#9 Notre Dame Hosts First-Time Matchup with Bowling Green

Notre Dame Notes | Bowling Green Notes

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

FIRST TIME OPPONENTS

• Notre Dame and Bowling Green will be meeting for the first time on Saturday afternoon, marking the 147th different opponent the Irish will face in 131 years of football. Notre Dame is 121-22-3 (.839) in the previous 146 meetings against first-time opponents.
• Of those 146 first-time opponents, 129 of those first-time meetings occurred on Notre Dame’s home field. The Irish are 108-16-5 (.857) in those contests.
• Notre Dame Stadium has hosted first-time opponents 59 times since 1930, with Notre Dame compiling a 47-11-1 (.805) record in those contests.

SEVEN CAPTAINS IN 2019

• Quarterback Ian Book, safety Jalen Elliott, wide receiver Chris Finke, safety Alohi Gilman, offensive lineman Robert Hainsey, defensive lineman Khalid Kareem and defensive lineman Julian Okwara will serve as team captains for Notre Dame in 2019.
• The seven total captains matches a program-high from the 2017 season (DeShone Kizer was part of that group but eventually declared for the NFL Draft, leaving the Irish with six captains for the actual football season).

HOME FIELD WIN STREAK

• Notre Dame completed an undefeated season at Notre Dame Stadium in 2018 for the second time in four seasons (2015, 6-0) after finishing 6-0 following a 42-13 win over Florida State. From 1990-2011, only the 1998 campaign (6-0) saw a perfect Notre Dame home slate.
• Notre Dame has won 13 straight games at home dating back to Sept. 30, 2017, starting with a victory over Miami (Ohio). It is the third-longest home winning streak for the Irish since Notre Dame Stadium opened in 1930 (28 straight from 1942-50; 19 straight from 1987-90).

ALL-AROUND EXCELLENCE

• The University of Notre Dame was recently ranked 15th in the U.S. News and World Report rankings for Top Colleges.
• Of all teams that have made a College Football Playoff appearance, Notre Dame is the only school in the top 25 of those rankings. The university closest to Notre Dame in the rankings that has also made a CFP appearance is Georgia, which comes in at a tie for 50th.

IAN BOOK NOTABLES

• Junior quarterback Ian Book ranks first in FBS second-half passer rating (173.7) since the beginning of 2018. The average rating stands at 137.1.
• In Notre Dame’s matchup against New Mexico, Book’s 406 yards of total offense was just the 11th time an Irish quarterback has compiled over 400 yards of total offense since 1996. It was the most since Book posted 399 at Northwestern last season, while DeShone Kizer’s 472 yards against Syracuse in 2016 marked the most recent game with a QB reaching over 400 yards of total offense. Six of the top 12 single-game yardage performances from a quarterback since 1996 have occurred during the Brian Kelly era.

Book Solid Late

• Demonstrating his ability to guide the offense when the pressure is on late in the game, Book leads all Power 5 quarterbacks in passer rating (221.1) in close and late situations through the last 12 games.
• In the last eight games, Book has completed five passes in close and late situations for more than 20 yards each, which ranks fourth (tied) among all Power 5 quarterbacks. Arkansas’ Nick Starkel leads with eight.
• Book also boasts six touchdown passes in close and late situations in the last 12 games, which ties for the highest mark among FBS quarterbacks.

NOTEWORTHY DEFENSIVE NOTABLES

Notre Dame’s defense ranks first in the FBS in pass completions per touchdown allowed (26.8). The FBS average stands at 11.7, and the Irish are most closely trailed by Washington (24.9) and Georgia (21.9).

The Irish forced five turnovers vs. Virginia (three fumbles, two interceptions), the most since forcing six vs. Michigan in 2012.

Notre Dame ranks second in the FBS in fumbles recovered with eight on the season, trailing Mississippi State’s 10.

Notre Dame’s defense totaled eight sacks by six different defenders vs. Virginia; only one Irish team has recorded more in a game (vs. Hawaii in the 2008 Hawaii Bowl) since 1996

They said it – on the defense’s eight sacks vs. Virginia

• “It’s pretty exciting, but we have to stay consistent and not let this be a one-time thing; have the same preparation week-in and week-out, and the production will come.”    -DL Khalid Kareem
• “I challenged our staff to be stubborn and persistent and determined, and we did that. It broke through for us in a manner that we saw a lot of those sacks really come together in the second half.”    -Head Coach Brian Kelly

Follow His Lea-d

• Notre Dame has held 18-consecutive opponents to 30 points or below. The Irish are tied with Washington for the FBS lead in that category. The streak spans Clark Lea’s entire 17-game tenure as defensive coordinator with the Irish, and includes ranked opponents LSU, Michigan, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Clemson, Georgia and Virginia.
• Just two other Irish coaches with the title of defensive coordinator or ‘defense’ have achieved the same feat in their first 17 games (Joe Yonto and Barry Alvarez), and only five Irish defenses have given up a lesser average points per game in those first 17 than Lea’s 18.2-point mark (led by John Murphy with 8.9 points per game from 1970-71).

