Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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2. Defense Inside Its Own 10-Yard Line — In 53 plays inside Notre Dame's 10-yard line, opponents had minus-three yards net (including penalties). Of the 115 times foes lined up inside the Irish 20 (red zone), they totaled 116 yards. 3. In Six Road Games, The Irish Trailed A Total of 48 Seconds — After falling behind 3-0 at Oklahoma, Notre Dame answered with a 62-yard touchdown run by Cierre Wood. Of the 360 minutes played on the road, the Irish were not behind in 359:12. 4. No Touchdowns Allowed In The First Quarter — The last time that happened in any quarter for a Notre Dame football team was the fourth quarter in 1970, when the Irish finished 10-1 and No. 2. The 2012 Fighting Irish outscored their foes 85-9 in the opening 15 minutes. 5. The Starting Offensive Line Answered The Bell Together All 12 Games — From left to right, seniors Zack Martin and Chris Watt, fifth-year senior Braxston Cave and Mike Golic Jr., and junior Christian Lombard had a perfect attendance record in starts. The only other two times that has occurred since 1990 were the BCS seasons in 2000 and 2006. As a corollary, eight members on defense started every game, plus junior Louis Nix III came in to finish the one game he didn't start (Pitt). Honorable Mention: This was only the third Notre Dame team to average at least 200 yards rushing (202.5) and 200 yards passing (218.8) in the same year. The others were the No. 2 team in 1970 (257.8 rushing and 252.7 passing) and the 1977 national champs (231.9 rushing and 208.1 passing). Mr. Personality: NG Louis Nix III It takes a little of everything to create an ideal team chemistry, even Nix's comic relief. Except no one is laughing when he has to face the junior defensive lineman on the field. Nix was a more productive 2012 Notre Dame version of William "The Refrigerator" Perry for the 1985 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears and their fortress defense. Gregarious and amiable off the field, and the favorite and most quotable interview for most any media member, the 326-pound Nix was the anchor in the middle of the Irish defense while constantly taking on double teams — yet still pacing the line in tackles (45) and in passes defended (five). A case could be made for him receivNix not only played a crucial role for Notre ing more MVP notice, especially when Dame's No. 1-ranked scoring defense on the field, but he also was one of the team's he came in off the bench against Pitt after battling the flu all week and helping rally most likable players off it. Photo by Joe Raymond the Irish from a 20‑6 deficit.