USF (9.3)Punts 9 vs Boston College (11.19)Punting Avg 44.0 at Stanford (11.26)Long Punt 61 at Purdue (10.1)Punts inside 20 6 vs Boston College (11.19)Long Punt Return 34 vs USF (9.3)


Bowl summary

Notre Dame Bowl RecordWon 15, Lost 15

Season Bowl Opponent W/L Score1924 Rose (Jan. 1, 1925) Stanford W 27-101969 Cotton (Jan. 1, 1970) Texas L 17-211970 Cotton (Jan. 1, 1971) Texas W 24-111972 Orange (Jan. 1, 1973) Nebraska L 6-401973 Sugar (Dec. 31, 1973) Alabama W 24-231974 Orange (Jan. 1, 1975) Alabama W 13-111976 Gator (Dec. 27, 1976) Penn State W 20- 91977 Cotton (Jan. 2, 1978) Texas W 38-101978 Cotton (Jan. 1, 1979) Houston W 35-341980 Sugar (Jan. 1, 1981) Georgia L 10-171983 Liberty (Dec. 29, 1983) Boston College W 19-181984 Aloha (Dec. 29, 1984) SMU L 20-271987 Cotton (Jan. 1, 1988) Texas A&M L 10-351988 Fiesta (Jan. 2, 1989) West Virginia W 34-211989 Orange (Jan. 1, 1990) Colorado W 21-61990 Orange (Jan. 1, 1991) Colorado L 9-101991 Sugar (Jan. 1, 1992) Florida W 39-281992 Cotton (Jan. 1, 1993) Texas A&M W 28-31993 Cotton (Jan. 1, 1994) Texas A&M W 24-211994 Fiesta (Jan. 2, 1995) Colorado L 24-411995 Orange (Jan. 1, 1996) Florida State L 26-311997 Independence (Dec. 28, 1997) LSU L 9-271998 Gator (Jan. 1, 1999) Georgia Tech L 28-352000 Fiesta (Jan. 1, 2001) Oregon State L 9-412002 Gator (Jan. 1, 2003) North Carolina State L 6-282004 Insight (Dec. 28, 2004) Oregon State L 21-382005 Fiesta (Jan. 2, 2006) Ohio State L 20-342006 Sugar (Jan. 3, 2007) LSU L 14-412008 Hawai’i (Dec. 24, 2008) Hawai’i W 49-212010 Sun (Dec. 31, 2010) Miami (Fla.) W 33-17

1925 Rose BowlNotre Dame 27, Stanford 10 January 1, 1925Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne and the famed Four Horsemen brought a perfect 9-0 record to the West Coast to take on coach Pop Warner and Ernie Nevers of Stanford. Notre Dame’s victory earned the Irish their first-ever national championship and the first of four national crowns to come via bowl wins.

1970 Cotton BowlTexas 21, Notre Dame 17 January 1, 1970Texas came in ranked first in both the Associated Press and United Press International polls with a perfect 10-0 record. Notre Dame stood eighth in the AP poll and ninth according to UPI with its 8-1-1 mark. Texas earned the national championship with its victory, but Notre Dame moved up to fifth in the final AP poll taken after the bowl games.

1971 Cotton BowlNotre Dame 24, Texas 11 January 1, 1971Texas again came in ranked first in both the Associated Press and United Press International polls with a 10-0 mark and 30-game winning streak. Notre Dame stood 9-1 and was fifth in the UPI poll and sixth according to the AP. The Notre Dame victory dropped Texas to third in the final AP poll after the bowl games, while Notre Dame moved up to second behind Nebraska.

1973 Orange BowlNebraska 40, Notre Dame 6 January 1, 1973Nebraska came in with an 8-2-1 record, ranked ninth according to United Press International. Notre Dame, 8-2, came in ranked 12th in the UPI poll. The Nebraska victory vaulted the Huskers to fourth in the final AP poll after the bowls, while Notre Dame dropped to 14th.

1973 Sugar BowlNotre Dame 24, Alabama 23 December 31, 1973Alabama came in ranked first in both the Associated Press and United Press International polls with an 11-0 record. Notre Dame came in ranked third according to AP and fourth in the UPI poll with a 10-0 record. The Notre Dame victory left the Irish first in the AP poll after the bowls, while Alabama dropped to fourth.

1975 Orange BowlNotre Dame 13, Alabama 11 January 1, 1975Alabama came in ranked first in the United Press International poll and second in the Associated Press poll with its 11-0 record. Notre Dame came in standing eighth in the UPI poll and ninth according to AP with its 9-2 record. The Notre Dame victory left Notre Dame sixth and Alabama fifth in the AP poll after the bowls. UPI also took its final tabulation after the bowl games for the first time and rated Alabama second and Notre Dame fourth.

1976 Gator BowlNotre Dame 20, Penn State 9 December 27, 1976Penn State came in tied for 20th in the polls with a 7-4 record. Notre Dame came in 13th in the United Press International poll and 15th in the Associated Press poll with an 8-3 record. The Notre Dame victory left the Irish 12th in both the final AP and UPI polls after the bowl games.

1978 Cotton BowlNotre Dame 38, Texas 10 January 2, 1978Texas came in ranked first in both the Associated Press and United Press International polls with its perfect 11-0 record. Notre Dame came in ranked fifth by both AP and UPI with a 10-1 record. The Notre Dame victory elevated the Irish to first in both the AP and UPI polls taken after the bowls, while Texas dropped to fourth in AP and fifth in UPI.

1979 Cotton BowlNotre Dame 35, Houston 34 January 1, 1979Houston came in ranked ninth according to the Associated Press and 11th according to United Press International with a 9-2 record. Notre Dame came in ranked ninth according to UPI and 10th according to AP with an 8-3 record. The Notre Dame victory left the Irish sixth in UPI and seventh in AP, while Houston dropped to 10th in AP and remained 11th in UPI.

1981 Sugar BowlGeorgia 17, Notre Dame 10 January 1, 1981Georgia came in ranked first in both the Associated Press and United Press International polls with a perfect 11-0 record. Notre Dame came in seventh in AP and eighth in UPI with a 9-1-1 record. The Georgia victory kept the Bulldogs first in both polls, while Notre Dame dropped to ninth in AP and 10th in UPI.

1983 Liberty BowlNotre Dame 19, Boston College 18 December 29, 1983Boston College came in ranked 12th according to United Press International and 13th according to the Associated Press with a 9-2 record. Notre Dame came in unranked with a 6-5 record. The Notre Dame victory dropped the Eagles to 19th in AP and 20th in UPI, while Notre Dame remained unranked. The Irish, however, did finish 18th in the final New York Times computer rankings.

1984 Aloha BowlSMU 27, Notre Dame 20 December 29, 1984SMU came in ranked 10th according to both the Associated Press and United Press International with a 9-2 record. Notre Dame came in ranked 17th by AP and 18th by UPI with a 7-4 record. The SMU victory boosted the Mustangs to eighth in both final wire service polls, while Notre Dame dropped out of both polls.

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Bowl summary

1988 Cotton BowlTexas A&M 35, Notre Dame 10 January 1, 1988Texas A&M came in ranked 13th according to both the Associated Press and United Press Interna-tional with a 9-2 record. Notre Dame came in ranked 12th by AP and 14th by UPI with an 8-3 re-cord. The Texas A&M victory boosted the Aggies to ninth in the final UPI polls and 10th according to AP. Notre Dame fell to 17th in the final AP poll and dropped out of the UPI rankings completely.

1989 Fiesta BowlNotre Dame 34, West Virginia 21 January 2, 1989West Virginia came in ranked third according to both the Associated Press and United Press Inter-national with an 11-0 record. Notre Dame came in ranked first by both AP and UPI with an 11-0 record. The Notre Dame victory left the Irish atop both polls in the final rankings. West Virginia dropped to fifth in both final polls.

1990 Orange BowlNotre Dame 21, Colorado 6 January 1, 1990Colorado came in ranked first in both the Associated Press and United Press International polls with its perfect 11-0 record. Notre Dame came in ranked fourth in both polls with an 11-1 record. The Notre Dame victory boosted the Irish to second in the final AP poll and third according to UPI. Colorado dropped to fourth in both polls.

1991 Orange BowlColorado 10, Notre Dame 9 January 1, 1991Colorado came in ranked first in both the Associated Press and United Press International polls with its 10-1-1 record. Notre Dame came in ranked fifth by AP and sixth by UPI with a 9-2 record. The Colorado victory left the Buffs first according to AP and second by UPI. Notre Dame finished sixth in both polls.

1992 Sugar BowlNotre Dame 39, Florida 28 January 1, 1992Florida came in ranked third according to the Associated Press and fourth according to USA Today/CNN with a 10-1 record. Notre Dame came in ranked 18th in both polls with a 9-3 record. The Notre Dame victory left the Gators seventh according to AP and eighth by USA Today/CNN. The Irish finished 12th according to USA Today/CNN and 13th by AP.

1993 Cotton BowlNotre Dame 28, Texas A&M 3 January 1, 1993Texas A&M came in ranked third by USA Today/CNN and fourth by the Associated Press with a 12-0 record. Notre Dame came in ranked fifth in both polls with a 9-1-1 mark. The Irish victory put them fourth in the final polls and placed the Aggies sixth according to USA Today/CNN and seventh by AP.

1994 Cotton BowlNotre Dame 24, Texas A&M 21 January 1, 1994Texas A&M came in ranked sixth by USA Today/CNN and seventh by the Associated Press with a 10-1 record. Notre Dame came in rated fourth by both Associated Press and USA Today/CNN with a 10-1 mark. The Notre Dame victory pushed the Irish to second in both polls. The Aggies dropped to eighth in both polls.

1995 Fiesta BowlColorado 41, Notre Dame 24 January 2, 1995Colorado came in ranked fourth by the Associated Press and fifth by USA Today/CNN with a 10-1 record. Notre Dame came in unranked with a 6-4-1 record. The Colorado victory left the Buffs third in both polls, while Notre Dame remained unranked.

1996 Orange BowlFlorida State 31, Notre Dame 26 January 1, 1996Florida State came in ranked eighth by both the Associated Press and USA Today/CNN with a 9-2 record. Notre Dame came in with a 9-2 mark and was ranked sixth by AP and ninth in USA Today/CNN. The victory by Florida State put the Seminoles fourth in the final AP poll and fifth in USA Today/CNN. Notre Dame finished 11th in AP and 13th in the USA Today/CNN.

1997 Independence BowlLSU 27, Notre Dame 9 December 28, 1997LSU came in ranked 15th by both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN with an 8-3 record. Notre Dame came into the contest with a 7-5 mark and was unranked. The victory by LSU gave the Tigers a final ranking of 13th in both the AP and USA Today/ESPN poll.

1999 Gator BowlGeorgia Tech 35, Notre Dame 28 January 1, 1999Georgia Tech came in ranked 12th by the Associated Press and 14th by USA Today/ESPN with a 9-2 record. Notre Dame came into the contest with a 9-2 mark and was ranked 17th by the As-sociated Press and 14th by USA Today/ESPN. The victory by Georgia Tech gave the Yellow Jackets a final ranking of ninth in the AP and 11th in the USA Today/ESPN. Notre Dame was ranked 22nd in both final polls.

2001 Fiesta BowlOregon State 41, Notre Dame 9 January 1, 2001Oregon State came in ranked fifth by the Associated Press and sixth by USA Today/ESPN with a 10-1 record. Notre Dame came into the contest with a 9-2 mark and was ranked 10th by both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN. The victory by Oregon State gave the Beavers a final ranking of fourth in the AP and fifth in the USA Today/ESPN poll. Notre Dame was ranked 15th in the AP poll and 16th in the final USA Today/ESPN poll.

2003 Gator BowlNorth Carolina State 28, Notre Dame 6 January 1, 2003North Carolina State came in ranked 17th by both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN with a 10-3 record. Notre Dame came into the contest with a 10-2 mark and was ranked 11th by the Associated Press and 12th by USA Today/ESPN. The victory by North Carolina State boosted the Wolfpack to a final ranking of 12th in the AP and 11th in the USA Today/ESPN poll. Notre Dame was ranked 17th in both the AP poll and final USA Today/ESPN poll.

2004 Insight BowlOregon State 38, Notre Dame 21 December 28, 2004Both teams entered the contest unranked by both national polls. The Irish were under the di-rection of interim head coach Kent Baer after the dismissal of Tyrone Willingham. Neither team appeared in the national rankings after the game.

2006 Fiesta BowlOhio State 34, Notre Dame 20 January 2, 2006Notre Dame entered the game ranked fifth in the Associated Press and Harris polls, sixth in the USA Today and BCS standings. Ohio State entered the game ranked fourth in the AP, Harris, USA Today and BCS standings. Ohio State’s victory ended up ranking the Buckeyes fourth in both the AP and USA Today top 25. The Irish fell to ninth in the final AP voting and 11th in the USA Today listing.

2007 Sugar BowlLSU 41, Notre Dame 14 January 3, 2007Notre Dame entered the game ranked 10th in the Harris Poll and BCS Standings, as well as 11th in the Associated Press and USA Today polls. LSU entered the game ranked fourth in the AP, Harris, USA Today and BCS standings. The Tigers’ victory ended up ranking LSU third in both the AP and USA Today top 25. The Irish fell to 17th in the final AP voting and 19th in the USA Today listing.

2008 Hawai’i BowlNotre Dame 49, Hawai’i 21 December 24, 2008Both teams entered the contest unranked by both national polls. The Irish snapped their NCAA-record nine-game bowl losing streak. Neither team appeared in the national rankings after the game.

2010 Sun BowlNotre Dame 33, Miami (Fla.) 17 December 31, 2010Both teams entered the contest unranked by both national polls. The Irish capped the season with a victory to extend their winning streak to four games. Neither team appeared in the national rankings after the game.


Bowl records

Individual RecordsRushingRushing Attempts: 28, Allen Pinkett (111 yards) vs. Boston College, ’83 LibertyRushing Yards: 150, Jerome Bettis (16 attempts) vs. Florida, ’92 SugarRushing Yards Per Attempt (min. 10 attempts): 9.4, Jerome Bettis (16 for 150) vs. Florida,

’92 SugarRushing Touchdowns: 3, Jerome Bettis vs. Florida, ’92 Sugar; Autry Denson vs. Georgia Tech,

’99 Gator; Darius Walker vs. Ohio State, ‘06 FiestaLongest Rush: 49, Jerome Bettis vs. Florida, ’92 Sugar

PassingPass Attempts: 45, Brady Quinn (completed 29) vs. Ohio State, ‘06 FiestaPass Completions: 29, Brady Quinn (attempted 45) vs. Ohio State, ‘06 FiestaCompletion Percentage (min. 10 attempts): .846, Jimmy Clausen (22 of 26) vs. Hawai’i,

’08 Hawai’iPassing Yards: 401, Jimmy Clausen (22 of 26) vs. Hawai’i, ‘08 Hawai’iMost Yards Per Attempt: 19.4, Tony Rice vs. West Virginia (11 for 213), ’89 FiestaMost Yards Per Completion: 30.4, Tony Rice vs. West Virginia (7 for 213), ’89 FiestaPasses Had Intercepted: 4, Joe Montana vs. Houston, ’79 CottonTouchdown Passes: 5, Jimmy Clausen vs. Hawai’i, ’08 Hawai’i

ReceivingPass Receptions: 10, Arnaz Battle (84 yards) vs. North Carolina State, ’03 GatorPass Reception Yards: 177, Golden Tate vs. Hawai’i, ’08 Hawai’iTouchdown Receptions: 3, Golden Tate vs. Hawai’i, ’08 Hawai’iLongest Pass: 69, Jimmy Clausen to Golden Tate vs. Hawai’i, ’08 Hawai’i

Total OffenseTotal Offense Attempts: 55, Brady Quinn (254 yards) vs. Ohio State, ‘06 FiestaTotal Offense Yards: 395, Jimmy Clausen (28 attempts) vs. Hawai’i, ’08 Hawai’i

ScoringPoints: 18, Elmer Layden (3 TDs) vs. Stanford, ’25 Rose; Vagas Ferguson (3 TDs) vs. Texas, ’77

Cotton; Jerome Bettis (3TDs) vs. Florida, ’92 Sugar; Bettis (3 TDs) vs. Texas A&M, ’93 Cotton; Autry Denson (3 TDs) vs. Georgia Tech, ’99 Gator; Darius Walker (3TDs) vs. Ohio State, ‘06 Fiesta Bowl; Golden Tate (3TDs) vs. Hawai’i, ‘08 Hawai’i

Touchdowns: 3, Elmer Layden vs. Stanford, ’25 Rose; Vagas Ferguson vs. Texas, ’77 Cotton; Jerome Bettis vs. Florida, ’92 Sugar; Bettis vs. Texas A&M, ’93 Cotton; Autry Denson vs. Georgia Tech, ’99 Gator; Darius Walker, ‘06 Fiesta; Golden Tate vs. Hawai’i, ‘08 Hawai’i

Kicking Points: 12, David Ruffer vs. Miami, Fla. (3 FGs, 3 XPs), ’10 SunExtra Points: 7, Brandon Walker vs. Hawai’i, ’08 Hawai’iField Goals: 3, Scott Cengia vs. LSU, ’97 Independence; David Ruffer vs. Miami, Fla., ‘10 SunLongest Field Goal: 51, John Carney vs. SMU, ’84 Aloha

DefenseMost Unassisted Tackles: 18, Rod Smith vs. Florida, ’92 SugarMost Assisted Tackles: 9, Jay Case vs. Houston, ’79 CottonMost Total Tackles: 18, Rod Smith vs. Florida, ’92 Sugar

InterceptionsInterceptions: 3, Harrison Smith (16 yards) vs. Miami, Fla., ’10 SunInterception Yards: 148, Elmer Layden (2 returns) vs. Stanford, ’25 RoseLongest Interception: 78, Elmer Layden vs. Stanford, ’25 Rose

Punt ReturnsPunt Returns: 4, Dave Waymer (15 yards) vs. Houston, ’79 Cotton; Joe Howard (42 yards) vs

SMU, ’84 Aloha; Raghib Ismail (68 yards) vs. Colorado, ’91 OrangePunt Return Yards: 68, Raghib Ismail (4 returns) vs. Colorado, ’91 OrangeLongest Punt Return: 33, Steve Cichy (1 return) vs. Houston, ’79 Cotton

Kickoff ReturnsKickoff Returns: 6, Tim Brown (129 yards) vs. Texas A&M, ’88 CottonKickoff Return Yards: 144, Clint Johnson (5 returns) vs. Florida, ’92 SugarLongest Kickoff Return: 96, Armando Allen vs. Hawai’i, ’08 Hawai’i

PuntingPunts: 8, Jim Yoder (366 yards) vs. Texas, ’71 CottonPunting Average: 48.5, Elmer Layden vs. Stanford, ’25 RoseLongest Punt: 80, Elmer Layden vs. Stanford, ’25 Rose

Career RecordsRushingRushing Attempts: 57, Autry Denson (298 yards) in ’96 Orange, ’97 Independence, ’99 GatorRushing Yards: 298, Autry Denson (57 attempts) in ’96 Orange, ’97 Independence, ’99 GatorRushing Yards Per Attempt (min. 20 attempts): 5.7, Darius Walker (38 for 218) in ’06 Fiesta,

’07 SugarRushing Touchdowns: 5, Jerome Bettis in ’91 Orange, ’92 Sugar, ’93 Cotton

PassingPass Attempts: 109, Brady Quinn (completed 59) in ‘04 Insight, ‘06 Fiesta, ‘07 SugarPass Completions: 59, Brady Quinn (attempted 109) in ‘04 Insight, ‘06 Fiesta, ‘07 SugarCompletion Percentage (min. 20 attempts): .846, Jimmy Clausen (22 of 26) in ’08 Hawai’iPassing Yards: 648, Brady Quinn (59 of 109) in ‘04 Insight, ‘06 Fiesta, ‘07 SugarPasses Had Intercepted: 5, Joe Montana in ’78 Cotton, ’79 CottonTouchdown Passes: 5, Jimmy Clausen in ’08 Hawai’i

ReceivingPass Receptions: 19, Jeff Samardzija (207 yards) in ‘04 Insight, ‘06 Fiesta, ‘07 SugarPass Reception Yards: 207, Jeff Samardzija (19 receptions) in ‘04 Insight, ‘06 Fiesta, ‘07 SugarTouchdown Receptions: 4, Derrick Mayes in ’93 Cotton, ’94 Cotton, ’95 Fiesta, ’96 Orange

Total OffenseTotal Offense Attempts: 126, Brady Quinn (632 yards) in ‘04 Insight, ‘06 Fiesta, ‘07 SugarTotal Offense Yards: 632, Brady Quinn (126 attempts) in ‘04 Insight, ‘06 Fiesta, ‘07 Sugar

ScoringPoints: 36, Jerome Bettis (6 TDs) in ’92 Sugar, ’93 CottonTouchdowns: 6, Jerome Bettis in ’91 Orange, ’92 Sugar, ’93 CottonKicking Points: 20, Scott Cengia (5 FGs, 5 PATs) in ’95 Fiesta, ’96 Orange, ’97 IndependenceExtra Points: 11, Dave Reeve in ’75 Orange, ’76 Gator, ’78 CottonField Goals: 5, Scott Cengia in ’95 Fiesta, ’96 Orange, ’97 Independence

ReturnsInterceptions: 3, Harrison Smith (16 yards) vs. Miami, Fla., ’10 SunInterception Yards: 148, Elmer Layden (2 returns) in ’25 RosePunt Returns: 4, Dave Waymer (15 yards) in ’76 Gator, ’78 Cotton, ’79 Cotton; Joe Howard (42

yards) in ’83 Liberty, ’84 Aloha; Raghib Ismail (68 yards) in ’91 OrangePunt Return Yards: 68, Raghib Ismail (4 returns) in ’91 OrangeKickoff Returns: 8, Tim Brown (217 yards) in ’84 Aloha, ’88 Cotton; Clint Johnson (203 yards)

in ’92 Sugar, ’94 CottonKickoff Return Yards: 217, Tim Brown (8 returns) in ’84 Aloha, ’88 Cotton

PuntingPunts: 15, Hunter Smith (620 yards) in ’96 Orange, ’97 Independence, ’99 GatorPunting Average: 48.5, Elmer Layden in ’25 Rose

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Bowl records

Opponent Individual RecordsRushingRushing Attempts: 36, Herschel Walker (150 yards), Georgia, ’81 SugarRushing Yards: 222, Rondell Mealey (34 attempts), LSU, ’97 IndependenceRushing Yards Per Attempt (min. 10 attempts): 7.1, Eddie Phillips (23 for 164), Texas, ’71

CottonRushing Touchdowns: 3, Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska, ’73 Orange; Rashaan Salaam, Colorado,

’95 FiestaLongest Rush: 78, Rondell Mealey, LSU, ’97 Independence

PassingPass Attempts: 58, Shane Matthews (completed 28), Florida, ’92 SugarPass Completions: 28, Shane Matthews (attempted 58), Florida, ’92 Sugar; Derek Anderson

(attempted 45), Oregon State, ‘04 InsightCompletion Percentage (min. 10 attempts): .684, David Humm (13 of 19), Nebraska, ’73

OrangePassing Yards: 370, Shane Matthews (28 of 58), Florida, ’92 SugarPasses Had Intercepted: 3, Randy McEachern, Texas, ’78 Cotton; Jacory Harris, Miami, Fla.,

‘10 SunTouchdown Passes: 4, Danny Kanell, Florida State, ’96 Orange; Derek Anderson, Oregon State,

‘04 Insight

ReceivingPass Reception: 10, Jerricho Cotchery (127 yards), North Carolina State, ’03 GatorPass Reception Yards: 167, Ted Ginn Jr. (8 receptions), Ohio State, ‘06 FiestaTouchdown Receptions: 3, Andre Cooper, Florida State, ’96 OrangeLongest Pass: 85, Troy Smith to Santonio Holmes, Ohio State, ’06 Fiesta

Total OffenseTotal Offense Attempts: 65, Shane Matthews (397 yards), Florida, ’92 SugarTotal Offense Yards: 397, Shane Matthews (65 attempts), Florida, ’92 Sugar

ScoringPoints: 24, Johnny Rodgers (4 TDs), Nebraska, ’73 OrangeTouchdowns: 4, Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska, ’73 OrangeKicking Points: 16, Arden Czyzewski (5 FGs, 1 PAT), Florida, ’92 SugarExtra Points: 5, Neil Voskeritchian, Colorado, ’95 FiestaField Goals: 5, Arden Czyzewski, Florida, ’92 SugarLongest Field Goal: 47, Brandy Brownlee, SMU, ’84 Aloha

InterceptionsInterceptions: 3, Rod Johnson (36 yards), North Carolina State, ’03 GatorInterception Yards: 37, Aric Williams (one interception), Oregon State, ‘04 InsightLongest Interception: 37, Aric Williams (one interception), Oregon State, ‘04 Insight

Punt ReturnsPunt Returns: 5, Willie Shelby (34 yards), Alabama, ’75 OrangePunt Return Yards: 61, T.J. Hoshmandzadeh, Oregon State, ’01 FiestaLongest Punt Return: 52, Sammie Stroughter, Oregon State, ‘04 Insight

Kickoff ReturnsKickoff Returns: 6, Eugene Napoleon, West Virginia, ’89 FiestaKickoff Return Yards: 107, Eugene Napoleon, West Virginia, ’89 Fiesta; Malcolm Lane, Hawai’i,

‘08 Hawai’iLongest Kickoff Return: 37, Malcolm Lane, Hawai’i, ‘08 Hawai’i

PuntingPunts: 11, Mark Malkiewicz (424 yards), Georgia, ’81 SugarPunting Average: 46.3, Greg Gantt (6 for 278), Alabama, ’73 SugarLongest Punt: 69, Greg Gantt, Alabama, ’73 Sugar

Team RecordsFirst Downs: 28 vs. Texas A & M, ’93 CottonRushing Attempts: 66 vs. Alabama (185 yards), ’75 OrangeRushing Yards: 290 vs. Texas A & M (64 attempts), ’93 SugarPass Attempts: 45 vs. Ohio State (29 completions), ‘06 FiestaPass Completions: 29 vs. Ohio State (45 attempts), ‘06 FiestaCompletion Percentage (min. 10 attempts): .857 vs. Hawai’i (24 of 28), ’08 Hawai’iPassing Yards: 413 vs. Hawai’i (24 of 28), ‘08 Hawai’iPasses Had Intercepted: 4 vs. Houston, ’79 CottonTouchdown Passes: 5 vs. Hawai’i, ‘08 Hawai’iTotal Offense Attempts: 85 vs. Texas (399 yards), ’78 CottonTotal Offense Yards: 478 Hawai’i (62 plays), ‘08 Hawai’iFumbles Lost: 3 vs. Alabama, ’73 Sugar; vs. Houston, ’79 CottonTotal Turnovers: 7 vs. Houston (4 interceptions, 3 fumbles), ’79 Cotton

Opponent Team RecordsFirst Downs: 31 by LSU, ’07 SugarRushing Attempts: 67 by Texas (331 yards), ’70 CottonRushing Yards: 331 by Texas (67 yards), ’70 CottonPass Attempts: 58 by Florida (completed 28), ’92 SugarPass Completions: 28 by Florida (attempted 58), ’92 Sugar; by Oregon State (attempted 45),

‘04 InsightCompletion Percentage (min. 10 attempts): .706 by Stanford (12 of 17), ’25 RosePassing Yards: 370 by Florida (28 of 58), ’92 SugarPasses Had Intercepted: 5 by Stanford, ’25 RoseTouchdown Passes: 4 by Florida State, ’96 Orange; by Oregon State, ‘04 InsightTotal Offense Attempts: 91 by Florida (511 yards), ’92 SugarTotal Offense Yards: 617 by Ohio State (64 plays), ‘06 FiestaFumbles Lost: 5 by Texas, ’71 CottonTotal Turnovers: 8 by Stanford (5 interceptions, 3 fumbles), ’25 Rose


1925 rose Bowl game summary

PASADENA, Calif. – With the fabled Four Horsemen making their final appearance to-gether, Notre Dame ventured to the distant West Coast and proved its worth by downing Stanford 27-10 in the 1925 Rose Bowl. The win gave Notre Dame a 10-0 record for the 1924 season and the national championship.

