Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/841614
12 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW UNDER THE DOME BY THE NUMBERS Teams Notre Dame will play from the state of North Carolina this season. The Fighting Irish visit the North Carolina Tar Heels Oct. 7, and then host North Carolina State for the first time Oct. 28 and face Wake Forest at home Nov. 4. It is the first time since 2010 Notre Dame will play three teams from the same state. Seven years ago in head coach Brian Kelly's first season, the Irish de‑ feated Western Michigan at home (44‑20), but lost to Michigan (28‑24) and then Michigan State in overtime (34‑31). The most recent season — until 2017 — that Notre Dame entered a football season with none of the top three quar‑ terbacks on the roster having a single varsity snap to his credit the previ‑ ous year. That year it was sophomores Ron Powlus and Thomas Krug, with freshman Gus Ornstein the No. 3 option. Powlus was medically redshirted as a freshman, while Krug also did not play to preserve a fifth season of eligibility. Current junior Brandon Wimbush did take 27 snaps as the No. 3 quarterback in 2015, but he was redshirted last year. Sophomore Ian Book also was redshirted, while the starting holder on kicks, senior Montgomery VanGorder, has not taken snaps on offense. The average weighted price of a Notre Dame home football ticket in 2017, or $3 more than in 2016. The university intro‑ duced a tier pricing format in 2011, and this year prices will range from $45 for the cheapest seats in the home games versus Temple, Wake Forest and Miami (Ohio) to $250 for the most expensive seats (outside of premium seating) versus SEC foe Georgia and archrival USC. a 24‑21 victory versus Texas A&M in the Jan. 1, 1994 Cotton Bowl. In the 24 prior seasons from 1970‑93, the Fighting Irish won 10 such contests — seven of them against unbeaten and/ or No. 1 teams — for the most in the nation. Since then, 33 other Football Bowl Subdivision teams have won a BCS/Major/Big Six Bowl, while Notre Dame has not. It was 19‑0 in his first six seasons from 2010‑15 — but 0‑3 last year in such con‑ tests, another example of collapse in just about every facet possible during a 4‑8 campaign. It lost 50‑47 in double over‑ time to Texas, 28‑27 to Navy and 34‑31 to Virginia Tech despite not losing a fum‑ ble or throwing an interception. represented on Notre Dame's 2017 schedule, highlighted by four of the Power Five leagues. Five ACC teams is a given with Notre Dame's partial membership in football, but the Irish also will play an SEC opponent — Georgia — for the first time in the regular season since Tennessee in a 2004‑05 home and home. There is also the 2015 Big Ten champ (Michigan State), Pac‑12 powers USC and Stanford, plus the American Athletic Conference with Temple and Navy, and the Mid‑American Conference with Miami (Ohio), a school renowned as "The Cradle of Coaches," including Notre Dame's Ara Parsgehian (1964‑ 74). The lone Power Five league not represented is the Big 12, although the Irish did play Texas in 2015‑16. M a r k N o t r e Dame has posted in its last 13 true road games, meaning on the opponent's home field and not a neutral site. That dubi‑ ous ledger dates back to a 28‑21 loss at Pitt on Nov. 9, 2013. The five road games this year are Boston College Sept. 16, Michigan State Sept. 23, North Carolina Oct. 7, Miami (Fla.) Nov. 11 and Stanford Nov. 25. $115 24 1994 19-3 6 3-10 N o t r e D a m e 's r e c o r d u n d e r head coach Brian Kelly when it does not commit a turnover. Different conferences Years since Notre Dame has won a major bowl game 3 PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN