Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

No. 23 Fighting Irish Resume Schedule Versus Michigan State

Sept. 16, 2001

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Game 2
No. (#23 AP/#23 ESPN/USA Today) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0-1)
vs. Michigan State Spartans (1-0)

The Date and Time:
Saturday, Sept. 22, 2001, at 1:38 PM EST.

The Site:
Notre Dame Stadium (80,232/Natural Grass) in Notre Dame, Ind.

The Tickets:
They’re all sold -with this game marking the 156th consecutive sellout in Notre Dame Stadium (the first 130 coming at the old 59,075 capacity). The Michigan State game marks the 204th home sellout in the last 205 games (back to 1964) and the 129th sellout in the last 151 games involving Notre Dame, including the first 10 games of 1998, the first 11 in ’99 and the first five in ’00.

The TV Plans:
NBC Sports national telecast with Tom Hammond (play-by-play), Pat Haden (analysis), Jim Gray (sideline) and Ed Feibischoff (producer).

The Radio Plans:
For the 34th consecutive season, all Notre Dame football games are broadcast nationally on radio by Westwood One with Tony Roberts (play-by-play), former Irish running back Allen Pinkett (game analysis) and Paul Hornung (pregame/halftime analysis). The Westwood One Network includes more than 200 stations. A live broadcast from the Notre Dame student radio station, WVFI, is available through the Notre Dame athletic department web site at www. und. com. All Notre Dame football games are heard on WNDV-AM and -FM in South Bend and are also carried live in the Chicago market on ESPN Radio 1000 with on-site pre and post-game from Notre Dame Stadium featuring Dave Wills and Ed Farmer and former Irish great Dave Duerson.

Real-Time Stats:
Live in-game statistics are available for the Michigan State game, via the Notre Dame (www.und.com) and Michigan State (www.msuspartans.com) athletic websites.

Websites:
Notre Dame (www.und.com), Michigan State (www.msuspartans.com).

THE HEAD COACH
Fifth-year Irish head coach Bob Davie owns a 30-20 (. 600) career record at Notre Dame. The University announced on Dec. 5, 2000, that Davie signed a five-year contract to continue coaching the Irish through the 2005 season. Davie was one of three finalists for the Football News 2000 Coach of the Year Award and was one of 10 finalists for the 1998 Walter Camp Foundation/Street and Smith’s Coach of the Year Award. The 2001 season marks Davie’s eighth year at Notre Dame overall, after serving as defensive coordinator and inside linebacker coach from 1994-96. He coached nine seasons at Texas A&M (’85- 93), two at Tulane (’83-’84) , four at Pittsburgh (’77, ’80-’82) and two at Arizona (’78-’79), spending both years at Tulane as defensive coordinator and the last five at Texas A&M in that role.

THE INJURY UPDATE (as of Sept. 16)
Out
Senior C JW Jordan . . . Sprained left knee (Aug. 26), out 4-6 weeks
Junior FS Glenn Earl . . . Quadricep injury vs. Nebraska

Questionable
Junior OG Sean Milligan . . . Knee injury vs. Nebraska

Probable
Senior OG John Teasdale . . . Shoulder injury (DNP vs. Nebraska)

NOTRE DAME-MICHIGAN STATE SERIES NOTES
Saturday’s game marks the 65th meeting between the Notre Dame and Michigan State. The Irish lead the series 41-22-1 with a 26-9 record at Notre Dame and a 15-9 mark at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame has won 10 of the last 15, and 17 of the last 23 games in the series, although Michigan State currently has a four-game winning streak against the Irish.

The first game in the Notre Dame-Michigan State series was played back in 1897, making it one of the oldest rivalries in college football history. The only current series that date earlier than that are Michigan 1887), Northwestern (1889) and Purdue (1896).

Notre Dame has now been ranked going into 13 of the last 14 games with Michigan State.

IF NOTRE DAME WINS . . .

