Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com AUGUST 2020 9 UNDER THE DOME 3.4 Grade point average recorded by the Notre Dame football team, on a 4.0 scale, during the 2019 spring semester — an unofficial record by the program. Perhaps even more impressive is that 86 players achieved at least a 3.0 (B average), meaning it was a collective effort. Five of the 86 players with at least a 3.0 made the Dean's List, where Notre Dame's GPA requirements vary by college. In the spring of 2020, students needed anywhere from a 3.733 to a 3.897 to make the Dean's List. 5 Placement of 11th-year Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly in CBS Sports' annual ranking of the 65 Power Five (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC) coaches in college football. The poll epitomizes the "what have you done for me lately?" ap- proach of judging a head coach. Three years ago, LSU's Ed Orgeron was No. 48 on the chart, while Kelly was No. 27 after a 4-8 finish. Last year's 15-0 national title outcome vaulted Orgeron 26 spots, all the way from No. 30 prior to 2019 to No. 4 a year later, one spot ahead of Kelly. The top three were comprised of Alabama's Nick Saban, Clemson's Dabo Swinney and Oklahoma's Lin- coln Riley. 10.6 Average ranking of Notre Dame by six major college football outlets dur- ing the 2020 preseason: • No. 8 in Sporting News • No. 9 in Athlon Sports • No. 10 in Lindy's • No. 10 in USA Today • No. 10 In CBS Sports • No. 11 in Street & Smith's • No. 16 in ESPN's Football Power Index It is pretty much in line with where Notre Dame placed in the final national polls the past three years with an average ranking of 9.3: No. 11 in 2017, No. 5 in 2018 and No. 12 in 2019. 12 Ranking of Notre Dame in the Sporting News' final assessment of college football's 25 best teams of the 2010s. The Fighting Irish totaled 27 points in a formula that awarded 10 points for a national championship, five for a national title game appearance, five for a CFP berth, three for a BCS or New Year's Six Bowl appearance and two for a Heisman winner. Win percentage, first-round NFL Draft picks and All-Americans since 2010 were each ranked with an Associated Press poll style 15-1 score. Ahead of Notre Dame were Alabama (166 points), Clemson (122), Ohio State (90.5), Oklahoma (76), LSU (74), Florida State (61), Oregon (42), Wisconsin, (35.5), Georgia (34.5), Auburn (34) and Stanford (31). Florida (21), Michigan State (15) and Boise State (14) were the three behind Notre Dame and rounded out the top 15. 80 Tackles recorded last season by current senior linebacker DREW WHITE, which tied class- mate and rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah for the team lead. This summer, ESPN named White as Notre Dame's "Most Unheralded Star," choosing one member from each of its projected top 25 teams in 2020. Entering this year, White finds himself in the shadows of Owusu-Koramoah, projected by ESPN draft analyst Todd Mc- Shay as the 17th-best draft-eligible player; sopho- more safety Kyle Hamilton, a 2019 Freshman All-American according to several outlets and named the team's "most exciting playmaker" by ESPN; and fifth-year senior defensive end Daelin Hayes, a preseason second-team All- American according to Sporting News. White did not play as a freshman in 2017, and almost all his action as a sophomore in 2018 came versus Navy's triple-option attack. 1989 The last football season where Notre Dame's de- fense went at least three consecutive years without allowing 20 points per game. It will attempt to achieve that feat this year after permitting only 17.9 last year (12th in the country) and 18.2 in 2018 (13th). The closest it had come since then were the two straight in 2001 (19.5) and 2002 (16.7). ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER