Oct. 21, 2012

Recap | Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery

COIN TOSS

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

A VICTORY OVER BYU…

• Improves Notre Dame to 7-0 for the first time since 2002.
• Gives the Irish seven straight victories to open a season for the 25th time in school history.
• Marks Notre Dame’s 15th win over its past 18 games.
• Gives the Irish their longest winning streak since capturing eight straight during the 2006 season.
• Improves Notre Dame’s all-time record to 860-300-42 (.733).
• Improves the all-time record at home for the Irish to 465-118-13 (.791).
• Improves Notre Dame’s all-time record at Notre Dame Stadium to 318-106-5 (.747).
• Improves the all-time record for the Irish when ranked in the top 25 to 416-133-15 (.751).
• Improves Notre Dame’s all-time home record when ranked in the top 25 to 210-54-3 (.792).
• Improves the all-time record for the Irish when ranked in the top 25 against an unranked opponent to 300-57-6 (.835).
• Improves Notre Dame’s all-time home record when ranked in the top 25 against an unranked opponent to 156-27 (.852).
• Improves the all-time record for the Irish when ranked in the top five to 177-44-7 (.792).
• Improves Notre Dame’s all-time home record when ranked in the top five to 81-20-2 (.796).
• Improves the all-time record for the Irish when ranked in the top five against an unranked opponent to 120-17-2 (.871).
• Improves Notre Dame’s all-time home record when ranked in the top five against an unranked opponent to 58-7 (.892).
• Improves the Irish to 5-2 (.714) in the all-time series with BYU.
• Improves Notre Dame to 4-1 (.800) at home in the all-time series with the Cougars.
• Improves Kelly’s record to 194-67-2 (.741) overall.
• Improves Kelly’s record at Notre Dame to 23-10 (.697).
• Improves Kelly’s record to 75-32 (.701) in FBS games.
• Improves Kelly’s record to 66-20 (.767) since 2006.
• Improves Kelly’s record to 117-34 (.775) since 2001.
• Improves Kelly’s record to 69-21-2 (.761) all-time in the month of October.
• Improves Kelly’s record to 9-3 (.750) in the month of October as Notre Dame head coach.

IRISH FORCE TURNOVERS IN BUNCHES

• Senior LB Manti Te’o forced the Notre Dame defense’s 16th turnover of the season with an interception at 7:31 of the opening quarter. The Irish forced only 14 turnovers over the entire 2011 season.
• Junior LB Danny Spond forced the Notre Dame defense’s 17th turnover of the season with an interception late in the fourth quarter.
• Notre Dame has recorded 12 interceptions this season. The Irish entered today’s game ranked eighth in the FBS in interceptions.
• Notre Dame had eight interceptions over the entire 2011 campaign.
• Te’o has four interceptions this season, which is tied for the most on the team. He now is one pick shy of the school record for interceptions by a linebacker in a season. Lyron Cobbins (1995) and John Pergine (1966) each had five interceptions in a season to share the ND record.

DEFENSE DOMINATED THE RED ZONE PRIOR TO TODAY

• Notre Dame limited its first six opponents this season to two touchdowns in 16 red-zone opportunities, but BYU collected touchdowns over its first two trips into scoring territory this afternoon. The Irish had not allowed a touchdown spanning 11 straight opponent trips into the red zone, entering today.
• Notre Dame entered the week tied with Alabama for first in FBS red-zone defense (.500) according to the NCAA (which includes both field goals and touchdowns allowed), but the Irish were far superior when including touchdowns only and points allowed per opponent red-zone opportunity.
• Notre Dame entered the week leading the nation defensively in both TD percentage/red zone opportunity and points allowed/red zone chance.

