2010 Notre Dame Football Game Notes 1
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2010 NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL GAME NOTES 1 Media Relations 112 Joyce Center 2010 NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL Notre Dame, IN 46556 574-631-7516 GAME NOTES 574-631-7941 (fax) Primary Contact: Brian Hardin • [email protected] • Office - 574.631.9471 • Cell - 574.532.4134 UND.com Secondary Contact: Michael Bertsch • [email protected] • Office - 574.631.8642 • Cell - 574.532.4154 SITE (CAPACITY) WEB SITES Game #8 u New Meadowlands Stadium (82,500); East Rutherford, N.J. u Notre Dame (und.com), Navy (navysports.com) Notre Dame (4-3) vs. Navy (4-2) TICKETS POLLS u Notre Dame has played before a sellout in 75 of its last 86 games u Notre Dame and Navy each enter this weekend's matchup road games. In fact, the Irish have played in front of sellout crowds unranked, but the Midshipmen did receive one vote in this week's in 224 of their previous 258 games, including 99 of their last 110 USA Today Coaches Poll. dating back to the 2001 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. DATE TELEVISION u Saturday, October 23, 2010 REAL-TIME STATS u CBS national telecast with Craig Bolerjack (play-by-play), Randy u Live in-game statistics will be provided through CBS College Cross (analysis), Sam Ryan (sideline), Steve Scheer (producer) and TIME Sports Gametracker via und.com. Jim Cornell (director). u 12:11 p.m. ET Countdown RADIO To Kickoff u ISP Sports is the exclusive national rights-holder for Irish foot- ball radio broadcasts. ISP manages, produces and syndicates the Irish 12 Notre Dame’s first touchdown vs. Western Michigan was scored 12 seconds into the game. The 80-yard strike from junior QB national football radio network. Notre Dame games will be broad- Dayne Crist to junior WR Michael Floyd was the quickest offensive TD scored by the Irish since Oct. 26, 1985. (PAGE 5) cast by Don Criqui (play-by-play) and former Irish great Allen Pinkett 11 According to this week’s NCAA strength of schedule rankings, only 11 schools have a tougher schedule than Notre Dame. (PAGE 12) (analysis). This broadcast can be heard live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio 10 Senior PK David Ruffer has made a field goal in 10 consecutive games. Over that stretch, Ruffer is a perfect 17 of 17 in field goal (channel 159) and XM Satellite Radio (channel 117). attempts and is tied with Utah’s Joe Phillips for longest active streak of consecutive made field goals (17). (PAGES 13-14) u All Notre Dame home games may be heard in South Bend on 9 Junior WR Michael Floyd tallied nine receptions for 157 yards with three touchdowns vs. Western Michigan. The nine catches Sunny 101.5 FM and NewsTalk 960 WSBT-AM. were the most by Floyd since he had 10 receptions against Navy in 2009 and helped him become the ninth Irish player to eclipse 2,000 career receiving yards. (PAGES 19-20) SERIES INFO 8 Only eight FBS quarterbacks have passed for more yards than junior QB Dayne Crist’s 1,855 yards this year. (PAGES 14-15) u Notre Dame and Navy will play one another for the 84th con- 7 Sophomore RB Cierre Wood’s 39-yard touchdown run last week was the longest TD run by a Notre Dame player in almost seven secutive year on Saturday, making it the longest continuous inter- years (Ryan Grant, 46-yard TD run at Stanford, Nov. 29, 2003). (PAGE 5) sectional rivalry in the country. The Irish hold a 71-11-1 (.861) edge 6 The Fighting Irish defense has allowed only six rushes of 10 or more yards in the last four games. Two of those rushes have been by in the series. The Midshipmen upended Notre Dame, 23-21, in last opposing quarterbacks scrambling out of a pass play. Notre Dame allowed an average of seven rushes of 10 or more yards in its first year's meeting at Notre Dame Stadium. Navy captured the 2007 three games this year. (PAGES 7-8) meeting to break a 43-game Irish winning streak in the series (NCAA 5 Sophomore LB Manti Te’o ranks fifth in the FBS with 79 tackles this year. (PAGES 17-18) record for longest streak against one opponent). Notre Dame and 4 The Irish highlighted their quick-strike offense vs. Western Michigan as four of the first five touchdowns scored took less than one Navy have met every year since 1927, playing 52 times at neutral minute. (PAGE 5) sites and 31 times at Notre Dame Stadium (more on the series his- 3 Over the last three games, Notre Dame’s defense has allowed only 152 rushing yards on 80 carries (50.7 yards per game; 1.9 yards tory on pages 33-39). per rush). That is the best three-game stretch by an Irish defense since Sept. 25-Oct. 9, 1982. (PAGES 7-8) 2 Notre Dame’s first-team defense responded to the challenge presented to them by head coach Brian Kelly at halftime of the What's Western Michigan game as they allowed 0 points, 32 total yards and -2 rushing yards in five second-half series. In fact, only two of Inside