Oct. 13, 2012

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COIN TOSS

• Stanford won the coin toss and elected to receive. Notre Dame defended the South end zone.

A VICTORY OVER STANFORD…

• Improves Notre Dame to 6-0 for the first time since 2002.
• Gives the Irish six straight victories to open a season for the 30th time in school history.
• Marks Notre Dame’s 14th win over its past 17 games.
• Gives the Irish their longest winning streak since capturing eight straight during the 2006 season.
• Gives Notre Dame wins over three top-25 opponents in the same season for the first time since 2005.
• Improves the Irish to 137-125-10 (.522) all-time against AP top-20 opponents, including 63-52-3 (.547) at home.
• Improves Notre Dame to 145-130-10 (.526) all-time against AP top-25 opponents, including 67-53-3 (.557) at home.
• Improves the all-time record for the Irish to 859-300-42 (.733).
• Improves Notre Dame’s all-time record at home to 464-118-13 (.791).
• Improves the all-time record for the Irish at Notre Dame Stadium to 317-106-5 (.746).
• Improves Notre Dame to 18-9 (.667) in the all-time series with Stanford.
• Improves the Irish to 11-3 (.786) at home in the all-time series with the Cardinal.
• Improves Notre Dame to 1-5 (.167) all-time against Stanford when the Cardinal are ranked in the top 25.
• Improves the Irish when ranked in the top 25 to 12-3 (.800) all-time against Stanford.
• Improves Notre Dame to 1-2 (.333) all-time against Stanford when both teams are ranked in the top 25.
• Improves the Irish home record when ranked in the top 25 to 8-2 (.800) all-time against Stanford.
• Improves Notre Dame’s all-time record against Pac-12 foes to 88-49-6 (.636).
• Improves the all-time record at home for the Irish against Pac-12 foes to 49-18-1 (.728).
• Improves Brian Kelly’s record to 193-67-2 (.740) overall.
• Improves Kelly’s record at Notre Dame to 22-10 (.688).
• Improves Kelly’s record to 74-32 (.698) in FBS games.
• Improves Kelly’s record to 65-20 (.765) since 2006.
• Improves Kelly’s record to 116-34 (.773) since 2001.
• Improves Kelly’s record to 1-2 (.333) all-time against Stanford.
• Improves Kelly’s record to 1-1 (.500) at home against Stanford.
• Improves Kelly’s record to 3-3 (.500) all-time against Pac-12 opponents.
• Improves Kelly’s record to 1-2 (.333) at home against Pac-12 foes.
• Improves Kelly’s record to 68-21-2 (.758) all-time in the month of October.
• Improves Kelly’s record to 8-3 (.727) in the month of October as Notre Dame head coach.

OVERTIME

• Notre Dame played in its first overtime game of 2012 and fifth over the past five years.
• The Irish and Cardinal had never previously played an overtime game in the series.
• Notre Dame improved to 4-8 all-time in overtime games.
• All four of Notre Dame’s overtime wins have come at home (also Air Force in 2000, Washington State in 2003 and Washington in 2009).
• All but two of Notre Dame’s 12 overtime games have come at home (the Irish are 4-6 in home OT games, 0-2 on the road). The home OT losses: Air Force in 1996, Nebraska in 2000, Michigan State in 2005, Navy in 2007, Pittsburgh in 2008 and Connecticut in 2009 (losses at USC in 1996 and Michigan State in 2010).

IRISH FORCE TURNOVERS IN BUNCHES

• Junior CB Bennett Jackson forced the Notre Dame defense’s 14th turnover of the season with an interception at 7:42 of the opening quarter. The Irish forced jonly 14 turnovers over the entire 2011 season.
• Sophomore S Matthias Farley collected his first career interception at 1:27 of the opening quarter.
• Notre Dame has recorded 10 interceptions this season. The Irish entered today’s game tied for 16th in the FBS in interceptions.

DEFENSE DOMINATES SECOND HALF

• Notre Dame limited Stanford to 119 total yards in the second half and overtime.
• The Cardinal managed only 3.7 total yards per play after halftime.

