#4 Notre Dame Rounds Out Home Stand vs. Louisville

Notre Dame Notes

ˆ Includes 20 regular-season wins and two postseason appearances vacated under discretionary NCAA penalty.

2020 Captains

• Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Brian Kelly announced five team captains for Notre Dame’s 2020 football campaign this fall. They include returning 2019 captains QB Ian Book and OL Robert Hainsey, as well as first-time captains S Shaun Crawford, DL Daelin Hayes and DL Adetokunbo Ogundeji.
• Book and Hainsey earn the role as rare two-time captains, just the 23rd and 24th Notre Dame players in the program’s 131-season history to ever serve multiple seasons as a team captain. More than 200 players have served in the captain role for Irish Football.

home field win streak

• Notre Dame has won 21-straight games at home dating back to Sept. 30, 2017, starting with a victory over Miami (Ohio) and extending to the 2020 season-opening win over Duke.
• It sets the modern-era record for longest home winning streak for the Irish (28-straight from 1942-50). With the 52-0 shutout of South Florida, the Irish topped the previous modern streak of 19-straight from 1987-90, and with the 42-26 win over Florida State, Notre Dame moved into a tie with Ohio State’s streak of 21 home games won. Clemson is the only other Power 5 program that boasts a home streak of more than 21 games.
• The Irish completed an undefeated home slate for the second-consecutive season in 2019. Notre Dame had not achieved back-to-back undefeated home seasons since 1988-89.
• Notre Dame completed an undefeated season at Notre Dame Stadium in 2019 for the third time in five seasons (2015, 6-0 and 2018, 6-0) after finishing 7-0 following a 40-7 win over Boston College. From 1990-2011, only the 1998 campaign (6-0) saw a perfect Notre Dame home slate.

2020 vision

WELCOME TO THE CLUB 

• For the first time in the 132-year history of the Notre Dame Football Program, the Fighting Irish are playing the 2020 football season as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (131 years were spent as an independent. The 132nd season is the first in the ACC). Each ACC squad will play 10 conference games, in addition to one non-conference matchup, to complete a modified 11-game schedule. The two squads with the best records will face off in the ACC Championship in December.
• In the ACC Preseason Order of Finish, the Irish were ranked second behind Clemson, who enters the season as the top-ranked team in the nation.
• In a partnership that began in 2014, Notre Dame and the ACC agreed to schedule the Irish to play, on average, five ACC opponents each sesason. Originally scheduled through the 2025 season, the games have now been scheduled through the 2037 campaign.
• Notre Dame is 25-7 (.781) against ACC opponents since the scheduling agreement began during the 2014 season, and including 2020 play as a conference member

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

• Notre Dame has been ranked in the Top 25 for 51-consecutive weeks, the longest such streak for the Irish since the 1994 season (124 weeks).
• The 51-week streak currently ranks fourth among all FBS active streaks, which do not include teams who were not listed in the initial 2020 AP polls at the beginning of the season (Big Ten and Pac-12). LSU ended its 43-week streak this week.

LAST TIME: LOUISVILLE

• September 2, 2019 – Notre Dame 35, Louisville 17: Ian Book ran for one touchdown and threw for another, Jahmir Smith rushed for two scores and No. 9 Notre Dame beat Louisville 35-17 in the Monday-night contest.
• Tony Jones Jr. rushed 15 times for 112 yards, including an 11-yard TD, as the Fighting Irish put away the rebuilding Cardinals. It was the second career 100-yard rushing game for Jones, whose career-high of 118 yards came against Vanderbilt in 2018.
• Book’s TD came after a bizarre sequence featuring three consecutive fumbles between the teams, the last of which Notre Dame recovered at Louisville’s 20. The Irish forced five fumbles overall and recovered three. The last time the Irish recovered three opponent fumbles was against Navy in Dublin in 2012.
• Book hit Tommy Tremble with a 26-yard TD pass midway through the third for a 28-14 lead. He finished 14 of 23 passing for 193 yards. Smith rushed for touchdowns of three and one yards and totaled 24 on eight carries.
• Louisville junior quarterback Jawon Pass rushed for touchdowns of eight and 17 yards in the first quarter, but the Cardinals struggled after that and managed only Blanton Creque’s 46-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter.
• Playing before a record home crowd of 58,187, the Cardinals were outgained 425-383.