  • The Irish will earn their first victory over Michigan State since a 21-20 win in East Lansing, Mich., on Sept. 17, 1994.
  • Notre Dame will claim its first home win over Michigan State since a 36-14 triumph at Notre Dame Stadium on Sept. 18, 1993.
  • Notre Dame will improve to 206-99-15 against the Big Ten, extending its record for the most victories against one conference.
  • The Irish will record their 42nd series win over Michigan State, the third most victories against one opponent behind their 64 wins over Navy and 47 wins over Purdue.

IF MICHIGAN STATE WINS . . .

  • The Spartans will notch their fifth consecutive victory in the series, becoming the first Notre Dame opponent since USC (1978-82) to take five in a row from the Irish.
  • MSU would win its third consecutive game at Notre Dame Stadium, matching its road hat trick from 1956, ’60 and ’62. Purdue is the only other Irish opponent to win at least three in a row at Notre Dame, taking five consecutive road victories in 1954, ’56, ’58, ’60 and ’62.
  • Michigan State will log its 23rd series win over the Irish, tying Purdue for the second most wins ever by a Notre Dame opponent.

NOTRE DAME-MICHIGAN STATE SERIES HISTORY

  • Notre Dame leads the all-time series (41-22-1), including a 26-9 mark at home and a 15-9 record at Notre Dame Stadium.
  • The Irish have won 10 of the last 15, and 17 of the last 23 games in the series, although Michigan State has claimed the last four games between the two teams.
  • Notre Dame and Michigan State first met on the gridiron in 1897, with the Irish earning a 34-6 victory.
  • The two schools played nine times through 1910, with Notre Dame winning the first eight of those encounters by a combined score of 222-6. Following a six-year layoff, Notre Dame won five of the next six games with the Spartans from 1916-21. The series then went on a 27-year hiatus until it resumed in 1948 when the top-ranked Irish downed Michigan State, 26-7, at Notre Dame Stadium. Since then, the series has been played continuously with the exception of reaks in 1953, ’58, ’95 and ’96. The series is slated to continue indefinitely.
  • Notre Dame and Michigan State will be meeting for the 65th time, making it the fourth-longest series in school history behind Navy (74 games), Purdue (72) and USC (72).
  • The winner of Saturday ‘s game will claim the Megaphone Trophy, sponsored by the Detroit alumni clubs of Notre Dame and Michigan State.

NOTRE DAME-MICHIGAN STATE CONNECTIONS

  • Senior split end Javin Hunter (Orchard Lake/Detroit Country Day HS) is the only scholarship player from the state of Michigan on the 2001 Notre Dame roster.
  • Four Irish walk-ons hail from the Great Lakes state:senior DL Jeffrey Campbell (Kalamazoo/Parch- ment HS), sophomore TE Brendan Hart (Birmingham/Brother Rice HS), senior RB Tim O ‘Neill (Troy/ Athens HS) and senior starting holder Adam Tibble (Northville/Northville HS).
  • Irish sophomore QB Jared Clark (Cardinal Mooney HS) and junior LB Courtney Watson (Riverview HS), and MSU senior WR Herb Haygood (Sarasota HS), senior CB Cedric Henry (Booker HS) and freshman LB Jason Bradley (Booker HS) all hail from Sarasota, Fla. O’Neill, MSU sophomore C Brian Ottney (Troy HS) and freshman WR Bill Sharkey (Athens HS) all are natives of Troy, Mich. Hart and Michigan State senior PK David Schaefer are Birmingham, Mich. products, while Kalamazoo, Mich. is represented by Campbell and MSU junior tailback T. J. Duckett (Loy Norrix HS) and senior tailback Little John Flowers (Loy Norrix HS). In addition, Irish freshman DL Brian Beidatsch and MSU sopho- more OG Joe Brooks both attended Milwaukee’s Marquette HS. And, Notre Dame freshman LB Corey Mays (Morgan Park HS) and MSU senior LB Ivory McCoy (Simeon HS) both hail from Chicago.
  • Third-year Irish offensive coordinator Kevin Rogers and second-year Irish offensive line coach Steve Addazio were on the same 1997-98 staffs at Syracuse with second-year MSU offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland.
  • Fifth-year Irish defensive coordinator Greg Mattison and MSU assistant head coach and running backs coach Reggie Mitchell were on the same 1986 staff at Western Michigan.
  • Fourth-year Irish offensive line coach Dave Borbely and MSU wide receivers coach Don Treadwell were on the same staffs at Stanford during the 1995-96 seasons.
  • First-year Notre Dame safeties coach and special teams coach Bill Sheridan spent the previous three seasons (1998-2000) at Michigan State as linebackers and special teams coach. Sheridan al so served with Mitchell on the 1985 Michigan staff which helped guide the Wolverines to the Fiesta Bowl.
  • MSU assistant AD//director of football operations Mike Vollmar had a similar role at Syracuse from 1991-96, where he worked with Rogers (all six seasons) and Addazio (in ’95 and ’96).
  • MSU assistant baseball coach Cory Mee was a four-year monogram winner (1989-92) and two-time all-Midwestern Collegiate Conference selection with the Notre Dame baseball team, and later spent six seasons (1993, ’95-99) as an assistant coach with the Irish.
  • ND director of recreational services and fitness Sally Derengoski is a native of East Lansing, Mich.
  • MSU assistant AD//sports information director John Lewandowski is an ’84 Notre Dame graduate.

