FIGHTING IRISH MEDIA Director of Football Media Relations ..................Michael Bertsch Email.......................................................mbertsch@nd.edu Cell ................................................................574-532-4154 Assistant Communications Director .....................Michael Scholl Email......................................................... [email protected] Cell ................................................................574-876-6248 Countdown To Kickoff Game 11 Virginia Tech vs. Notre Dame What's Inside 55 Fifty-five of the 61 players on the Irish AP: RV AP: NR Countdown to Kickoff ......................................1 depth chart have eligibility remaining follow- Brian Kelly Notes ......................................... 2-3 COACH: RV COACH: NR ing the 2016 season. VS National Rankings ........................................... 4 43 Forty-three of the 61 players on the Irish 7-3, 5-2 ACC 4-6 Notre Dame-Virginia Tech Series .....................4 depth have at least two years of eligibility TIME, DATE AND PLACE ND vs. The ACC ................................................4 remaining following the 2016 season. u 3:40 p.m. ET; Saturday, Nov. 19; Notre Dame Stadium (80,795); Notre Dame, Ind. 2016 Opponents ..............................................5 42 Notre Dame has played 42 games decided First Time Visitors .............................................5 by eight points or less since the arrival of Brian TELEVISION New Kid On The Block .....................................5 Kelly. The Irish went 2-5 in the first seven such u NBC national telecast with Dan Hicks (play-by-play), Doug Flutie (analysis), Katrhyn Tappen (side- Notre Dame's Record When ........................... 6 games under Kelly, but have since gone 21-14. line), Jeff Simon (director) and Josh Freedenberg (producer). Notre Dame's 2016 Seniors .............................6 29 Notre Dame’s six losses in 2016 have come Senior Day History .......................................6-7 by a total of 29 points. No other team in the RADIO Notre Dame/Virginia Tech Connections ..........7 Football Bowl Subdivision has more than four u IMG College Sports is the exclusive national rights-holder for Irish football radio broadcasts. Notre Starter Sheet ................................................... 7 losses by eight points or less. Dame games will be broadcast to 117 affiliates by Don Criqui (play-by-play) and Allen Pinkett (analysis). All-Time Home Finales ....................................8 21 Notre Dame has used 21 players in their This broadcast can be heard live on SiriusXM Satellite Radio (channel 129). On This Date .....................................................9 first year of eligibility this season, including 14 u The broadcast will be preceded by a one hour pre-game show hosted by Tony Castricone with Notre Dame By The Numbers ........................ 9 true freshmen (most in the Brian Kelly era). interviews conducted by Jack Nolan. It will be followed by a national post-game show hosted by Honors/Awards ............................................. 10 18 18 of Notre Dame's 22 starters vs. Army Castricone, Criqui and Pinkett. Inside ND Football/ND Football Replays .......11 have made 14 or fewer career starts. u All games can be heard in South Bend on WSBT 96.1 FM & 960 AM, and Sunny 101.5 FM. Irish in the NFL ...............................................12 17 Notre Dame has seen 17 different players, Coaching Staff Game Day Locations ..............14 including five true freshmen, earn their first TICKETS Media Information .........................................14 career starts in 2016. u Saturday will be the 255th consecutive sellout at Notre Dame Stadium. Every Irish home game since Irish Among NCAA Leaders ...........................15 14 Notre Dame has scored points on 14 of its the final two home dates in 1964 have been sold out except one - a 1973 Thanksgiving Day game vs. Air Team Notes ............................................... 6-20 last 17 drives, dating back to the final two Force. Alphabetical / Numerical Roster ............ 21-22 series in the Miami game. u Notre Dame has played in front of sellout crowds in 293 of its previous 345 games (.849) overall. Pronunciation Guide .................................... 22 10 QB DeShone Kizer completed 10 con- Notre Dame has played before 664 sellouts in 945 total games (.703) since 1930. Depth Chart ................................................... 