Book club in session

• Graduate student quarterback Ian Book returns as the starter in 2020, marking the first time the Irish enter a season with a quarterback boasting at least two seasons of majority of games started (23-of-26 games from 2018-19) since Jimmy Clausen in 2009 (22-of-25 games from 2007-08).
• Book quarterbacked ND to 554 yards of total offense in the 42-26 win over Florida State, the most for Notre Dame since 2019 vs. Bowling Green (573 yards).
• Book recorded three rushing touchdowns in the first half against South Florida – the second time in his career in which he has rushed for three touchdowns in a game (Wake Forest – 2018). He became the first quarterback in Notre Dame history (modern era) to rush for three touchdowns in a half.
• In the 52-0 win over South Florida, Book completed 12-of-19 passes for 144 yards, also managing an offense that scored five rushing touchdowns, traveled 430 yards, posted zero turnovers and only punted twice.
• In the season opener vs. Duke, Book completed 19-of-31 passes, including a 75-yard long, for 236 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 12 yards. Book quarterbacked the Irish offense to five scoring drives, the first of which went 96 yards in 12 plays, to take the lead in the second quarter. It was the longest drive by the Irish since a 97-yard drive in the 30-27 home win over Southern Cal in 2019. Notre Dame also added an 83-yard touchdown drive later in the game.
• In all, the Irish offense outrushed (178-75), outpassed (263-259) and outgained (441-334) the Blue Devils, and were 3-4 in the redzone.
• Bookbecame the first Notre Dame quarterback with 2,500 passing yards, 500 rushing yards and 30 touchdown passes in a season with his 2019 regular-season performance. Jalen Hurts was the only other collegiate student-athlete to hit these marks in the 2019 regular season, while Trevor Lawrence and Sam Ehlinger joined the group, but not until the postseason. Since 2017, only Book, Hurts, Kyler Murray, JT Barrett and D’Eriq King have hit these marks in the regular season.
• In 2019, Book was named Notre Dame Offensive Player of the Year and earned spots on the Davey O’Brien Award Great 8 List three times and as the Manning Star of the Week twice. He finished the season 240-for-399 with 3,034 yards and 34 touchdowns, throwing just six interceptions. He also ran 112 times for 546 yards and four touchdowns.
• Just five players in the FBS were responsible for more points than Book’s 222 in the 2019 regular season.

HEADED FOR THE RECORD BOOKS

• Book moved into second all-time in Notre Dame career total offense yards (7,838) with his performance against Florida State, passing Jimmy Clausen (7,793).
• With the victory over Florida State, QB Ian Book tied offensive coordinator and former Irish signal caller Tommy Rees with 23 career wins (tied for seventh in program history).
• Book currently stands at 60-career passing touchdowns, tying Jimmy Clausen with two TD passes vs. Florida State to rank third all-time in program history.
• Tacking on a rushing touchdown vs. Florida State, Book now ranks 10th all-time in Irish history with 12 scores on the ground.
• Passing for 201 yards vs. Florida State, Book moves ahead of Steve Beuerlein (6,527) to rank fifth all-time in career passing yards (6,726).
• Book’s 58 rushing yards vs. Florida State pushed him closer to overtake Brandon Wimbush (1,155) in Irish QB career rushing yards records, as Book totals with 1,112 (third all-time).

AND THE BASE KEEP RUNNIN’

THE UNIT

• RBs Kyren Williams, C’Bo Flemister and Chris Tyree have each posted at least one 100-yard rushing game. Notre Dame is the only team in the ACC to have three different student-athletes mark a 100-yard rushing game this season, and no Power 5 team has more than Notre Dame’s three.
• Irish running backs have reached the 100-yard mark four times this season, a figure which leads the ACC. No other FBS team has had more than four occurrences of 100-rushing yard performances this season.

WHEN THERE’S A WILL[IAMS]