Although Pop Warner’s Indians won the battle of the statistics-besting Notre Dame in vir-tually every offensive category-the Irish, coached by Knute Rockne, capitalized on Stanford miscues and came up on top on the scoreboard.

Stanford opened the scoring in the first quarter as Murray Cuddeback kicked a 27-yard field goal. But that was all the Indians could manage until late in the game when the outcome was almost assured.

Elmer Layden shone as a sparkling jewel in the Notre Dame crown all afternoon. The skinny fullback scored three touchdowns for the Irish, including two on interception re-turns. He also helped the Notre Dame cause with his punting that forced Stanford into poor field position on many occasions.

Layden’s first score, a three-yard plunge across the goal line, capped a 46-yard drive by Notre Dame. Although Jim Crowley’s kick failed, Notre Dame owned a 6-3 lead early in the second quarter.

Late in the second period, Layden stunned the capacity crowd of 53,000 in the Rose Bowl by intercepting an Ernie Nevers pass and galloping downfield for 78 yards for another touchdown. This time Crowley, another one of the Horsemen, converted the extra-point attempt.

Even though the stronger, more physical Stanford Indians were controlling the line play, Rockne’s swift and crafty Irish kept putting points on the scoreboard.

Late in the third quarter, Stanford fumbled an Elmer Layden punt on its own 20-yard line.

First Quarter8:00 SU Cuddeback 27 yd field goal

Second Quarter13:30 ND Layden 3 yd run (Crowley kick failed)8:00 ND Layden 78 yd interception return (Crowley kick)

A quick-thinking Ed Hunsinger picked up the ball and ran untouched into the end zone for another Notre Dame score. With Crowley’s kick, Notre Dame held a commanding 20-3 lead.

Stanford finally staged a late rally and threatened to dash the Irish hopes of a Midwest vic-tory. Nevers, a star on both offense and defense, provided the heroics as he intercepted a Notre Dame pass on the Stanford 20-yard line, thwarting an Irish scoring drive. He then guided the Indians downfield to the Notre Dame seven. Another Stanford back, Ed Walker, passed to Ted Shipkey, a two-way star for the Indians, for the score. Cuddeback’s kick brought Stanford back to within 10 points at 20-10.

The Indians moved into scoring territory again in the final stanza. Nevers brought Stanford all the way to the Notre Dame eight-inch line. But an inspired Irish line made a superb defensive stance on Nevers’ final plunge, and the Notre Dame advantage stayed intact.

Notre Dame crossed the goal line a final time with only 30 seconds left in the contest that was played in 89-degree heat. Layden again intercepted a Nevers pass and took it 70 yards into the end zone. Crowley added the final touches with his kick.

Layden and Crowley proved the Irish standouts of the afternoon, but the two other Horse-men-Don Miller and quarterback Harry Stuhldreher-also played a big part in the Notre Dame win. Stuhldreher broke an ankle early in the contest but continued to play despite the painful injury. Captain Adam Walsh anchored the line play at center.

The story of the game proved to be Notre Dame’s penchant for turning Stanford mistakes into Notre Dame scores.

“‘It is true that we got the breaks, but we would have won anyway,’’ said Rockne. ‘‘It is one thing to get the breaks and another thing to take advantage of them. Stanford played a won-derful game, but we won fairly, playing the ball as it came to us, and we hope to be given credit for that.’’

Third Quarter5:00 ND Hunsinger 20 yd fumble return (Crowley kick)1:00 SU Walker 7 yd pass from Shipkey (Cuddeback kick)

Fourth Quarter0:30 ND Layden 70 yd interception return (Crowley kick)

Jan. 1, 1925 • Pasadena, Calif. • Rose Bowl

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score

Notre Dame 0 13 7 7 27

Stanford 3 0 7 0 10

SU ND SU NDFirst Downs 17 7Yards Rushing 193 137Yards Lost Rushing 15 7Net Yards Rushing 178 130Net Yards Passing 138 56Passes Attempted 17 7Passes Completed 12 3

Had Intercepted 5 3Total Net Yards 316 186Fumbles Lost 3 1Penalties-Yards 1-15 4-30Average Per Punt 42.5 48.5Interceptions 3-7 5-139

147






1970 cotton Bowl game summary

DALLAS -- After a 45-year absence, Notre Dame reappeared on the bowl scene.The Irish, who headed into the battle with a respectable 8-1-1 record, drew the unenviable

assignment of challenging the nation’s number-one team - the unbeaten Longhorns of Texas. With visions of the Four Horsemen dancing in their heads, the Irish almost pulled off the upset. Only a 76-yard drive late in the final period, capped by Billy Dale’s one-yard scoring plunge, gave the Longhorns a hard fought 21-17 victory and insured their claim to the national title.

Although Texas won the annual Cotton Bowl Classic on this sundrenched but chilly New Year’s Day before a packed house of 73,000, Notre Dame, coached by Ara Parseghian, matched the powerful Longhorns yard for yard until the final gun.

The Irish opened the scoring in the first quarter as Scott Hempel converted a 26-yard field goal. After the opening kickoff junior quarterback Joe Theismann guided the Irish 82 yards downfield, eating up six minutes on the clock, to set the stage for Hempel’s kick.

Notre Dame scored again early in the second period as Theismann shocked the Longhorns by tossing a 54-yard touchdown bomb to Tom Gatewood on the first play from scrimmage after a Texas punt. Hempel’s kick made it 10-0 for Notre Dame.

The Longhorns first lit the scoreboard in the second quarter as they drove 74 yards in nine plays. Behind the running of Ted Koy and Jim Bertelsen and the passing of James Street, the Longhorns moved into Notre Dame territory and ended the scoring march on Bertelsen’s one-yard dash into the end zone. Happy Feller converted the PAT and the Longhorns trailed 10-7.

Neither team crossed the goal line again until the final period.Texas jumped out in front of the Irish in the fourth quarter on a bruising 77-yard drive. Steve

Worster, the game’s leading rusher with 155 yards, barreled his way through the Irish defense for long gains of eight, nine and seven yards, while Bertelsen, who finished the afternoon with 81 yards, added carries of five and six yards to the Longhorn effort. Koy took the ball in from the three, and Feller’s kick gave Texas a 14-10 lead.

First Quarter8:41 ND Hemple 26 yd field goal, 16-82 6:14

Second Quarter14:40 ND Gatewood 54 yd pass from Theismann (Hempel kick), 1-54 0:0811:12 UT Bertelsen 1 yd run (Feller kick), 9-74 3:22

Fourth Quarter10:05 UT Koy 3 yd run (Feller kick), 18-77 8:106:52 ND Yoder 24 yd pass from Theismann (Hempel kick), 8-80 2:561:08 UT Dale 1 yd run (Feller kick), 17-76 5:39

Jan. 1, 1970 • Dallas, Texas • Cotton Bowl


#8 Notre Dame 3 7 0 7 17

#1 Texas 0 7 0 14 21

Notre Dame fought right back. With Theismann at the controls, Notre Dame went 80 yards in eight plays to go ahead 17-14. The feisty Theismann put together scampers of 14 and 11 yards and tossed an 11-yard pass to Dennis Allen. The Irish finally scored on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Theismann to Jim Yoder.

With still seven minutes left in the battle, coach Darrell Royal and his Longhorns weren’t about to watch their national championship dreams be snuffed out by an upstart group of Irishmen from Notre Dame. Texas made the most of its final surge. Twice the Longhorns need-ed conversions on fourth down to maintain possession, and the final one dashed Notre Dame’s hopes. Street, on fourth and two from the Irish 10-yard line, threw low and wide to end Cotton Speyrer, but the lanky redhead snared it at the two. The Irish defense then halted a pair of Longhorn rushing plays, but on the third try, Dale found the end zone and the Longhorns had their national championship with only 1:08 left on the clock.

Notre Dame tried another comeback attempt with the seconds ticking away. Theismann brought the Irish all the way to the Texas 39, but with 28 seconds left, Tom Campbell inter-cepted Theismann’s final pass.

Worster earned the game’s offensive player award, while Notre Dame’s captain Bob Olson won the most valuable defensive player honor.

Theismann’s efforts established Cotton Bowl records in two categories. His 231 yards passing broke Roger Staubach’s previous mark of 228 (1964) and his 279 yards total offense surpassed Duke Carlisle’s 267 standard, also set in 1964.

Outstanding Defensive PlayerBob Olson, Linebacker

UT ND UT NDFirst Downs 25 25By Rushing 19 13By Passing 6 12By Penalty 0 0Rushing Attempts 67 43Yards Rushing 333 213Yards Lost Rushing 2 24Net Yards Rushing 331 189Net Yards Passing 107 231Passes Attempted 11 27Passes Completed 6 17

Had Intercepted 1 2Total Offensive Plays 78 70Total Net Yards 448 420Average Gain Per Play 5.7 6.0Fumbles: No.-Lost 2-1 0-0Penalties: No.-Yds. 1-5 2-10Interceptions: No.-Yds. 2-9 1-0Punts: No.-Yds. 4-159 7-256Average Per Punt 39.8 36.5Punt Returns: No.-Yds. 3-24 0-0Kickoff Returns: No.-Yds. 3-31 5-97

RUSHING: Texas-Worster 20-155; Bertelsen 18-81; Koy 12-40; Street 10-31; Speyrer 1-13; Dale 6-11. Notre Dame-Barz 10-49; Theismann 11-48; Allan 7-47; Huff 11-39; Yoder 2-4; Crotty 2-2.

PASSING: Texas-Street 6-11-1-107. Notre Dame-Theismann 17-27-2-231.

RECEIVING: Texas-Speyrer 4-70; Bertelsen 1-21; Peschel 1-16.

Notre Dame: Gatewood 6-112; Allan 3-43; Crotty 3-19; Huff 2-15; Yoder 1-24; Poskon 1-22; Barz 1-7.



DALLAS – Notre Dame’s defense caused nine Texas fumbles and All-America quarterback Joe Theismann personally accounted for three scores in the first 16 1/2 minutes en route to a 24-11 Irish victory in the 1971 Cotton Bowl Classic.

The victory, Notre Dame’s 10th against only one loss during the season, stopped the Long-horns’ 30-game winning string and knocked top-ranked Texas out of the race for its second consecutive national championship.

The decisive win was the first bowl victory in 46 years for Notre Dame, who returned to the postseason scene the year before after a 45-year absence.

Both teams displayed their offensive fireworks in the first half as the Irish built up a 24-11 advantage that held up until the final buzzer.

Texas cracked the scoring barrier early in the first period on Happy Feller’s 23-yard field goal. On the first play of the Texas possession, quarterback Eddie Phillips rambled 63 yards down-field on an option play. But the Notre Dame defense stiffened its resistance and the Longhorns had to settle for only the three-pointer.

Then, Theismann ignited the Notre Dame charge by rallying the Irish to three touchdowns on their next four possessions. The senior all-star guided the Irish 80 yards in only 10 plays and tossed a 26-yard pass to Tom Gatewood for the touchdown. The scoring march included another Theismann pass to Gatewood (this one for 17 yards) and a Theismann scamper of 12 yards, along with runs of seven, 11 and six yards by John Cieszkowski. Scott Hempel’s kick gave the Irish a 7-3 lead, and they never looked back.

Notre Dame increased its lead by seven 2 1/2 minutes later. Tom Eaton recovered a Texas fumble on the kickoff at the Longhorn 13-yard line. Six plays later, Theismann took the ball in himself on a three-yard run. Hempel again converted the PAT.

The Irish scored again on another Theismann run - this one from 15 yards - early in the second period. He helped the Irish march the 53 yards in the drive by tossing a 19-yard pass to Mike Creaney. Ed Gulyas contributed a 12-yard run.

First Quarter11:28 UT Feller 23 yd field goal, 5-67 1:337:58 ND Gatewood 26 yd pass from Theismann (Hempel kick), 10-80 3:395:11 ND Theismann 3 yd run (Hempel kick), 6-13 5:11

Second Quarter13:28 ND Theismann 15 yd run (Hempel kick), 5-53 1:371:52 UT Bertelsen 2 yd run (Lester pass from Phillips), 18-84 7:020:24 ND Hempel 36 yd field goal, 8-78 1:21



#6 Notre Dame 14 10 0 0 24

#1 Texas 3 8 0 0 11

Although the Longhorns had trouble getting their famed Wishbone attack off the ground because of a unique Notre Dame defensive alignment, Texas did manage another score in the second period. Phillips abandoned the run and went to the most rusty weapon in the Longhorn arsenal - the pass. He hit tight end Deryl Comer three times (for eight, 36 and 10 yards) in an 84-yard drive that climaxed on Jim Bertelsen’s two-yard run. A Phillips pass to Danny Lester added two points.

The Irish wrapped up the scoring on a 36-yard field goal by Hempel with 24 seconds remain-ing on the clock before intermission.

The second half turned into a defensive struggle as Notre Dame played it conservatively, and Texas tried to figure out the Irish defensive setup that featured six men on the line of scrim-mage - with three across from the Longhorn center.

Neither team mounted much of a scoring threat. However, in the third period, the fired-up Notre Dame defense took the steam out of a promising Longhorn drive. Irish linebacker Jim Musuraca met Bertelsen head-on at the Notre Dame 35-yard line and forced another fumble, one of five recovered by the Irish, that gave the ball and the momentum to Notre Dame.

Texas, who entered the game as the nation’s top-ranked rushing team with an average of 374 yards per game, managed only 216 yards against the Irish. Phillips accumulated 164 of those yards. Notre Dame’s ground game netted only 146 yards, paced by Cieszkowski’s 52.

Phillips, who combined for 363 yards total offense, erased Theismann’s standard of 279, set the previous year. He was voted the top offense player, while Notre Dame’s Clarence Ellis earned the defensive honor.

Outstanding Defensive PlayerClarence Ellis, Left Halfback



RUSHING: Texas-Phillips 23-164; Worster 16-42; Wiggington 6-10; Bertelsen 8-5; Dale 1-2; Lester 1-(-7). Notre Dame-Cieszkowski 13-52; Parker 13-48; Gulyas 9-24; Theismann 18-22.

PASSING: Texas-Phillips 9-17-0-199; Wiggington 1-10-1-11. Notre Dame-Theismann 9-16-1-176; Bulger 1-2-0-37; Steenberge 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: Texas-Speyrer 4-70; Bertelsen 1-21; Peschel 1-16. Notre Dame-Gatewood 6-112; Allan 3-43; Crotty 3-19; Huff 2-15; Yoder 1-24; Poskon 1-22; Barz 1-7.

149






1973 orange Bowl game summary

MIAMI – Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers proved the award was justified by scoring four touchdowns and passing for another as ninth-ranked Nebraska smashed Notre Dame 40-6 in the 1973 Orange Bowl.

Although he left the game in the third period with 81 yards rushing on 15 carries, Rodgers scored on runs of eight, four and five yards, galloped down the sidelines on a 50-yard touch-down pass play from quarterback David Humm and tossed a 52-yard scoring aerial to Frosty Anderson as the Cornhuskers rolled to their third consecutive Orange Bowl conquest.

The defeat was the worst for the Irish since Ara Parseghian took over the Notre Dame coach-ing reins in 1964.

Nebraska, a Big Eight power, bolted to a 20-0 halftime lead and added three more touch-downs - all by Rodgers - in the third period before Notre Dame managed a meaningless touchdown in the final quarter. That six-pointer, a five-yard scoring pass from Tom Clements to Pete Demmerle, kept Notre Dame’s streak of scoring in 72 straight games alive.

Rodgers scored his first touchdown in the first quarter on an eight-yard run that capped a 76-yard drive. That march also included scampers of 13 and 10 yards by Rodgers as well as runs of 12 and six yards by Dave Goeller. Rick Sanger’s kick made it Nebraska 7, Notre Dame 0.

In the second quarter, Gary Dixon helped the Huskers go 80 yards in 11 plays with a 36-yard burst. He then plunged over from the one-yard line and Sanger’s kick gave Nebraska a 14-0 lead.

On Nebraska’s next possession, Humm lateraled to Rodgers on the first play from scrimmage. Rodgers then heaved his 52-yard pass to Frosty Anderson. That put the Irish in a 20-0 hole, and they never recovered.

First Quarter11:19 UN Rodgers 8 yd run (Sanger kick), 11-76 3:41

Second Quarter14:21 UN Dixon 1 yd run (Sanger kick), 11-80 4:0412:20 UN Anderson 52 yd pass from Rodgers (Sanger kick failed), 1-52 0:09

Third Quarter11:17 UN Rodgers 4 yd run (Humm pass failed), 6-42 1:557:33 UN Rodgers 5 yd run (Sanger kick), 9-80 2:526:00 UN Rodgers 50 yd pass from Humm (Sanger kick), 1-50 0:12

Fourth Quarter13:51 ND Demmerle 24 yd pass from Clements (Clements pass failed), 15-77 7:03

Jan. 1, 1973 • Miami, Fla. • Orange Bowl


#12 Notre Dame 0 0 0 6 6

#9 Nebraska 7 13 20 0 40

Notre Dame’s first-half problems resulted mainly from its inability to take advantage of ex-cellent field position. During the first 30 minutes the Irish had first downs at the Nebraska 30, 29 and 25-yard lines but couldn’t score. On two other occasions Clements’ passes were intercepted, once at the Husker 18 and once at the Nebraska 41.

The Rodgers extravaganza continued after intermission. He scored on runs of four and five yards. He then took a screen pass from Humm and dashed 50 yards down the right sideline for the final Nebraska touchdown, its sixth of the day. Rodgers then retreated to the bench for the rest of the game. The Huskers already had inflicted enough damage on the Irish, who finished the year at 8-3.

Nebraska bested Notre Dame in just about every statistical category. The Huskers rolled up 560 yards total offense to Notre Dame’s 207. Nebraska had 300 yards on the ground and 260 through the air, while the Irish had 104 yards rushing and 103 yards passing. Notre Dame managed only 13 first downs to Nebraska’s 30.

Humm completed 13 of 19 passes for 185 yards, while his Irish counterpart Tom Clements was successful on nine of 22 attempts for 103.

In addition to his 81 yards rushing, Rodgers caught three passes for 71 yards.Nebraska ended the year at 9-2-1, losing only to UCLA and Oklahoma and tying Iowa State.

The victory proved a fitting end to the 11-year Nebraska career of head coach Bob Devaney.

UN ND UN NDFirst Downs 30 13By Rushing 20 6By Passing 9 5By Penalty 1 2Rushing Attempts 64 44Yards Rushing 328 145Yards Lost Rushing 28 41Net Yards Rushing 300 104Net Yards Passing 260 103Passes Attempted 26 23Passes Completed 17 9

Had Intercepted 1 3Total Offensive Plays 90 67Total Net Yards 560 207Avg. Gain Per Play 6.2 3.1Fumbles: No.-Lost 1-1 3-0Penalties: No.-Yds. 5-68 1-15Interceptions: No.-Yds. 3-0 1-0Punts: No.-Yds. 4-153 6-223Avg. Per Punt 38.3 37.2Punt Returns: No.-Yds. 2-3 2-18Kickoff Returns: No.-Yds. 2-34 6-84

RUSHING: Nebraska-Rodgers 15-81; Dixon 9-69; Goeller 11-43; Bahe 6-27; Runty 3-19; Damkroger 3-18; Moran 4-11; Garson 4-10; Powell 1-9; Humm 4-7; Olds 2-5; Westbrook 1-1. Notre Dame-Penick 8-48; Huff 11-22; Cieszkowski 3-21; Dewan 7-18; Best 7-15; Dim-mick 1-2; Samuel 1-0; Clements 6-(-22).

PASSING: Nebraska-Humm 13-19-0-185; Rodgers 1-1-0-52; Runty 3-6-1-23. Notre Dame: Clements 9-22-3-103; Dewan 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: Nebraska-Rodgers 3-71; Revelle 3-62; List 3-25; Anderson 2-67; Garson 2-16; Damkroger 2-13; Longwell 1-4; Goeller 1-2. Notre Dame-Dewan 3-46; Creaney 2-28; Roolf 1-15; Demmerle 1-5; Diminick 1-5; Huff 1-4.


1973 sugar Bowl game summary

NEW ORLEANS – It was to be a dream game.Two undefeated, highly-ranked teams with long and storied gridiron traditions were set to

battle for the national championship. It was billed as a classic confrontation - the game of the century.

The prognosticators’ predictions rang true as the 1973 Sugar Bowl saw Notre Dame emerge a 24-23 winner over Alabama in a thriller that saw the lead change hands six times.

Bob Thomas, who had missed two attempts earlier in the game, kicked a 19-yard field goal with 4:26 remaining to give the Fighting Irish and coach Ara Parseghian the one-point upset over top-rated Alabama. The win also clinched the national championship for Notre Dame which finished the season at 11-0.

The record crowd of 85,161 was treated to a pulsating battle that went to the wire. With three minutes to play, Alabama’s punting specialist, Greg Gantt, booted a 69-yard punt that backed up the Irish to their own one-yard line. However, Gantt was fouled on the play and Alabama was entitled to keep the ball with fourth down and five yards to go.

But Alabama’s Paul ‘‘Bear’’ Bryant elected to decline the penalty, hoping his defense could force an Irish turnover deep in their own territory. Moments later, Notre Dame quarterback Tom Clements rifled a pass to tight end Robin Weber at the 38 and secured the national cham-pionship.

The Irish opened the contest with a superb defensive effort that held the Tide without a yard gained in the first period. Led by Clements, who shot passes of 19, 26 and 14 yards to split end Pete Demmerle, the Irish offense drew first blood in the opening period. Fullback Wayne Bullock capped a 64-yard scoring drive with a six-yard gallop into the end zone.

Alabama’s thoroughbred backs made it out of the starting gate in the second period. They produced three long drives that resulted in a pair of scores - the first coming with 7:30 remain-ing. Randy Billingsley scored on a six-yard run and Bill Davis added the extra point that put Alabama up by one at 7-6.

First Quarter3:19 ND Bullock 6 yd run (Thomas kick failed), 7-64 2:32

Second Quarter7:30 UA Billingsley 6 yd run (Davis kick), 7-52 2:407:17 ND Hunter 93 yd kickoff return (Demmerle pass from Clements)0:39 UA Davis 39 yd field goal, 7-69, 2:40

Third Quarter11:02 UA Jackson 5 yd run (Davis kick), 11-93 3:572:30 ND Penick 12 yd run (Thomas kick), 1-12 0:07

Fourth Quarter9:33 UA Todd 24 yd pass from Stock (Davis kick failed), 5-39 2:144:26 ND Thomas 19 yd field goal, 11-79, 5:13

Dec. 31, 1973 • New Orleans, La. • Tulane Stadium


#3 Notre Dame 6 8 7 3 24

#1 Alabama 0 10 7 6 23

On the ensuing kickoff, Notre Dame’s Al Hunter stunned the crowd with his dazzling 93-yard return, the longest in Sugar Bowl history. The Irish went for two and converted as Clements hit Demmerle in the end zone for a 14-7 Notre Dame lead.

Alabama moved deep into Notre Dame territory late in the second quarter, but had to settle for a 39-yard field goal by Davis.

At the start of the second half, Alabama marched 93 yards and took the lead on Wilbur Jackson’s five-yard scoring plunge. Again Notre Dame charged back, but a 54-yard field goal try by Thomas fell by the wayside.

Notre Dame excited the crowd again when linebacker Drew Mahalic recovered a Tide fumble in mid-air and took the ball to the Alabama 12-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Eric Penick dashed 12 yards for the score. Thomas’ kick gave the Irish a 21-17 lead.

