Brian Kelly Radio Show -- Tonight at 7 PM EST

The Brian Kelly Radio Show is on right now @ 7 PM EST.  When you click on the link, scroll down below the video player to LIVE EVENTS and click on the Brian Kelly Radio Show!

LINK:  BRIAN KELLY RADIO SHOW

Beano Cook & Ivan Maisel -- Talk ND vs. Army

I'm not a big fan of "podcasts" -- but, I'm going to break from tradition and post a "LINK" to a podcast of Beano Cook and Ivan Maisel talking about the history of Notre Dame vs. Army -- here at the ND GO IRISH BLOG.  It's worth your listen!

LINK:  BEANO & IVAN TALKING NOTRE DAME

More Than 50,000 Unique Visitors -- Thank You!

Ten months ago, I launched this blog because I was literally "shamed" into it.  You see, I had just given this advice to my oldest son Jimmy (2008 Notre Dame grad) and my good friend Brian Brady's daughter, Erin (2008 Saint Mary's grad) four weeks earlier: "If I was your age I would;  1) Build a blog about anything you're passionate about and,  2) And, learn how to build an audience for it."  

Well, on January 26, 2010 -- I received an email from my ND grad with a link to a blog he had just created!  My reaction was two-fold, I was excited and proud that he had listened to his Dad (for the first time in his life) -- and I was personally ashamed that I had never followed through on my own advice.  Quite the quandary!

So, believe it or not -- that afternoon I went to work on building a blog about my passion -- the University of Notre Dame.  And, as they say - the rest is history.

Thankfully,  now more than 50,000 of you (we passed that mark this morning) -- who also share a passion for Notre Dame -- have joined me on this journey.  You come from all 50 states and now more than 100 countries around the world.  ALEXA, which ranks the traffic counts for millions of websites around the world, ranks the ND GO IRISH BLOG site among the top 11% in the world -- for web traffic.  Pretty amazing stuff when you think about the story behind this effort!

I want to thank all 50,000 of you for making the ND GO IRISH BLOG part of your daily "Notre Dame fix" on the web.  You inspire me to keep going.


The next goal:  80,795 unique visitors -- so I can say "We filled up Notre Dame Stadium..."

THANK YOU!


Jim Small
Just Like You -- A Notre Dame Fan!

NBC's Video of Yankee Stadium Transformation

I posted a similar video earlier this week of the transformation that took place these past few weeks at Yankee Stadium.  The New York Yankees $1.5 billion home got an "IRISH FACELIFT" -- as they prepared for the first ever football game this Saturday night in PRIMETIME!  Here's a time-lapsed video of what I'm calling the building of; Notre Dame Stadium EAST (don't you love this photo!) -- enjoy!

LINK:  FOOTBALL @ YANKEE STADIUM

If This Doesn't Get You Exicted for Saturday...

Folks, I'm not a big fan of NBC's coverage of Notre Dame Football -- yet, I must give them PROPS for their promotional spot for Saturday night's Notre Dame vs. Army game at Yankee Stadium.  I have to admit it gave me "chills" the first time I saw it -- and every time since.  And, it's a game between two teams who won't be ranked this year -- GO FIGURE!  I've been waiting for NBC to post it online -- so I could share it with you.  Here's the link:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME IN PRIMETIME!

Wednesday's Media Interviews -- ND Football

The gang at UND.COM captured the interviews of Coach Kelly, Tommy Rees, Manti Teo and Michael Floyd after Wednesday's practice -- as the Irish prepare for Saturday's game against Army at Yankee Stadium.  Here's the links:

LINK:  BRIAN KELLY

LINK:  TOMMY REES

LINK:  MANTI TEO & MICHAEL FLOYD 

UPDATED: ND's Offense -- National Rankings

It's time for our weekly look at where Notre Dame Football ranks in certain statistical categories amongst the 120 teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision -- AFTER TEN GAMES OF THE 2010 SEASON. In today's analysis you'll see how Notre Dame's Offense & Special Teams currently stand; on a national basis -- as compared to their final ranking for 2009 -- and the top teams in the country in each category.

OFFENSIVE TEAM STATISTICS

First Downs:  2010 Rank - #48 with 20.9 first downs per game -- in 2009 we averaged 24.4 first downs per game for the season, ranking us #4 -- Oklahoma leads the country with 27.3 first downs per game.  