• RB Kyren Williams shattered his previous career-high mark of 112 yards set vs. Duke in the season-opener, rushing for 185 yards on 19 carries vs. Florida State. His 185 rushing yards rank as the fourth-highest in a single game by any ACC player this season, and the most by any freshman or sophomore ACC player this season (Williams is an academic sophomore, a freshman in eligibility).
• Williams currently ranks third in the ACC in rushing yards per game (119.7 – seventh nationally) and fifth in the ACC in all-purpose yards per game (157.7).
• Entering the game, Florida State allowed just 141.3 rushing yards per game. Williams surpassed that total on his own by more than 40 yards. His 185 yards vs. FSU rank as the ninth-most in a single game among FBS players this season, and the fourth-most in a single game this week in the FBS. His total is also the highest for a Notre Dame player since 2018.
• Williams was responsible for 10 of Notre Dame’s 15 rushing first-downs in that game.
• Williams is currently averaging 119.7 yards per game, the third-best mark in the ACC and seventh-most among all FBS players.
• Williams posted 117 yards on five carries vs. Florida State, including runs of 65 and 46 yards, in the first quarter. The last time an Irish player rushed for more yards on five or fewer carries was Josh Adams vs. Miami (OH) in 2017 (151 yards).
• His 65-yard run in the first quarter vs. Florida State was the longest rush of his career, and his performance marked the second time this season (and in his career) he has broken the 100-rushing-yard plateau.
• Williams exploded onto the scene in his first-career start vs. Duke, leading all FBS players in all-purpose yards (205) after rushing for 112 yards and tacking on 93 more in the air. His performance marked the first time an Irish player has reached the 90-yard plateau in both rushing and receiving in a single game since at least 1996.
• In the season-opener vs. Duke, the sophomore back averaged 5.9 yards-per-carry (12 carries) and rushed for two touchdowns, also accounting for two receptions that resulted in 91 yards-after-catch, including a career-high 75-yard reception on a screen pass to bring the Irish in the red zone. Williams the first Irish player to record two or more rushing touchdowns since Tony Jones Jr. had three against Virginia in 2019, and was awarded the game ball vs. Duke for his efforts.

SEEYA, C’BO

• RB C’Bo Flemister posted a career game vs. South Florida, rushing for a career-high 127 yards (13 carries) to go along with a rushing touchdown. His 31-yard run in the fourth quarter was the longest rush of his career, and his performance marked the first time he has broken the 100-rushing-yard plateau in his career.
• His 100-yard performance marked the third-consecutive game in which the Irish have boasted a 100-yard rusher, dating back to the 2019 Camping World Bowl.

THE YOUNG GUN

• RB Chris Tyree surpassed the 100-yard mark for the first time in his young career, with 11 carries for 103 yards and boosted by a 45-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, vs. Florida State. Tyree was responsible for five of Notre Dame’s 15 rushing first downs that day.
• His performance was the only 100-rushing yard performance by a true freshman in the ACC this week. On the season, only three ACC true freshmen have recorded 100-rushing yard games, including Tyree.

HANDS IN THE AIR

• WR Javon McKinley led the Irish in receptions and receiving yards vs. Florida State with five receptions for 107 yards, and was the first Irish receiver to reach the 100-yard plateau since Chase Claypool in the 2019 Camping World Bowl.
• The Book-McKinley connection was solid, as McKinley was Notre Dame’s most successful receiver, while also matched up with Preseason All-ACC selection Florida State CB Asante Samuel for much of the evening.
• McKinley surpassed his previous career-high in receiving yards (104) with the 38-yard reception to give him 107 yards in the air. He is also the first Irish player to reach the 100 receiving-yard plateau this season.