DEFENSE PRETTY STINGY ON THE SCOREBOARD

• Notre Dame allowed its first offensive touchdown over its past 17 quarters when BYU registered a pasing touchdown midway through the second quarter.
• The Irish hd 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.
• BYU did manage to score a pair of offensive touchdowns in the first half today, but one came following an interception deep in Irish territory. The Cougars went 30 yards on four plays to grab a 14-7 advantage in the second quarter.
• Notre Dame blanked the Cougars in the second half. The Irish limited BYU to 28 yards rushing, 87 yards passing and 115 total yards in the second half. The Cougars managed only 3.7 yards per play after halftime.
• Notre Dame’s defense has allowed 0-2 offensive touchdown in 19 of its past 24 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 still can make that claim seven 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 past two games of 2011, so the Irish now have gone nine straight games overall without giving up a ground score. In fact, Notre Dame has not allowed a rushing touchdown over the past 38 quarters.
• Notre Dame has given up exactly nine rushing touchdowns over its past 25 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 29 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 25 games: Alabama with six.
• Notre Dame has limited each of its past six opponents – Purdue (288), No. 10 Michigan State (237), No. 18 Michigan (299), Miami (285), Stanford (272) and BYU (243) – to under 300 total yards. The Irish have not allowed six consecutive opponents under 300 yards of total offense since the 1983 season. Notre Dame actually limited eight straight foes to fewer than 300 yards that season.

IRISH GROUND GAME GRINDS OUT YARDS

• BYU entered today’s game allowing only 67.86 yards rushing, third-best in the FBS, but the Irish rumbled for 270 yards (the most against the Cougars this season). The previous high for a BYU opponent this season was 118 by Oregon State on Oct. 13. It is the most rushing yards allowed by the Cougars since Utah State ran for 284 on Sept. 30, 2011.
• Senior RB Theo Riddick (143 yards) ran for more yards against BYU than any other running back this season. His 143 yards are the most by a Cougar opponent since John White of Utah had 174 on Sept. 17, 2011.
• Senior RB Cierre Wood (114 yards) also ran for more yards against BYU than any other running back this season.

IRISH GROUND GAME DOES IT AGAIN

• Senior RB Theo Riddick and senior RB Cierre Wood each had 100-yard rushing games. It marked the second time this season (Wood and sophomore RB George Atkinson III did it against Miami on Oct. 6) that a pair of Notre Dame running backs had 100-plus yards rushing in the same game. The Irish had not had a pair of running backs reach the century mark in the same game since 2002.
• Notre Dame attempted only three passes in the second half. The Irish rushed 24 times over their last 27 offensive plays of the game.

REES PIECES TOGETHER IRISH OFFENSE

• Junior QB Tommy Rees is 14-4 as the Irish starting quarterback.
• Rees owns a .778 winning percentage over his 18 career starts (14-4). Here is an interesting look at where Rees currently compares to the best Irish signal callers in school history (minimum 20 starts).

Notre Dame’s All-Time Winningest Quarterbacks

Clements, Ron Powlus and Brady Quinn share the school record for total victories (29)

• Rees hooked up with senior TE Tyler Eifert with 1:30 left in the first quarter to give the Irish a 7-0 lead over BYU. The TD pass was his second of the season and 34th of his career. Rees now is tied with Jarious Jackson (1996-99) for fifth on the ND all-time TD pass list.
• Rees had a pair of completions of 20 yards or longer in the opening quarter, both of which were completed to senior TE Tyler Eifert.
• Rees added a third completion of at least 20 yards on the final play of the third quarter – a 30-yard hookup with junior WR TJ Jones. The completion snapped a streak of seven straight incomplete passes.

DOUBLE CENTURY GROUND GAME

• Notre Dame ran for 270 yards today. The Irish have won 11 consecutive games when it rushes for at least 200 yards. The Irish have not lost a game with more than 200 yards on the ground since Nov. 3, 2007 against Navy.
• Notre Dame is 23-1 since the start of the 2002 season when it gains 200 or more yards rushing.

IRISH TOUGH TO BEAT WHEN WINNING THE RUSHING BATTLE

• Since the start of the 2005 season, Notre Dame has won 38 of its past 40 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 fairly remarkable run when his teams outrush their opponent. He is 155-23-1 in his career and 18-2 at Notre Dame when winning the rushing battle.

