Sept. 26, 2015
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes | USATSI Photo Gallery 
NOTRE DAME TEAM NOTES
- Notre Dame’s 62 points scored were the most for the Irish since a 62-0 shutout of Rutgers in 1996.
- Notre Dame surpassed the 400-yard rushing plateau as a team (457) for the first time since gaining 426 yards at Boston College in 1996.
- Notre Dame is 4-0 for third time in four years. It’s the first time Notre Dame has posted consecutive 4-0 starts since 1988-89.
- Notre Dame is now 5-0 when the Pope has visited United States soil during a game weekend.
- Notre Dame has run for over 200 yards in five straight games, extending back to the 2014 Music City Bowl win over LSU. It is the longest stretch since running for at least 200 yards in six straight games during the 2000 season. Notre Dame last opened a season with four-straight 200-yard rushing games in 1989 when the Irish began the season with 11 in a row.
- Notre Dame’s 35 points at halftime are the most since Oct. 29, 2011 when Notre Dame led Navy 35-7 at intermission.
- Notre Dame’s 95-yard drive for a TD in the first quarter matched a 95-yard march against Texas (Sept. 5) for the longest this year by the Irish. Including four touchdown marches on Saturday, the Irish now have 10 scoring drives of 75 yards or more this year.
- C.J. Sanders had Notre Dame’s first punt return for a touchdown since Golden Tate ran one back 87 yards at Pittsburgh in 2009. It marked the first punt return for a TD by the Irish at Notre Dame Stadium since Tom Zbikowski recorded a 52-yard TD against North Carolina in 2006. It was the first punt return for a TD by an Irish freshman since Tim Simon ran one back 72 yards at Army in 1973.
- The Marquis Young TD run marked the first points scored against the Irish in the first quarter this year. Notre Dame has now outscored its opponents 47-6 in the first quarter this year.
- Notre Dame finished the game with four explosion-play (35 or more yards) touchdowns, its most in a single-game this season. The Irish have scored touchdowns on plays longer than 35 yards nine times in 2015.
- After Massachusetts gained 276 yards of total offense and scored 20 points in the first half, Notre Dame limited the Minutemen to 174 yards of total offense and seven points in the second half.
- Notre Dame finished the game with six team rushing touchdowns. The last time the Irish had at least five rushing touchdowns in a game was against Miami (Fla.) during the Shamrock Series in 2012.
- C.J. Prosise (149) and Josh Adams (133) are the first Notre Dame rushers to each gain over 100 yards in a game since Theo Riddick (143) and Cierre Wood (114) surpassed the century mark against BYU in 2012.
- Notre Dame’s defense has now forced a three-and-out on the opening drive of each game this year.
- Cole Luke’s third quarter interception was the first this year for the Irish.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- WR Will Fuller’s second quarter TD catch was the 22nd of his career, tying Rhema McKnight (2002-06) and Derrick Mayes (1992-95) for fourth in school history. It was his eighth reception of at least 26 yards this year and his fifth TD of at least 26 yards.
- QB Brandon Wimbush’s 58-yard TD rush is the longest by a Notre Dame QB since Andrew Hendrix ran 78 yards against Air Force on Oct. 9, 2011.
- RB C.J. Prosise went over 100 yards rushing for the third straight game with 149. The last Notre Dame player with three consecutive 100-yard games on the ground was Darius Walker (Nov. 12, 19 and 26, 2005).
- Prosise’s 495 rushing yards are the most in a three-game stretch since Julius Jones had 600 from Nov. 8-29, 2003.
- P Tyler Newsome’s 52.4 yard average per punt was a program record for a minimum of five attempts, surpassing the 51.9 of Geoff Price vs. Michigan in 2006.
- RB Josh Adams posted his first career 100-yard rushing game with 133 yards on 13 carries, to go with a career-long 70-yard rush for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
- QB DeShone Kizer had his first career rushing TD in the first quarter.
- WR Equanimeous St. Brown made his first career catch in the fourth quarter.
- RB Dexter Williams had his first career TD run early in the third quarter.
- LB James Onwualu had his first career sack early in the first quarter.
UMASS NOTES Game Notes – Offense
- A pair of true-freshmen recorded rushing touchdowns at Notre Dame in Sekai Lindsay and Marquis Young. Young’s came on the last play from scrimmage in the first quarter while Lindsay’s opened scoring in the second quarter.
- Marquis Young 83-yard touchdown run was the longest run by a Minuteman since R.J. Cobb scampered 84 yards against Delaware on Nov. 2, 2002. That represents a gap of 149 games between the performances.