Early in the fourth period, the game took a zany turn with three turnovers in 90 seconds. Alabama took charge and put in its own version of the razzle-dazzle. With the ball on the Notre Dame 25, second-string quarterback Richard Todd handed off to halfback Mike Stock, then raced to the sidelines where he took a return pass from Stock and went in for the score. But Davis missed the conversion try and Bryant’s Tide, which hadn’t won a bowl game in its last four appearances, hung on to a slim two-point advantage.

Notre Dame then marched 79 yards in 11 plays. Strong runs by Hunter, Penick and Clements and a 30-yard pass from Clements to Dave Casper carried the drive to the Alabama 15-yard line. The Irish got to the three, but couldn’t get any closer when the call went to Thomas. This time he didn’t miss and the Irish had a 24-23 win.

Most Valuable PlayerTom Clements, Quarterback

UA ND UA NDFirst Downs 23 20By Rushing 15 12By Passing 7 6By Penalty 1 2Rushing Attempts 52 59Yards Rushing 233 257Yards Lost Rushing 43 5Net Yards Rushing 190 252Net Yards Passing 127 169Passes Attempted 15 12Passes Completed 10 7


RUSHING: Alabama-Jackson 11-62; Billingsley 7-54; Spivey 11-44; Todd 3-32; Stock 3-13; Beck 2-5; Culliver 2-5; Shelby 3-1; Rutledge 10-(-25). Notre Dame-Bullock 19-79; Clements 15-74; Best 12-45; Penick 9-28; Hunter 4-26.

PASSING: Alabama-Rutledge 12-7-1-88; Todd 2-2-0-14; Stock 1-1-0-25. Notre Dame-Clements 12-7-0-169.

RECEIVING: Pugh 2-28; Jackson 2-22; Sharpless 2-22; Todd 1-25; Stock 1-15; Wheeler 1-13; Billingsley 1-2. Notre Dame: Casper 3-75; Demmerle 3-59; Weber 1-35.

151







MIAMI – Alabama and Notre Dame locked horns again.Although the stakes weren’t as high (only Alabama was ranked number one, undefeated

and looking for a national championship), the atmosphere was just as electric and frenzied as the 1973 Sugar Bowl. And this game was to be Ara Parseghian’s last as head coach at Notre Dame. After 11 successful seasons and two national championships, he was hanging up his coach’s playbook.

The Fighting Irish, though decided underdogs with their 9-2 ledger, gave Parseghian a proper going-away present - a 13-11 victory that denied the Tide the national title for the second straight year and gave Alabama and coach Paul ‘‘Bear’’ Bryant its eighth consecutive non-win in bowl competition.

Notre Dame staked itself to a 13-0 lead midway through the opening half and withstood the Tide’s offensive thrust until the final gun sounded. The Irish got their first touchdown in the opening period. Alabama fumbled a Tony Brantley punt and Al Samuel recovered the ball at the Tide’s 16-yard line.

Three plays later Notre Dame faced a fourth-and-one call at the seven. Wayne Bullock pow-ered his way over the left side for three yards and a crucial first down. On the next play, he slithered into the end zone on a four-yard jaunt for the first Irish score. Dave Reeve added the extra point.

With 50 seconds left in the first quarter, the Notre Dame offense took control at its own 23-yard line and quarterback Tom Clements engineered another scoring drive - this one encom-passing 77 yards in 17 plays and taking 7:21 off the clock. The Irish attempted only one pass in the march, a nine-yard completion to Mark McLane. The running game featured McLane and Samuel working the sweeps and Bullock picking up his yardage up the middle.

The drive almost stalled at the Alabama 28-yard line when the Irish faced a fourth-and-four situation. But an offsides call on the Tide on the Irish field-goal attempt gave Notre Dame new

First Quarter6:41 ND Bullock 4 yd run (Reeve kick), 5-16 1:30

Second Quarter8:29 ND McLane 9 yd run (Reeve kick failed), 17-77 7:211:45 UA Ridgeway 21 yd field goal, 10-36 4:01

Fourth Quarter3:13 UA Schamun 48 yd pass from Todd (Pugh pass from Todd), 4-53 1:16



#9 Notre Dame 7 6 0 0 13

#2 Alabama 0 3 0 8 11

life. The Irish made the most of that resurrection, as McLane took a pitchout and ran 12 yards. Two plays later he twisted loose from the Alabama defense and went nine yards for the score. Reeve’s kick was off the mark and Notre Dame had to settle for a 13-0 lead.

The Irish fumbled on their next possession and gave the Tide the football on the Notre Dame 40-yard line. Alabama’s game plan was to go to the air, and quarterback Richard Todd hit Ozzie Newsome for 11 yards and Jerry Brown for 12 yards to help the Tide move to the Notre Dame eight-yard mark. But the Irish defense dug in, and Alabama could manage only a 21-yard field goal by Danny Ridgeway.

After a scoreless third quarter in which the Irish held Alabama to just three first downs, all by passing, Notre Dame took over at its own eight. The offense, dormant since the second quarter, surged to life. Samuel picked up 20 yards on a pair of sweeps to get the Irish out of the hole. But the Tide stopped a fourth-down try and immediately went to work.

Again, Alabama, which had averaged only 11 passes a game during the season, went to the air. Todd carried the Tide to the Irish 12-yard line but then delivered an interception to John Dubenetzky, who returned the ball 16 yards to the 26.

The Irish couldn’t put together a sustained drive and turned the ball over to Alabama with 4:29 left. On fourth down and five yards to go, Todd let loose a 48-yard touchdown pass to Russ Schamun. The Tide added two points on a conversion pass from Todd to George Pugh.

Alabama got the ball back with just under two minutes remaining. Needing only a field goal to avenge the 24-23 loss in the ’73 Sugar Bowl, Todd tossed to Schamun for a 16-yard gain and to Randy Billinsley for an eight-yard reception. But Reggie Barnett intercepted Todd’s next throw and sealed the verdict in favor of the Irish.

Offensive Most Valuable PlayerWayne Bullock, Fullback

UA ND UA NDFirst Downs 14 15By Rushing 3 14By Passing 11 0By Penalty 0 1Rushing Attempts 33 66Yards Rushing 107 215Yards Lost Rushing 45 30Net Yards Rushing 62 185Net Yards Passing 223 19Passes Attempted 29 8Passes Completed 15 4


RUSHING: Alabama-Culliver 11-60; Shelby 5-25; Todd 9-4; Billingsley 2-3; Taylor 1-1; Pugh 1-(-8); Stock 1-(-9); Rutledge 3-(-14). Notre Dame-Bullock 24-83; Samuel 10-39; McLane 8-30; Clements 11-26; Penick 6-15; Parise 3-4; Goodman 1-2; Allocco 3-(-14).

PASSING: Alabama-Todd 13-24-2-194; Rutledge 2-5-0-29. Notre Dame-Clements 4-7-1-19; Goodman 0-1-1-0.

RECEIVING: Alabama-Newsome 6-68; Schamun 5-126; Billingsley 3-17; Brown 1-12. Notre Dame-Demmerle 2-12; McLane 1-9; Goodman 1-(-2).


1976 gator Bowl game summary

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Al Hunter ignited the Notre Dame offense and tallied a pair of first-half touchdowns to spark the Fighting Irish to a 20-9 win over Penn State in the Gator Bowl before a crowd of 67,827.

Hunter, who became the first Notre Dame back to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a single season, scored in each of the initial two periods.

After the Nittany Lions jumped out to a short-lived 3-0 lead on Tony Capozzoli’s 26-yard field goal, Terry Eurick helped the Irish effort with a kickoff return of 65 yards. Hunter put together runs of six and nine yards before crossing the goal line on a one-yard dive. Dave Reeve added the extra point and the Irish were ahead for good.

In the second quarter Jim Browner recovered a Penn State fumble at the Nittany Lion 23-yard line. Six plays later, including a 12-yard pass from quarterback Rick Slager to Dan Kelleher, Reeve added three points to the Notre Dame total with a 23-yard field goal.

Notre Dame’s offense continued its surge with another touchdown by Hunter. This time the Irish covered 51 yards in 10 plays. Slager tossed a pair of 12-yard passes to tight end Ken Ma-cAfee and a 13-yarder to Hunter to move the Irish downfield. Hunter contributed an 11-yard gallop before scoring on a one-yard run. Reeve’s kick made it Notre Dame 17, Penn State 3.

With only two seconds remaining on the clock before halftime, the Irish boosted their lead to 20-3 on another 23-yard field goal by Reeve. That Irish drive was helped by a punt interfer-ence call against Penn State, one of six penalties assessed against the Nittany Lions during the game.

Led by linebackers Bob Golic, Doug Becker and Steve Heimkreiter and strong safety Jim Browner, the Irish defense clamped down on Penn State’s usually proficient offense. Notre

First Quarter7:15 PSU Capozzoli 26 yd field goal, 12-55 5:442:26 ND Hunter 1 yd run (Reeve kick), 10-35 4:38

Second Quarter8:49 ND Reeve 23 yd field goal, 6-23 1:252:20 ND Hunter 1 yd run (Reeve kick), 10-51 4:450:02 ND Reeve 23 yd field goal, 3-32 0:15

Fourth Quarter8:37 PSU Suhey 8 yd pass from Fusina (Torrey run failed), 2-8 0:37

Dec. 27, 1976 • Jacksonville, Fla. • Gator Bowl


# 15 Notre Dame 7 13 0 0 20

# 20 Penn State 3 0 0 6 9

Dame never allowed the Lions beyond their own 32 in the first half after their initial posses-sion.

And despite good yardage totals in the second half, Penn State was unable to score a touch-down until Bruce Clark blocked a punt deep in Notre Dame territory with 9:14 left in the game. Quarterback Chuck Fusina tossed an eight-yard pass to Matt Suhey on the second play from scrimmage for the score. The Nittany Lions’ two-point conversion attempt failed.

Penn State edged the Irish in total offense by one yard - gaining 274 yards to 273 for Notre Dame. The Nittany Lions gained 156 yards on the ground compared to the Irish total of 132. But 15th-ranked Notre Dame edged the Lions 141-118 in the passing department.

Hunter was the leading rusher in the game, gaining 102 yards on 26 carries. Bob Torrey paced the Nittany Lions with 63 yards in 12 tries. Suhey added 40.

Slager completed 10 of 19 passes for 141 yards, while Fusina was successful on 14 of 33 attempts. He also threw two interceptions.

MacAfee headed the Irish receiving corps with five catches for 78 yards. Kelleher hauled in three receptions for 46 yards.

The victory, Notre Dame’s third consecutive win in postseason competition, gave coach Dan Devine a 9-3 record for the 1975 campaign, his second season with the Irish. Penn State, under the direction of coach Joe Paterno, fell to 7-5.

Most Valuable PlayerAl Hunter, Left Halfback

PSU ND PSU NDFirst Downs 16 17By Rushing 9 9By Passing 6 6By Penalty 1 2Rushing Attempts 40 48Yards Rushing 180 143Yards Lost Rushing 24 11Net Yards Rushing 156 132Net Yards Passing 118 141Passes Attempted 33 20Passes Completed 14 10


RUSHING: Penn State-Torrey 12-63; Suhey 9-40; Geise 12-36; Cefalo 3-18; Fusina 2-1; Gu-man 2-(-2). Notre Dame-Hunter 26-102; Ferguson 10-22; Browner 3-10; Orsini 3-7; Slager 6-(-9).

PASSING: Penn State-Fusina 14-33-2-118. Notre Dame-Slager 10-19-0-141; Browner 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: Penn State-Cefalo 5-60; Torrey 3-(-3); Suhey 2-17; Mauti 1-21; Donovan 1-11; Shuler 1-10; Guman 1-2. Notre Dame: MacAfee 5-78; Kelleher 3-46; Hunter 1-13; Orsini 1-4.

153







DALLAS – And then there were none. Not one unbeaten football team in major college football remained.

Dan Devine’s Fighting Irish of Notre Dame took care of the last one, using an unrelenting defense to force six Texas turnovers and an opportunistic offense which capitalized on five of them to rout the previously unbeaten Longhorns 38-10 in the Cotton Bowl and claim the national championship for themselves.

The victory elevated Notre Dame into the top spot in both the AP and UPI final polls. Mean-while, Texas - which had held the number-one ranking in both polls coming into the game - slipped to fourth in AP and fifth in UPI.

The Irish were devastating, particularly in the trenches, where the Irish defensive line threw a lasso around Texas Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell. Though Campbell did gain 116 yards on 29 carries, they were all tough yards. His longest run from scrimmage was only 18 late in the second quarter.

The Irish also forced the Longhorns into six turnovers, three fumbles and three interceptions, and took advantage of what Texas gave them with an offensive line performance which was awesome.

Backs Jerome Heavens and Vagas Ferguson gained 102 and 100 yards, respectively, by going where the Longhorns weren’t. Ferguson, who also scored three touchdowns, won the out-standing offensive player honor.

Defensively, the top honor went to Irish middle linebacker Bob Golic, who made 17 tackles and blocked a field-goal attempt by Russell Erxleben.

After the teams had traded field goals in the first quarter - Notre Dame’s Dave Reeve hit a 47-yarder (after a Texas fumble) before Erxleben connected on a 42-yarder into a 12 mph wind - Golic and teammates Mike Calhoun and Doug Becker forced a Ham Jones fumble on a screen pass from Randy McEachern and Jim Browner recovered at the Longhorn 27.

First Quarter11:35 ND Reeve 47 yd field goal, 4-32 0:596:07 UT Erxleben 42 yd field goal, 11-80 5:18

Second Quarter14:56 ND Eurick 6 yd run (Reeve kick), 5-27 1:0611:37 ND Eurick 10 yd run (Reeve kick), 5-35 1:327:28 ND Ferguson 17 yd pass from Montana (Reeve kick) 3-20 0:390:00 UT Lockett 13 yd pass from McEachern (Erxleben kick) 6-68 2:20

Third Quarter6:49 ND Ferguson 3 yd run (Reeve kick) 7-29 2:20

Fourth Quarter9:41 ND Ferguson 26 yd run (Reeve kick), 5-50 2:01



#5 Notre Dame 3 21 7 7 38

#1 Texas 3 7 0 0 10

Senior captain Terry Eurick scored on the fifth play after that turnover to give the Irish a 10-3 lead on the first play of the second quarter.

Defensive tackle Ken Dike then got into the act on Texas’ next possession, stripping a scram-bling McEachern of the ball, which Willie Fry recovered at the Longhorn 35.

Five plays later, Eurick scampered in from the 10 for a 17-3 lead.An interception by linebacker Becker set up Notre Dame’s third touchdown of the period, a

17-yard pass from Joe Montana to Ferguson.But the Longhorns threw a scare into the Irish late in the quarter when McEachern directed

a 68-yard, six-play drive in just 22 seconds to score. The touchdown came on a 13-yard aerial from McEachern to Mike Lockett after Irish safety Jim Browner had been called for interference on the last play of the first half.

The Irish regained the lost momentum when linebacker Steve Heimkreiter intercepted a McEachern pass midway through the third quarter. Ferguson went the final three yards on the 29-yard drive off left tackle to score, making it 31-10.

The loss ended a storybook season for first-year coach Fred Akers whose Longhorns had won 11 straight games. Notre Dame survived an early loss to Mississippi to finish 11-1 with 10 straight victories.

Most Outstanding Offensive PlayerVagas Ferguson, Running Back

Most Outstanding Defensive PlayerBob Golic, Linebacker



RUSHING: Texas-Campbell 29-116; Jones 11-63; Thompson 1-2; Johnson 1-2; McEachern 8-(-52). Notre Dame-Heavens 22-101; Ferguson 21-100; Eurick 4-16; Lisch 2-16; Stone 2-4; Mitchell 1-3; Montana 1-3.

PASSING: Texas-McEachern 11-24-3-160. Notre Dame-Montana 10-25-1-111; Lisch 4-7-0-45.

RECEIVING: Texas-Harris 4-57; Jackson 3-33; Jones 1-34; Miksch 1-18; Lockett 1-13; Jones 1-5. Notre Dame: MacAfee 4-45; Waymer 3-38; Ferguson 3-23; Haines 2-29; Eurick 1-12; Pallas 1-9.



DALLAS – Notre Dame utilized a miracle rally beginning midway through the fourth period to shock Houston 35-34 and capture the 43rd and coldest Cotton Bowl. It featured a comeback that many longtime observers called the greatest in Irish football history.

Quarterback Joe Montana, who missed most of the third quarter because of below-normal body temperature, captained an Irish rescue mission which saw the gold and green put 23 points on the board in the final seven minutes and 37 seconds, erasing a 34-12 Cougar lead in the process.

What happened in the last 7:37 was mind-boggling. For starters, the tide turned when freshman reserve fullback Tony Belden blocked a Jay Wyatt punt and classmate Steve Cichy picked it up in a crowd and rambled 33 yards for an Irish score. Notre Dame, electing to go for two, narrowed the deficit to 34-20 when Montana connected with tailback Vagas Ferguson in the end zone.

After his team had forced another Wyatt punt, Montana shifted into overdrive when the Irish regained possession at their own 39-yard line with 5:40 remaining on the clock.

On three straight plays the senior signal caller connected with freshman tight end Dean Masztak, fullback Jerome Heavens and flanker Pete Holohan for respective gains of 17, 30 and 11 (the last one on pass interference) yards. Two plays later Montana swept left end for two yards and a touchdown. Two points were once again a must for the Irish, who brought the score to 34-28 with a Montana-to-Haines completion.

The once dumfounded Notre Dame legions suddenly had reason to cheer. Their Irish were rolling, or so it seemed, until all momentum seemed gone with 2:05 left in the game. It was then when Montana fumbled after a 16-yard run to the Houston 20 and Cougar Tommy Ebner recovered.

First Quarter6:55 ND Montana 3 yd run (Unis kick failed), 9-66 3:414:40 ND Buchanan 1 yd run (Montana pass failed), 6-25 2:150:17 UH Adams 15 yd pass from Davis (Hatfield kick), 3-12 1:14

Second Quarter6:27 UH Love 1 yd run (Hatfield kick), 6-21 2:053:00 UH Hatfield 21 yd field goal, 6-21 2:160:03 UH Hatfield 34 yd field goal, 7-39 1:08

Third Quarter6:29 UH Davis 2 yd run (Hatfield kick), 8-30 3:464:40 UH Davis 5 yd run (Hatfield kick), 3-19 1:18

Fourth Quarter7:25 ND Cichy 33 yd blocked punt return (Ferguson pass from Montana)4:15 ND Montana 2 yd run (Haines pass from Montana), 5-61 1:220:00 ND Haines 8 yd pass from Montana (Unis kick), 4-29 0:28



#10 Notre Dame 12 0 0 23 35

#9 Houston 7 13 14 0 34

The Irish defense stiffened, and with a fourth-and-one from the Cougar 29 and 35 seconds left, Yeoman overruled a possible punt to go for the first down that would seal a win for the Southwest Conference champions. But Notre Dame held on a great stop by freshman Joe Gramke and the Irish took over with 28 ticks of the clock left, just 29 yards short of paydirt.

Montana, who needed a dose of chicken soup to help erase his hypothermic condition, started the last-ditch Irish effort by running for 11 yards and then throwing to Kris Haines for a gain of 10.

On the next play Montana, the same Montana who had earlier thrown four interceptions, wasted little time getting rid of the ball, tossing it quickly to the right corner of the end zone and in the direction of Haines. The pass was incomplete, but Montana’s quickness in releasing stopped the clock with two seconds remaining and gave the Irish one last chance.

Montana, calling for the same play twice in a row, then proceeded to hit Hines with the tying touchdown pass.

Joe Unis, a Dallas native, came on to kick the extra point. An illegal procedure penalty nul-lified the winning point, so Unis had to do it all over. He did, and the miracle was history.

Most Valuable PlayerJoe Montana, Quarterback

UH ND UH NDFirst Downs 16 13By Rushing 12 4By Passing 3 7By Penalty 1 2Rushing Attempts 63 40Yards Rushing 253 144Yards Lost Rushing 24 13Net Yards Rushing 239 131Net Yards Passing 60 163Passes Attempted 13 37Passes Completed 4 13

Had Intercepted 0 4Total Offensive Plays 76 77Total Net Yards 289 294Average Gain Per Play 3.8 3.8Fumbles: No.-Lost 6-3 3-3Penalties: No.-Yds. 6-38 8-74Interceptions: No.-Yds. 4-43 0-0Punts: No.-Yds. 10-255 7-184Average Per Punt 25.5 26.3Punt Returns: No.-Yds. 2-(-2) 5-48Kickoff Returns: No.-Yds. 2-33 6-136

RUSHING: Houston-Davis 19-76; King 21-74; Love 22-73; Brown 1-6. Notre Dame-Heavens 16-71; Montana 7-26; Ferguson 10-19; Pallas 4-11; Mitchell 1-3; Buchanan 2-1.

PASSING: Houston-Davis 4-12-0-60; Brown 0-1-0-0. Notre Dame-Montana 13-34-3-163; Koegel 0-3-0-0.

RECEIVING: Houston-Adams 2-35; Herring 2-25. Notre Dame: Heavens 4-60; Haines 4-31; Masztak 3-49; Holohan 1-14; Ferguson 1-9.

155







NEW ORLEANS – The day before Georgia met Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, Vince Dooley was hoping his football players would spend New Year’s Eve night ‘‘in their hotel rooms, watching what-ever it is they drop in New York, that ball or whatever.”

By the time the two teams had played out Georgia’s 17-10 win over Notre Dame in the 47th Sugar Bowl, Georgia had watched and claimed everything that fell from the heavens of the Superdome, including its first national championship.

The Bulldogs capitalized on two critical Notre Dame mistakes in the first half for touchdown drives of one and 22 yards, then fought back repeated Notre Dame threats in the second half giving 12-0 Georgia its first unbeaten season since 1946.

After seventh-ranked Notre Dame took a 3-0 lead on the game’s first possession, the Irish drove to the Georgia 31 the next time they had the ball. But freshman Terry Hoage shot through the middle to block Harry Oliver’s 48-yard field goal attempt. The play did two things. It led to Georgia’s first score and warned Notre Dame of the strange perils that lay ahead.

The game’s most valuable player, Herschel Walker, ran the ball six times to the Notre Dame 19 before the drive stopped and Rex Robinson kicked a 46-yard field goal to make it 3-3.

Robinson kicked off and drove the ball high and deep. Notre Dame deep backs Jim Stone and Ty Barber drifted away from the ball before it hit near the goal and began bouncing laterally. Stone had called for Barber to take the kick, but the crowd noise drowned out the call. Stone went after the ball but Georgia’s Bob Kelly recovered at the one. Two plays later Walker dove over from the one and Georgia was ahead to stay 10-3.

If the 59-yard onsides kick hadn’t done enough damage, Notre Dame gave Georgia the eventual game-winning score in the first minute of the second quarter.

Notre Dame fullback John Sweeney’s only carry of the game ended in a fumble when he was hit by linebacker Frank Ros at the Notre Dame 20. Chris Welton recovered for Georgia at the 22, the first of four Notre Dame turnovers.

Walker ran off right tackle for 12 yards and quarterback Buck Belue scrambled for seven more to the three. Walker took it over from there, scooting around right end untouched. Georgia had only three first downs and a 17-3 lead.

After Georgia went ahead on Walker’s run, Notre Dame drove to the Bulldog 13 but again came away frustrated. Quarterback Mike Courey’s lob pass for Pete Holohan was intercepted by Scott Wo-

First Quarter10:41 ND Oliver 50 yd field goal, 9-48 4:191:45 UG Robinson 46 yd field goal, 8-20 3:381:04 UG Walker 1 yd run (Robinson kick), 2-1 0:41

Second Quarter13:49 UG Walker 3 yd run (Robinson kick), 3-22 0:17

Third Quarter0:54 ND Carter 1 yd run (Oliver kick) 10-57 4:25

Jan. 1, 1981 • New Orleans, La. • Louisiana Superdome


#7 Notre Dame 3 0 7 0 10

#1 Georgia 10 7 0 0 17

erner in the end zone. Midway through the third period the game’s next serious threat developed when Notre Dame again drove to the Georgia 13. It was stopped when Woerner tipped away a Blair Kiel pass to Holohan in the end zone.

If Georgia’s special teams ignited the win, the Bulldog defense fanned the flames in the second half. Belue went almost 58 minutes of the game without a completion and finished one-for-12. Walker, who gained 95 yards on 17 first-half carries managed only 55 on 19 second-half attempts.

As the third period wore on, Notre Dame’s size began taking its toll on the smaller Bulldogs. Hanging in became an obvious chore.

With five minutes rem aining in the third period Kiel - who quarterbacked the entire second half after Courey broke his right hand just before halftime - drove Notre Dame 57 methodical yards in 10 impressive plays. Phil Carter scored from one yard out and Oliver’s kick made it 17-10 with :54 left in the third period.

On its next possession Notre Dame drove from its 46 to the Georgia 27 in five quick plays. But just when it appeared the Irish had the Bulldogs on the ropes, Woerner made another big play. On third and three at the Bulldog 20, the Georgia safety sliced through and dropped Phil Carter for a one-yard loss. Oliver - who had a one-for-four day on field goals - missed a 38-yard attempt.

Georgia defensive coordinator Erk Russell watched the mounting Irish momentum with a degree of concern. Notre Dame’s domination - the Irish outgained Georgia 328 yards to 127 and had a 78-65 edge in plays - appeared to be mounting with each possession.

With nine minutes remaining Georgia had an opportunity to put Notre Dame out of reach of a one-touchdown comeback. Kiel’s deep sideline pass from Hunter was intercepted by Mike Fisher at the Notre Dame 37. An incomplete long pass and two running plays by Walker gained six yards. Robinson pushed his 48-yard field goal wide to the right.