23 secutive passes at one point vs. Navy. u With the exception of neutral site games against Syracuse (MetLife Stadium), Navy (EverBank Field), The Last Time.......................................... 24-26 7 Notre Dame returned only seven starters and Army (Alamodome) every Notre Dame game since the 2014 game at USC has attracted a sellout Miscellaneous Stats .......................................27 from 2015, the fewest in program history since crowd, including a Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium record of 102,315 on Sept. 4. Big Plays/Scoring Drives ..........................28-30 freshman eligibility was restored in 1972. 2016 Game Recaps ..................................31-34 6 Graduate DL Jarron Jones recorded six SERIES INFO Brian Kelly Era Record Book ....................35-40 tackles for loss in the win over Miami, the most u Saturday is the first meeting on the gridiron between Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. Updated Notre Dame Record Book .........41-64 by an Irish player since at least 1997. 2016 Season Results ......................................65 5 Notre Dame scored five TDs of 50+ yards THE COACHES 2016 Team Stats ............................................66 vs. Syracuse. Last season, the Irish set a school u Notre Dame: Brian Kelly, 59-29 at ND (7th year), 230-86-2 overall (26th year), 0-1 vs. VT 2016 Individual Stats ...............................69-70 record with 15 such scoring plays. u Virginia Tech: Justin Fuente, 7-3 at Virginia Tech (1st year), 33-26 overall (5th year), 0-0 vs. ND 2016 Game Superlatives .........................71-74 4 After returning the opening kick versus 2016 Game-by-Game Stats ....................75-77 Army 92 yards for a touchdown, C.J. Sanders WHAT TO WATCH FOR 2016 By Quarter/Red Zone......................78-79 became one of four players in FBS with multi- u Virginia Tech becomes the 145th opponent in Irish football history on Senior Day at Notre Dame 2016 Participation Report .......................80-81 ple kickoff returns for a score this season. Stadium. Individual Game-by-Game Stats ............82-89 3 Equanimeous St. Brown leads Notre Dame with eight TD catches in 2016. He ranks NDFootball 2016 Notre Dame Schedule and Results tied for 21st in the FBS and only three other Date ND Rank Opp Rank Opponent Location TV Time/Score sophomores have more TD catches this season. Sept. 4 10/9 RV/RV Texas Austin, Texas L, 47-50 (2OT) 2 Against Navy, Notre Dame lost for just the Sept. 10 18/21 -/- Nevada Notre Dame, Ind. W, 39-10 second time under Brian Kelly when not NDFootball Sept. 17 18/18 12/8 Michigan State Notre Dame, Ind. L, 28-36 committing a turnover. Sept. 24 RV/RV -/- Duke Notre Dame, Ind. L, 35-38 1 Rushing TD allowed by Notre Dame versus Oct. 1 -/- -/- vs. Syracuse East Rutherford, N.J. W, 50-33 Miami, as the Irish held the Hurricanes to 18 NDFootball Oct. 8 -/- -/- at NC State Raleigh, N.C. L, 3-10 net rushing yards on 35 attempts. Oct. 15 -/- RV/RV Stanford Notre Dame, Ind. L, 10-17 0 Notre Dame has not had an empty seat for Oct. 22 Bye Week a home game since 1973. The sellout streak is Notre Dame Oct. 29 -/- -/RV Miami Notre Dame, Ind. W, 30-27 the second-longest in NCAA history. Football Nov. 5 -/- NR/RV vs. Navy Jacksonville, Fla. L, 27-28 UND.com/gameweek Nov. 12 -/- -/- vs. Army West Point San Antonio, Texas W, 44-6 Nov. 19 -/- RV/RV Virginia Tech Notre Dame, Ind. 3:40 p.m. ET Visit und.com/gameweek for the latest NDFBrecruiting Nov. 26 -/- 15/19 at USC Los Angeles, Calif. TBA Notre Dame football news each week. * Rankings are Associated Press/Amway Coaches polls 2 2016 NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL NOTES u Three seasons at Cincinnati from 2007-09, including a 34-6 record (.850) and two straight outright BRIAN KELLY BIG EAST Conference title teams that earned BCS appearances in 2008 (FedEx Orange Bowl) and HEAD COACH 2009 (Allstate Sugar Bowl) 34TH YEAR COACHING u Three seasons at Central Michigan University from 2004-06, including a 19-16 overall record (.542) 26TH YEAR AS A HEAD COACH featuring a 9-4 mark and Mid-American Conference title in 2006 SEVENTH YEAR AT NOTRE DAME u Thirteen seasons at Grand Valley State University from 1991-2003, including a 118-35-2 record 2012 AP National Coach of the Year (.767) highlighted by NCAA Division II national championships in 2002 (14-0) and 2003 (14-1) 2012 Walter Camp National Coach of the Year u An overall record of 230-86-2 (.726) in those 26 seasons as a head coach 2012 Sporting News National Coach of the Year u A record of 16-8 (.667) record in postseason play as a head coach 2012 Home Depot National Coach of the Year 2012 Liberty Mutual National Coach of the Year EIGHT IS GREAT FOR KELLY 2012 AFCA National Coach of the Year u Head coach Brian Kelly has won at least eight games in each of his first six seasons with the Irish. 2009 Home Depot National Coach of the Year u Kelly is the first Irish coach to win eight games in each of his first six seasons. Setting the previous high, Dan Devine began his career with the Irish by posting four straight seasons with at least eight wins Head