NOTRE DAME, Indiana — Notre Dame’s Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Brian Kelly has been named the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week after the win over then-No. 1 Clemson. The award honors a football coach who led his team to a significant victory during the previous week, while also embodying the award’s three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity.
Marking a win in Brian Kelly’s first game against a No. 1 opponent, Saturday marked Notre Dame’s ninth win over an Associated Press (AP) No. 1 opponent, which is tied for second all-time (Miami). The Irish trail just Alabama (10 wins over No. 1) in wins over No. 1. Notre Dame has won six of the last seven games when playing No. 1 as a top-five team.
Kelly is the winningest coach in the FBS (270ˆ wins), and has coached 366ˆ games, second only to North Carolina’s Mack Brown among FBS coaches. He is in his 30th season as a head coach, the second-most seasons among all active FBS coaches (Mack Brown – 31).
Notre Dame is now ranked No. 2, the team’s highest ranking since 2012. The Irish own the longest win streak among all FBS teams (13 games), and are now 30-3 overall since the beginning of the 2018 season (.909). Additionally, they boast a 23-game home winning streak, the second-longest in the nation. Through Saturday, the Irish have only trailed for 23:20 total minutes this season out of a total 420:00 regulation minutes.
Entering the game, Notre Dame was averaging 34:11 time of possession, a figure which led the ACC. The Irish have now won the time of possession battle in six of seven games this season, posting 30:22 minutes Saturday.
Through the first seven games of the season, Clemson averaged 167 rushing yards per game. In the first half, Notre Dame limited Clemson to just five rushing yards. The Tigers finished with 34 yards rushing on 33 carries. It marked the second time this season that Notre Dame has held an opponent to single-digit rushing yards in a half (First half at Pitt). Travis Etienne, the ACC’s all-time leading rusher, averaged 86.6 yards per game this season entering Saturday. The Irish defense held him to 28 yards on 18 rushes.
ˆ – Includes 20 regular-season wins and two postseason appearances vacated under discretionary NCAA penalty.