Most Outstanding Offensive PlayerVagas Ferguson, Running Back

Most Outstanding Defensive PlayerBob Golic, Linebacker

UG ND UG NDFirst Downs 17 10By Rushing 10 8By Passing 7 1By Penalty 0 1Rushing Attempts 50 52Yards Rushed 206 181Yards Lost Rushing 16 61Net Yards Rushing 190 120Net Yards Passing 138 7Passes Attempted 28 13Passes Completed 14 1


RUSHING: Georgia-Walker 36-150; Womack 1-2; Norris 2-2; Belue 13-(-34). Notre Dame-Carter 27-109; Courey 5-40; Kiel 10-27; Stone 6-12; Sweeney 1-2; Buchanan 1-0.

PASSING: Georgia-Belue 1-12-0-7; Walker 1-0-0-0. Notre Dame-Kiel 14-27-2-138; Courey 0-1-1-0.

RECEIVING: Georgia-Arnold 1-7. Notre Dame: Holohan 4-44; Hunter 3-29; Carter 2-24; Masztak 2-22; Vehr 2-14; Buchanan 1-5.


1983 lIBert y Bowl game summary

MEMPHIS Tenn. – Notre Dame risked being labeled a ‘‘Scrooge’’ by finally shedding its chari-table image in the 1983 Liberty Bowl.

After literally giving away victory and a chance at a major bowl bid to Penn State and Air Force in the waning seconds of the last two games of the regular season, the Irish defense tightened its money clip and emphatically refused Boston College’s request for a 10-2 record and residency among the nation’s top 10 teams.

With just 1:08 left on the clock and the Irish clinging to a perilously slim 19-18 advantage, Boston College faced a crucial fourth-and-four situation at the Notre Dame 35-yard line. Quar-terback Doug Flutie, the Eagles’ shifty 5-9 junior who already had completed 16 of 36 passes for 287 yards, was threatening to pull off another magical comeback.

But Flutie’s last attempt fell incomplete. The Notre Dame defense blitzed and forced Flutie, who had slipped on the frozen turf, to unload the ball a bit sooner than planned. Freshman cornerback Troy Wilson smothered intended receiver Joe Giaquinto, who dove for Flutie’s pass and missed.

The Irish took possession with just a minute left and needed only to run out the clock for the 19-18 victory in Memphis. The Notre Dame defense had clung to its final margin of victory for 22 minutes-an eternity for Irish players, coaches and fans who were shivering with the thought of deja vu.

Senior quarterback Blair Kiel, who was relegated to relief duties after the first three games of the season, regained the starting nod on the basis of his off-the-bench performance in the last game against Air Force. He responded by completing 11 of 19 passes for 151 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to freshman Alvin Miller.

Kiel’s accurate passing complemented Notre Dame’s two-pronged running attack which somehow managed to establish a strong footing on the icy field that was slippery between the hash marks and soft on the sides.

Instead of the usual I-formation, fullback Chris Smith and tailback Allen Pinkett shared time behind the huge Irish offensive line. The set-up was new, but the plays were the same. And the wrinkles caused the Eagle defense plenty of problems. Pinkett skated for 111 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 28 carries, while it took Smith 18 tries to gain his personal best of 104 yards.

But despite the offensive displays of Flutie and Kiel and Company and the last-minute heroics

First Quarter12:07 BC Brennan 17 pass from Flutie (Waldron kick failed), 7-63 2:534:24 ND Pinkett 1 yd run (Johnston kick), 16-87 7:43

Second Quarter11:49 ND Miller 13 yd pass from Kiel (Johnston kick blocked), 6-4 1:028:19 ND Pinkett 3 yd run (Johnston kick blocked), 6-53 2:117:02 BC Phelan 28 yd pass from Flutie (Flutie pass failed), 4-69 1:08

Third Quarter7:20 BC Gieselman 3 yd pass from Flutie (Flutie pass failed), 10-85 4:00

Dec. 29, 1983 • Memphis, Tenn. • Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium


#12 Boston College 6 6 6 0 18


of the Irish defense, the difference in the game proved to be Mike Johnston’s one successful extra point. His next two attempts were blocked, but he still fared better than the Eagles. Brian Waldron slipped on his only try and both two-point conversion attempts failed.

Flutie’s pinpoint passing (three completions for 64 yards) moved Boston College into the end zone in just seven plays after the opening kickoff. Flutie’s favorite receiver, Brian Brennan, dove for a 17-yard touchdown catch to put the Eagles on the board.

But the Irish came right back with a 15-play, 87-yard drive that consumed nearly eight min-utes. On fourth and one, Pinkett crossed the goal line. Johnston kicked the only successful PAT of the evening and Notre Dame led 7-6.

Holding penalties thwarted Notre Dame’s next two scoring opportunities and nearly wiped out a third after Golic blocked a John Mihalik punt and Stacey Toran recovered at the Eagles’ six. But on third and 14, Kiel lofted a scoring pass to Miller, who had only caught two the entire season.

On their next possession, the Irish marched 53 yards in six plays as Pinkett scored from the three around right end. Notre Dame moved in front 19-6.

But Flutie got back on track after the ensuing kickoff with a 42-yard pass to fullback Bob Biestek. Three plays later he connected with flanker Gerard Phelan for a 28-yard touchdown.

The Irish opened the second half by driving to the Eagles’ 15 but were forced to give up the football when Pinkett was stopped short on fourth and one.

Flutie then directed the Eagles 85 yards downfield and tossed a three-yard scoring pass to tight end Scott Gieselman. But Tony Furjanic, Notre Dame’s defensive MVP with seven tackles and an interception, batted Flutie’s two-point conversion pass away from Gieselman, and the Irish were still ahead, 19-18.

Defensive Most Valuable PlayerTony Furjanic, Linebacker

ND BC ND BCFirst Downs 19 15By Rushing 12 6By Passing 7 9By Penalty 0 0Rushing Attempts 54 29Yards Rushing 253 126Yards Lost Rushing 28 33Net Yards Rushing 225 93Net Yards Passing 151 287Passes Attempted 19 38Passes Completed 11 16Had Intercepted 1 2

Total Offensive Plays 73 67Total Net Yards 376 380Average Per Play 5.14 5.66Return Yards 10 0Fumbles: No.-Lost 3-1 1-0Penalties: No.-Yds. 5-47 7-55Interceptions: No.-Yds. 2-3 1-0Punts: No.-Yds. 6-17 16-168Average Per Punt 28.5 28.0Punt Returns: No.-Yds. 2-7 1-0Kickoff Returns: No.-Yds. 4-55 4-83

RUSHING: Boston College-Stradford 16-51, Flutie 5-32; Browne 4-13, Biestek 2-8, Bell 1-3, Team 1-(-14). Notre Dame-Pinkett 28-111, Smith 18-104, Brooks 2-26, Miller 1-7, Kiel 5-23.

PASSING: Boston College-Flutie 16-37-1-287, Brennan 0-1-0-0. Notre Dame-Kiel 11-19-1-151.

RECEIVING: Boston College-Brennan 4-91, Phelan 4-52, Geiselman 3-19, Stradford 2-17, Bi-estek 1-42, Martin 1-36, Murphy 1-30. Notre Dame: Bavaro 5-52, Miller 3-31, Jackson 2-25, Howard 1-43.

157






1984 aloHa Bowl game summary

HONOLULU – It had all the earmarks of a classic Notre Dame comeback.In fact, the Irish already had done it once that day-rebounding from a quick 14-0 deficit to tie

the contest at 17 heading into the final period of the Aloha Bowl against SMU.This time, the Ponies had grabbed a 27-17 advantage with 6:13 remaining. With SMU ex-

pecting a pass, Notre Dame ran nine straight times in a 2:57 period before John Carney’s 31-yard field goal at the 3:15 mark.

The Irish defense then did the job, halting Reggie Dupard on a third-and-four attempt from the SMU 26. Mike Kovaleski stopped him after only a single yard.

After SMU’s punt, quarterback Steve Beuerlein went to work from the Irish 23 with 2:42 left on the clock. Beuerlein had thrown only 12 passes to that point in the game. He would throw 11 in the next 2:19, almost enough for a patented Notre Dame finish. But he finished one short.

A second down Beuerlein run for 14 yards gave the Irish a first down at the SMU 17. Mark Bavaro grabbed a first-down pass for one yard and the clock kept moving. On second down, Beuerlein’s throw for Joe Howard near the goal line caught Howard leaning the wrong direc-tion. On third down, Beuerlein threw for Tim Brown, only to have the ball tipped into the air and knocked to the ground by SMU safety Tim Green. On fourth down, Beuerlein scrambled out of the pocket to his right and found Milt Jackson open in the end zone.

For the 10th-ranked Mustangs, it marked the moment of their 27-20 victory. Beuerlein’s throw was just past the outstretched hands of Jackson with 23 seconds remaining.

SMU took advantage of its quickness to put touchdowns on the board on its initial two pos-sessions. Junior quarterback Don King threw for 24 yards on the first SMU play from scrim-mage, then Dupard ran for 11 yards the next down. A sprained ankle quickly put Dupard on the sidelines, but it mattered little. Sophomore Jeff Atkins-who eventually earned the offen-sive MVP award-caught a key 16-yard pass on third down and eventually scored on a seven-yard run.

First Quarter6:07 SMU Atkins 7 yd run (Brownlee kick) 10-78 4:08

Second Quarter11:35 SMU Morrison 12 yd pass from King (Brownlee kick), 14-80 6:288:26 ND Pinkett 17 yd pass from Beuerlein (Carney kick), 7-47 2:594:23 ND Carney 51 yd field goal, 7-51 3:010:07 SMU Brownlee 47 yd field goal, 12-49 4:16

Third Quarter3:50 ND Brooks 11 yd run (Carney kick), 5-40 2:10

Fourth Quarter6:13 SMU Dupard 2 yd run (Brownlee kick), 7-50 3:153:15 ND Carney 31 yd field goal, 9-65 2:57

Dec. 29, 1984 • Honolulu, Hawaii • Aloha Stadium


#17 Notre Dame 0 10 7 3 20

#10 SMU 7 10 0 10 27

The next time they had the ball, the Mustangs drove 80 yards in 14 plays-with King throw-ing to Cobby Morrison for a 21-yard score. King made the key play of that drive, throwing for 21 yards to Ron Morris on a third-and-18 call from the Irish 29.

Brown returned the SMU kickoff 53 yards to the SMU 47 - and Pinkett went to work. He carried five times down to the Pony 17 before catching a pass from Beuerlein in the end zone for the touchdown. The Irish defense held this time, and Notre Dame again went to work.

Starting from their own 15, the Irish had a 27-yard pass to Alonzo Jefferson nullified by clip-ping. Still, they came right back with a 15-yarder to Bavaro plus a facemask violation against SMU-then a 28-yard shovel pass to Jefferson. Another key stop of Jefferson on third and two by SMU halted the march-but Carney connected from 51 yards (the longest of his career and an Aloha Bowl record) to make it 14-10. SMU scored the final points of the half on a 47-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining to make it 17-10 at the break.

Notre Dame was able to force Mustang punts on the first three possessions of the second half, but the Irish couldn’t take advantage until the third try. Pinkett ran off gains of 11 and 13 yards, and Mark Brooks finally took it in from 11 for a 17-17 tie with 2:10 left in the third period.

SMU came right back to take the lead on an agonizingly long, 19-play drive that took more than seven minutes off the clock. The Ponies did it the hard way, with Dupard twice converting on fourth-down runs after SMU reached the Notre Dame 25. Brandy Brownlee’s 30-yard field goal made it 20-17 with 11:47 left in the game.

The Mustangs needed seven running plays to score what appeared to be the clinching touchdown. Atkins took a pitch for 22 yards and Dupard added 11 before Dupard’s eventual two-yard scoring run.

ND SMU ND SMUFirst Downs 22 26By Rushing 12 18By Passing 9 7By Penalty 1 1Yards Rushing 250 280Yards Lost Rushing 32 54Net Yards Rushing 218 226Net Yards Passing 144 153Passes Attempted 23 17Passes Completed 11 9Had Intercepted 0 0

Total Offensive Plays 66 81Total Net Yards 362 379Average Gain Per Play 5.5 4.7Return Yards 42 25Fumbles: No.-Lost 0-0 4-0Penalties: No.-Yds. 5-44 5-55Interceptions: No.-Yds. 0-0 0-0Punts: No.-Yds. 4-166 5-205Average Per Punt 41.5 41.0Punt Returns: No.-Yds. 4-42 2-25Kickoff Returns: No.-Yds. 4-105 2-55

RUSHING: SMU-Atkins 17-112, Dupard 23-103, Hashaway 8-34, Morrison 7-26, Morris 1-(-13), King 8-(-36). Notre Dame-Pinkett 24-136, Jefferson 9-60, Brooks 4-19, Beuerlein 5-7, Brown 1-(-4).

PASSING: SMU-King 9-17-0-153. Notre Dame-Beuerlein 11-23-0-144.

RECEIVING: SMU-Atkins 2-31, Hashaway 2-27, Morris 2-27, Dupard 1-39, Pleasant 1-17, Morrison 1-12. Notre Dame: Jefferson 2-37, Howard 2-24, Bavaro 2-16, Brown 1-16, Jackson 1-13, Pinkett 1-17, Smith 1-11, Gray 1-10.



DALLAS – For Notre Dame the 1988 Cotton Bowl closely resembled the 1987 season - a good start and a tough luck finish. The Irish, appearing in their first New Year’s Day bowl in seven years, played like the team that shut down Michigan and Alabama-for almost a half, anyway.

But Texas A&M made the most of a costly second-period Irish turnover, and the momentum and breaks went the Aggies’ direction the rest of the way as the Southwest Conference cham-pions rolled to a 35-10 victory.

After losing the last two games of the regular season, the Irish looked like they were back on track on the opening kickoff, a 37-yard return by Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown, his lon-gest of the season. The next three plays were Anthony Johnson left, Anthony Johnson middle, and Anthony Johnson right to pound out the first down. Then Terry Andrysiak, playing for the first time since breaking his collarbone in October, took to the air with a 29-yard strike to Brown to the Aggie 20. After two runs for short gains, Notre Dame found itself facing a third down and seven. But once again it was Andrysiak to Brown, this time for 17 yards and a touchdown.

Texas A&M missed a field goal on the next possession, but a career long 64-yard punt by Craig Stump late in the quarter put the Irish on their own two-yard line and helped get the ball back to the Aggies in a hurry. Scott Slater managed to put a 26-yarder through the uprights as time expired in the first quarter.

The second quarter started out like the first. Notre Dame scored on its first possession with a 36-yard field goal by Ted Gradel. The Irish defense held the Aggies to 23 yards on their next drive and the Irish again began to march down the field. Andrysiak to Brown for 22. Andrysiak to Brown for 24. Andrysiak to Reggie Ward for 13. The Irish seemed unstoppable as they stood poised on the 18-yard line ready to score again.

Then, with 4:06 on the clock, the bottom fell out. A play-action pass intended to go right went left. Andrysiak’s pass to tight end Andy Heck was picked off in the end zone by Alex Morris who made a one-handed catch and barely landed in bounds. The Aggies came alive.

First Quarter11:25 ND Brown 17 pass from Andrysiak (Gradel kick), 7-59 3:280:00 A&M Slater 26 yd field goal, 7-30 3:09

Second Quarter10:52 ND Gradel 36 yd field goal, 9-51 4:031:42 A&M Thompson 24 yd pass from Lewis (Slater kick), 6-80 2:240:26 A&M Horton 2 yd run (Hartley run), 4-21 1:02

Third Quarter3:35 A&M Richardson 1 yd run (Slater kick), 5-23 1:43

Fourth Quarter8:32 A&M Slater 25 yd field goal, 9-59 4:175:10 A&M Richardson 8 yd run (Slater kick), 5-30 2:43



#12 Notre Dame 7 3 0 0 10

#13 Texas A&M 3 15 7 10 35

Backup Lance Pavlas, who alternated at quarterback with the game’s offensive MVP, Bucky Richardson, directed an 80-yard drive highlighted by a 33-yard pass to Gary Oliver. But it was freshman halfback Darren Lewis who took a pitch, stopped short and hit Tony Thompson for a 24-yard touchdown to tie the game.

The Irish took over on their own 29-yard line, but not for long. Braxston Banks dropped a short pass from Andrysiak and a controversial fumble call gave the Aggies the football. Four plays later Larry Horton drove two yards for an A&M touchdown with 0:26 left in the half. A ‘‘swinging gate’’ play, in which Wally Hartley ran three yards behind a wall of Aggies, gave Texas A&M the two-point conversion and an 18-10 halftime lead.

Texas A&M’s momentum continued into the second half as the Aggies drove 80 yards to the Notre Dame one-yard line on their first possession. The Irish had a chance to stem the tide when Wes Pritchett hit Matt Gurley, forcing a fumble. Brandy Wells recovered for Notre Dame in the end zone for the touchback. But on the next play tailback Mark Green fumbled the ball and Dana Batiste recovered for A&M. A defensive pass interference penalty moved the Aggies down to the eight-yard line. Then Richardson ran one yard for the touchdown.

The Aggies continued to dominate the Irish in the fourth quarter, shutting out Brown, keep-ing Andrysiak to only two completions and holding Notre Dame to only 76 yards in the second half. Kip Corrington stopped Andrysiak on fourth and nine on the Aggie 28-yard line early in the quarter, ending any hopes of an Irish comeback. The Aggies ran at the Irish for 59 yards, setting up a Scott Slater 25-yard field goal with 8:32 on the clock.

Corrington would haunt Andrysiak again, this time with an interception of another pass intended for Heck on the Irish 30-yard line. Texas A&M wasted no time converting the turn-over into the final score of the game as Richardson ran eight yards for his second touchdown.

ND A&M ND A&MFirst Downs 16 24By Rushing 5 17By Passing 10 5By Penalty 2 2Rushing Attempts 36 59Yards Rushing 92 298Yards Lost Rushing 18 4Net Yards Rushing 74 294Net Yards Passing 203 116Passes Attempted 28 17Passes Completed 15 8

Had Intercepted 2 0Total Offensive Plays 64 76Total Net Yards 277 410Average Per Play 4.3 5.4Fumbles: No.-Lost 2-2 1-1Penalties: No.-Yds. 6-64 6-55Interceptions: No.-Yds. 0-0 2-0Punts: No.-Yds. 5-157 4-169Average Per Punt 31.4 42.2Punt Returns: No.-Yds. 1-4 2-9Kickoff Returns: No.-Yds. 8-15 12-33

RUSHING: Texas A&M-Richardson 13-96, Woodside 17-73, Gurley 15-60, Lewis 7-52, Horton 5-13, Pavlas 1-0, Costar 1-0. Notre Dame-Johnson 8-20, Andrysiak 11-15, Green 5-14, Banks 5-9, Graham 2-9, Brooks 3-7, Rice 1-3, Watters 1-(-3).

PASSING: Texas A&M-Pavlas 5-7-0-77, Richardson 2-9-0-15, Lewis 1-1-0-24. Notre Dame-Andrysiak 15-25-1-203, Rice 0-3-1-0.

RECEIVING: Texas A&M-Woodside 2-22, Oliver 1-33, Thompson 1-24, Harris 1-19, Morgan 1-16, Lewis 1-6, Waddle 1-(-4). Notre Dame: Brown 6-105, Heck 3-28, Ward 2-37, Green 1-24, Watters 1-10, Jefferson 1-7, Banks 1-(-8).

159






1989 FIesta Bowl game summary

TEMPE, Ariz. – Combining a knock-’em-in-the-dirt style of defense with a timely passing game set up by the pounding Irish running attack, Notre Dame did it all in putting the finishing touches on its first national championship since 1977.

The Irish got on the scoreboard early, made life miserable for West Virginia star quarterback Major Harris and methodically dismantled the only other unbeaten team left in the country. The result in this Fiesta Bowl battle of perfect records - the 13th in bowl history - left Notre Dame with a 34-21 victory that actually was more convincing than the score indicated.

Michael Stonebreaker and Jeff Alm bashed Harris’ left shoulder into the Sun Devil Stadium turf on the third play of the game and West Virginia’s quarterback was never the same.

With Harris’ effectiveness - and, thus, West Virigina’s - reduced almost from the start, it was Irish quarterback Tony Rice who played like a Heisman Trophy contender. Shrugging off the nagging doubts about his passing ability, Rice first went about establishing Notre Dame’s relentless ground game by calling for rushes on 16 of Notre Dame’s first 17 plays.

Every time West Virginia was poised to stop the Irish option, Rice took advantage of single cover-age in the secondary to throw for big yardage. He attempted only 11 passes, completing seven, but averaged more than 30 yards per completion on his way to the offensive MVP award.

‘‘This is a great football team because nobody proved otherwise,’’ said Holtz.It took Notre Dame hardly any time at all to prove that to the 74,911 fans in attendance. Sending

West Virginia’s offense to the sideline after three downs, Rice scampered 31 yards around left end on third and seven. That set up a 45-yard Billy Hackett field goal just 4:35 into the game.

Three more plays netted only six yards, and Notre Dame took over again at their 39. Rice connected with Derek Brown for 23 yards but otherwise stayed on the ground all the way to first and goal from the three. West Virginia put up a fight at that point, but Anthony Johnson finally carried for the last yard on fourth down.

West Virginia went two more possessions without gaining first down yardage and the Irish capi-talized again. On third and 11 at his own 48, Rice again found Brown wide open over the middle

First Quarter10:25 ND Hackett 45 yd field goal, 7-37 3:004:34 ND Johnson 1 yd run (run failed), 10-61 4:20

Second Quarter9:41 ND Culver 5 yd run (Ho kick), 11-84 5:076:18 WVU Baumann 29 yd field goal, 11-52 3:221:48 ND Ismail 29 yd pass from Rice (Ho kick), 8-63 4:300:00 WVU Baumann 31 yd field goal, 9-69 1:48

Third Quarter5:34 ND Ho 32 yd field goal, 7-50 3:553:32 WVU Bell 17 yd pass from Harris (Baumann kick), 7-74 2:02

Fourth Quarter13:05 ND Jacobs 3 yd pass from Rice (Rice run), 7-80 3:071:14 WVU Rember 3 yd run (Rembert run), 11-59 2:57

Jan. 2, 1989 • Tempe, Ariz. • Sun Devil Stadium


#1 Notre Dame 9 14 3 8 34

#3 West Virginia 0 6 7 8 21

and Notre Dame’s rookie tight end sprinted to the five. Rodney Culver scored on the next play to make it 16-0, 5:19 into the second quarter.

The Mountaineers finally found the scoreboard on a 29-yard Charlie Baumann field goal, but two of the three first downs on the 52-yard drive came via Irish penalties. And the Irish came right back with an answer. Rice hit Johnson for 19 yards, then zipped one to Raghib Ismail for 29 yards and six points for a commanding 23-3 advantage. Only a 36-yard pass play with four seconds left from Harris to Reggie Rembert put West Virginia in position for a 31-yard field goal to close the half.

Notre Dame got those three points right back after Pat Terrell intercepted Harris on West Virginia’s initial third-period offensive thrust. This time, it was Reggie Ho connecting from 32 yards after Rice’s 35-yarder to Mark Green had picked up the largest chunk of ground.

Next came the only opportunity the Mountaineers had to get back in the game. After Harris had led his team 74 yards for a touchdown to make it 26-13, Willie Edwards intercepted a Rice pass to give West Virginia the ball back at the Irish 26. Notre Dame’s defense proved equal to the challenge.

On first down, Flash Gordon hemmed in Harris on the option for a loss of two.On second down, Stan Smagala made a spectacular deflection in the end zone of a Harris pass.On third down, Frank Stams - who earned defensive MVP honors - and Arnold Ale stormed Harris

for a loss of 12, knocking West Virginia completely out of field goal range. The Mountaineers had to punt, and Notre Dame promptly drove for another touchdown.

Offensive Most Valuable PlayerTony Rice, Quarterback

Defensive Most Valuable PlayerFrank Stams, Defensive End

ND WVU ND WVUFirst Downs 19 19By Rushing 13 4By Passing 6 10By Penalty 0 5Rushing Attempts 59 37Yards Rushing 245 141Yards Lost Rushing 3 33Net Yards Rushing 242 108Net Yards Passing 213 174Passes Attempted 11 30Passes Completed 7 14

Had Intercepted 1 1Total Offensive Plays 70 67Total Net Yards 455 282Average Per Play 6.5 4.2Fumbles: No.-Lost 2-0 0-0Penalties: No.-Yds. 11-102 3-38Interceptions: No.-Yds. 1-0 1-14Punts: No.-Yds. 4-157 7-318Average Per Punt 36.8 45.1Punt Returns: No.-Yds. 3-28 2-35Kickoff Returns: No.-Yds. 2-3 6-107

RUSHING: West Virginia-Harris 13-42, Brown 11-49, Taylor 6-12, Johnson 1-5, Tyler 2-21, Napoleon 3-9, Rembert 1-3. Notre Dame-Johnson 5-20, Brooks 11-36, Rice 13-75, Green 13-62, Banks 5-12, Watters 3-6, Culver 4-20, Eilers 1-2, Belles 3-10, Mihalko 1-2.

PASSING: West Virginia-Harris 13-26-1-166, Jones 1-4-0-8. Notre Dame-Rice 7-11-1-213.

RECEIVING: West Virginia-Winn 3-31, Taylor 3-34, Bell 4-44, Rembert 2-40, Brown 1-17, Tyler 1-8. Notre Dame: Brown 2-70, Johnson 1-19, Ismail 1-29, Green 1-35, Jacobs 1-3, Wat-ters 1-57.



MIAMI – Notre Dame made use of its standard weapons — a bend-but-don’t break defense, a rugged running game plus a timely pass completion or two. Those items, plus some unchar-acteristic miscues by top-ranked Colorado enabled the Irish to dash the national title hopes of the Buffs with their 21-6 Orange Bowl victory.