DEFENSE PRETTY STINGY ON THE SCOREBOARD

• Notre Dame allowed its first touchdown over its past 13 quarters when Stanford registered a defensive touchdown midway through the second quarter.
• Notre Dame still has not allowed an offensive touchdown over each of its past four games (16 quarters). The Irish have not accomplished that feat since head coach Dan Devine’s final season in 1980, when the Notre Dame defense set a school record by not allowing an offensive touchdown in 23 straight quarters that spanned six games.
• Notre Dame is allowing only 8.7 points per game. No school in the FBS has allowed fewer touchdowns than the Irish’s four allowed this season (one was an opponent defensive touchdown).
• Notre Dame has allowed a total of 52 points over its first six games of 2012. The Irish had not surrendered fewer points over their first six games of a season since 1976, when Notre Dame allowed 43 points in the first six games.
• Notre Dame’s defense has allowed 0-2 offensive touchdowns in 18 of its past 23 games. The Irish actually have allowed 0-1 offensive touchdowns in 11 of those outings.
• Notre Dame’s defense has yet to allow a rushing touchdown in 2012. The Irish are the only team in the FBS that can still make that claim six games into the season. Notre Dame allowed only eight rushing touchdowns in 2011. Only four teams in the FBS allowed fewer rushing touchdowns than the Irish a year ago.
• Notre Dame did not allow a rushing touchdown in its last two games of 2011, so the Irish now have gone eight straight games overall without giving up a ground score. In fact, Notre Dame has not allowed a rushing touchdown over the past 34 quarters.
• Notre Dame previously held eight straight opponents without a rushing touchdown in a span that spread across the 1976-77 seasons.
• Notre Dame has given up exactly nine rushing touchdowns over its past 24 games (dating back to the Tulsa game in 2010). Even more amazing, only three of those rushing touchdowns have come from an opposing running back and two came against the Irish reserves: Jonathan Lee’s eight-yard TD run for Air Force with the Irish leading 59-27 with 33 seconds left in the fourth quarter on Oct. 8, 2011 and D.J. Adams’ two-yard TD on Nov. 12, 2011 with the Irish leading Maryland, 45-14, with 37 seconds left.
• Over the past 28 games, only four running backs have recorded a rushing touchdown against Notre Dame (Gee Gee Greene, Navy, 2010; Jon Lee, Air Force, 2011; Josh Harris, Wake Forest, 2011; D.J. Adams, Maryland, 2011).
• The only defense to allow fewer rushing touchdowns than the nine by Notre Dame over the past 24 games-Alabama with six.
• Notre Dame has limited each of its past five opponents – Purdue (288), No. 10 Michigan State (237), No. 18 Michigan (299), Miami (285) and Stanford (272) – to under 300 total yards. The Irish have not allowed five consecutive opponents under 300 yards of total offense since the 1989 Fiesta Bowl (West Virginia) and the first four games of the 1989 season. Notre Dame limited the Mountaineers (282), Virginia (231), Michigan (272), Michigan State (275) and Purdue (219) to under 300 total yards.

STANFORD WINS BATTLE OF FIELD POSITION IN FIRST HALF

• Notre Dame’s average field position over its seven drives in the first half was the 25-yard line while Stanford’s was the 35-yard line. Excluding the Irish drive that opened at the Cardinal 16-yard line following the Matthias Farley interception, Notre Dame’s six other drives opened at the 15-yard line.

IRISH OUT IN FRONT

• Notre Dame played 323:54 this season before it finally trailed.
• The Irish entered today as the only FBS team to not trail in any game of the 2012 season. It was the first time since the 1947 national champions to not trail in the first five games of a season. Those incomparable 1946-47 Notre Dame units never trailed at all during their two-year run, one of the more amazing stats in college football annals.

GOLSON, REES CATCH FIRE LATE

• Sophomore QB Everett Golson and junior QB Tommy Rees combined to complete their last eight passes in the game.

IRISH TOUGH TO BEAT WHEN WINNING THE RUSHING BATTLE

• Since the start of the 2005 season, Notre Dame has won 37 of its past 39 games when recording more rushing yards than their opponent.
• The Irish 27-game winning streak when outrushing its opponent was snapped in the loss at Michigan on Sept. 10, 2011. Notre Dame had not previously lost a game when outrushing its foe since Dec. 28, 2004, when the Irish lost to Oregon State, 38-21, in the Insight Bowl. Notre Dame also collected more rushing yards than Florida State in last year’s Champs Sports Bowl, yet ended up on the losing side of that game.
• Third-year head coach Brian Kelly has his own pretty remarkable run when his teams outrush their opponent. He is 154-23-1 in his career and 17-2 at Notre Dame when winning the rushing battle.

