Oct. 23, 2012
Full Notes Package in PDF Format
| Notre Dame-Oklahoma Gameweek Central
DATE
- Saturday, October 27, 2012
TIME
- 7:00 p.m. CT
SITE (CAPACITY)
- Memorial Stadium (82,112); Norman, Okla.
TELEVISION
- ABC national telecast with Brent Musburger (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analysis), Heather Cox (sideline), Bill Bonnell (producer) and Derek Mobley (director).
RADIO
- IMG 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).
- All games can be heard in South Bend on News & Sports Radio 96.1 FM & 960 AM WSBT.
TICKETS
- Including Saturday’s game with Oklahoma, Notre Dame has played before 273 capacity crowds among its 450 road games (.607) since 1930. The Irish have played in front of sellout crowds in 250 of its previous 292 games (.856) overall.
- Notre Dame has played before 621 sellouts in 893 total games (.695) since 1930.
WEB SITES
- Notre Dame (UND.com), Oklahoma (SoonerSports.com)
POLLS
- Notre Dame is ranked No. 5 in this week’s Associated Press and USA Today Coaches’ polls. The Irish remained No. 5 in the season’s second BCS standings. Oklahoma is ranked No. 8 and No. 7, respectively, by the AP and coaches. The Sooners are No. 8 in the current BCS standings.
REAL-TIME STATS
- Live in-game stats will be provided through CBS College Sports GameTracker via UND.com.
SERIES INFO
- Notre Dame captured the last meeting in 1999. The prior eight games in the series occurred during the 1950s and 1960s. The Irish hold a 8-1 series edge (4-1 at Notre Dame Stadium and 4-0 at Memorial Stadium). Top-ranked Notre Dame shutout out the 10th-ranked Sooners, 38-0, in its last trip to Norman en route to the 1966 national title.
- The Sooners or Irish have entered its matchup ranked among the top five in the AP poll in seven of the 10 all-time meetings (including Saturday).
COOUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF
10 Senior TE Tyler Eifert recorded his 10th career touchdown reception last week vs. BYU. Eifert is only the second Notre Dame tight end to reach double-digits in TD receptions, only trailing Ken MacAfee’s school record of 15 career TD catches.
9 It has been nine years since Notre Dame has rushed for more yards over a three-game span that it has collected in wins over Miami, Stanford and BYU. The 796 rushing yards are the most by the Irish in a three-game span since Notre Dame gained 804 yards on the ground in 2003 vs. Navy, BYU and Stanford.
8 Notre Dame has eight victories in nine games vs. Oklahoma. No school that has played the Sooners more than twice has a better win percentage than the .889 percentage posted by the Irish.
7 Notre Dame has not allowed a rushing touchdown in 2012 and nine consecutive games dating back to 2011. Since 1996, the Irish are only the third team to not allow a rushing TD in the first seven games of a season. No team since at least 1995 has gone eight games without allowing at least one rushing TD.
6 The Irish rushing attack registered six runs of at least 15 yards vs. BYU en route to 270 yards on the ground. It was the second-most rushing yards allowed by BYU in its last 30 games. The Cougars entered the game with the No. 3 rush defense in the FBS, allowing 67.9 yards per game.
5 Only five defenses are forcing three-and-out possessions on a more frequent basis than Notre Dame. Forty percent of drives against the Irish this year have been three plays or less.
4 Notre Dame is 4-0 in games decided by seven points or less this year. The four wins in a single-season by a TD or less is tied for fourth in school history.
3 Sophomore DE Stephon Tuitt ranks third in the FBS with eight and a half sacks. The eight and a half sacks in seven games have him on pace to break Justin Tuck’s school record of 13.5 sacks in 2003.
2 Notre Dame has rallied from halftime deficits in each of its last two games and posted victories. The Irish had not recorded comebacks when trailing at the half in consecutive weeks since Oct. 13 and Oct. 20, 1920.
1 Only one player in the FBS has generated more turnovers than senior LB Manti Te’o. He is tied for the most interceptions by a linebacker in the FBS (four) and has added two fumble recoveries. Te’o is the only FBS player to rank in the top 10 in both interceptions and fumble recoveries.
0 According to the NCAA’s strength of schedule rankings, none of the remaining 11 unbeaten teams in the FBS have played a tougher schedule to this point in the season than Notre Dame.
ALL THE NIGHT MOVES
- Notre Dame has at least four regular season night games on the 2012 schedule, including Michigan State (Sept. 15), Michigan (Sept. 22), Miami, Fla. (Oct. 6) and Oklahoma (Oct. 27). Start times for games with Boston College and USC remain undetermined.
- Notre Dame played seven night games in 2011, including the Champs Sports Bowl against Florida State. The seven night games was a school record.
- The Irish played their first night game, a 48-6 rout of Detroit, on Oct. 5, 1951 in Briggs Stadium.
- Notre Dame has played 104 night games overall with a record of 66-36-2 (.644), including 20-8-2 (.700) all-time on neutral fields, 39-26-2 (.597) on the road and 7-2 (.778) at home.