The Notre Dame triumph over unbeaten Colorado helped the Irish make amends for their loss to Miami that ended the regular season and marked the only blemish on the record for the last two seasons. It also lent credence to the pregame speculation that the Irish experience in big games would pay dividends.

That certainly appeared to be the case in the first half when the Buffs — who came in aver-aging 34 points and 473 yards per game — squandered three golden scoring opportunities. Colorado rolled up and down the field the initial two periods, but putting the ball in the end zone was another matter.

First, the Buffs drove to the Irish 35 on their second possession. From there, Eric Bieniemy darted into the clear at the Notre Dame 25, only to fumble as he changed hands with the foot-ball. Pat Terrell recovered for Notre Dame at the Irish 19.

On their next possession, the Buffs moved from their own 18 to the Notre Dame five. On fourth and three from there, kicker Ken Culbertson oddly pulled a chip-shot, 23-yard field-goal attempt to the left.

Finally, Colorado ran the ball to a first and goal at the Irish one—only to have Notre Dame pull off what Lou Holtz tabbed as the most impressive goal line stand he’d seen in a bowl game. On fourth down, the Buffs gambled with a fake field-goal attempt, but holder Jeff Campbell had no one to throw to and Troy Ridgley and Stan Smagala smothered him at the one.

Notre Dame’s lone scoring chance in the first 30 minutes ended when Colorado blocked a Billy Hackett field goal try as the first half ended in a rather bizarre 0-0 tie. As it turned out, all the momentum shifted to the Notre Dame side of the ledger from that point on.

The Irish took the second half kickoff and required just over three minutes to score. A 27-yard pass from Tony Rice to Tony Smith and a 27-yard run by fullback Anthony Johnson — who played impressively in finishing with 89 rushing yards — set the stage for Johnson’s two-yard scoring run that made it 7-0.

Notre Dame immediately got the ball back when Ned Bolcar tipped a third down Darian Hagan

Third Quarter11:48 ND Johnson 4 yd run (Hentrich kick), 7-69 3:127:19 ND Ismail 35 yd run (Hentrich kick), 7-46 3:270:01 CU Hagan 39 yd run (Culbertson kick failed), 4-53 1:42

Fourth Quarter1:32 ND Johnson 4 yd run (Hentrich kick), 17-82 8:55



#4 Notre Dame 0 0 14 7 21

#1 Colorado 0 0 6 0 6

pass into the air and intercepted at the Buff 46. Twenty-five yards in penalties for clipping and holding calls almost sabotaged the Irish. But Rice threw to Johnson for 13 yards on a third down play, then hit Pat Eilers for 18 on first and 32. Finally, Orange Bowl MVP Raghib Ismail raced 35 yards down the Notre Dame sideline on a reverse for a 14-0 Irish lead. Ismail, who ended up playing tailback most of the night, in part due to an early knee injury to Ricky Watters, finished with 108 yards rushing to lead both teams.

Colorado bounced back on the final play of the third period, accounting for the longest rush against the Irish all season on a 39-yard Hagan keeper that made it 14-6 when Culbertson’s PAT hit the upright. When the Buffs were forced to punt the ball away to Notre Dame at the 10:27 mark, they had no idea they’d nearly never get it back.

Notre Dame promptly embarked on a stereotypical Irish march — 17 runs, none longer than 11 yards, no passes — that knocked 8:55 off the clock. When Johnson negotiated the final seven yards for a clinching touchdown that made it 21-6 with only 1:32 remaining, the Buffs were finished.

For the Irish, the triumph finished off a long season that began way back in August in the Kickoff Classic and featured Holtz’s squad atop the polls throughout the regular season. Then, the one week the Irish weren’t number one after their defeat at the hands of the Hurricanes, they bounced back to beat the number-one team.

They did it by playing mistake-free football — no turnovers for the Irish compared to a lost fumble and pair of interceptions thrown by Hagan.

“Coming away from the first half without any points after controlling the game for a while was too much to overcome,” said Colorado coach Bill McCartney. “Anytime you’re playing a team like Notre Dame, you’ve got to capitalize on your chances. We didn’t. I didn’t think anybody could keep us out of the end zone like they did on the goal line, but they did.”

Most Valuable PlayerRaghib Ismail, Flanker

ND CU ND CUFirst Downs 18 16By Rushing 14 12By Passing 4 4By Penalty 0 0Rushing Attempts 52 46Yards Rushing 295 239Yards Lost Rushing 16 22Net Yards Rushing 279 217Net Yards Passing 99 65Passes Attempted 9 13Passes Completed 5 4


RUSHING: Colorado-Hagan 19-106; Bieniemy 11-66; Flannigan 12-45; Kissick 2-6; Campbell 2-(-6). Notre Dame-Ismail 16-108; Johnson 15-89; Rice 14-50; Culver 5-29; Watters 2-3.

PASSING: Colorado-Hagan 4-13-2-65. Notre Dame-Rice 5-9-0-99.

RECEIVING: Colorado-Kissick 2-33; Pritchard 1-16; Perak 1-16. Notre Dame: Eilers 2-47; Smith 1-27; Johnson 1-13; Brown 1-12.

161







MIAMI – Turnovers, mistakes and missed opportunities — they all played major roles for Notre Dame as the fifth-ranked Fighting Irish self-destructed on offense in their Orange Bowl rematch with top-ranked Colorado.

This time, it was the Buffs who survived one last amazing attempt by Raghib Ismail and claimed the national championship on a 10-9 victory.

The game produced some strange twists, notably the starring role played by reserve Colo-rado quarterback Charles Johnson. He came off the bench after Darian Hagan injured a knee late in the first half and looked impressive in completing five of six passes after intermission.

Meanwhile, the Irish offense — coldly proficient most of the season — struggled to five turnovers, including three within four plays in the second half. The Notre Dame defense, which had its share of struggles in 1990, played maybe as well as it had all year against a potent Buffalo attack.

But it was a play that didn’t even count that had everyone talking once this one was over.With Colorado nursing its one-point lead and pushing toward field goal range in the waning

moments, Notre Dame’s defense came to the fore. From a first-and-10 situation at the Irish 27 for the Buffs, Notre Dame produced three straight lost-yardage plays, the last two sacks of Johnson for a combined 19 yards in losses, pushing Colorado back to its own 47 with 43 seconds to go — and brought punter Tom Rouen onto the field. In turn, Ismail wandered back toward the goal line for the Irish.

Electing not to boot the ball out of bounds, Rouen boomed a 44-yarder that Ismail fielded at his own nine. Rocket weaved his way through all kinds of traffic and eventually broke free down the right sideline for what appeared to be a spectacular 91-yard return. But a flag had been thrown against Greg Davis for a clip as Ismail was breaking to the outside. The Irish began instead at their own 22 and couldn’t advance beyond their own 38 before time ran out.

The frustrating finish typified what proved to be an unusually inefficient evening for Notre Dame’s offense. The Irish endured just about everything — a blocked PAT, a 50-yard field goal that banged off the upright, three interceptions and a pair of lost fumbles. Still, Ismail’s last gasp return might very well have turned out to be the gamewinner.

Colorado wasted little time throwing its best shots at the Irish, sending speedy Mike Pritchard on a reverse for 15 yards on the game’s first play. But when Rouen mishandled the punt snap on fourth down, Notre Dame began at the Colorado 48. That’s when the Irish should have

Second Quarter12:04 CU Harper 22 yd field goal, 11-63 4:247:32 ND Watters 2 yd run (Hentrich kick blocked), 9-62 4:32

Third Quarter10:10 ND Hentrich 24 yd field goal, 10-66 4:504:26 CU Bieniemy 1 yd run (Harper kick), 8-40 3:58



#5 Notre Dame 0 6 3 0 9

#1 Colorado 0 3 7 0 10

known they might be in for a long evening, as a pressured Rick Mirer saw his first-down pass for Ismail picked off and returned to near midfield.

Notre Dame’s next possession took up 14 plays — but moved only as far as the Buff 35 following two straight incompletions. A Jim Sexton punt penned Colorado at its three, and en-abled Notre Dame to take over on the Big Eight champion’s 35. This time, two more incomple-tions prompted a Hentrich field goal attempt from 50 yards that clanged off the right upright.

Colorado broke the scoring drought early in the second period, taking the ball from its own 32 to the Irish five. Notre Dame held off the Buffs from a first-and-goal situation at the seven and forced a Jim Harper field goal that made it 3-0.

The Irish responded by throwing a 62-yard march of their own at Colorado. Mirer threw twice to Ismail for 21 total yards and later to Irv Smith for nine yards on third down. Ricky Watters negotiated the last two yards for the touchdown, but Colorado blocked Hentrich’s extra-point attempt. Notre Dame’s lone other first-half attempt ended in a 48-yard field-goal try by Hentrich that misfired.

Notre Dame took the second half kickoff and drove methodically from its own 28, getting 26 yards on a first-play throw to Derek Brown and 19 more on a Watters run. But, after first and goal at the Colorado four saw the Irish manage two runs for lost yardage and an incompletion, Hentrich converted the field goal from 24 yards to make it 9-3.

Next for the Irish came their offensive undoing, as lost fumbles by Watters and Tony Brooks were followed by an interception of a Mirer throw. In between came Colorado’s only other points — a one-yard Eric Bieniemy run capping a 40-yard drive, plus the eventual game-winning PAT — and it could have been worse. Notre Dame’s defense thwarted one posses-sion with a pair of minus-yardage plays and ended another when George Williams blocked a 36-yard field-goal attempt early in the final period.

The Irish couldn’t convert after Willie Clark recovered a Bieniemy fumble near midfield at the halfway mark of the fourth quarter. That set up Ismail’s ill-fated punt return that left fans of both teams gasping.

Defensive Most Valuable PlayerChris Zorich, Nose Tackle

CU ND CU NDFirst Downs 19 18By Rushing 13 8By Passing 6 9By Penalty 0 1Rushing Attempts 54 35Yards Rushing 235 141Yards Lost Rushing 49 18Net Yards Rushing 186 123Net Yards Passing 109 141Passes Attempted 19 31Passes Completed 9 13


RUSHING: Colorado-Bieniemy 26-86, Hemingway 14-76, Hagan 7-36, Pritchard 2-24, John-son 4-(-25), Rouen 1-(-11). Notre Dame-Brooks 9-46, Watters 9-44, Bettis 3-27, Culver 5-9, Ismail 3-(-1), Mirer 6-(-2).

PASSING: Colorado-Hagan 12-4-0-29, Johnson 6-5-0-80, Bieniemy 1-0-0-0. Notre Dame-Mirer 31-13-3-141.

RECEIVING: Colorado-Pritchard 3-45, Brown 2-23, Hemingway 2-13, Bieniemy 1-19, Boman 1-9. Notre Dame: Ismail 6-57, Brown 4-50, Jarrell 1-11, Smith 1-9, Davis 1-8.



NEW ORLEANS – The old maxim that he who laughs last, laughs best, accounts for the roar ema-nating from the Irish locker room after a stunning 39-28 Sugar Bowl upset of third-ranked Florida.

After surviving two weeks as the collective butt of jokes — including “What’s the difference be-tween Cheerios and Notre Dame? Cheerios belong in a bowl” gag overheard from an anonymous French Quarter waiter — the 18th-ranked Irish responded on game day with a convincing second half rejoinder that silenced the snapping jaws of the heavily favored Gators and the heavily partisan Superdome crowd of 76,447.

Down 16-7 at the half, and outgained 288-142 in total yardage to that point, Notre Dame un-leashed a power running game behind a dominating offensive line, a strategy that resulted in 32 second half points including three Jerome Bettis touchdowns late in the contest. Meanwhile, Gator quarterback Shane Matthews and the potent Florida offense jabbed away at the young Notre Dame defense but never landed the necessary knockout punch, instead settling for a record five field goals by Arden Czyzewski on five trips inside the Irish 20.

The criticisms of that makeshift defensive lineup appeared to be well founded after the game’s first series, as Matthews shredded the young secondary for 60 passing yards en route to an 11-play, 85-yard touchdown drive that took over four minutes. That set the tone for much of the first half, although three long Gator drives netted only nine total points.

The Irish, meanwhile, managed just one first down in the first quarter and were down 13-0 be-fore Rick Mirer ignited the offense with three straight completions. The last was a 40-yard strike to Lake Dawson midway through the second quarter, pulling the Irish to within six points at 13-7. Czyzewski’s third field goal of the half, with just 20 second remaining, accounted for the nine-point halftime margin.

The halftime stats harbored little foresight on what would take place on the Superdome turf in the ensuing 30 minutes. Notre Dame entered the game as the nation’s sixth-best rushing team, averag-ing nearly 270 yards per game, but had totaled just 34 ground yards. Meanwhile, Matthews looked every bit the 3,000 yard passer he was, throwing for 202 first half yards and helping the Gators control the ball for nearly 20 minutes.

First Quarter10:40 UF Jackson 15 pass from Matthews (Czyewski kick), 11-85 4:203:36 UF Czyewski 26 yd field goal, 15-71 5:02

Second Quarter10:29 UF Czyewski 24 yd field goal, 14-75 5:218:01 ND Dawson 40 pass from Mirer (Hentrich kick), 5-64 2:280:20 UF Czyewski 36 yd field goal, 10-51 2:23

Third Quarter10:03 ND Pendergast 23 yd field goal, 12-64 4:572:12 ND Smith 4 yd pass from Mirer (Pendergast kick), 14-80 4:53

Fourth Quarter13:42 UF Czyewski 37 yd field goal, 10-50 3:3011:21 UF Czyewski 24 yd field goal, 4-4 0:574:48 ND Bettis 3 yd run (Brooks pass from Mirer), 14-64 6:333:32 ND Bettis 49 yd run (Pendergast kick), 1-49 0:092:28 UF Houston 36 yd pass from Matthews (Matthews pass incomplete), 5-64 1:042:04 ND Bettis 39 yd run (Pendergast kick), 3-44 0:24



#18 Notre Dame 0 7 10 22 39

#3 Florida 10 6 0 12 28

Any thought that the Irish would be forced into debuting “Air Holtz” in the second half was quickly buried. Like a prizefighter tiring out an opponent with body punches, Holtz called for an incredible 11 straight running plays into the heart of the renowned Florida line, with the work of Bettis, Rodney Culver and Tony Brooks finally resulting in the first-ever collegiate field goal by Kevin Pendergast.

After the Irish defense held, the burly backfield returned to their ground-eating ways. Bettis and Culver chewed up 41 yards on three carries midway through the drive, and Mirer and Tony Smith saved a third-and-17 with another of their seven hookups. Mirer hit 6-5 Irv Smith for the go-ahead touchdown near the end of the third quarter.

Florida retook the lead 22-17 on successive field goals, though failing to get the TD after Darren Mickell forced a Rick Mirer fumble at the Irish 12. The rest of the final quarter would belong Bettis, the eventual Sugar Bowl MVP. He capped a 14-play drive by crashing in behind Gene McGuire for a three-yard score, with the two-point conversion giving the Irish a 25-22 advantage. After the Gators failed on fourth-and-10 at midfield with under four minutes to go, Bettis took the first handoff and rumbled through a gaping right-side hole for 49 yards and a 32-22 lead.

But no lead is safe when Matthews’ arm is involved, and with well over three minutes still to work with, he eventually hit Harrison Houston with a 36-yard TD strike. But the two-point conversion pass failed, as the Irish led 32-28.

Bettis and the Irish line wasted little time sealing the outcome. After Culver covered an onside kick attempt, the 246-pound Bettis broke loose again on a third down, rolling to his third score from 39 yards out. Those were the last of 245 second half rushing yards by the Irish, with Bettis accounting for 127 and Rodney Culver and Tony Brooks also prime contributors. Though Matthews finished 28-of-58 with 370 passing yards, he had just 11 second half completions against a tightening Holtz-inspired defense. In fact, the Gators went without a touchdown for over 53 minutes between the opening score and Houston’s grab in the waning moments.

Miller-Digby Award - Most Valuable PlayerJerome Bettis, Fullback

ND UF ND UFFirst Downs 23 29By Rushing 18 13By Passing 4 16By Penalty 1 0Rushing Attempts 49 33Yards Rushing 324 162Yards Lost Rushing 45 21Net Yards Rushing 279 141Net Yards Passing 154 370Passes Attempted 19 58Passes Completed 14 28


RUSHING: Florida-Rhett 15-63, McClendon 7-34, Matthews 7-27, McNabb 4-17. Notre Dame-Bettis 16-150, Culver 13-93, Brooks 13-68, Failla 1-(-2), Mirer 6-(-30).

PASSING: Florida-Matthews 28-58-2-370. Notre Dame-Mirer 14-19-1-154.

RECEIVING: Florida-Jackson 8-148, Houston 3-52, Sullivan 4-47, Hill 3-41, Rhett 4-38, Mc-Clendon 3-19,Everett 2-18, McNabb 1-7. Notre Dame: Smith 7-75, Dawson 2-49, Brown 1-11, Culver 1-6, Bettis 1-5, Smith 1-4, Pollard 1-4.

163






DALLAS – Both Texas A&M and Notre Dame were known for their running games entering the 1993 Cotton Bowl Classic. The Aggies had built up a 12-0 record behind the running of Rodney Thomas and Greg Hill while the Irish checked in with a 9-1-1 mark on the strength of Lou Holtz’s “Thunder and Lightning”, Jerome Bettis and Reggie Brooks.

In the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day, only one great running game showed itself.Notre Dame rushed for 290 net yards while A&M accounted for just 78 as the Irish dominated

all facets of the game in a 28-3 win over the Aggies.Brooks finished with 115 yards on 22 carries and Bettis added 75 yards on 20 rushes. Quar-

terback Rick Mirer even got into the act with 55 yards on 13 attempts.But, in the first half, Notre Dame certainly didn’t appear to be on the way to a blowout. On its

first possession, the Irish drove to the Aggie 18 before Mirer’s pitch to Brooks ended up on the ground and Kefa Chatham recovered for Texas A&M. After that drive, Notre Dame was forced to punt on its next four possessions, moving no more than 20 yards each time it had the ball.

At the same time, the Aggies were having very little luck moving the ball. Texas A&M did move into field goal range midway through the second quarter but Terry Venetoulias’ 46-yard attempt was short and the game remained scoreless.

After the teams again exchanged punts, Notre Dame received the spark it needed to take control. With just 36 seconds left in the half, Mirer threw to Lake Dawson on a middle screen and Dawson strolled 40 yards to give the Irish a 7-0 halftime lead.

In the second half, Notre Dame’s rushing game came to the forefront and buried the Aggies. After throwing 15 passes in the first half, the Irish put the ball in the air only three times in the second half. Notre Dame controlled the ball and the clock by using the ground game. At one period in the second half, the Irish ran the ball on 34 consecutive plays — successfully.

On its first possession of the half, Notre Dame ate up 5:06 of clock with an 65-yard, 10-play drive that resulted in a Mirer-to-Bettis touchdown toss of 26 yards. Possession number two was much of the same for the Irish, moving 87 yards in 10 plays before Brooks fumbled at the Texas A&M four.

Again the Notre Dame defense rose to the occasion. On the Aggies’ second play after the turnover, Brian Hamilton stripped Texas A&M quarterback Corey Pullig and Demetrius DuBose recovered at the Aggie 11. Two plays later, Bettis scored from one yard out to give the Irish a 21-0 lead.

After A&M scored on a 41-yard field goal by Venetoulias, Notre Dame again kept the ball on the ground and moved 82 yards in 16 plays in 9:24 with Bettis adding the final score — his third touchdown — to set the final, 28-3.

Mirer was named the game’s most outstanding offensive player, completing eight-for-16 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Devon McDonald was the game’s outstanding defensive player with 10 tackles, including four for losses and one sack.

Defensive Most Valuable PlayerDevon McDonald, Defensive End

Offensive Most Valuable PlayerRick Mirer, Quarterback


Second Quarter0:36 ND Dawson 40 yd pass from Mirer (Hentrich kick), 6-64, 0:56

Third Quarter7:17 ND Bettis 26 yd pass from Mirer (Hentrich kick), 10-65, 5:060:33 ND Bettis 1 yd run (Hentrich kick), 2-11, 0:08

Fourth Quarter14:27 A&M Venetoulias 41 yd field goal, 6-38 1:065:03 ND Bettis 4 yd run (Hentrich kick), 16-82, 9:24



#5 Notre Dame 0 7 14 7 28

#3 Texas A&M 0 0 0 3 3

ND A&M ND A&MFirst Downs 19 19By Rushing 13 4By Passing 6 10By Penalty 0 5Rushing Attempts 59 37Yards Rushing 245 141Yards Lost Rushing 3 33Net Yards Rushing 242 108Net Yards Passing 213 174Passes Attempted 11 30Passes Completed 7 14


RUSHING: Texas A&M-Thomas 20-50, Mitchell 1-12, Pullig 9-11, Carter 3-5. Notre Dame-Brooks 22-115, Bettis 20-75, Mirer 13-55, Becton 5-26, Burris 2-8, Davis 1-8, Zellars 1-3.

PASSING: Texas A&M-Pullig 7-18-0-87. Notre Dame-Mirer 8-16-0-119, Failla 1-1-0-30, Bettis 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: Texas A&M-Harrison 3-59, Schorp 2-14, Mitchell 1-12, Groce 1-2. Notre Dame: Smith 3-38, Dawson 2-46, Miller 1-30, Bettis 1-26, Brooks 1-5, Griggs 1-4.


cotton Bowl game summary

DALLAS – Defenses dominated late in the Cotton Bowl as the Irish shut down Texas A&M’s comeback in the fourth quarter for an edgy 24-21 win in Dallas. Tailback Lee Becton led all runners with 138 of Notre Dame’s 206 yards rushing, marking his seventh consecutive 100-plus yardage game.

Texas A&M countered the Irish ground attack with an aerial display headed by quarterback Corey Pullig. Pullig hit the airways 31 times, completing 17 for 238 yards to balance out what Notre Dame had done on the ground. Both teams scored touchdowns on their first possessions of the game. Notre Dame drove 91 yards and capped off the drive with quarterback Kevin McDougal’s electrifying 19-yard keeper around the right end. The Aggies reloaded and struck back with a drive that resulted in Greg Hill’s eight-yard touchdown sweep around the right side.

For the next few series both teams would battle back and fourth, getting few results. The defenses denied each other time and time again. For the Aggies, it was time for the air raid as they mounted a 77-yard, 14-play drive that chewed up 7:02 off the clock. During the drive, the Aggies passed five times, completing four. Faced with a fourth and one, R.C. Slocum and his troops elected to go for the first down at the Irish 15. Pullig, using a beautiful play-action fake, found a wide open Detron Smith for an Aggie touchdown.

Pullig would end the half with 123 yards passing, completing 50 percent of his passes and leading A&M to a 14-7 halftime lead. Notre Dame’s explosive attack was limited to only 123 yards of total of-fense. To blame for that was an Aggie defense that swarmed anywhere it saw blue and gold.

Notre Dame, after holding Texas A&M to a three-yard series on the opening drive, started the second half in the same fashion in which it began the game — by scoring a touchdown. The engines ignited for the rest of the game as Becton hit on all cylinders. The tailback carried four times for 32 yards before Notre Dame tied the game at 14-14 with Ray Zellars going off tackle for a two-yard score.

Slocum’s troops battled right back to remain in the driver’s seat. Using only 3:31, the Aggies as-sembled a 10-play, 80-yard drive with Pullig hitting on three quick attempts, and Rodney Thomas plowing his way in from the one to put the Aggies back on top at 21-14.

Becton would carry three more times for 31 yards, and McDougal would hit a streaking Zellars for

First Quarter8:01 ND McDougal 19 yd run (Pendergast kick), 13-91 6:593:56 A&M Hill 8 yd run (Venetoulias kick), 10-79 4:05

Second Quarter2:56 A&M Smith 15 yd pass from Pullig (Venetoulias kick), 14-77 7:02

Third Quarter10:21 ND Zellars 2 yd run (Pendergast kick), 8-51 3:356:50 A&M Thomas 1 yd run (Venetoulias kick), 10-80 3:313:48 ND Edwards 2 yd run (Pendergast kick), 7-65 3:02

Fourth Quarter2:22 ND Pendergast 31 yd field goal, 4-8 1:38



#4 Notre Dame 7 0 14 3 24

#7 Texas A&M 7 7 7 0 21

another 18 to put the Irish deep into enemy territory. With first and goal from the one, Holtz turned to freshman bulldozer Marc Edwards who plowed his way in to tie the game at 21.With the Irish stopping A&M after six plays, Slocum’s team punted the ball away.

Deadlocked in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame found the momentum. After settling for a punt on the first drive of the quarter, Pete Bercich picked off Pullig and took the ball back. Seven plays later, the Irish had to punt again. With under six minutes left, it seemed A&M would have the last chance at victory. Slocum’s Aggies started at their own 10-yard line and went backwards. On fourth and 12 the Aggies punted the ball into the hands of Irish return man Mike Miller.

Miller left nothing behind him except Aggies and a blazing trail of smoke. He returned the punt 38 yards before finally being pushed out of bounds to give the Irish the ball on the A&M 22-yard line. Becton picked up eight on the first play, but the Aggie defense stiffened and held the Irish. Placekicker Kevin Pendergast and the Notre Dame field goal unit trotted out to the field, only to head back to the sidelines. The Irish took a timeout with 2:22 left in the game after trying to draw the Aggies offsides. Pendergast and company returned to the field and connected on the 31-yard field goal to give the Irish a 24-21 lead.

A&M received the kickoff, and Pullig entered the game to try and muster one last heroic effort. But, on first and 10, Notre Dame’s Bobby Taylor picked up a loose fumble and seemed to have thwarted any last Aggie chance of survival. Slocum’s boys on defense held Notre Dame to three and out and got the ball back with a minute left to play. Needing a big play, Pullig went to the air one more time and found tight end Greg Schorp for a gain of 32. After unsuccessful second and third down plays, the Aggies had one last chance to win. Pullig dropped back to pass and found Tony Harrison who then tried to lateral the ball back to teammate Leeland McElroy. The ball never made it there, and Irish linebacker Renaldo Wynn smothered the ball.