STARTING FAST, MAKING ADJUSTMENTS AND ALWAYS CLOSING

• Notre Dame has blanked six of its seven 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 eight games.
• Notre Dame has outscored its first six opponents this season by a 37-3 margin in the first quarter.
• Notre Dame held BYU to minus-19 yards rushing in the opening quarter. That’s the fewest rushing yards for an Irish opponent in any quarter this season. Notre Dame also limited the Cougars to 2.7 yards per offensive play in the opening 15 minutes (the lowest of any first quarter this year).
• 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, No. 17 Stanford and BYU by a comnbined 47-7 in the third quarter this season.
• Notre Dame has blanked six of its seven opponents this season in the third quarter. In fact, the Irish have held 17 of their past 20 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.

THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK

• Senior RB Theo Riddick ran for a career-best 143 yards, which is the most by an Irish running back since senior RB Cierre Wood had 191 yards rushing on Oct. 1, 2011.
• Riddick (143 yards) ran for more yards against BYU than any other running back this season. His 143 yards are the most by a Cougar opponent since John White of Utah had 174 on Sept. 17, 2011.
• Riddick collected his second career 100-yard rushing game. He had 107 yards in the victory over Navy on Sept. 1, 2012.
• Riddick recorded a 27-yard run late in the second quarter, producing the longest jaunt of his career. His previous long rush was a 24-yard carry in 2009.
• That career-best run lasted one quarter, as Riddick collected a 55-yard run in the third quarter that helped set up an Irish field goal.

TYLER’S EIFERT GARNERS PLENTY OF ALL-AMERICA ATTENTION

• Senior TE Tyler Eifert hauled in a four-yard touchdown pass from junior QB Tommy Rees with 1:30 left in the first quarter to give the Irish a 7-0 advantage. The TD grab was his third of the season and 10th of his career.
• Eifert is the second Notre Dame tight end ever to collect 10 or more touchdown receptions. Ken MacAfee (1974-77) holds the school record with 15.
• Eifert’s season-high for catches in a game entering today was four (96 yards) against Purdue on Sept. 8. He had four grabs for 73 yards in the opening quarter alone. Eifert had a pair of catches for at least 25 yards in the first period.
• Nine of Eifert’s 19 catches this season have gone for at least 20 yards.
• Thirteen of Eifert’s 19 catches this season have resulted in a touchdown or first down.

JONES PRETTY RELIABLE

• Junior WR TJ Jones picked up a 31-yard reception on the final play of the third quarter – his longest catch of the season.
• Jones has 21 catches this season and 18 have resulted in either a first down or touchdown.

STEPHON GETS TUITT

• Sophomore DE Stephon Tuitt now has eight sacks this season. He is tied with four other Irish players for sixth in single-season school history.

Sacks – Season

• Tuitt already has surpassed Aaron Lynch’s total of five and a half sacks, which led Notre Dame in 2011. Tuitt is on pace for 14.0 in the regular season and 15.0 when including a bowl game.
• Tuitt’s eight sacks are the most by an Irish player since Victor Abiamiri had 10.5 in 2006. It also is the most by a Notre Dame underclassmen since Kory Minor had eight in 1996.

MAN(TI) AMONG BOYS

• Senior ILB Manti Te’o finished with a team-high 10 tackles. He now has led the Irish in stops on 25 different occasions in his career. The double-digit tackle game was his fifth of the season (third in a row) and 23rd of his career.
• Te’o has four interceptions this season, which is tied for the most on the team. He now is one pick shy of the school record for interceptions by a linebcaker in a season. Lyron Cobbins (1995) and John Pergine (1966) each had five INTs in a season.
• Te’o has played a role in eight of the 17 turnovers forced by Notre Dame’s defense. The All-America linebacker has recorded four interceptions, recovered two fumbles and hurried passers on two occasions that resulted in interceptions.
• Te’o is the only defensive player in the FBS that has averaged over nine tackles/game and collected at least four interceptions in 2012.
• Te’o is tied for the nation’s lead in interceptions by a linebacker.
• Te’o now has 393 career tackles, which ranks fourth in school history