Third Down Conversions:  2010 Rank - #92 with a 35.88% conversion rate -- in 2009 we had a 39.1% conversion rate for the season, ranking us #48 -- Stanford leads the country converting 58.09% of their third downs.  

Passing Yards Per Attempt:  2010 Rank - #74 with 6.8 yards passing per attempt -- in 2009 we averaged 8.7 yards passing per attempt, ranking us #7 in the country.  Boise State leads the country averaging 10.3 yards per attempt.

Passing Yardage:  2010 Rank - #21 with 273 yards per game  (2,726 yards for the season)  -- in 2009 we passed for 323 yards per game (3,882 yards for the season), ranking us #7 -- Hawaii leads the country with 371 yards passing per game (3,710 yards for the season).  

Rushing Yards Per Attempt:  2010 Rank - #83 with 3.9 yards rushing per attempt -- in 2009 we averaged 3.8 yards rushing per attempt, ranking us #76 in the country.  Auburn and Nevada lead the country with an average of 6.5 yards rushing per attempt. 

Rushing Yardage:  2010 Rank - #100 with 115 yards rushing per game (1,148 yards for the season) -- in 2009 we rushed for 127 yards per game  (1,539 yards for the season), ranking us #88 -- Georgia Tech leads the country with 319 yards rushing per game (3,193 yards for the season). 

Most QB Sacks Given Up:  2010 Rank -- #58 giving up 19 QB sacks -- in 2009 we gave up 25 QB sacks for the season, ranking us #66 -- Washington States leads the country in giving up 46 QB sacks this season.  

Fewest Pass Interceptions Thrown:  2010 Rank -- #91 having thrown 12 pass interceptions this season -- in 2009 we threw 5 interceptions for the season, raking us #5 -- Army leads the country having thrown 1 pass interception this season.  

Turnovers Lost:  2010 Rank - #76 with 19 turnovers lost -- in 2009 we had 14 turnovers for the season, ranking us #7 -- Iowa, Wisconsin and Oregon State lead the country with 7 turnovers lost for the season.  

Total Offense:  2010 Rank -- #58 with 387 yards per game of offense -- in 2009 we had 451 yards per game of offense, ranking us #8 -- Oklahoma State leads the country 548 yards per game of offense. 

Points Per Game:  2010 Rank -- #68 with 26.2 points per game -- in 2009 we averaged 30.1 points per game for the season, ranking us #32 -- Oregon leads the country scoring 50.7 points per game.  

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TEAM STATISTICS

Fewest Penalties:  2010 Rank - #15 with 49 penalties -- in 2009 we had 75 penalties for the season, ranking us #50 -- Wisconsin leads the country in the fewest penalties with 31.  

Fewest Penalty Yards:  2010 Rank -- #24 with 446 yards in penalties -- in 2009 we had 666 yards in penalties, ranking us #60 -- Penn State leads the country in fewest penalty yards with 271 

Net Punting Yards:  2010 Rank -- #64 with an average net of 36.2 yards per punt -- in 2009 we averaged 32.1 yards per punt, ranking us #112 -- Florida leads the country with 42.25 net yards per punt.  

Field Goals -- 2010 Rank -- #30 with 13 field goals made this season.  The Irish are 13 for 13 (100%) -- AND THE ONLY TEAM IN THE FBS THAT HAS NOT MISSED A FIELD GOAL THIS SEASON!  In 2009 we made 19 field goals, ranking us #22 -- while going 19 for 22 in the process.     

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS ON OFFENSE -- Ranked in top 100

Dayne Crist:

-Ranked #49 in the country with 2,033 yards passing

-Ranked #42 in the country with 15 TD passes

-Ranked #61 in the country with a QB rating of 129.3

-Ranked #68 in the country with a 59.2% pass completion percentage

-Ranked #58 in the country for most pass interceptions thrown with 7

-Ranked #3 in the country with a 95 yard pass completion / his 80 yard pass completion to Floyd would be ranked #21 in the country

David Ruffer:

-Ranked #28 in the country in most field goals made with 13

-Ranked #1 in the country with most field goals made without a miss (13)

-Ranked #19 in the country for longest field goal made - 50 yarder

Ben Turk:

-Ranked #87 in the country with an average of 38.67 yards per punt

Michael Floyd:

-Ranked #32 in the country with 767 yards receiving

-Ranked #26 in the country with 59 catches

-Ranked #15 in the country with 9 TD catches

-Ranked #24 in the country with an 80 yard catch

Kyle Rudolph:

-Ranked #3 in the country with a 95 yard catch