Notre Dame Offensive Most Valuable PlayerLee Becton, Tailback

ND A&M ND A&MFirst Downs 19 20By Rushing 13 11By Passing 5 9By Penalty 1 0Rushing Attempts 51 37Yards Rushing 236 147Yards Lost Rushing 30 44Net Yards Rushing 206 103Net Yards Passing 105 238Passes Attempted 15 31Passes Completed 7 17Had Intercepted 0 1

Total Offensive Plays 66 68Total Net Yards 311 341Average Gain Per Play 4.7 5.0Fumbles: No.-Lost 1-0 4-2Penalties: No.-Yds. 5-34 3-15Interceptions: No.-Yds. 1-1 0-0Punts: No.-Yds. 7-266 4-149Average Per Punt 38.0 37.3Punt Returns: No.-Yds. 2-35 0-0Kickoff Returns: No.-Yds. 3-59 5-117Third Down Conversions 5-13 6-14

RUSHING: Texas A&M-Hill 16-38, Groce 1-2, McElroy 4-45, Thomas 9-33, Pullig 7-(-15). Notre Dame-Becton 26-138, McDougal 9-13, Zellars 9-25, Edwards 3-6, Miller 2-20, Burris 1-4, Kinder 1-0.

PASSING: Texas A&M-Pullig 17-31-1-238. Notre Dame-McDougal 7-15-0-105.

RECEIVING: Texas A&M-Groce 4-45, Shrop 3-53, Harrison 3-52, Mitchell 2-29, Smith 2-24, McElroy 1-7, Hill 1-7, Thomas 1-21. Notre Dame: Dawson 2-41, Mayes 2-27, Becton 1-3, McBride 1-16, Zellars 1-18.

165







First Quarter11:58 CU Voskeritichian 33 yd field goal, 8-53 6:595:55 CU Fauria 1 yd pass from Stewart (Voskeritichian kick), 5-70 1:272:01 ND Cengia 29 yd field goal, 9-34 3:54

Second Quarter9:21 CU Stewart 9 yd run (Voskeritichian kick), 5-66 1:554:07 CU Salaam 1 yd run (Voskeritichian kick), 9-80 2:501:35 CU Salaam 1 yd run (Voskeritichian kick), 6-38 1:450:05 ND Mayes 7 yd pass from Powlus (Cengia kick), 6-65 1:30

Third Quarter5:47 ND Mayes 40 yd pass from Powlus (Cengia kick), 1-40 1:081:55 CU Voskeritichian 48 yd field goal, 5-45 1:03

Fourth Quarter9:29 CU Salaam 5 yd run (Voskeritichian kick), 4-56 1:432:07 ND Wallace 7 yd pass from Powlus (Schroffner kick), 14-91 7:22



#4 Colorado 10 21 3 7 41


CU ND CU NDFirst Downs 18 22By Rushing 9 13By Passing 8 9By Penalty 1 0Rushing Attempts 39 45Yards Rushing 246 149Yards Lost Rushing 0 27Net Yards Rushing 246 149Net Yards Passing 226 259Passes Attempted 21 35Passes Completed 12 18Had Intercepted 0 1


RUSHING: Colorado-Salaam 27-83, Stewart 7-143, Troutman 2-20, Detmer 2-2, Henry 1- (-2). Notre Dame-Becton 17-81, Powlus 15-12, Zellars 5-21, Mosley 3-21, Edwards 2-4, Farmer 2-1, Sollmann 1-9.

PASSING: Colorado-Stewart 12-21-0-226. Notre Dame-Powlus 18-34-1-259; Stafford 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: Colorado-Westbrook 4-70, Kidd 2-83, Savoy 2-58, Fauria 2-3, Carruth 1-6, Sa-laam 1-6. Notre Dame: Mayes 4-93, Becton 3-60, Mosley 3-34, Zellars 2-25, Stafford 2-22, McBride 2-21, Wallace 1-7, Farmer 1- (-3).

TEMPE, Ariz. – If holding the Heisman Trophy winner in check ranked as the only goal, Notre Dame’s defensive performance against fourth-rated Colorado in the 1995 Fiesta Bowl might have qualified as impressive.

Unfortunately for the Irish, there proved to be far more to the Buffaloes’ potency than running back Rashaan Salaam. Though he did score three touchdowns on runs of five, one and one yards, Notre Dame limited him to 83 net yards on 27 attempts, for a 3.1-yard average with no gain greater than 13 yards.

The same could not be said for quarterback Kordell Stewart. Running the Colorado option attack with precision, Stewart threw for 226 yards and a touchdown and — more impres-sively — scuttled the Irish defense with 143 rushing yards on only seven carries. He easily earned the game’s offensive MVP award and had more to do than anyone else with Colorado scurrying out to a 31-3 lead on its way to an eventual 41-24 victory over Notre Dame.

Stewart’s 29-yard run and 37-yard completion to Phil Savoy set up the Buffs’ first touch-down. His 35-yard romp set up the second Colorado TD. A 46-yard pass to James Kidd put the Buffs in position for their third first half TD. And a third period, 41-yard option keeper by Stewart made it 34-17 for Colorado just when the Irish were threatening to get back into the football game. Playing its final game for retiring coach Bill McCartney, Colorado scored on five of its first six possessions to do everything it could to put the contest out of reach early.

Salaam’s biggest gain of the afternoon came on the game’s third play from scrimmage. After that, Stewart took over. His 28-yard pass to Michael Westbrook pushed the Buffs to the Irish 22 and, three plays later, Neil Voskeritchian converted a 33-yard field goal for an early Colorado advantage.

After Notre Dame’s first possession ended when Ron Powlus couldn’t connect with Derrick Mayes on a fourth-and-eight throw from the Colorado 30, the Buffs continued their rumbling. Stewart’s 29-yard excursion came on first down, and three plays later he hooked up with

Savoy for 37 yards to the Irish one. Stewart’s one-yard toss to tight end Christian Fauria made it 10-0.

Notre Dame rebounded with a field goal of its own, after Scott Sollmann’s kickoff return to the Buff 46 and Powlus’ run for 17 set Scott Cengia up for a three-pointer from 29 yards out. But that barely stemmed the Buffalo tide.

Stewart keynoted the next Colorado scoring drive, running 35 yards himself and throwing for 22 more to Westbrook before scoring himself from nine yards out to make it 17-3. Third downs hurt the Irish on Colorado’s next possession, as Stewart ran for 16 yards on third and 11 and threw to Savoy for 46 on third and 10. The Buffs’ next scoring drive required only 38 yards after an eight-yard Notre Dame punt, with Salaam notching the score on a short run.

Notre Dame’s initial touchdown drive came in the final 1:29 of the first half, with Powlus throwing for 36 yards to Lee Becton, 20 more to Mayes and finally seven yards to Mayes for the score — making it 31-10 at the break. Though Colorado ran off only four more plays than Notre Dame in the first two periods, its 332-161 edge in total yards at halftime proved particularly telling.

The Irish attempted to reestablish their running game as the third period began — and they did so, with Becton running for gains of 12 and 18 yards on successive plays and Ray Zellars following with an 11-yard run. But, on fourth and goal from the five, Charles Stafford’s throw to Zellars after a faked field goal went awry.

Still, Powlus hooked up with Mayes after a short Colorado punt on a TD throw that comprised a one-play, 40-yard scoring drive to cut the deficit to 31-17.

After a Voskeritchian field goal, the Irish drove from their own 21 to the Colorado 30, only to have the Buffs’ Ted Johnson intercept a pass for the only turnover by either team.

A 37-yard Stewart pass to Kidd set up Salaam’s final TD. Then the Irish drove 91 yards in 14 plays, converting four times on third down before Powlus threw seven yards to Leon Wallace for the final 41-24 margin.



MIAMI – Notre Dame’s 1996 Orange Bowl matchup with eighth-ranked Florida State qualified as a historic occasion, since the Irish and Seminoles comprised the final combatants in Miami’s venerable Orange Bowl facility before the game’s switch to Joe Robbie Stadium for 1997.

The game itself was not without its challenges for Lou Holtz’s sixth-ranked team that was without injured quarterback Ron Powlus and leading rusher Randy Kinder — and found itself facing a Florida State offensive attack averaging 48.4 points and 551.5 yards per game.

Still, backup quarterback Tom Krug, all-star split end Derrick Mayes and their Irish teammates com-bined to keep the Seminoles on their heels most of the evening until a 17-point fourth-quarter rally wiped out a 12-point Notre Dame lead and gave Florida State a 31-26 win for its 11th consecutive postseason victory.

Krug took a physical pounding but still managed to rush for 45 yards and tie an Irish bowl record with three touchdown passes and an overall 14-of-24 throwing performance. Mayes earned Notre Dame’s MVP honor by catching six passes for 96 yards, including TD grabs of 39 and 33 yards.

Those two helped Notre Dame claim a 26-14 edge with less than 12 minutes on the clock before a furious Seminole response, aided by the last two of four scoring throws by Danny Kanell, put Bobby Bowden’s club back on top. Andre Cooper claimed the Seminole MVP award thanks to three TD re-ceptions, the last of which put Florida State ahead for good at 29-26 with 6:09 to go.

The Irish had their share of early opportunities, especially after Florida product Autry Denson ram-bled 48 yards on the first play from scrimmage and Marc Edwards followed that effort with a 28-yard gain of his own on the next play. But, after reaching the six, a sack and a missed field goal sent Notre Dame to the sideline emptyhanded.

A Shawn Wooden interception ended Florida State’s first possession at midfield, and five plays later Krug led Mayes perfectly into the end zone for 39 yards and a 7-0 lead. The Seminoles required just more than two minutes to tie it, with Warrick Dunn adding 23 yards on one play and Kanell finding Cooper for 15 yards and the touchdown.

With the Irish going to a spread passing game that at times saw Krug lined up with no one else in the backfield, Notre Dame pounded out a 62-yard answering drive. This time Scott Cengia’s 20-yard field goal attempt fell through after hitting the left upright and the Irish led by three.

First Quarter8:27 ND Mayes 39 yd pass from Krug (Cengia kick), 5-50 1:556:08 FSU Cooper 15 yd pass from Kanell (Bentley kick), 7-81 2:190:02 ND Cengia 20 yd field goal, 14-62 6:06

Second Quarter2:30 FSU Cooper 10 yd pass from Kanell (Bentley kick), 10-59 4:44

Third Quarter8:04 ND Mayes 33 yd pass from Krug (Cengia kick), 10-55 4:58

Fourth Quarter13:44 ND Safety11:43 ND Chryplewicz 5 yd pass from Krug (Cengia kick), 5-63 2:019:47 FSU Green 11 yd pass from Kanell (Bentley kick), 5-73 1:566:09 FSU Cooper 3 yd pass from Kanell (Cooper pass from Kanell), 6-30 1:392:02 FSU Safety



#8 Florida State 7 7 0 17 31

#6 Notre Dame 10 0 7 9 26

Notre Dame’s chance to take control fell through the cracks when an illegal block negated a 52-yard score on a punt return by Mayes. With Kanell hitting Cooper a second time in the end zone, this time for 10 yards, the Seminoles claimed a 14-10 halftime advantage.

The third quarter and first part of the fourth were all Notre Dame. The Irish forced the ‘Noles to punt the ball away to start the second half, then drove 55 yards to take the lead on Krug’s second TD pass to Mayes, this one for 33 yards and a 17-14 score. Meanwhile, Ivory Covington ended another Florida State threat with an interception and Scott Bentley’s missed 42-yard field goal maintained that margin at the end of three periods.

On the fourth play of the final quarter Irish punter Hunter Smith kicked the ball 44 yards to the Flor-ida State one. From there on first down, Kanell dropped one step too far into the end zone, with the resulting safety making the margin 19-14. Emmett Mosley returned the free kick 21 yards, Robert Farmer rushed 51 yards down the left side — and Krug’s five-yard toss to tight end Pete Chryplewicz made it 26-14 with 11:43 on the clock.

The Seminoles wasted little time getting back into the contest, requiring only five plays and 1:56 to negotiate 73 yards. Kanell passed 24 yards to Wayne Messam, 21 more to E.G. Green, then 11 more to Green to cut the margin to 26-21.

After the Irish couldn’t gain a first down, Dee Feaster’s 41-yard punt return put the ‘Noles in prime position. A key fourth-and-five completion to Green put the ball on the Irish three, and on second down the familiar Kanell-to-Cooper pairing made it 29-26 after the duo also combined on a two-point conversion.

An Irish fumble stopped one late Notre Dame foray, but Florida State misfired on a pass attempt into the end zone on fourth and goal from the three. Notre Dame took over one more time from the three with 2:06 left, but on first down Krug was called for intentional grounding from the end zone. The two points and resulting Seminole possession enabled Florida State to run out the clock.

Offensive Most Valuable PlayerDerek Mayes, Split End

ND FSU ND FSUFirst Downs 18 22By Rushing 9 13By Passing 8 9By Penalty 1 0Rushing Attempts 39 45Yards Rushing 246 149Yards Lost Rushing 0 27Net Yards Rushing 246 149Net Yards Passing 226 259Passes Attempted 21 35Passes Completed 12 18Had Intercepted 0 1


RUSHING: Florida State-Dunn 22-151, Preston 6-55, Williams 2-7, Abdullah 2-2, Kanell 5-(-27). Notre Dame-Farmer 7-93, Denson 11-67, Edwards 14-55, Krug 11-45, Thorne 1-4, Sollmann 1-(-8).

PASSING: Florida State-Kanell 20-32-4-290, Dunn 0-1-0-0. Notre Dame-Krug 14-24-3-140, Smith 1-1-0-29, Edwards 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: Florida State-Messam 6-103, Green 5-99, Cooper 4-38, Dunn 2-19, Williams 2-17, Abduallah 1-14. Notre Dame: Mayes 6-96, Chryplewicz 3-18, Edwards 2-25, Stafford 2-14, Mosley 1-13, Farmer 1-3.

167






1997 IndePendence Bowl game summary

SHREVEPORT, La. – The rematch track record alone didn’t bode well for the Irish.In 12 previous bowl games that had been rematches of regular-season contests, the same team

had won both games on only four occasions.It had been tough enough for Notre Dame to venture into Louisiana once, with the Irish coming

away with an impressive 24-6 conquest of 11th-rated LSU in Baton Rouge in mid-November.Now, Bob Davie’s crew was assigned to return to that same state, this time to Shreveport, for an

Independence Bowl date with those same Tigers of LSU.And the Irish showed signs early on making it two straight against Gerry DiNardo’s team. While

holding LSU to less than 100 total yards in the opening half, Notre Dame made good use of Autry Denson’s 68 first-half rushing yards and saw 60- and 70-yard marches end up in a pair of Scott Cengia field goals good for a 6-3 halftime lead. In fact, LSU’s only first-half points came following the only turnover in the first 30 minutes, a lost fumble by the Irish.

Then came Rondell Mealey. He, more than any other single player, accounted for the eventual 27-9 LSU triumph.

Technically listed as the third-string tailback early in the year behind eventual top Southeastern Conference groundgainer Kevin Faulk and Cecil Collins, Mealey found his best-ever career oppor-tunity staring him in the face at Independence Stadium with Collins long since lost for the season with a broken leg and Faulk idled since the first period with a sprained left ankle. Enter Mealey, a sophomore from Destrehan, La.

After receiving the second half kickoff, Mealey carried the ball on LSU’s first seven plays from scrimmage. Those seven rushes accounted for 40 yards (of the 46 on the drive) and a Wade Richey field goal tied the game at six.

After bottling up the Irish at their own six, the Tigers took the lead for good on their next pos-session, this time with Mealey carrying four straight times for 27 yards in the middle of the eight-play touchdown excursion.

The Irish didn’t manage a third period first down until the final play of the quarter. Nonetheless, a roughing-the-passer penalty against LSU and a 26-yard Ron Powlus rushing gain put Notre

First Quarter7:13 ND Cengia 33 yd field goal, 9-70 4:03

Second Quarter7:12 LSU Richey 37 yd field goal, 4-4 1:540:20 ND Cengia 21 yd field goal, 14-60 6:52

Third Quarter9:17 LSU Richey 42 yd field goal, 12-46 5:434:05 LSU Booty 12 yd pass from Tyler (Richey kick), 8-49 3:31

Fourth Quarter13:10 ND Cengia 33 yd field goal, 8-61 2:3412:47 LSU Mealey 2 yd run (Richey kick), 2-80 0:232:22 LSU Mealey 1 yd run (Richey kick), 7-35 3:19

Dec. 28, 1997 • Shreveport, La. • Independence Stadium



#15 LSU 0 3 10 14 27

Dame in position for another Cengia field goal, this one from 33 yards out to make it 13-9 with 13 minutes remaining.

Just as quickly as Irish fans regained hope that Davie’s squad could get back into the game, Mealey took it away. On first down from his own 20, he stunned the record crowd of 50,459 by romping 78 yards to the Irish two. When he scored on the next play to make it 20-9, the decibel level of the Tiger fans rose with the Irish deficit on the scoreboard.

Three quarterback sacks energized the Tigers over the next two Notre Dame drives, leaving Mealey to add a final score with 2:22 remaining. On this seven-play drive, he carried six times for 34 of the 35 yards (27 on one run).

Denson finished with 101 yards for the Irish, Malcolm Johnson caught five passes for 49 yards, Hunter Smith punted for a 45-yard average and Melvin Dansby added 14 tackles, three for losses.

But it was Mealey who carried the day, with all but 37 of his 222 rushing yards coming in the second half.

Notre Dame might have held a larger margin at the half had the Irish managed to cash in more effectively once inside enemy territory.

On the first Irish scoring drive, a Denson gain of 35 yards put Notre Dame at the LSU 13 with a first down. But successive rushing gains of zero, minus-three and zero yards by Denson left Cengia to kick a 33-yarder on fourth and 13.

Later, after a first and goal at the LSU four, the Irish managed a net of two yards on three rushing attempts, again leaving it for Cengia to connect from 21 yards for the 6-3 halftime lead.

Scholarship AwardBobbie Howard, Linebacker

ND LSU ND LSUFirst Downs 19 19By Rushing 10 14By Passing 6 5By Penalty 3 0Rushing Attempts 41 52Yards Rushing 198 294Yards Lost Rushing 70 29Net Yards Rushing 128 265Net Yards Passing 115 61Passes Attempted 25 12Passes Completed 13 5Had Intercepted 0 0


RUSHING: LSU-Mealey 34-222, Banks 6-23, Tyler 9-13, Faulk 3-7. Notre Dame-Denson 20-101, Barry 8-43, Driver 1-1, Stokes 1-(-2), Jackson 4-(-2), Powlus 7-(-13).

PASSING: LSU-Tyler 5-12-1-61. Notre Dame-Powlus 8-18-0-66, Jackson 5-7-0-49.

RECEIVING: LSU-Booty 5-61. Notre Dame: Johnson 5-49, Denson 3-32, Getherall 3-23, Brown 1-10, Barry 1-1.



JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Nearly all the pre-game speculation in the Notre Dame camp prior to the 1999 Gator Bowl matchup with Georgia Tech centered around the physical condition of Irish quarterback Jarious Jackson.

Though Jackson wasn’t quite 100 percent, his gutty contributions and those of record-setting Irish tailback Autry Denson nearly were enough to carry green-clad Notre Dame to victory at Alltel Stadium.

Instead, it was the big-play offense of Georgia Tech that paved the way for a 35-28 Yellow Jacket victory in a rematch between the same two teams that had opened the 1997 regular season in the dedication game of the expanded Notre Dame Stadium.

Jackson played it safe in the opening half, disdaining the option most of the time in the interest of simply making sure he was healthy for the second half. But he turned things loose a bit more after the break, even running for a third-period Irish score that brought the Irish within a point at 21-20. Denson, meanwhile, gained 96 of his game-high 130 rushing yards in the final two periods and his three touchdown runs helped earn him the Notre Dame MVP honor.

But all that wasn’t enough to prevent Tech’s diversified offense from using a banner 237-yard throwing effort by quarterback Joe Hamilton and TD receptions of 44 and 55 yards by Dez White in the second half to hold off the Irish. The Jackets scored on five drives of 71 yards or longer.

Tech took a lead midway through the opening period, as Hamilton deftly mixed his plays, hit-ting four straight attempts good for 59 yards down to the Notre Dame 28. From there, the Jackets ran off seven straight running plays — including a conversion on fourth and one — with Joe Burns taking a pitch from Hamilton from the five, then throwing back to the Tech signalcaller for the score.

Notre Dame responded quickly, with Jackson finding Bobby Brown good for 33 yards on second down to the Tech 31. After a Jamie Spencer run for 10 yards, Denson ran for nine to tie the score.

Tech responded in kind, with Hamilton throwing to Charlie Rogers for 26 yards and to White for 11. Phillip Rogers went the final two yards for a 14-7 Georgia Tech advantage.

Jackson was sacked to thwart each of the next two Irish series. Then it was Tech that put together

First Quarter6:22 GT Hamilton 5 yd pass from Burns (Chambers kick), 12-87 4:534:06 ND Denson 9 yd run (Sanson kick), 6-65 2:16

Second Quarter13:46 GT Rogers 2 yd run (Chambers kick), 10-78 5:204:26 GT Sheridan 9 yd pass from Hamilton (Chambers kick), 10-84 4:26

Third Quarter10:47 ND Denson 1 yd run (Sanson kick), 10-80 4:137:23 ND Jackson 2 yd run (Sanson kick blocked), 8-26 3:243:42 GT White 44 yd pass from Hamilton (Chambers kick), 7-71 3:41

Fourth Quarter11:56 ND Denson 1 yd run (Brown pass from Jackson), 12-88 6:467:55 GT White 55 yd pass from Hamilton (Chambers kick), 9-91 4:01

Jan. 1, 1999 • Jacksonville, Fla. • Alltel Stadium


#12 Georgia Tech 7 14 7 7 35

#17 Notre Dame 7 0 13 8 28

another impressive 84-yard march, 68 of it coming on the ground. Hamilton found Mike Sheridan for nine yards and a 21-7 advantage. Jackson completed five straight passes in the final few minutes of the first half, but a Jim Sanson 44-yard field goal attempt fell short with 45 seconds remaining.

Denson nearly took control of the game by himself as the second half began. An 80-yard Irish excursion involved seven carries for 54 by the senior back, with his one-yard gain cutting the deficit to 21-14. Tony Driver’s fumble recovery on the ensuing kickoff set the Irish up at the Tech 26, and on the eighth play Jackson found paydirt. A blocked PAT attempt left Tech ahead 21-20.

Then it became big-play time for the Jackets. A second-down Bobbie Howard sack left Georgia Tech with third and 10 from the Irish 44 — but Hamilton responded by finding Jacksonville na-tive White behind the defense to put Tech back up 28-20. But the Irish weren’t finished.

On a 12-play, 88-yard drive, Denson carried seven times — including for the TD — and Jackson found Jay Johnson on a key 27-yard pass play. Jackson’s two-point conversion throw to Brown tied the score at 28 with 11:56 to go in the contest.

The Irish nearly recovered a second fumble on the kickoff, but from there Tech launched its game-winning drive. After Hamilton threw twice for the necessary yardage on third downs, on first and 10 he again found White on a post pattern and the 55-yard scoring play.

The Irish had three more shots, but none of the three possessions advanced past the Notre Dame 28-yard line.

Notre Dame Most Valuable PlayerAutry Denson, Tailback

ND GT ND GTFirst Downs 20 23By Rushing 10 10By Passing 8 11By Penalty 2 2Rushing Attempts 41 47Yards Rushing 104 205Yards Lost Rushing 35 11Net Yards Rushing 159 194Net Yards Passing 150 242Passes Attempted 24 21Passes Completed 13 14Had Intercepted 0 0


RUSHING: Georgia Tech-Rogers 13-82, Burns 12-55, Rogers 10-28, Hamilton 10-19, Wilder 2-10. Notre Dame-Denson 26-130, Spencer 3-17, Jackson 12-12.

PASSING: Georgia Tech-Hamilton 13-20-3-3-237, Burns 1-1-1-5. Notre Dame-Jackson 13-24-0-150.

RECEIVING: Georgia Tech-White 4-129, Rogers 4-52, Matvay 1-28, Sheridan 1-9, Wilder 1-7, Andrzejewski 1-7, Hamilton 1-5, Burns 1-5. Notre Dame: Johnson 5-43, Brown 2-42, Johnson 1-27, Nelson 2-20, Holloway 2-11, Denson 1-7.

169







TEMPE, Ariz. – Oregon State used four third quarter touchdowns, capitalizing on two Notre Dame turnovers, to defeat the Irish 41-9 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Notre Dame’s trip to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was its 11th New Year’s Day Bowl game in 14 years and second in the four-year tenure of Irish head coach Bob Davie. The loss was its fifth straight bowl-game defeat, a drought that goes back to the 1994 Cotton Bowl win over sixth-ranked Texas A&M.

“That football team out there impressed me.” Davie said. While the scoreboard showed the worst defeat for the Irish since a 58-7 loss at Miami in

1985, Notre Dame was still within striking distance at halftime. Oregon State tallied scores on its first two possessions with field goals of 32 and 29 yards.

Both drives covered over 50 yards, but the Irish defense got tough deep in its own territory holding the Beavers on third-and-18 and third-and-one.

The Beavers had another chance to score midway through the second quarter, but Notre Dame snuffed out the opportunity with a stop on fourth-and-goal from the Irish one-yard line.

