Nov. 4, 2014
DATE
– Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014
TIME
– 1:36 p.m. MST
SITE (CAPACITY)
– Sun Devil Stadium (67,704); Tempe, Arizona
TELEVISION
– ABC national telecast with Sean McDonough (play by play), Chris Spielman (analysis), Todd McShay (sideline) and Bo Garrett (producer).
– The Irish are 6-2 when appearing on ABC since 2012. The Irish were 4-0 in 2012 with victories over Michigan State, Oklahoma, Boston College and USC. The Irish went 1-1 in 2013 with a win over Purdue but a loss against Pittsburgh. This year, Notre Dame defeated Syracuse on Sept. 27 but lost at No. 2 Florida State on Oct. 18.
RADIO
– IMG College Sports is the exclusive national rights holder for Irish football radio broadcasts. IMG College manages, produces and syndicates the Irish national football radio network. Notre Dame games are broadcast on up to 117 affiliates by Don Criqui (play by play), former Irish great Allen Pinkett (analysis) and Jeff Jeffers (sideline). This broadcast can be heard live on SiriusXM Satellite Radio (channel 129).
– The broadcast will be preceded by a one hour pre-game show hosted by Tony Castricone with Criqui, Pinkett and interviews conducted by Jack Nolan.
– All games can be heard in South Bend on News & Sports Radio 96.1 FM & 960 AM and Sunny 101.5 FM.
TICKETS
– Arizona State is expecting a sellout crowd on Saturday.
– Notre Dame has played in front of sellout crowds in 271 of its previous 318 games (.852) overall. The Irish have played before 642 sellouts in 919 total games (.699) since 1930. Notre Dame has played in front of sellouts in 290 of its last 291 home games.
WEB SITES, SOCIAL MEDIA
– Notre Dame (UND.com…@NDFootball), Arizona State (TheSunDevils.com…@FootballASU)
POLLS
– Notre Dame is ranked No. 8 in both the Associated Press poll and the Amway Coaches’ poll. Arizona State is ranked No. 11 in the AP poll and No. 12 in the coaches’ poll.
SERIES INFO
– Notre Dame leads the series 3-0, including a 1-0 record in Tempe, Arizona.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
– Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly is 16-12 (.571) in his career against Associated Press Top 25 teams. Of the 65 coaches at contract bowl eligible schools, Kelly’s career .571 winning percentage ranks eighth among his peers.
COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF
12: Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly is 12-2 when coaching an Irish team ranked in the Associated Press top 10.
11: Notre Dame has been in command of its games this year. The Irish have trailed for just 11.1 percent of the season, 53:27 out of 480:00 of action. The Irish have held the lead for 304:05 or 63.4 percent of the season.
10: Ten Irish players have recorded at least two tackles for loss on defense this season. Bednarik and Butkus Awards semifinalist Jaylon Smith leads the way with 6.5.
9: WR Will Fuller has nine touchdown receptions in 2014. He ranks tied for fourth in the Football Bowl Subdivision in TD catches.
8: RB Tarean Folston has rushed for at least 120 yards in consecutive games. That feat hasn’t been accomplished at Notre Dame in eight years. Darius Walker last did it for the Irish in 2006.
7: The Irish are 7-1 this fall. Remarkably, it is the 48th time that the Irish have had a winning percentage of .875 or better through eight games.
6: Notre Dame has allowed just 0.87 rushing TDs per game since Brian Kelly took over as head coach in 2010. That is the sixth-lowest ratio in the nation over this span.
5: Sun Devil Stadium is one of five current or former NFL stadiums where Notre Dame will play in the 2014 regular season and one of four which has also hosted a Super Bowl.
4: Since 2006, head coach Brian Kelly has won the fourth-most games of any head coach in the FBS, going 87-26 over that span. Only Chris Petersen (98), Les Miles (91) and Bob Stoops (91) have claimed more FBS head coaching victories over the same period.
3: Against Navy, QB Everett Golson became the first player in school history to both rush and throw for three TDs in the same game. It was Golson’s second three-rushing TD game this year and his fifth three-passing TD game in 2014.
2: QB Everett Golson is responsible for 22.0 points per game in 2014, ranking second in the nation behind Oregon’s Marcus Mariota.
1: With one more win, Brian Kelly will become the first coach to begin his Notre Dame career with five-straight eight-win seasons.
0: The Irish defense has not allowed any 80-plus yard scoring drives this year. Notre Dame’s offense has produced 10.