STARTING FAST, MAKING ADJUSTMENTS AND ALWAYS CLOSING

• Notre Dame has blanked five of its six opponents in the first quarter this season. Miami is the only foe to score against the Irish in the opening 15 minutes (a field goal). The Irish have not surrendered a touchdown in the first quarter since Nov. 26, 2011, against Stanford – a span that extends over seven games.
• Notre Dame has outscored its first six opponents this season by a 30-3 margin in the first quarter.
• The Irish have been nearly as successful coming out of the halftime locker room. Notre Dame has outscored Navy, Purdue, No. 10 Michigan State, No. 18 Michigan, Miami and No. 17 Stanford, 44-7, in the third quarter this season.
• Notre Dame has blanked five of its six opponents this season in the third quarter. In fact, the Irish have held 16 of their past 19 foes without an offensive score of any kind in the third quarter, dating back to the start of the 2011 season. Pittsburgh, USC and Florida State (all in 2011) as well as Navy this season are the only teams to register any points against the Irish in the opening quarter of the second half.
• Notre Dame outgained Stanford, 114-19, in the third quarter.

BRINDZA STAYS HOT

• Sophomore PK Kyle Brindza kicked a 29-yard field goal with 0:36 remaining in the first quarter to give the Irish a 3-0 lead.
• Brindza connected on a 22-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in regulation to tie the game, 13-13.
• Brindza is now 10-for-12 on field goals for the season (and career).

TYLER’S EIFERT GARNERS PLENTY OF ALL-AMERICA ATTENTION

• Senior TE Tyler Eifert hauled in a 24-yard touchdown pass from sophomore QB Everett Golson with 14:15 left in the fourth quarter to tie the game, 10-10.
• The touchdown catch was Eifert’s second of the season and ninth of his career.
• Seven of Eifert’s 15 catches this season have gone for at least 20 yards.
• Ten of Eifert’s 15 catches this season have resulted in a touchdown or first down.

REES PIECES ANOTHER

• Junior QB Tommy Rees came in for an injured sophomore QB Everett Golson and led the Irish on a game-tying drive (Irish kicked a field goal). He guided Notre Dame on a 12-play, 79-yard field goal drive.
• Rees completed each of his first four passes, including a seven-yard touchdown pass to junior WR TJ Jones to give the Irish a 20-13 lead in the first overtime.
• The touchdown pass was Rees’ first of the season and 33rd of his career.

JUST GOOD `OLE GOLSON FOOTBALL

• Sophomore QB Everett Golson registered a career-best 23-yard run in the second quarter.
• Golson hooked up with senior TE Tyler Eifert for a 24-yard touchdown with 14:15 left in the game to tie the score, 10-10.
• The TD pass was Golson’s fourth of the season (and career).
• Before leaving the game midway through the fourth quarter, Golson had completed four straight passes – all for first downs (the final three came on clutch third-down situations).

MAN(TI) AMONG BOYS

• Senior ILB Manti Te’o finished with a game-high 11 tackles. He now has led the Irish in stops on 24 different occasions in his career. The double-digit tackle game was the 22nd of his career.
• Te’o has recorded at least 10 tackles in each of Notre Dame’s four meetings with Stanford over his career. He has 54 career stops against the Cardinal.
• Te’o collected nine tackles in the first half of today’s game.
• Te’o now has 383 career tackles, which ranks fourth in school history.

ALMOST THE JACKSON FIVE

• Junior CB Bennett Jackson picked up his fourth interception of the season (and career) at 7:42 of the opening quarter. Jackson entered today’s game in a tie for ninth in the FBS in interceptions.

FARLEY GOOD PICK

• Sophomore S Matthias Farley collected his first career interception at 1:27 of the opening quarter.
• The 49-yard interception return for Farley was the longest by an Irish player since Lo Wood’s 57-yard interception return for touchdown against Maryland on Nov. 12, 2011