- Notre 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.
- The longest losing streak is nine under Bob Davie.
- The 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 Ara Parseghian.
- The largest margin of victory at night was 57-7 at Stanford on Nov. 29, 2004, when Tyrone Willingham poured it on his former employer.
- Notre 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.
- In 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).
- Notre Dame is 6-8 (.429) at night in bowls, where it has a six-game losing streak and has not won since the 39-28 conquest of Florida in the 1992 Sugar Bowl.
- Notre Dame has played more night games against Miami, Fla. (13) than any other foe. The Irish are 7-5-1 (.577) at night against the Hurricanes.
- Notre Dame and Oklahoma have never played a night contest.
TOP-10 BATTLES
- Notre Dame has played one top-10 opponent in 2012. The Irish dominated No. 10 Michigan State, 20-3, in East Lansing on Sept. 15.
- Notre Dame has not registered multiple victories over top-10 opponents in the same season since 2004 when the Irish upended No. 8 Michigan (28-20) and No. 9 Tennessee (17-13).
- Notre Dame has not faced another top-10 opponent when it was ranked in the top 10 since Nov. 25, 2006 when the No. 6 Irish lost at No. 3 USC, 44-24.
- Notre Dame has played 89 games in its history with both teams ranked in the top 10. The Irish have an overall record of 50-34-5 (.590), including 13-9-2 (.583) all-time on neutral fields, 15-14-2 (.516) on the road and 22-11-1 (.662) at home.
- Notre Dame has played 170 games in its history against top-10 opponents. The Irish have an overall record of 79-85-6 (.482), including 15-16-2 (.470) all-time on neutral fields, 27-38-2 (.418) on the road and 37-31-2 (.543) at home.
- Notre Dame’s longest winning streak in games against top-10 opponents is seven, beginning with a Sept. 10, 1988 victory over Michigan and concluding with a Nov. 25, 1989 loss at Miami (27-10), which went on to win the national title.
- The longest losing streak was nine games and it spanned the 2005 through 2011 seasons.
- The largest margin of defeat against a top-10 opponent was 59-0 against No. 1 Army on Nov. 11, 1944, at Yankee Stadium — which along with a 48-0 setback to the No. 1 Cadets in ’45 would inspire Notre Dame to a 0-0 tie with No. 1 Army in ’46 and help the Irish win the national title.
- The largest margin of victory against a top-10 opponent was 51-0 at No. 10 USC on Nov. 26, 1966, when top-ranked Notre Dame capped off its ’66 national title.
- Notre Dame has been a part of more top-10 matchups with USC (18) than any other school, but four of the nine all-time meetings with Oklahoma have featured a pair of top-10 ranked teams.
ONLY THE BIG BOYS
- Notre 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.
DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN?
- Notre Dame’s football visit to Oklahoma this weekend brings back some comparisons to a somewhat similar matchup just a decade ago when an unbeaten Irish team traveled to Florida State (courtesy of Notre Dame historian Lou Somoygi):
- Both the 2002 and 2012 teams began the year unranked, moved to No. 20 after the second game and vaulted all the way to No. 11 after defeating a top-10 ranked team in the third game.
2002 2012
- Notre Dame stood 7-0 Notre Dame stands 7-0
- Notre Dame ranked #6 (AP) Notre Dame ranks #5 (AP)
- Florida State stood 5-2 Oklahoma stands 5-1
- Florida State ranked #11 (AP) Oklahoma ranks #8 (AP)
- Notre Dame was making its first Notre Dame is making its first visit to Tallahassee visit to Norman since 1966
- Notre Dame ranked #10 in Notre Dame ranks #6 in total defense (275.86) total defense (280.71)
- Notre Dame ranked #3 in Notre Dame ranks #2 in scoring defense (12.0) scoring defense (9.43)
- Notre Dame ranked #8 in Notre Dame ranks #8 in pass efficiency defense pass efficiency defense
- Notre Dame ranked #6 in Notre Dame ranks #15 in rushing defense (80.14) rushing defense (106.71)
- Notre Dame ranked #17 in Notre Dame ranks #11 in turnover margin (+8) turnover margin (+9)
- Notre Dame had allowed 3 Notre Dame has allowed 0 rushing TDs rushing TDs
- Notre Dame grinded out a 21-14 Notre Dame grinded out a 17-14 win (trailed by a TD) at Mountain West win (trailed by a TD) vs. former Conference foe Air Force Mountain West Conference foe BYU
- Florida State ranked 12th in Oklahoma ranks 5th in scoring offense (36.86) scoring offense (44.67)
- Florida State had won 84 of its Oklahoma has won 79 of its previous 89 home games previous 83 home games
- Notre Dame swept Michigan, Notre Dame swept Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue for the Michigan State and Purdue for the first time in nine years first time in 10 years
- Irish fans harkened back to a win Irish fans harkened back to a win over Florida State in 1993 when over Oklahoma in 1957 when Seminoles were #1 Sooners were #1, had won 47 straight
NOTRE DAME IN OCTOBER
- Notre Dame is 379-92-8 (.800) all-time during the month of October.