POISED TO ATTACK

• On fourth down, the Irish have executed successful conversions at a 0.833 rate, the best figure in the conference and ranking seventh among FBS programs.
• In the 42-26 win over Florida State, Notre Dame racked up 554 yards of total offense, the most since 2019 vs. Bowling Green (573 yards). It also marked the first game with two 100-yard rushers (Kyren Williams & Chris Tyree) and a 100-yard receiver (Javon McKinley) since 2015 against Stanford.
• The O-Line paved the way for the Irish to rush for 353 yards total. Prior to the contest, Florida State had allowed just 141.3 rushing yards per game.
• The win over Florida State also marked the first time since 2000 the Irish have scored 42 points in consecutive games.
• QB Ian Book and RB Kyren Williams are tied for fourth place (with others) in the ACC in total  individual touchdowns, both with four.
• Notre Dame marked the 12th time the Irish scored at least 50 points in head coach Brian Kelly’s (12-0) 11-year tenure in the 52-0 win over South Florida. The 11 years prior to Kelly’s arrival, Notre Dame hit the 50-point plateau once.
• The Irish held a 35-0 margin at halftime vs. South Florida, the largest halftime lead since last season’s 52-0 win against Bowling Green (also 35-0).
• Notre Dame rushed for six touchdowns against the Bulls, the most in a game since 2018 (six versus Wake Forest) and the most in a single game this season among ACC teams.
• QB Ian Book recorded three rushing touchdowns in the first half against South Florida – the second time in his career in which he has rushed for three touchdowns in a game (Wake Forest – 2018). He became the first quarterback in Notre Dame history (modern era) to rush for three touchdowns in a half.
• In addition to allowing zero sacks in the victory over South Florida, the offensive line paved the way for Notre Dame’s 281 rushing yards, the most by any ACC team that week.
• The 6.2 yards-per-rush by Notre Dame vs. South Florida ranked as the most that week. Notre Dame posted 16 rushing first downs, the most that week and the highest value at that point in the season. The figure was topped the next week.
• In the season opener vs. Duke, the Irish offense outrushed (178-75), outpassed (263-259) and outgained (441-334) the Blue Devils, and were 3-4 in the redzone.
• Book quarterbacked the Irish offense to five scoring drives vs. Duke, the first of which went 96 yards in 12 plays, to take the lead in the second quarter. It was the longest drive by the Irish since a 97-yard drive in the 30-27 home win over Southern Cal in 2019. Notre Dame also added an 83-yard touchdown drive later in the game.
• So far this season, the Irish have garnered a 96.9 grade from Pro Football Focus, the highest among all Power 5 teams by a margin of 16 grade points (Georgia, 80.9).
• The Irish won Pro Football Focus’ Offensive Line of the Week award after the season-opener vs. Duke, producing the highest-combined pass-block grade of any O-Line that week.
• The Irish return five starters to the offensive line (Eichenberg, Banks, Patterson, Kraemer and Hainsey), as Hainsey and Kraemer were sidelined for some game action in 2019 due to injury. As a whole, Notre Dame’s offense returned seven starters, only losing four.

DEFEND THE GRIDIRON

• Notre Dame continues to lead the ACC in scoring defense (13.0 points/game). In 2019, the Notre Dame defense ranked No. 12 among FBS teams in scoring defense, allowing just 17.9 points per game (26 touchdowns and 17 field goals).
• In total, Notre Dame boasts a 0.182 opponent third-down conversion rate on the season, the best mark in the ACC and the second-best among all FBS teams.
• The Irish rank third in the ACC in total defense (323.3), rushing defense (111.3) and passing defense (212.0), and second in pass defense efficiency (106.9).
• Notre Dame marked the second shutout in as many seasons with a 52-0 victory over RV South Florida in Week Two. The Irish allowed the Bulls in the red zone just one time on the day, and the attempt was unsuccessful for South Florida. In all, the Bulls were held to 11 first downs, including just one first down in the first half.

FOLLOW HIS LEA-D

• Notre Dame has held 28-of-29 opponents during Clark Lea’s tenure as defensive coordinator to 30 points or less. That includes includes ranked opponents LSU, Michigan, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Clemson, Georgia, Virginia and Navy.

saturday specialists

• The Irish lead the ACC in kick-return defense, allowing an average of just 16.86 yards per return. That figure ranks 16th among all FBS programs.
• True freshman RB Chris Tyree owns the fifth-best kick return average in the ACC, bringing back kicks at a rate of 22.6 yards per game.
• True freshman DL Jordan Botelho recovered a blocked South Florida punt for a touchdown in the 52-0 shutout win, marking the only punt return TD in the ACC that week and just the second this season. DL Osita Ekwonu was responsible for the block. It was the first blocked punt returned for a touchdown by the Irish since 2015 against Southern Cal.
• Botelho was the only player in the FBS that week to post a punt return touchdown. He ranks tied for first among all FBS players in punt return touchdowns, of which there have been just 10 this season.
• Botelho also provided notable pressure on another South Florida punt, forcing a rushed punt that traveled just one yard and gave the Irish possession at the South Florida 25-yard line.
• P Jay Bramblett made his mark vs. Duke, bombing six punts in the season-opener, including punts of 53, 52 and 45 yards. His play of the day came in the second quarter on a fake punt play, when he rushed for 14 yards, cutting to get the Irish the first down and keeping Notre Dame’s drive alive to end in a touchdown. On the day, Bramblett marked a 43.8-yard average punt.
• In his debut for the Irish, RB Chris Tyree served in the KOR slot, returning four kicks for 90 yards, including a 38-yard long.
• K/P Jonathan Doerer is 3-4 on field-goal attempts through the season, connecting on all nine PAT attempts.
• K/P Dawson Goepferich scored his first points for the Irish on a PAT vs. South Florida.
• In 2019, Doerer compiled a 85.0 FG-make percentage (17-20), the fifth-best by an Irish kicker in a single season since 1996. In 2019, Doerer was perfect on PAT attempts (54-of-54), totaling 93 poinst between field goals and points after.
• In 2019, Doerer scored 108 points for the Irish, the most in a single season by any Notre Dame kicker. He topped Kyle Brindza’s 2013 mark of 98 with his performance in the Camping World Bowl vs. Iowa State, in which Doerer netted 15 points on four field goals and three PATs.
• In 2019, Doerer inscribed his name in Notre Dame record books vs. Southern Cal, becoming the first Irish kicker since Dave Reeve (1977) to make three field goals of 40 or more yards in a single game. Doerer made a career-long 52-yard field goal on the opening drive of the second half vs. Southern Cal, also making a 45-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining in the first half. Doerer added a 43-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. All three surpassed his previous career-long (36 yards).