Notre Dame was again forced to punt with the Beavers taking over at their own 10-yard line. At that point, Oregon State appeared to be ready to run away with the game when Chad Johnson caught a Jonathon Smith pass on second down and sprinted 74 yards for the first touchdown of the game. The Beavers’ two-point conversion attempt failed and Oregon State led 12-0.

Notre Dame then took the ball at its own 23 and quarterback Matt LoVecchio was sacked on the first two Irish plays. After seeing its third-and-31 pass fall incomplete, the drive was kept alive by a personal foul call against Oregon State. A 40-yard pass from LoVecchio to Javin Hunter moved Notre Dame into Beaver territory for the first time in the game. An Oregon State pass interference call moved Notre Dame to the Beaver 12, but after two incomplete passes, Nick Setta booted a 29-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.

Notre Dame trailed just 12-3.Oregon State took possession to open the second half, but the drive fizzled after just four

plays. Notre Dame took over following the punt, but the Beavers forced a LoVecchio fumble on

First Quarter7:27 OSU Cesca 32 yd field goal, 11-59 5:32

Second Quarter14:55 OSU Cesca 29 yd field goal, 12-50 5:084:18 OSU Johnson 74 yd pass from Smith (Smith pass failed), 4-90 1:080:00 ND Setta 29 yd field goal, 15-65 4:18

Third Quarter12:04 OSU Houshmandzadeh 23 yd pass from Smith (Cesca kick), 2-26 0:459:08 OSU Roberts 45 yd punt return (Prescott pass from Smith)7:02 OSU Johnson 4 yd pass from Smith (Cesca kick), 4-22 0:584:54 OSU Simonton 4 yd run (Cesca kick), 4-55 1:31

Fourth Quarter6:07 ND Fisher 1 yd run (LoVecchio run failed), 12-57 5:10



#10 Notre Dame 0 3 0 6 9

#5 Oregon State 3 9 29 0 41

second down deep in his own territory. Oregon State turned that possession into a touchdown in just two plays, scoring on a 23-yard pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

“If I had to say there was one big series, I think it was probably the first possession of the second half when it was 12-3 and we finally stopped them,” Davie said. “We ran the ball on first down and got stoned, and then on second down we get sacked and turn the ball over. We were just off-rhythm all night, and I have to give (Oregon State) credit because they jumped up and made a bunch of plays on defense.”

Oregon State, up 19-3 three minutes into the third quarter, turned it up offensively and defensively in the next seven minutes. The Beaver defense held Notre Dame to minus-11 yards on its next three possessions, forcing two punts and an interception while scoring three touchdowns in its next eight plays.

After forcing another LoVecchio interception late in the third quarter to stop an Irish drive, Oregon State was content to let the clock run. They had turned a 12-3 halftime lead into a 41-3 celebration.

Notre Dame rounded out the scoring by capitalizing on the lone Oregon State turnover by following a Beaver fumble with a 57-yard touchdown drive capped by a Tony Fisher dive from a yard out.

“Their speed was definitely a factor,” Davie said. “They played extremely hard. When we can’t run the football any more effectively than we did tonight, we virtually have no chance.”

The Irish were limited to season lows with 155 yards total offense and 17 yards rushing.

Sportsmanship AwardJulius Jones, Tailback

ND OSU ND OSUFirst Downs 18 20By Rushing 5 7By Passing 7 12By Penalty 6 1Rushing Attempts 37 39Yards Rushing 99 156Yards Lost Rushing 82 29Net Yards Rushing 17 127Net Yards Passing 138 319Passes Attempted 33 25Passes Completed 13 17Had Intercepted 2 0

Total Offensive Plays 70 64Total Net Yards 155 446Average Gain Per Play 2.2 7.0Fumbles: No.-Lost 2-1 3-1Penalties: No.-Yds. 7-42 18-174Interceptions: No.-Yds. 0-0 2-31Punts: No.-Yds. 6-249 3-117Average Per Punt 41.5 39.0Punt Returns: No.-Yds. 2-(-1) 4-106Kickoff Returns: No.-Yds. 6-146 1-12Third Down Conversions 4-15 5-13

RUSHING: Oregon State-Simonton 18-85, Battle 8-32, McCall 10-25, Stremick 1-(-2), Smith 2-(-13). Notre Dame-Jones 13-30, Howard 8-28, Fisher 5-9, Lopienski 1-0, Getherall 1-(-1), LoVecchio 9-(-49).

PASSING: Oregon State-Smith 16-24-3-305, Stremick 1-1-0-14. Notre Dame-LoVecchio 13-33-0-138.

RECEIVING: Oregon State-Houshmandzadeh 6-74, Johnson 4-93, Maurer 3-82, Prescott 2-41, McCall 1-15, Moala 1-14. Notre Dame: Givens 4-23, Hunter 3-57, O’Leary 2-36, Fisher 2-2, Getherall 1-10, Jones 1-10.



JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Progress can be measured in different ways. While Notre Dame’s 28-6 loss to North Carolina State in the Gator Bowl might have put a damper on an otherwise brilliant season, it did serve as an indicator of the progress the Irish made it in a very short period of time.

Notre Dame controlled the ball for more than 33 minutes and ran 15 more plays against the Wolfpack. However, the Irish were undermined by the one thing that had been their calling card all season -- turnovers.

Notre Dame entered the game with a +8 turnover ratio, good for 26th in the nation. Against North Carolina State, that mark was turned upside down, as the Irish tossed three intercep-tions, including a critical game-changing theft late in the first half.

Playing his final game at Notre Dame, wide receiver Arnaz Battle caught 10 passes for 84 yards, setting a school record for receptions in a bowl game. Battle wound up with 58 catches on the season, the third-highest total in school history and the most by an Irish wideout in 33 years. Tailback Ryan Grant added 68 yards rushing on 21 carries, giving him 1,085 yards on the ground for the season, the 10th-highest single-season mark in school history.

Spirits were high for Notre Dame early on, as the Irish moved smartly downfield on their second possession, going 52 yards in 12 plays to set up a 23-yard field goal by Nicholas Setta. However, in a precursor of Notre Dame’s misfortune, starting quarterback Carlyle Holiday in-jured his shoulder late in the drive and would not return.

N.C. State moved in front on its next possession, driving 92 yards in 12 plays, and culminat-ing with a two-yard TD run by T.A. McLendon. It was the first of two scores for the Wolfpack runner, who added a three-yard scamper the next time his team had the ball, putting N.C. State on top, 14-3, with 5:02 remaining in the first half.

The Wolfpack then dealt Notre Dame’s comeback hopes a staggering blow, as Rod Johnson intercepted a pass by Irish reserve quarterback Pat Dillingham, setting up N.C. State at the Notre Dame 48-yard line. It took Wolfpack signal-caller Philip Rivers six plays to march his team to the end zone, finding Jerricho Cotchery on a nine-yard scoring toss with 1:16 left in the first half.

First Quarter4:12 ND Setta 23 yd field goal, 12-52 6:42

Second Quarter14:03 NCSU McLendon 2 yd run (Kiker kick), 12-96 5:095:02 NCSU McLendon 3 yd run (Kiker kick), 11-76 4:511:16 NCSU Cotchery 9 yd pass from Rivers (Kiker kick), 6-48 2:51

Third Quarter1:44 ND Setta 41 yd field goal, 10-39 4:05

Fourth Quarter10:41 NCSU Berton 7 yd pass from Rivers (Kiker kick), 9-69 2:51

Jan. 1, 2003 • Jacksonville, Fla. • Alltel Stadium


#17 North Carolina State 0 21 0 7 28

#11 Notre Dame 3 0 3 0 6

The Irish looked strong on their first possession of the third quarter, moving all the way to the N.C. State 24-yard line. However, the drive stalled there and on fourth down, Notre Dame elected to go for it, but Johnson intercepted Dillingham’s pass in the end zone, quashing the threat.

Later in the period, the Irish once again worked their way down to the Wolfpack 24-yard line. This time, they called on Setta, who boomed a 41-yard field goal to slice the N.C. State lead to 21-6 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Wolfpack iced the game early in the final frame, as Rivers orchestrated a nine-play, 69-yard drive that was capped by his seven-yard touchdown pass to Sean Berton with just under 11 minutes to play.

Notre Dame made two forays into N.C. State territory in the fourth period, including a march to the Wolfpack one-yard line in the last two minutes. However, the Irish could not punch the ball into the end zone on four tries and turned the ball over on downs.

Notre Dame MVPCedric Hilliard, Nose Guard

NCSU ND NCSU NDFirst Downs 21 23By Rushing 4 8By Passing 14 9By Penalty 3 6Rushing Attempts 26 38Yards Rushing 80 112Yards Lost Rushing 18 26Net Yards Rushing 62 86Net Yards Passing 255 200Passes Attempted 41 44Passes Completed 25 23Had Intercepted 0 3

Total Offensive Plays 67 82Total Net Yards 317 286Average Gain Per Play 4.7 3.5Fumbles: No.-Lost 0-0 0-0Penalties: No.-Yds. 10-87 9-90Interceptions: No.-Yds. 3-26 0-0Punts: No.-Yds. 5-216 4-121Average Per Punt 43.2 30.3Punt Returns: No.-Yds. 1-0 2-20Kickoff Returns: No.-Yds. 1-7 2-51Third Down Conversions 7-15 4-19Fourth Down Conversions 0-1 4-7

RUSHING: NC State-Rivers 7-22, Brown 7-18, McLendon 11-18, Berton 1-4. Notre Dame-Grant 21-68, Powers-Neal 5-16, McNair 4-8, Battle 2-6, Holiday 2-3, Dillingham 4-(-15).

PASSING: NC State-Rivers 23-37-2-228, Peterson 2-3-0-27, Team 1-0-0-0. Notre Dame-Dillingham 19-37-0-166, Holiday 3-6-0-22, Hildbold 1-1-0-12.

RECEIVING: NC State-Cotchery 10-127, Berton 5-40, McLendon 3-16, Edwards 3-13, Peter-son 2-16, Gray 1-24, Hicks 1-19. Notre Dame: Battle 10-84, Clark 4-41, Jenkins 3-42, Stovall 3-25, Godsey 1-5, Rodamer 1-5, McKnight 1(-2).

171






2004 InsIgHt Bowl game summary

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Playing under an interim head coach at the conclusion of one of the most tumultuous months in Notre Dame football history, the Irish ended the 2004 season with a loss to Oregon State in the Insight Bowl at Bank One Ballpark in downtown Phoenix.

Derek Anderson passed for 358 yards and four touchdowns as Notre Dame fell to Oregon State, 38-21. Anderson, who completed 28-of-45 passes, tossed two touchdowns to Joe Newton and one each to George Gillett and Dan Haines. Oregon State (7-5) opened a 14-0 first quarter cushion behind scoring tosses of 12 yards to Gillett and 11 yards to Newton. An-derson’s 11-yard pass to Haines made it 21-0 with 7:49 left in the second quarter, and the Beavers led by at least 10 points thereafter. The first two scores were set up by a long punt return by Sammie Stroughter and a blocked punt by Derrick Doggett, respectively.

Notre Dame (6-6) was playing its one and only game under Kent Baer, its defensive coor-dinator under former head coach Tyrone Willingham, who was fired on November 30. “I’d be lying if I told you that it didn’t affect`some people,” said Irish quarterback Brady Quinn, who completed 17-of-29 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns.

The Irish showed plenty of fight, recovering from an early 21-0 deficit by pulling within 10 points late in the third period (24-14). Notre Dame cut the halftime deficit to 21-7 with an impressive 13-play, 84-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 13-yard pass from Quinn to tight end Anthony Fasano 56 seconds before the intermission.

First Quarter9:24 OSU Gillett 12 yd pass from Anderson (Serna kick), 4-27 1:185:41 OSU Newton 11 yd pass from Anderson (Serna kick), 2-10 0:48

Second Quarter7:49 OSU Haines 11 yd pass from Anderson (Serna kick), 5-45 2:490:56 ND Fasano 13 yd pass from Quinn (Fitzpatrick kick), 13-84 6:53

Third Quarter9:16 OSU Serna 38 yd field goal, 6-32 1:593:40 ND Walker 5 yd run (Fitzpatrick kick), 6-49 3:34

Fourth Quarter12:17 OSU Newton 1 yd pass from Anderson (Serna kick), 12-90 5:234:52 ND McKnight 18 yd pass from Quinn (Fitzpatrick kick), 10-88 4:043:19 OSU Wright 2 yd run (Serna kick), 4-28 1:33

Dec. 28, 2004 • Phoenix, Ariz. • Bank One Ballpark



Oregon State 14 7 3 14 38

After OSU added a field goal early in the third quarter, the Irish moved 49 yards in six plays for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 10 points. A 29-yard pass from Quinn to Jeff Samardzija keyed the march that concluded with a five-yard scoring run by Darius Walker with 2:40 left in the period.

Notre Dame’s comeback hopes were stalled on OSU’s next drive. The Beavers took the ensu-ing possession 90 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown, chewing up 5:23 of game time before a one-yard pass from Anderson to Newton gave OSU a commanding 31-14 edge.

The Irish responded with a score of their own, marching 88 yards in 10 plays to pull within 31-21 on an 18-yard pass from Quinn to Rhema McKnight, who made a spectacular one-handed grab in the end zone for the score with 4:52 left. But the Beavers added an insur-ance score just 1:33 later, after recovering Notre Dame’s attempted on-side kick at the Irish 28. Dwight Wright scored on a two-yard run with 3:19 to go for the final margin.

Notre Dame’s receivers were the team’s standouts as Samardzija nabbed a career-high five passes for 89 yards while McKnight had four catches for 90 yards to key the offense.

Sportsmanship AwardDerek Curry, Linebacker

ND OSU ND OSUFirst Downs 17 19By Rushing 3 2By Passing 11 17By Penalty 3 0Rushing Attempts 33 18Yards Rushing 90 46Yards Lost Rushing 31 26Net Yards Rushing 59 20Net Yards Passing 217 358Passes Attempted 33 45Passes Completed 18 28Had Intercepted 1 0

Total Offensive Plays 66 63Total Net Yards 276 378Avg. Gain Per Play 4.2 6.0Fumbles: No.-Lost 0-0 1-0Penalties: No.-Yds. 2-10 5-45Interceptions: No.-Yds. 0-0 1-37Punts: No.-Yds. 8-255 4-141Avg. Per Punt 31.9 35.2Punt Returns: No.-Yds. 1-7 5-77Kickoff Returns: No.-Yds. 6-109 3-34Third Down Conversions 7-16 6-14Fourth Down Conversions 0-0 1-1

RUSHING: Oregon State-Wright 9-24, Cole 3-3, Anderson 5-(-6).Notre Dame-Walker 13-43, Grant 14-19, Quinn 4-10, Wilson 1-0, Anastasio 1-(-13).

PASSING: Oregon State-Anderson 28-45-0-358. Notre Dame-Quinn 17-29-1-214, Dilling-ham 1-3-0-3, Hoskins 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: Oregon State-Newton 7-85, Hass 5-105, Gillett 4-62, Love 4-37, Haines 3-25, Bernard 2-19, Wright 2-16, Hawkins 1-9. Notre Dame: Samardzija 5-89, McKnight 4-90, Wil-son 2-3, Walker 1-13, Fasano 1-13, Palmer 1-6, Harris 1-3, Powers-Neal 1-2, Schmidt 1-1, Shelton 1-(-3).



TEMPE, Ariz. – Notre Dame’s return to national prominence under first-year head coach Charlie Weis was capped by the first Irish appearance in a Bowl Championship Series game in five years. Unfortunately, the result was not indicative of the team’s success in the regular season as the fifth-ranked Irish suffered a 34-20 loss to fourth-ranked Ohio State in the 2006 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Much of the pre-game hype about the contest focused on the matchup between the Notre Dame offense and the Buckeye defense, but the game actually turned on the ability of the Ohio State offense to exploit matchups against the Irish defense. The Buckeyes racked up 617 yards of offense, a record by a Notre Dame opponent, on the way to handing the Irish their third defeat of the season.

OSU quarterback Troy Smith earned Game MVP honors by using his maneuverability and poise under pres-sure to repeatedly create big plays at crucial moments, accounting for 408 yards (66 rushing, 342 passing) and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Irish stayed in the game thanks to a plucky defense that wouldn’t quit and an offense (led by quarterback Brady Quinn and tailback Darius Walker) that came out blazing, stalled, then regrouped to rally the team in the game’s late stages.

The game started just as Weis and the Irish drew it up as Notre Dame took the game’s opening kickoff and proceeded to march to a quick touchdown. Walker rushed three times for 39 yards and Quinn completed a pair of passes for 33 more as the Irish drove 72 yards in six plays to a touchdown as Walker raced 20 yards to pay dirt for a 7-0 Notre Dame lead just 2:01 into the game.

Ohio State responded with a drive characteristic of the rest of the game. Twice Smith managed to create big plays on key third downs, scrambling for 15 yards and a first down on a third-and-nine play and passing for six yards to Santonio Holmes on a third-and-six. Then, Smith fired a 56-yard bomb to wideout Ted Ginn Jr. for a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 with 10:02 left in the opening quarter.

Notre Dame squandered a golden scoring opportunity late in the opening period when Irish linebacker Corey Mays sacked Smith and forced him to fumble at the Buckeye 14. Defensive end Ronald Talley recovered for the Irish and Notre Dame took possession in the shadow of the OSU end zone. But the Irish failed to produce points as the Buckeye defense stiffened and stopped the Irish on a fourth-and-two play, sacking Quinn for an eight-yard loss to end the threat.

The Buckeyes took the lead on the ensuing possession, driving 86 yards in six plays. Smith connected with Ginn for 18 yards on a third-and-nine play immediately before Ginn took a reverse and sprinted 68 yards to the end zone, dodging the entire Irish defense on his way and a 14-7 OSU lead early in the second quarter. The

First Quarter12:59 ND Walker 20 yd run (Fitzpatrick kick), 6-72 2:0110:02 OSU Ginn Jr. 56 yd pass from Smith (Huston kick), 7-82 2:57

Second Quarter14:16 OSU Ginn Jr. 68 yd run (Huston kick), 6-86 2:162:21 OSU Holmes 85 yd pass from Smith (Huston kick), 4-98 2:!6

Third Quarter4:25 ND Walker 10 yd run (Fitzpatrick kick), 10-71 2:532:20 OSU Huston 40 yd field goal, 5-42 2:05

Fourth Quarter10:12 OSU Huston 26 yd field goal, 10-60 4:225:27 ND Walker 3 yd run (Fitzpatrick kick), 13-80 4:451:46 OSU Pittman 60 yd run (Huston kick), 7-85 3:41



#5 Notre Dame 7 0 6 7 20

#4 Ohio State 7 14 3 10 34

Buckeyes extended the lead to 21-7 at the half on a 85-yard pass from Smith to Holmes with 2:21 left in the second quarter and appeared to be in control as the second half began.

But the Irish showed impressive resolve to stay in it, blocking a Huston field goal attempt early in the third period then marching 71 yards in 10 plays to pull within 21-13 on a 10-yard run by Walker with 4:25 left in the period. Late in the quarter, the game’s most controversial play went against the Irish. Safety Tom Zbikowski picked up what appeared to be a fumble by OSU receiver Anthony Gonzalez, returning the loose ball for an apparent 87-yard touchdown that would have narrowed the score to 21-19. But officials ruled via replay that Gonzalez had not retained possession, negating the play. Huston kicked a 40-yard field goal on the next play for a 24-13 OSU lead.

“That was THE play,” Weis said. “What I said to the official on the field is I hope your guy upstairs was right because that changed the whole complexion of the game.”

Huston added another field goal early in the fourth, this one from 26 yards out, to give the Buckeyes a 27-13 edge. But the Irish would not go down quietly. Quinn, who set Irish bowl passing records for yards, completions, attempts and consecutive completions (tying a school mark with 14 consecutive at one point in the game), led them 80 yards in 13 plays. The scoring play, a three-yard run by Walker off a direct snap, was his third of the game (another Irish bowl mark), and pulled Notre Dame within 27-20 with 5:27 remaining.

But OSU responded with a clinching score. Smith wiggled out of pressure twice on third down plays to com-plete clutch passes for first downs before Antonio Pittman sealed the outcome with a 60-yard run for a score with 1:46 remaining.

It was a tough loss for the Irish, but not one without memorable performances. Stovall had nine catches for 126 yards to set new Irish bowl record for receiving yards. Quinn finished with 29 completions in 45 attempts, tying the single-game Notre Dame record for completions. For his gutsy perfomance, Quinn was awarded the game’s sportsmanship award. Defensively, linebackers Corey Mays and Brandon Hoyte had standout perfor-mances. Mayes made a game-high 12 tackles, forced a fumble, had two tackles for losses and one quarterback sack. Hoyte added 10 tackles, including one for a loss.

Sportsmanship AwardBrady Quinn, Quarterback

OSU ND OSU NDFirst Downs 27 22By Rushing 12 8By Passing 14 12By Penalty 1 2Rushing Attempts 36 28Yards Rushing 293 106Yards Lost Rushing 18 44Net Yards Rushing 275 62Net Yards Passing 342 286Passes Attempted 28 45Passes Completed 19 29Had Intercepted 0 0

Total Offensive Plays 64 73Total Net Yards 617 348Average Gain Per Play 9.6 4.8Fumbles: No.-Lost 2-2 1-0Penalties: No.-Yds. 7-53 6-48Interceptions: No.-Yds. 0-0 0-0Punts: No.-Yds. 1-40 6-254Average Per Punt 40.0 42.3Punt Returns: No.-Yds. 2-20 1-0Kickoff Returns: No.-Yds. 3-51 2-23Third Down Conversions 8-12 9-17Fourth Down Conversions 0-0 1-2

RUSHING: Ohio State-Pittman 21-136, Ginn Jr. 2-73, Smith 13-66. Notre Dame-Walker 16-90, Schwapp 2-4, Quinn 10-(-32).

PASSING: Ohio State-Smith 19-28-0-342. Notre Dame-Quinn 29-45-0-286.

RECEIVING: Ohio State-Ginn Jr. 8-167, Holmes 5-124, Hall 2-22, Pittman 2-6, Gonzalez 1-15, Frost 1-8. Notre Dame: Stovall 9-126, Walker 7-37, Samardzija 6-59, Shelton 5-52, Fasano 2-12.

173






2007 sugar Bowl Bowl game summary

NEW ORLEANS – JaMarcus Russell cocked his head, glanced toward the towering Superdome stands and soaked up the pleas of the LSU faithful.

“One more year! One more year!” they screamed.The way the mammoth quarterback played against Notre Dame, there seems little reason for him to

spend any more time in college.Russell led No. 4 LSU to a 41-14 rout of college football’s most storied program Wednesday night.The Sugar Bowl returned to New Orleans with a Cajun-style party, with left the 11th-ranked Fighting

Irish with a most unwanted spot in the record book. They lost their ninth straight bowl game, more than any other school.

Certainly he had the best on this night. The 6-foot-6, 257-pound Russell completed 21-of-34 for 332 yards and two touchdowns. He also had his first rushing score of the season and set up another TD with a 31-yard pass.

Russell and LSU’s feared defense took control after halftime, turning a tenuous 21-14 game into a laugher. The Tigers (11-2) outgained Notre Dame by a staggering 333 yards to 30 over the final two quarters.

The school of Touchdown Jesus and Knute Rockne snapped a tie with South Carolina and West Vir-ginia for most consecutive bowl losses in NCAA history. And this was like most of the others, a double-digit blowout that showed Notre Dame still has work to do if it wants to compete with the nation’s best.

“We’ve got to turn the corner,” coach Charlie Weis said. “Right now, we’re just a nice, solid team. That won’t cut it. We want to be an upper-echelon team.”

Quinn doesn’t have a decision to make about his pro future, but the senior’s hopes of being the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft may have taken a blow. He struggled to cope with the speed and size of LSU’s defense, completing just 15-of-35 for 148 yards, his two TD passes offset by two interceptions.

LSU romped after halftime. After a pair of field goals by Colt David, Russell blew it open with a 58-yard touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell in the final minute of the third quarter.

Notre Dame (10-3) bounced back from an early 14-0 deficit and tied the game with 2 1/2 minutes left in the first half. But Russell’s took matters in his own hands - and legs - to put the Tigers ahead to stay before the teams went to the locker room.

First Quarter11:16 LSU Williams 3 yd run (David kick), 2-34 0:496:03 LSU Bowe 11 yd pass from Russell (David kick), 8-80 3:311:26 ND Grimes 24 yd pass from Quinn (Gioia kick), 8-80 4:37

Second Quarter2:25 ND Samardzija 10 yd pass from Quinn (Gioia kick), 8-80 2:391:15 LSU Russell 5 yd run (David kick), 5-82 1:10

Third Quarter9:34 LSU David 25 yd field goal, 13-73 5:263:48 LSU David 37 yd field goal, 9-59 3:570:18 LSU LeFell 58 yd pass from Russell (David kick), 5-73 1:38

Fourth Quarter7:27 LSU Williams 20 yd run (David kick), 9-76 4:11



#11 Notre Dame 7 7 0 0 14

#4 LSU 14 7 13 7 41

First, Russell went deep to Early Doucet for a 58-yard completion. Then, Russell scored himself on a 5-yard keeper up the middle.

Notre Dame hasn’t won a postseason game since its 24-21 victory over Texas A&M in the 1994 Cot-ton Bowl. “O-ver-ra-ted!” the Tiger-dominated crowd roared after freshman Keiland Williams ripped off his second touchdown of the game, a 20-yard run with just under 7 1/2 minutes remaining.

But the biggest cheers came on LSU’s next possession. Russell made one handoff, then came out of the game to standing ovation.

Notre Dame was determined to get off to a strong start, but it sure didn’t work out that way. Weis called a fake punt that backfired, and the Irish looked just as tight and nervous as they did at the begin-ning of blowout losses to Michigan and Southern Cal.