- Notre Dame is 234-49-4 (.822) in October home games.
- The Irish are 108-36-3 (.745) in October road games.
- Notre Dame is 37-7-1 (.833) in October neutral games.
- The Irish are 145-43-4 (.766) in October games away from Notre Dame Stadium.
- The Irish are 147-46-2 (.759) in October games at Notre Dame Stadium.
- Notre Dame is 169-32-2 (.837) all-time in the month of October as a ranked team.
- The Irish are 88-24-1 (.783) all-time in the month of October as a ranked team at Notre Dame Stadium.
- Notre Dame is 57-8-1 (.871) all-time in the month of October as a ranked team on the road.
- The .800 winning percentage for the Irish in the month of October is the highest of any month during the regular college football season. Notre Dame has posted a .698 all-time winning percentage in September and .708 winning percentage in November.
- The Irish have won nine of their last 11 games in October away from Notre Dame Stadium.
A VICTORY OVER OKLAHOMA...
- Improves Notre Dame to 8-0 for the first time since 2002.
- Gives the Irish eight straight victories to open a season for the 20th time in school history.
- Marks Notre Dame’s 16th win over its last 19 games.
- Gives the Irish their longest winning streak since capturing eight straight during the 2006 season.
- Improves Notre Dame’s all-time record to 861-300-42 (.733).
- Improves the all-time record on the road for the Irish to 282-144-23 (.654).
- Improves Notre Dame’s all-time record when ranked in the top 25 to 417-133-15 (.751).
- Improves the all-time road record for the Irish when ranked in the top 25 to 145-61-8 (.696).
- Improves Notre Dame’s all-time record when ranked in the top 25 against another top-25 opponent to 117-76-9 (.601).
- Improves the all-time road record for the Irish when ranked in the top 25 against another top-25 opponent to 44-34-3 (.562).
- Improves Notre Dame’s all-time record when ranked in the top five to 178-44-7 (.793).
- Improves the all-time road record for the Irish when ranked in the top five to 66-18-3 (.776).
- Improves Notre Dame’s all-time record when ranked in the top five against a top-10 opponent to 34-17-4 (.655).
- Improves the all-time road record for the Irish when ranked in the top five against a top-10 opponent to 13-5-1 (.711).
- Improves Notre Dame to 9-1 (.900) in the all-time series with Oklahoma.
- Improves the Irish to 5-0 (1.000) on the road in the all-time series with the Sooners.
- Improves Kelly’s record to 195-67-2 (.742) overall.
- Improves Kelly’s record at Notre Dame to 24-10 (.706).
- Improves Kelly’s record to 76-32 (.704) in FBS games.
- Improves Kelly’s record to 67-20 (.770) since 2006.
- Improves Kelly’s record to 118-34 (.776) since 2001.
- Improves Kelly’s record to 70-21-2 (.763) all-time in the month of October.
- Improves Kelly’s record to 10-3 (.769) in the month of October as Notre Dame head coach.
A LOSS TO OKLAHOMA...
- Drops Notre Dame to 7-1.
- Denies the Irish eight straight victories to open a season for the 20th time in school history.
- Marks Notre Dame’s fourth loss in its last 19 games.
- Drops Notre Dame’s all-time record to 860-301-42 (.732).
- Improves the all-time record on the road for the Irish to 281-145-23 (.651).
- Improves Notre Dame’s all-time record when ranked in the top 25 to 416-134-15 (.750).
- Improves the all-time road record for the Irish when ranked in the top 25 to 144-62-8 (.692).
- Improves Notre Dame’s all-time record when ranked in the top 25 against another top-25 opponent to 116-77-9 (.597).
- Improves the all-time road record for the Irish when ranked in the top 25 against another top-25 opponent to 43-35-3 (.549).
- Improves Notre Dame’s all-time record when ranked in the top five to 177-45-7 (.788).
- Improves the all-time road record for the Irish when ranked in the top five to 65-19-3 (.764).
- Improves Notre Dame’s all-time record when ranked in the top five against a top-10 opponent to 33-18-4 (.636).
- Improves the all-time road record for the Irish when ranked in the top five against a top-10 opponent to 12-6-1 (.658).
- Improves Notre Dame to 8-2 (.800) in the all-time series with Oklahoma.
- Improves the Irish to 4-1 (.800) on the road in the all-time series with the Sooners.
- Improves Kelly’s record to 194-68-2 (.739) overall.
- Improves Kelly’s record at Notre Dame to 23-11 (.676).
- Improves Kelly’s record to 75-33 (.694) in FBS games.
- Improves Kelly’s record to 66-21 (.759) since 2006.
- Improves Kelly’s record to 117-35 (.770) since 2001.
- Improves Kelly’s record to 69-22-2 (.753) all-time in the month of October.
- Improves Kelly’s record to 9-4 (.692) in the month of October as Notre Dame head coach.
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