Individual notables

• S Shaun Crawford tallied the first interception of the season for the Irish at the goal line in the fourth quarter vs. Florida State, saving a score. It was the fifth interception of his career, and his second-career forced or recovered turnover inside the Notre Dame five-yard line.
• DL Jayson Ademilola made his first-career start at defensive tackle vs. Florida State.
• Freshman RB Chris Tyree scored his first-career touchdown vs. South Florida. He later would set a career mark for longest rush after scampering 31 yards in the second quarter. Tyree has also served two games in the kickoff return role for the Irish.
• Freshman TE Michael Mayer scored his first-career touchdown vs. Florida State, marking him as the first true freshman tight end to score a touchdown since Kyle Rudolph in 2008 against Purdue. Mayer made his first-career start vs. South Florida. He previously notched his first-career reception in the second quarter vs. Duke, hauling in a 17-yard reception from Ian Book for a first down.
• Sophomore LB Jack Kiser made a statement in his first-career start against South Florida, leading the team in tackles (eight) in his first game action on defense. Kiser’s 2.0 tackles-for-loss led the team (tied), and he also posted a QB hurry. Ater not being listed on the depth chart leading up to the game, Kiser was called up to start at the BUCK position, and his efforts earned him the game ball.  Pro Football Focus named Kiser its “Secret Superstar of the Week,” giving him a 90.0 PFF grade in the first half.
• S Houston Griffith and CB Clarence Lewis made their first-career starts vs. South Florida. Both finished the game with five solo tackles including 1.0 for loss each, and Lewis tacked on three pass breakups.
• In the win over South Florida, freshman QB Drew Pyne completed his first-career pass to fellow freshman TE Kevin Bauman. It was Bauman’s first-career reception.
• Freshman DL Alexander Ehrensberger notched his first-career sack in the third quarter vs. South Florida, while sophomore LB JD Bertrand posted his first-career tackle.
• S Kyle Hamilton accounted for four tackles and a PBU on the opening drive for Duke. His QB hurry came in the second quarter, which forced an incomplete pass on a Duke third-and-seven. On the day, he marked seven tackles, the second-most for the Irish.
• Sophomore DL Isaiah Foskey tallied his first-career sack vs. Duke to force the Blue Devils into a field goal. The sophomore made noise in a reserve role against Duke, responsible for the sack (loss of 10 yards) and a QB hurry earlier in the game at the 11-yard line also forced a Duke field goal. Foskey broke up a pass on the next drive to help lead to a punt. His final TFL came in the fourth quarter, when he combined with DL Jacob Lacey to bring down Duke’s Deon Jackson on second-and-13, setting up a Duke punt.
• Junior WR Joe Wilkins Jr. hauled in a five-yard pass from Ian Book for his first-career reception in the final minute of the second quarter vs. Duke.
• Senior LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah forced the first turnover of the season after breaking the ball loose from Duke’s Jalon Calhoun in the third quarter. Graduate student S Shaun Crawford recovered the fumble for the Irish, which set Notre Dame up at their own 41 for a touchdown drive. Owusu-Koramoah led the Irish in tackles (nine) and got to Duke QB Chase Brice for the third Irish sack of the day in the fourth quarter, pinning him for a loss of six yards on what would be Duke’s final drive of the game.
• Junior CB TaRiq Bracy was named to the Pro Football Focus Team of the Week for his play against Duke. According to PFF, Bracy forced a contested target and incompletions on two of three targets, and did not allow any yards.