October 31, 2009

Countdown To Kickoff

The No. 25 ranked Fighting Irish (2-2) are in San Antonio this weekend to face Washington State (1-6) Saturday evening at the Alamodome. The game will kick off at 7:42 PM ET and will be televised nationally by NBC (Tom Hammond, Pat Haden and Alex Flanagan).

This meeting will be the second all-time meeting between the two universities. The Irish won the first meeting in 2003, 29-26, inside Notre Dame Stadium.

Here is Saturday’s Countdown to Kickoff (credit: Notre Dame Sports Information):

10 – Notre Dame is plus-10 in turnovers this year and only four teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision have a larger disparity between turnovers forced and turnovers committed.

Tate ranks third nationally in receiving yards.

9 – Since being inserted as a starter against Washington three games ago, freshman LB Manti Te’o is averaging a team-best 9.0 tackles per game.

8 – The Irish defense has made numerous big plays in their end of the field in 2009, including forcing eight turnovers inside the Notre Dame 25-yard line.

7 – When this week’s BCS rankings are adjusted according to each team’s schedule strength of past and future opposition, only seven teams are slotted ahead of Notre Dame.

6 – The last six Notre Dame games have been decided by seven points or less, setting a single-season school record. The Irish are the only team in the Football Bowl Subdivision to have played in that many games decided by such a small margin.

5 – One of the most electrifying players in the Football Bowl Subdivision, junior WR Golden Tate has eclipsed 100 receiving yards in five games this year. No other FBS player has more 100-yard receiving games than Tate.

4 – Coined “Captain Comeback” by the South Bend Tribune, junior QB Jimmy Clausen has already set a school record this year by directing four fourth quarter comebacks for Notre Dame victories.

3 – Senior SS Kyle McCarthy (aka Mr. Dependable) is tied for third in the Football Bowl Subdivision with a team-high five interceptions. The only time since 1990 an Irish player has topped that figure was seven by Shane Walton in 2002.

2 – The Irish rank second in the Football Bowl Subdivision in fewest turnovers this year (five) and are tied for second in the nation for most games without a giveaway since 2005.

1 – Notre Dame’s defense shined on first down against Boston College last week allowing two yards or less on 19 of the Eagles' 25 first-down plays.

0 – The Irish football team has provided more treats than tricks in its history when playing on Halloween. Notre Dame has never lost in 14 previous games played on Oct. 31.

Enjoy the game and be sure check out BlueandGold.com afterward for complete post-game coverage.

Just The Stats, Please
-by Todd Burlage

A statistical look at today’s matchup.

Following is the statistical comparison between Washington State and Notre Dame. National rankings are in parenthesis out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision schools.

TEAM RANKINGS

Rushing Offense
Notre Dame 132.57 (76)
Wash St. 72.57 (116)

Passing Offense
Notre Dame 305.86 (11)
Wash St. 221.14 (55)

Total Offense
Notre Dame 438.43 (15)
Wash St. 293.71 (111)

Scoring Offense
Notre Dame 30.00 (36)
Wash St. 15.14 (116)

Sacks Allowed
Notre Dame 2.14 (71)
Wash St. 5.00 (120)

Rushing Defense
Notre Dame 127.00 (50)
Wash St. 215.43 (114)

Pass Defense
Notre Dame 282.43 (117)
Wash St. 284.14 (118)

Pass Efficiency Defense
Notre Dame 134.89 (88)
Wash St. 155.17 (113)

Total Defense
Notre Dame 409.43 (97)
Wash St. 499.57 (119)

Scoring Defense
Notre Dame 24.14 (64)
Wash St. 37.00 (115)

Sacks
Notre Dame 1.71 (75)
Wash St. 1.00 (112)

Turnover Margin
Notre Dame 1.43 (4)
Wash St. -.14 (69)

TOP 50 INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS

NOTRE DAME
Rushing: Armando Allen 85.67 (40)
Passing Efficiency: Jimmy Clausen 161.30 (2)
Total Offense: Clausen 286.00 (11)
Receptions Per Game: Golden Tate 7.43 (10)
Rec Yards Per Game: Tate 121.00 (4)
Interceptions: Kyle McCarthy .71 (T-3)
Field Goals: Nick Tausch 1.71 (T-10)
Scoring: Tausch 8.00 (T-31), Tate 7.71 (T-41)
All-Purpose Runners: Tate 150.00 (17)
Tackles For Loss: Darius Fleming 1.58 (11)

WASHINGTON STATE
Punting: Reid Forrest 43.78 (15)