At least they didn’t fold until the second half, fighting back to tie the game at 14.The offenses had their way, with three 80-yard scoring drives and another covering 82. The only

exception followed the fake punt on Notre Dame’s opening possession. With the Irish facing fourth-and-3 at their own 34, the coach called for a direct snap to up-back Travis Thomas, but he was stuffed for no gain.

Two plays later, LSU had the lead. Russell hooked up with Doucet on a 31-yard pass and Williams powered over from the 3.

The Tigers made it 14-0 on their next possession. Russell broke off a 21-yard run on a draw to get deep into Notre Dame territory, and finished off the drive with an 11-yard scoring pass to Dwayne Bowe.

Notre Dame’s next possession started ominously - Quinn was sacked for a 10-yard loss. But Darius Walker ran for 11 yards and turned a short pass into a 21-yard gain. Quinn finished it off with 24-yard TD pass to David Grimes.

Walker rushed for all but three of his 128 yards in the first half.David missed a 31-yard field goal try, and Notre Dame responded to that momentum-changer with

the tying touchdown as Quinn went to his favorite receiver, Jeff Samardzija, on a 10-yard TD pass.

Sportsmanship AwardBrady Quinn, Quarterback

ND LSU ND LSUFIRST DOWNS 17 31RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 31-143 37-245PASSING YDS (NET) 148 332Passes Att-Comp-Int 35-15-2 34-21-1TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 66-291 71-577Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0Punt Returns-Yards 0-0 1-0Kickoff Returns-Yards 6-128 3-48Interception Returns-Yards 1-20 2-39


RUSHING: LSU-Williams 14-107; Vincent 12-71; Hester 3-25; Russell 5-16; Holliday 1-11; Davis 1-8; Jackson 1-7. Notre Dame-Walker 22-128; Aldridge 3-7; Quinn 3-6; Thomas 2-2; Samardzija 1-0.

PASSING: LSU-Russell 21-34-1-332. Notre Dame-Quinn 15-35-2-148.

RECEIVING: LSU-Doucet 8-115; Bowe 5-78; Davis 4-50; Vincent 2-19; LaFell 1-58; Jacob Hester 1-12. Notre Dame: Samardzija 8-59; McKnight 3-22; Walker 2-30; Grimes 1-24; Carl-son 1-13.


2008 HawaII Bowl game summary

HONOLULU – Jimmy Clausen ended Notre Dame’s long bowl drought - and Hawaii’s bid for a fourth straight Hawai’i Bowl victory - with a record-breaking passing night.

Clausen set Notre Dame bowl records with 406 yards passing and five touchdowns to lead the efficient Fighting Irish to their first postseason victory in 15 years, 49-21 over Hawaii.

“I told the team that’s the only thing I wanted (for Christmas). I just wanted to win a bowl game,” Irish coach Charlie Weis said.

“I heard it a hundred times in the locker room after the game and they wanted to know what I was giving them for Christmas. I told them: ‘a flight home.”’

Golden Tate had six catches for 177 yards and three touchdowns, also Notre Dame bowl re-cords, including a 69-yarder that sparked a 28-point outburst to help the Irish (7-6) end their NCAA-record bowl losing steak at nine.

“I’m very happy for Notre Dame. This was a great step forward for us,” Weis said. “It leads us into 2009 with a good taste in our mouth.”

With Weis calling the plays from the coaches box for the first time because of knee problems that require him to walk with crutches, the Irish were unstoppable.

The offense scored at will. The blitzing defense shut down Hawaii’s run-and-shoot. And the special teams wasn’t too shabby, either.

“The guys came out here on a mission,” Clausen said.After the Warriors (7-7) scored to end Notre Dame’s 28-point run, Armando Allen returned a

kickoff 96 yards for a score. Allen also caught an 18-yard TD pass on the Irish’s opening drive of the second half.

Weis said he had an injection in his knee before the game, but still couldn’t walk. The last time he coached from the box was in 2001.

“It’s 10 times easier. It’s night and day easier,” Weis said. “I haven’t been up in the box since Drew Bledsoe got hurt. ... You don’t want to do that long term, but calling a game from up there is pretty sweet. As a head coach, you want to be on the sideline.”

It was evident Weis, who was all smiles after the game, and his players cherished its long-awaited bowl victory.

First Quarter3:07 ND Hughes 3 yd run (Walker kick), 9-87 4:45

Second Quarter10:25 ND Grimes 14 yd pass from Clausen (Walker kick), 6-53 2:098:12 UH Bain 10 yd pass from Alexander (Kelly kick), 6-56 2:066:49 ND Tate 69 yd pass from Clausen (Walker kick), 3-79 1:180:01 ND Tate 18 yd pass from Clausen (Walker kick), 8-67 3:53

Third Quarter10:50 ND Allen 18 yd pass from Clausen (Walker kick), 6-88 2:527:22 ND Tate 40 yd pass from Clausen (Walker kick), 5-50 2:234:25 UH Bain 21 yd pass from Alexander (Kelly kick), 6-81 2:514:12 ND Allen 96 yd kickoff return (Walker kick)

Fourth Quarter1:45 UH Washington 27 yd pass from Funaki (Kelly kick), 6-80 2:06

Dec. 24, 2008 • Honolulu, Hawaii • Hawaii Bowl


Notre Dame 7 21 21 0 49

Hawai’i 0 7 7 7 21

As Notre Dame was presented the Hawaii Bowl’s pineapple-football trophy at midfield, each player came around to put their hands on it.

Notre Dame’s victory was its first in the postseason since it beat Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl to end the 1993 season. The Irish also avoided consecutive losing seasons.

Clausen was confident and sharp, completing 22 of 26 passes. He racked up 300 yards pass-ing and three TDs by halftime alone, sending the crowd home early.

The sophomore broke Brady Quinn’s postseason school record of 286 yards passing set against Ohio State in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl.

Warriors coach Greg McMackin said, including his years in the NFL, Clausen was “as accurate as I’ve ever seen.”

“He was outstanding, his receivers were outstanding,” McMackin said.With Notre Dame up 14-7, Clausen broke open the game by connecting with Tate on a 69-

yard TD play, the Irish’s longest play from scrimmage of the season.Clausen faked a handoff, turned and heaved it to Tate, who had blew past cornerback Calvin

Roberts along the left sideline. With the catch, Tate became the fifth Irish receiver to break 1,000 yards receiving in a season.

The Irish made it 28-7 with a second left in the first half on an 18-yard hookup between Clausen and Tate on third-and-goal. Hawaii challenged the play, but replays showed Tate got his left foot down before stepping out.

Tate followed it up in the third quarter with a 40-yard TD reception that pushed the lead to 42-7 and gave the Warriors flashbacks of the pounding they received from Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to end last season.

Hawaii couldn’t get much going. Quarterback Greg Alexander was kept off balance and on the run by the Irish defense, which had eight sacks and forced two turnovers.

Notre Dame Co-MVPJimmy Clausen, QBGolden Tate, WR

ND UH ND UHFIRST DOWNS 23 22RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 34-65 19-32PASSING YDS (NET) 413 326Passes Att-Comp-Int 28-24-0 44-28-1TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 62-478 63-358Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0Punt Returns-Yards 2-5 2-4Kickoff Returns-Yards 3-133 7-131Interception Returns-Yards 1-26 0-0


RUSHING: Hawai’i-Pilares 2-19; Funaki 1-15; Libre 1-12; Farmer 1-1; Wright-Jackson 1-1; Alexander 13-(-16). Notre Dame-Hughes 17-55; Gray, J. 5-13; Allen 4-9; Aldridge 1-0; Sharpley 2-0; Team 3-(-6); Clausen 2-(-6).

PASSING: Hawai’i-Alexander 23-39-1-261; Funaki 5-5-0-65. Notre Dame-Clausen 22-26-0-401; Sharpley 2-2-0-12.

RECEIVING: Hawai’i-Bain 8-109; Salas 7-76; Washington 6-96; Lane 4-29; Pilares 3-16. Notre Dame: Tate 6-177; Rudolph 4-78; Grimes 4-34; Hughes 3-27; Kamara 3-21; Allen 2-59; Floyd 2-17.

175






2010 sun Bowl game summary

EL PASO, Texas (AP) – A far-from-perfect first season as Notre Dame coach could not have ended much better for Brian Kelly and his Fighting Irish.

Freshman Tommy Rees passed for 201 yards and two touchdowns to Michael Floyd, as Notre Dame beat Miami 33-17 in the Sun Bowl on Friday, making Kelly the first Fighting Irish coach to win a bowl game during his first season.

The Irish started 1-3 under Kelly and consecutive October losses to Navy and Tulsa left them in precarious position to even get bowl eligible. But Notre Dame finished with four straight victories against Utah, Army, Southern California and Miami that should buoy hopes for the future of the program.

“Clearly, we are gaining a lot of confidence,” Kelly said. “We’ve beaten some good football teams late in the year as we’ve come together and found our identity. It’s going to taste a whole lot better in the offseason talking about a win.”

Notre Dame (8-5) reached the end zone on three of its first four possessions. Rees tossed TD passes of 3 and 34 yards to Floyd, and Cierre Wood broke free on a 34-yard scoring run before David Ruffer added field goals from 40, 50 and 19 yards.

Notre Dame’s 30th bowl appearance was a New Year’s Eve fiesta in El Paso, a predominantly Roman Catholic city on the Mexican border that embraced the Irish with huge cheers from the first glimpse of a golden helmet coming from the locker rooms.

“El Paso treated Notre Dame so very well,” Kelly said. The Hurricanes trailed 30-3 going into the fourth quarter, completing a season in which their

coach was fired with an ugly loss.Rees hardly looked like a freshman, completing 15 of 29 attempts without an intercep-

tion. He struggled in the season-ending victory over USC but his performance against Miami marked the first time a first-year starting quarterback at Notre Dame won a bowl game.

Floyd had a big day, too, with six catches for 109 yards receiving, and he was close to hauling in two more scores.

First Quarter11:02 ND Floyd 3 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 6-54 3:484:35 ND Floyd 34 yd pass from Rees (Ruffer kick), 8-74 4:27

Second Quarter13:21 ND Wood 34 yd run (Ruffer kick), 1-39 0:144:50 ND Ruffer 40 yd field goal, 9-51, 3:300:27 ND Ruffer 50 yd field goal, 9-33, 1:220:00 UM Bosher 47 yd field goal, 4-39, 0:18

Third Quarter7:12 ND Ruffer 19 yd field goal, 15-63 6:46

Fourth Quarter10:36 UM Hankerson 6 yd pass from Morris (Bosher kick), 7-57 1:134:01 UM Streeter 42 yd pass from Morris (Bosher kick), 8-98 2:351:21 ND Tausch 34 yd field goal, 8-48 2:38

Dec. 31, 2010 • El Paso, Texas • Sun Bowl Stadium


Notre Dame 14 13 3 3 33

Miami (Fla.) 0 3 0 14 17

The game sold out in 21 hours, the fastest in the Sun Bowl’s 77-year history, and the crowd of 54,021 set a bowl attendance record. Many fans wore Notre Dame jackets to ward off the 34-degree weather as a round of overnight snow dusted the Franklin Mountains.

The warm-weather Hurricanes - many wearing head covers under their helmets - struggled much of the afternoon.

The Canes trailed 27-0 late in the first half, and the player with the most catches from a Hurricanes quarterback was Irish safety Harrison Smith, who intercepted three passes. Robert Blanton also had an interception during Miami’s turnover binge.

“It was a total defensive effort,” Smith said. “When you knock the receivers off and mess up the timing with the quarterback, it really makes it easier for the safeties.”

ND UM ND UMFIRST DOWNS 23 20RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 48-196 24-103PASSING YDS (NET) 201 319Passes Att-Comp-Int 29-15-0 40-26-4TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 77-397 64-422Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0Punt Returns-Yards 2-2 2-0Kickoff Returns-Yards 1-34 7-144Interception Returns-Yards 4-16 0-0


RUSHING: Notre Dame-Wood, C. 12-81; Hughes 27-81; Riddick 8-32; Rees 1-2. Miami-Berry 9-34; Morris 4-22; Johnson 2-20; James 4-14; Miller 5-13.PASSING: Notre Dame-Rees 15-29-0-201. Miami-Morris 22-31-1-282; Harris 4-7-3-37.RECEIVING: Notre Dame-Floyd 6-109; Eifert 4-31; Goodman 1-30; Jones 1-19; Hughes 1-8, Riddick 1-2; Wood, C. 1-2. Miami-Hankerson 6-71; Byrd 4-47; James 4-14; Benjamin 3-44; Ford 2-37; Miller 2-32; Streeter 1-42; Cleveland 1-15; Johnson 1-9; Gordon 1-4; Berry 1-4.INTERCEPTIONS: Notre Dame-Smith, H. 3-16; Blanton 1-0. Miami-NoneFUMBLES: Notre Dame-Riddick 1-0; Hughes 1-0. Miami-Benjamin 1-0.SACKS: Notre Dame-None. Miami-NoneTACKLES (UA-A): Notre Dame- Blanton 3-6; Smith, H. 6-1; Gray, G. 3-4; Te’o 1-5; Motta 3-1; Neal 2-2; Smith, B. 1-3; Lewis-Moore 0-4; Fleming 2-1; McDonald 1-2; Johnson 0-3; Walls 2-0; Slaughter 2-0; Fox 0-2; Shembo 0-2; Garcia 0-2; Jackson 1-0; Williams, H. 1-0; Cwynar 0-1; Calabrese 0-1; Collinsworth 0-1; Williams, I. 0-1. Miami-McCarthy 6-8; Spence 3-7; Armstrong 2-6; Regis 2-5; Vernon 4-2; Forston 3-3; Nicolas 2-3; Telemaque 1-4; Buchanan 2-2; Hill 2-2; Ojomo 1-3; Harris 1-2; Holmes 1-1; Holton 1-1; McGee 0-2; Bailey 0-2; Bosher 1-0; Robinson 1-0; Campbell 1-0; Hankerson 1-0; Berry 0-1; Van Dyke 0-1; Smith 0-1.


When Father Edward F. Sorin started his school in the northern Indiana wilder-ness, he had only $300, three log buildings badly in need of repair and a far-sighted vision of establishing a liberal arts school to meet the growing educational needs of the frontier. He dreamed of building a great university, and in 1842, he founded the University of Notre Dame du Lac.

Over the years, the University of Notre Dame du Lac would evolve into a preeminent place for Catholic thought. While becoming one of the top undergraduate institutions in the country, Notre Dame has also been at the cutting edge of research, including such innovations as the transmission of wireless messages and the development of synthetic rubber. The University also has stressed residential life, with four of five stu-dents living on campus. Students come to Notre Dame not only to learn how to think, but to learn how to live, keeping faith with the vision of Father Sorin.

1842The University of Notre Dame was founded by Rev. Edward F. Sorin, C.S.C., as an independent, national Catholic uni-versity adjacent to South Bend, Ind., on St. Mary’s and St. Joseph’s Lakes.

11,816 Total enrollment at the University of Notre Dame, with 8,372 undergraduate students.

23.9 Karat gold in the famed Golden Dome, which tops the Main Building at the heart of campus.

1Notre Dame’s ranking among all Catholic universities worldwide, according to the 2011 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

The University of Notre DameUNIVERSIT Y PROFILE

177




L HISTORYTHIS IS NOTRE DAM

E


Student BodyNotre Dame is one of a handful of universities with a truly international student

body, coming from more than 100 nations and all 50 states. The most recent freshman class featured 89 percent of students in the top 10 percent of their high school class. In addition, there are no fraternities or sororities at Notre Dame, with the school’s 29 residence halls housing more than 80 percent of the student body, serving as the focal point of social, religious and athletic activities.

95 Graduation rate percentage among Notre Dame students, third in the nation behind only Harvard and Princeton.

95Retention rate between freshman and sophomore year which thanks to the University’s renowned First Year of Studies Program, ranks among the highest in the country.

80Percent of Notre Dame students who reside in one of 29 on-campus residence halls, where approximately 40 Holy Cross religious leaders provide pastoral assistance.

50/100 States and countries, respectively, which Notre Dame stu-dents call home.

UNIVERSITY PROFILE


UNIVERSIT Y LEADERSHIP

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., is in his second five-year term as the 17th president of the Univer-sity of Notre Dame. His vision is for Notre Dame to be the Catholic research university

for our time – an institution that unifies, enlightens and heals by engaging in scholarship of the first rank while maintaining its distinctive Catholic character and long-time excellence in undergraduate educa-tion.

During his tenure, Notre Dame has made signifi-cant progress toward its research goal, including se-lection as the lead partner in the Midwest Institute for Nanoelectronics Discovery, the creation of the Inno-vation Park research facility, and the construction of Stinson Remick Hall of Engineering.

His commitment to undergraduate education has been marked by the Notre Dame Forums, yearlong initiatives that have examined important issues such

Thomas G. BurishProvost

John Affleck-GravesExecutive Vice President

Richard C. NotebaertChairman, Notre Dame

Board of Trustees

Patricia BelliaNCAA Faculty Representative

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.President

as religion and world conflict, global health, immigration and energy.

The University’s Catholic identity has been strengthened during Father Jenkins’ tenure in multiple ways, including the appointment of a coordinator for University life initia-tives and the construction of multimillion-dollar facilities for the Institute for Church Life, including the Center for So-cial Concerns, and the Institute for Educational Initiatives, which includes the Alliance for Catholic Education.

Father Jenkins earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in philosophy from Notre Dame in 1976 and 1978, respec-tively, and was ordained a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1983. He holds advanced degrees from Ox-ford and the Jesuit School of Theology. He is a professor of philosophy and the author of Knowledge and Faith in Thomas Aquinas.

A native of Omaha, Neb., Father Jenkins was born Dec. 17, 1953.

President’s Leadership CouncilPresident: Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.

Provost: Thomas G. Burish

Executive Vice President: John Affleck-Graves

Vice President and General Counsel: Marianne Corr

Vice President and Chief Investment Officer:

Scott Malpass

Vice President and Senior Associate Provost:

Christine M. Maziar

Vice President and Associate Provost for Internationalization:

J. Nicholas Entrikin

Vice President and Associate Provost:

Daniel J. Myers

Vice President and Associate Provost:

Don Pope-Davis

Vice President for Research: Robert J. Bernhard

Vice President for Student Affairs: Rev. Thomas Doyle, C.SC.

Vice President and Chief Information Officer: Ronald Kraemer

Vice President for Human Resources: Robert K. McQuade

Vice President for University Relations: Louis M. Nanni

Vice President for Finance: John A. Sejdinaj

Vice President and Director of Athletics: Jack Swarbrick

Associate Vice President for Strategic Planning: Erin Hoffmann Harding

Religious Superior, Holy Cross Priests and Brothers: Rev. James B. King, C.S.C.

Associate Vice President and Counselor to the President: Rev. James E. McDonald, C.S.C.

Chief of Staff and Special Assistant to the President: Frances L. Shavers

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John B. “Jack” Swarbrick Jr., a University of Notre Dame graduate who rose to na-tional prominence as a lawyer, consultant and executive in the collegiate and Olympic sports industries, is in his fourth year as vice president and director of athletics at his alma mater.

Among Swarbrick’s athletics initiatives are meeting the performance needs of Notre Dame student-athletes through estab-lishment of a new sports performance division, reaching out to more former Irish student-athletes via the Notre Dame Monogram Club and other programs, utilizing emerging digital technologies to deliver better information on and ac-cess to Notre Dame athletic programs via expanded production and distribution of programming, and restructuring Notre Dame’s approach to sport administration through assignment of a unique adminis-trator to each of the 26 Irish sports.

Notre Dame ranked number one in the country (among Football Bowl Sub-division schools) in the three most recent Graduation Success Rate (GSR) surveys – in 2010 and 2009 with 99 scores (in-cluding in ‘09 a 97 score and ’10 a 96 in football that both also ranked number one). The 2009 Academic Progress Rate (APR) statistics included more perfect 1,000 scores by Irish teams (nine) than by any other FBS institution. The 2010 Notre Dame APR report featured eight perfect 1,000 scores.

The past three years combined in Notre Dame athletics have featured 94 All-Americans, 19 Academic All-America selections and five NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship winners; record involvement in community service hours by Irish student-athletes; NCAA titles in 2011 in men’s and women’s fencing (a combined championship) and in 2010 in women’s soc-cer (with Randy Waldrum named coach of the year); NCAA runner-up team finishes in 2011 women’s bas-ketball, 2010 men’s lacrosse, 2009 fencing and 2008 women’s soccer; NCAA semifinal appearances in 2011 hockey, 2009 and 2010 women’s tennis and 2009 women’s soccer, plus a 2010 third-place fencing finish; a men’s basketball modern program record 27 victories and a number-two NCAA seed (its highest in 30 years) in 2010-11 (resulting in nation-al coach of the year awards for Mike Brey); the hiring of new Irish head football coach Brian Kelly to start the 2010 season; construction of a new, freestanding ice hockey arena, scheduled to open for the 2011-12 season, plus the 2009-10 dedications of new

Jack SwarbrickVice President • Director of Athletics

facilities for soccer and lacrosse – as well as opening of the new Purcell Pavilion within the south dome of the Joyce Center.

Born in Yonkers, N.Y., and raised in Yonkers and Bloomington, Ind., Swarbrick is a 1976 magna cum laude graduate of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in econom-ics. Upon graduating from Stanford University Law School in 1980, he returned to Indi-

ana to accept a position as an associate in the Indianapolis law firm Baker & Daniels. He made partner in 1987 and spent 28 years overall with the firm.

As a member of the Indiana Sports Cor-poration, including the chairmanship from 1992 to 2001, Swarbrick led many of the city’s successful proposals to a wide array of athletics organizations – from the Na-tional Football League to the United States Olympic Committee to the Big Ten Confer-ence. His leadership efforts resulted in the city earning the right to play host to the 2012 Super Bowl in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium; becoming the home of the National Collegiate Athletic Association national headquarters in 1999; hosting the 1987 Pan American Games, 1991 World Gymnastics Championships, NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Fours and other college championship competitions and an array of national and world championships in Olympic sports.

At Baker & Daniels, Swarbrick served as general counsel for numerous national governing bodies of Olympic sports, in-cluding USA Gymnastics and USRowing,

and as a consultant to the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.

In his work as an advisor to the NCAA, Swarbrick coordinated the men’s College Basketball Partnership, an NCAA-led group that addresses the opportunities and challenges in the sport, and developed the busi-ness plan for the new NBA/NCAA youth basketball en-terprise, iHoops. In 2000 Swarbrick received one of the NCAA’s highest honors, The Flying Wedge Award, for his work in establishing Indianapolis as the new home of the NCAA. In 2001 the State of Indiana presented him with the Sagamore of the Wabash Award.

Born March 19, 1954, Swarbrick was named Notre Dame’s 12th athletics director on July 16, 2008. He and his wife, Kimberly, are the parents of four children: Kate, a 2010 graduate of St. Louis University; Connor, a 2011 graduate of Wake Forest University; Cal, a sophomore at TCU; and Christopher, a Univer-sity of Notre Dame freshman.

UNIVERSITY LEADERSHIP


There’s No Place Like Notre DameNotre Dame. Just the mention of the name evokes visions of legends. Knute

Rockne, George Gipp, the Four Horsemen, Ara Parseghian, Joe Montana, Tim Brown and Brady Quinn are only a few included in its lengthy history book that adds a new chapter every year. No other university can claim a football tradition as rich, as color-ful, as unique or as lasting.

But the University of Notre Dame’s football tradition is more than tales of gridiron glories. It’s a special story woven through the years by an extraordinary spirit and intangible mystique that continue to shine as brightly as the Golden Dome on a sunny autumn afternoon.

Notre Dame’s tradition is its future as well as its past. Its historically underdog spirit com-bined with the University’s ongo-ing philosophy of combining the pursuit of both academic and ath-letic excellence makes Notre Dame an institution bent on achievement at all levels.

853 Notre Dame has totaled 853 victories in its storied history to rank third in college football.

.732 The Fighting Irish have amassed a win percentage of .732 that is second in the nation.

31 Notre Dame has participated in 31 bowl games and has been invited to BCS games in two of the last six seasons.

11 No school can claim more than the 11 consensus national championships won by Notre Dame.

7Notre Dame has had seven players win the coveted Heisman Trophy as the top player in the land. No school has had more recipients of the award.

NOTRE DAME TRADITION

467467

104104

9999

Notre Dame Football...By The Numbers

Notre Dame Football...By The Numbers

5656

185185

4343

1111

66

77

3131

College Football Hall of Famers

Percent Graduation Rate

Academic All-America Selections

225225Consecutive Home Sellouts

National Championships

Hall of Fame Coaches

Notre Dame players drafted into the NFL

Heisman Trophy Winners

Bowl Appearances

Winning Seasons

First-Team All-America Selections

235235Consecutive Televised Games

September

3 USF .................................... L, 23-20

10 at Michigan ............................... L, 35-31

17 MICHIGAN STATE ............ W, 31-13

24 at Pittsburgh ............................. W, 15-12

October

1 at Purdue .................................... W, 38-10

8 AIR FORCE ........................ W, 59-33

22 USC .................................... L, 31-17

29 NAVY ................................. W, 56-14

November

5 at Wake Forest .......................... W, 24-17

12 vs. MARYLAND ................ W, 45-21 (FEDEx FIELD, LANDOVER, MD.)

19 BOSTON COLLEGE .......... W, 16-14

26 at Stanford ................................. L, 28-14

December

29 vs. Florida State ....................... 5:30 p.m. EST (Champs Sports Bowl, Orlando, Fla.)

2011 Schedule

GARY GRAY

Cornerback

DAVID RUFFER

Kicker

DARIUS FLEMING

Outside Linebacker

TREVOR ROBINSON

Right Guard

ROBERT BLANTON

Cornerback

HARRISON SMITH

SafetyTeam Captain

ETHAN JOHNSON

Defensive End

TAYLOR DEVER

Right Tackle

Documents

2011 Champs Sports Bowl Media Guide