LAST YEAR’S NOTRE DAME-MICHIGAN STATE GAME
Notre Dame’s fourth-quarter rally from a 20-7 deficit to a 21-20 lead on a pair of two-yard TD runs by sophomore TB Julius Jones fell short as Michigan State used a 68-yard touchdown pass on fourth- down and 10 with 1:48 left in the game for a 27-21 win, the Spartans’ fourth consecutive over the Irish. Notre Dame’s defense forced a pair of fourth-quarter turnovers –a fumble by MSU QB Jeff Smoker while being forced out of the pocket under heavy pressure and an Anthony Weaver interception thrown by Smoker while under more pressure out of his end zone –after Michigan State had extended a 10-7 halftime lead to 20-7 after three quarters. Freshman backup QB Matt LoVecchio made his first career appearance in relief of sophomore starter Gary Godsey. LoVecchio connected with junior SE Javin Junter for 43 yards to the Michigan State two-yard line to set up Jones’ first TD two plays into the fourth quarter. Jones followed Weaver’s interception with another TD for a 21-20 lead with 7:50 left in the fourth quarter. Godsey connected with senior FB Jason Murray for a six-yard TD –career firsts for both Murray and Godsey –as the Irish led 7-0 after the first quarter. Jones finished with 126 yards rushing on 26 carries, the second 100-yard rushing game of his career and the first for a Notre Dame TB in 2000.

THE LAST TIME NOTRE DAME AND MICHIGAN STATE MET AT NOTRE DAME STADIUM
The Michigan State offense came alive in the fourth quarter and turned what had been a defensive duel for three periods into a 23-13 Spartan win over the Irish at Notre Dame Stadium -the third consecutive MSU victory over the Irish. Through three quarters, the Irish defense had allowed only seven points and 197 total yards. In the final quarter, Michigan State gobbled up 236 yards from scrimmage and score 16 points on three field goals and a touchdown. Notre Dame was hampered by five turnovers -two of which came in the decisive fourth quarter. The Irish and Spartans traded a pair of field goals each early in the final period, the last a 34-yard boot from Notre Dame senior PK Jim Sanson which left the score knotted at 13-13 with 5:44 to play. On the third play of the following drive, MSU connected on the biggest play of the game, as Gari Scott took a short pass from Bill Burke and raced 80 yards for the eventual game-winning score. Senior QB Jarious Jackson completed 15 of 26 passes for 245 yards and one touchdown, and senior SE Raki Nelson logged six catches for 117 yards in the loss.