Born To (Stop The) Run

• The Irish defense held Virginia to just four total rushing yards last Saturday, marking the fourth-lowest total by an opposing team of Notre Dame since 1996, and the fewest in the Brian Kelly era. Notre Dame produced tackles for loss on 44.8 percent of Virginia’s rushing attempts, a rate which led the FBS. The four yards was also the lowest total against a ranked team since Nov. 26, 1966 (Southern Cal, 51-0 win, -12 rushing yards).
• On that day:
  • The top song on the Billboard Hot 100 was The Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.”
  • The year’s top-grossing movie was The Bible: In The Beginning.
  • The first season of professional football that culminated in a Super Bowl took place, with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers defeating the AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs the following January for the inaugural title.
  • No member of Notre Dame’s entire athletics communications staff had been born.
• In the first half, Notre Dame held Virginia to -2 rushing yards. In their previous four games, the Cavaliers had rushed for an average of 55.75 yards in the first half.
• Notre Dame’s defense held Georgia to just 34 total yards of offense in the first quarter two weeks ago. The Bulldogs gained at least 150 yards in the first quarter during each of their first three games this season.

NOTEWORTHY OFFENSIVE NOTABLES

• Notre Dame remains perfect in redzone-scoring percentage, converting on 14-of-14 visits down the field. Twelve of those scores were touchdowns (nine rushing, three passing). The 12 touchdowns tie for fourth-most among redzone-perfect teams. The only other ranked teams that are perfect in the redzone are Iowa, LSU and Penn State.
• With help coming from both sides of the ball, the Irish stand at a turnover margin of +9, averaging +2.25 per game. Both marks lead the FBS in their respective categories. The next closest average is +1.75 (Colorado and Wisconsin). The Irish have forced 13 total turnovers. Only one FBS team has more (Mississippi State, 14).
• Notre Dame running backs have gone 1,186 carries without losing a fumble, dating back to Nov. 21, 2015. It is the longest active streak in the FBS, trailed by Northwestern’s streak of 1,128 rushes.

NOTEWORTHY INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES

• DL Julian Okwara recorded three sacks against the Cavaliers, tying for sixth-most in single game program history with 10 other players. Two of Okwara’s sacks resulted in fumbles, one of which was returned 23 yards for a touchdown by DL Ade Ogundeji. Okwara earned Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance, and was awarded a game ball along with DL Khalid Kareem. Okwara was also named to Pro Football Focus’ Eckrich National Team of the Week.
• DL Jamir Jones, seeing action in just his second game of the season, recorded a strip-sack (first-career sack) which was recovered by DL Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and returned 48 yards to the Virginia seven-yard line.
• S Alohi Gilman and S Kyle Hamilton both recorded interceptions in the fourth quarter, solidifying the Irish win over the Cavaliers. Hamilton was named to Pro Football Focus’ Eckrich National Team of the Week. The snags marked Hamilton’s second of his career and Gilman’s third.
• Chase Claypool caught six passes vs. Virginia, surpassing the 100-career receptions mark on his first catch. On his 105 receptions, Claypool has recorded 1,408 yards (13.4 average) and eight touchdowns in four seasons.
• Lending voice to the importance of veteran players making their mark on special teams, in the first quarter at Georgia, Claypool recovered a Georgia muffed punt return at the Bulldog eight-yard line to set up a Notre Dame touchdown drive (QB Ian Book one-yard pass to TE Cole Kmet). It was Claypool’s first-career fumble recovery. He also added 6 catches for 66 yards and a touchdown at Georgia.
• Cole Kmet recorded four catches for 65 yards on Saturday, totaling 13 receptions over the past two games. Just two Irish tight ends have totaled more receptions over a two-game span (most was 16 by Kyle Rudolph in 2010 vs. Michigan and Michigan State) since 1996.
• Kmet totaled a career-high nine catches at Georgia, which tied the program mark for receptions in a single game by a tight end. He tallied 108 receiving yards and a touchdown (seven receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown coming in the first half), and was named the John Mackey Award’s Tight End of the Week in Week 4
• OL Robert Hainsey was named to Pro Football Focus’ Eckrich National Team of the Week after the offensive drove for four rushing touchdowns and 343 total offensive yards.
• First Touches – A number of Irish players have recorded touchdowns on either their first career touch – or the first touch of the season:
  • Sophomore Jahmir Smith scored on his first carry of the season, a three-yard plunge in the season opener at Louisville.
  • Sophomore Tommy Tremble’s first-career reception ended up as a 26-yard touchdown catch against Louisville.
  • Junior Avery Davis, who switched from defensive back to running back due to injuries in the Irish offensive backfield, caught his first pass (a short shovel pass from Ian Book) and ran 59 yards untouched for a touchdown against New Mexico.
  • While not his first ‘touch’ – freshman Kyle Hamilton had two pass break ups in the opener at Louisville – Hamilton’s first full touch – an interception – he returned for a touchdown against New Mexico.
  • Do second touches count? Sophomore Braden Lenzy caught a 22-yard touchdown pass on his second reception of the season versus New Mexico while senior Javon McKinley’s second and third receptions of the season were both turned into scores against the Lobos.
  • In his first game returning from injury, junior Cole Kmet recorded his first catch of the season on the first play from scrimmage at Georgia, also recording his first-career touchdown in the same game.
  • WR Michael Young, who did not play the first three games due to injury, recorded his first catch of the season vs. Virginia, a seven-yard reception for a first down, on Notre Dame’s initial scoring drive (RB Tony Jones Jr. six-yard rush).