Oct. 6, 2001

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Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh – Game Notes
October 6, 2001 – Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.)

• SS Abram Elam’s first-quarter interception and subsequent 23-yard return was the first interception of his career. It was also Notre Dame’s first interception of the season. His third-quarter fumble recovery was also the first of his career.
• Elam’s interception also marked the first time this season the Irish defense has held the opponent scoreless on its first possession of the game.
• At the time, TB Tony Fisher’s 28 yard-burst in the third quarter was Notre Dame’s second longest rushing play of the season and second longest play from scrimmage on the season.
• Two plays later, QB Carlyle Holiday exceeded that with a 67-yard touchdown, which was the longest rush for Notre Dame since an 80-yard yard run by Terrance Howard on October 21, 2000 vs. West Virginia. Holiday’s run was the longest run by a Notre Dame QB since Blair Kiel went 80 yards for a touchdown on a fake punt against Arizona on October 25, 1980.
• Notre Dame’s third-quarter, 99-yard drive was the first 99-yarder by the Irish since October 3, 1998 against Stanford.
• TB Julius Jones’ five-yard TD run with 3:31 left in the first quarter marked the first time this season the Irish have scored in the opening period. It also was Notre Dame’s longest scoring drive of the season (52 yards) and gave the Irish the lead in a game for the first time since the end of their 38-21 win at USC (Nov. 25, 2000).
• K Nicholas Setta extended his streak of consecutive PATs made to 37 in a row, passing Ted Gradel with the fourth-longest streak in school history. Gradel made 35 consecutive PATs from Nov. 8, 1986 to Nov. 28, 1987. Setta has not missed a conversion kick since Oct. 7, 2000 vs. Stanford.
• K Nicholas Setta is now 4-4 on the season for field goals. Setta has kicked a field goal in seven consecutive games.
• QB Carlyle Holiday passed for 122 yards on 10 completions, both career highs. Holiday connected on nine consecutive attempts after his first attempt fell incomplete. He also rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
• The last Notre Dame QB to rush for 100 yards was Jarious Jackson against Oklahoma on October 2, 1999. Jackson rushed for 107 yards on 15 yards and one touchdown.
• Notre Dame shut out Pittsburgh in the first quarter, the first time the Irish defense has held the opposition scoreless in the opening stanza since Oct. 28, 2000 vs. Air Force.
• Pittsburgh WR Antonio Bryant recorded his first TD catch of the season with five seconds gone in the second quarter. The 2000 Biletnikoff Award winner was hampered by injuries earlier this season.
• LB Courtney Watson notched his first career fumble recovery when he came up with Bryant’s bobble in the second quarter.
• Pittsburgh’s game total of 7 points was the best Irish defensive effort since a 30-0 shutout of Navy on November 14, 1998. Notre Dame’s 24-point offensive effort was the most since scoring 38 on November 25, 2000 vs. Southern California.
• The capacity crowd of 80,795 ties the Notre Dame Stadium record set two weeks ago against Michigan State. It also marks the 157th consecutive sellout of Notre Dame Stadium.
• Notre Dame forced five turnovers this afternoon after having forced two turnovers coming into the game. The Irish did not turn the ball over against Pittsburgh.
• Notre Dame is now 6-9 on fourth-down conversions for efficiency of 67%.
• Since 1989, Notre Dame has outscored Pittsburgh 215-27 in Notre Dame Stadium.
• Notre Dame is now 18-4 against the BIG EAST since 1990, including 8-2 in the Bob Davie era.
• Notre Dame has now won 14 straight games in the month of October and is 15-2 overall in October under head coach Bob Davie.
• Notre Dame is 9-1 in their last ten meetings with Pittsburgh. It is the fifth consecutive win over the Panthers at Notre Dame Stadium for the Irish.
• The Irish have now defeated Pittsburgh 41 times, tying them for third for the most victories against one opponent in school history (Navy – 64, Purdue – 47, Pittsburgh/Michigan State/USC – 41).
• Notre Dame notches its 73rd victory over the BIG EAST, its second highest total win total over a single conference behind the Big Ten (205 victories).