Aug. 29, 2017
| Notre Dame Stadium | Notre Dame, IN |
| TV: NBC | Radio: IMG College Sports | UND.com/tickets |
| FIGHTING IRISH MEDIA GAMEWEEK CONTENT | |
| Notre Dame Notes (PDF) | Temple Notes (PDF) |
| Coach Kelly Press Conference Video | Transcript | Coach Kelly Post-Practice Thursday Video |
| Coach Kelly Radio Show Archive | Game Week Central |
| Player Interviews: McGlinchey | Tranquill | Wimbush | Adams | Morgan |
Heisler Game Preview |
Countdown to Kickoff
- 43 Notre Dame has played 43 games decided by eight points or less since the arrival of Brian Kelly. The Irish went 2-5 in the first seven such games under Kelly, but have since gone 21-15.
- 21 Notre Dame used 21 players in their first year of eligibility last season, including 14 true freshmen (most in the Brian Kelly era).
- 17 Notre Dame saw 17 players, including five true freshmen, earn their first career starts in 2016.
- 10 Notre Dame’s freshman class counts 10 members in the Tom Lemming Top 300 for the signing class of 2017: Brock Wright, Cole Kmet, Robert Hainsey, Avery Davis, Josh Lugg, Aaron Banks, David Adams, Darnell Ewell, Dillon Gibbons and C.J. Holmes.
- 9 Equanimeous St. Brown, Notre Dame’s leading receiver in 2016, had nine TD grabs last season. That total ranked sixth in the nation among sophomores and freshmen.
- 8 Eight Notre Dame players have been named to watch lists for the 2017 campaign (in addition to three on the Wuerffel Trophy watch list). See page 16 for a full list of honors and awards.
- 7 Notre Dame has seven regular-season home games on the schedule for the first time since 2010. It marks the first time since the 2011 campaign without an official Shamrock Series game and the first time since 2007 Notre Dame will not play a single neutral-site game.
- 6 Six new assistant coaches will be on the Notre Dame sideline this fall, with two of those returning to South Bend. The new members of Brian Kelly’s staff include: Mike Elko, Chip Long, Brian Polian, Clark Lea, Del Alexander and Tom Rees. For a full breakdown of the new staff, see page seven.
- 5 Leading returning rusher Josh Adams found the endzone five times last year while rushing for 933 yards during his sophomore campaign. Adams, who owns the Notre Dame record for rushing yards as a freshman, enters 2017 with 1,768 career yards, 527 yards shy of cracking Notre Dame’s career top-10 list.
- 4 After returning the opening kick for a 92-yard TD versus Army last season, C.J. Sanders became the fourth player in the FBS with multiple kickoff returns for a score.
- 3 Against Virginia Tech in 2016, Notre Dame lost for just the third time under Brian Kelly when not committing a turnover.
- 2 Josh Adams is the only running back in school history with at least 800 yards rushing in each of his first two seasons.
- 1 For the first time since Brian Kelly’s first season at Notre Dame in 2010, the Irish enter a season without a single returning start at quarterback on the roster.
- 0 Notre Dame has not had an empty seat for a home game since 1973. The 255-game sellout streak is the second-longest in NCAA history.