- Young’s 83-yard run is the longest by a true-freshman in UMass football modern history, dating back to the 1978 season.
- Young averaged 20.6 yards per carry with his five attempts covering 103 yards, the first 100-plus yard rushing performance by a Minuteman in 2015.
- The ground attack ended the afternoon with 148 yards over 29 carries for an average of 5.1 per attempt.
- Three Minutemen split the three rushing touchdowns as Young, Sekai Lindsay and Jamal Wilson each had one. It was the first career scores for Lindsay and Young.
- With his eight receptions today, Tajae Sharpe reached 38 consecutive games with at least one catch, the 10th-longest streak in the Mid-American Conference historically and third-longest active streak in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision.
Game Notes – Defense
- Trey Dudley-Giles intercepted a DeShone Kizer pass in the second quarter on a tipped play by Randall Jette, representing Dudley-Giles’ third career pick and first of the season.
- Three Minutemen provided double-digit tackle totals as Joe Colton, Dudley-Giles and Jovan Santos-Knox each had 10. Colton provided eight solo stops, followed by seven for Dudley-Giles and four by Santos-Knox. It marks the ninth-such performance for Santos-Knox, seventh by Colton and Dudley-Giles’ third with at least 10 stops.
Game Notes – Special Teams & Miscellaneous
- Coming in at No. 6 in the Associated Press Top-25 Media Poll, Notre Dame represents the highest-ranked opponent UMass football has faced in the history of the program. The previous top-ranked team was No. 7 Kansas State (L, 38-7; Sept. 13, 2003)
- All four University of Massachusetts scoring drives measured at least 50 yards in length. The longest (10 plays) went exactly 50 yards while UMass also had 75, 77 and 78 yard drives. Each of the 10 Minuteman scoring drives in 2015 measure at least 50 yards in length.
- Today’s UMass game captains were Dudley-Giles, Blake Frohnapfel, Santos-Knox, Trey Seals, Sharpe and Wilson.
- UMass won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball to start the first quarter. Notre Dame kicked off and defended the South endzone.
UMASS NOTES
Game Notes – Offense
- A pair of true-freshmen recorded rushing touchdowns at Notre Dame in Sekai Lindsay and Marquis Young. Young’s came on the last play from scrimmage in the first quarter while Lindsay’s opened scoring in the second quarter.
- Marquis Young 83-yard touchdown run was the longest run by a Minuteman since R.J. Cobb scampered 84 yards against Delaware on Nov. 2, 2002. That represents a gap of 149 games between the performances.
- Young’s 83-yard run is the longest by a true-freshman in UMass football modern history, dating back to the 1978 season.
- Young averaged 20.6 yards per carry with his five attempts covering 103 yards, the first 100-plus yard rushing performance by a Minuteman in 2015.
- The ground attack ended the afternoon with 148 yards over 29 carries for an average of 5.1 per attempt.
- Three Minutemen split the three rushing touchdowns as Young, Sekai Lindsay and Jamal Wilson each had one. It was the first career scores for Lindsay and Young.
- With his eight receptions today, Tajae Sharpe reached 38 consecutive games with at least one catch, the 10th-longest streak in the Mid-American Conference historically and third-longest active streak in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision.
Game Notes – Defense
- Trey Dudley-Giles intercepted a DeShone Kizer pass in the second quarter on a tipped play by Randall Jette, representing Dudley-Giles’ third career pick and first of the season.
- Three Minutemen provided double-digit tackle totals as Joe Colton, Dudley-Giles and Jovan Santos-Knox each had 10. Colton provided eight solo stops, followed by seven for Dudley-Giles and four by Santos-Knox. It marks the ninth-such performance for Santos-Knox, seventh by Colton and Dudley-Giles’ third with at least 10 stops.
Game Notes – Special Teams & Miscellaneous
- Coming in at No. 6 in the Associated Press Top-25 Media Poll, Notre Dame represents the highest-ranked opponent UMass football has faced in the history of the program. The previous top-ranked team was No. 7 Kansas State (L, 38-7; Sept. 13, 2003)
- All four University of Massachusetts scoring drives measured at least 50 yards in length. The longest (10 plays) went exactly 50 yards while UMass also had 75, 77 and 78 yard drives. Each of the 10 Minuteman scoring drives in 2015 measure at least 50 yards in length.
- Today’s UMass game captains were Dudley-Giles, Blake Frohnapfel, Santos-Knox, Trey Seals, Sharpe and Wilson.
- UMass won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball to start the first quarter. Notre Dame kicked off and defended the South endzone.