Western Michigan’s 16 snaps against Notre Dame’s first-team defense in the second half occurred in Notre Dame territory and the Irish Probable Starting Lineup .....................................................................2 Irish forced a turnover on that second play. (PAGE 5) With A Victory / With A Defeat ...................................................................4 1 The punt coverage unit of the Fighting Irish ranks first in the nation in punt return defense. Opponents have totaled -1 return yards Starter Sheet .................................................................................................4 Career Starts By Position ..............................................................................5 on six returns this year. (PAGE 24) Notre Dame in the NFL .................................................................................5 0 Notre Dame has not punted against Navy in four of the last five meetings. The Irish recorded zero punts from 2005-07 and again in Looking Back To Western Michigan.........................................................5-6 2009. In 2008, Notre Dame punted thrice against the Midshipmen. (PAGE 3) Brian Kelly Notes ...................................................................................10-11 2010 Notre Dame Team Notes .............................................................................................3-13 Schedule Eye On Career Records ............................................................................6-15 Notre Dame By The Numbers ....................................................................16 Sept. 4 Purdue (NBC) Notre Dame, Ind. W, 23-12 Irish Among NCAA Leaders ........................................................................24 Sept. 11 Michigan (NBC) Notre Dame, Ind. L, 24-28 Individual Player Notes .........................................................................13-23 Sept. 18 at Michigan State (ABC) East Lansing, Mich. L, 31-34 (ot) Miscellaneous Notes .............................................................................23-25 Sept. 25 No. 16 Stanford (NBC) Notre Dame, Ind. L, 14-37 Individual Career Bests .........................................................................26-27 Honors/Awards ...........................................................................................28 Oct. 2 at Boston College (ABC) Chestnut Hill, Mass. W, 31-13 Media Information ......................................................................................29 Oct. 9 Pittsburgh (NBC) Notre Dame, Ind. W, 23-17 Alphabetical / Numerical Roster ..........................................................30-31 Oct. 16 Western Michigan (NBC) Notre Dame, Ind. W, 44-20 Pronunciation Guide ..................................................................................31 Oct. 23 vs. Navy (CBS) East Rutherford, N.J. (New Meadowlands) 12:00 p.m. ET Depth Chart .................................................................................................32 Oct. 30 Tulsa (NBC) Notre Dame, Ind. 2:30 p.m. ET Series History vs. Navy ..........................................................................33-39 Nov. 13 Utah (NBC) Notre Dame, Ind. 2:30 p.m. ET The Last Time........................................................................................40-42 Nov. 20 vs. Army (NBC) New York, N.Y. (Yankee Stadium) 7:00 p.m. ET Game Summaries .................................................................................43-49 Nov. 27 at USC (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2) Los Angeles, Calif. 5:00 p.m. PT Stats ......................................................................................................50-73 2 2010 NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL GAME NOTES Notre Dame WHAT TO WATCH FOR SATURDAY Probable Starting Lineup u Notre Dame enters the Navy game with a 14-0 all-time record in New Jersey, including an 11-0 mark at Giants Stadium. OFFENSE Pos. No. Player Notes ON THIS DATE WR 7 TJ Jones – Fr. First freshman WR in Notre Dame history to catch TD passes in first two games of season u Notre Dame has played 16 previous games in its history on Oct. WR 81 John Goodman – Jr. Saw first significant action of 2010 against Stanford; five catches for 59 yards 23. The Irish are 11-4-1 (.719) all-time on this date. The Irish were LT 70 Zack Martin – So. Did not play in 2009; has started each of the last seven weeks ranked in the top 25 on seven of the occasions. LG 59 Chris Stewart – Sr. ND law student has made 29 career starts, the most of any current Irish offensive player C 52 Braxston Cave – Jr. Has played in 20 career games, all 12 in 2009, and started each of the last seven weeks 2004 L (24) Boston College (0:54) 23-24 H RG 78 Trevor Robinson – Jr. Has played in 29 career games and made 21 starts, including 11 in 2009 at RG 1993 W (2) USC 31-13 H RT 75 Taylor Dever – Sr. Started the first five weeks