Air Force Week: Irish Football Monday Update

Here's what I've found today that will entertain the Irish fans as we get ready to take on the "triple option" attack of the Air Force Academy this Saturday.  Here's a few links:

LINK:  IRISH CONNECTION

LINK:  INSIDE NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

LINK:  COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE

USC Football -- Just Had To Point This Out!

Lane Kiffin's Trojans have given up more than 40 points in each of their last two games against teams from the state of Arizona.  It is the first time in the 123 year history of USC Football that they have given up 40 points in "back-to-back" games.  Can't wait to see what we do to them in three weeks!!!

LINK:  STATS I LIKE!

ND's "D" - MOVING UP THE NATIONAL RANKS!

Here's a look at where Notre Dame's "D BOYS" are ranked among their peers in college football after Week 5 of the 2011 season.  Here's the STAT OF THE YEAR FOR OUR DEFENSE -- WE'VE ONLY GIVEN UP ONE RUSHING TD THIS SEASON, WHICH WAS D-ROB PICKING UP A FUMBLE for Michigan.

Once again, you'll see how we fared in 2010 and 2009 -- and the 2011 NCAA Leader in every defensive category:

NOTRE DAME DEFENSE -- 2011 TEAM STATISTICS

Quarterback Sacks:  2011 after game #5:  13 sacks, ranked #19 in the country.  2010 Rank #45 with 26 QB sacks -- in 2009 we had 19 QB sacks for the season, ranking us #92.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Colorado State and Hawaii with 19 sacks.

Tackles for Loss:  2011 after game #5:  6.2 average tackles for loss per game, ranked #50 in the country.  2010 Rank #65 with an average of 5.63 tackles for loss per game -- in 2009 we averaged 6.0 tackles for loss per game, ranking us #48 in the country.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Louisville averaging 9 tackles for loss per game.

Interceptions:  2011 after game #5:  5 interceptions, ranked #35 in the country.  2010 Rank #32 with 14 interceptions -- in 2009 we had 12 interceptions for the season, ranking us #50.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Vanderbilt leads with 14 interceptions.

First Downs:  2011 after game #5:  18.6 first downs allowed per game, ranked #46 in the country.  2010 Rank - #30 allowing an average of 17.92 first downs per game -- in 2009 we gave up an average of 19.67 first downs per game, ranking us #72.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Alabama allowing only 11.2 first downs per game.

Third Down Conversion Rate:  2011 after game #5:  allowed a 30.99% conversion rate on third down, ranked #19 in the country.  2010 Rank #22 allowing only 35.08% conversion rate on third down -- in 2009 we allowed a 39.5% conversion rate, ranking us #67.  2011 NCAA Leader: Arizona State allowing only 24.24% conversion rate on third down.

Red Zone Efficiency:  2011 after game #5:  allowed opponents to score 80% of the time, ranked #45 in the country.  2010 Rank #53 allowing the team to score 81% of the time -- in 2009 we allowed teams to score 75% of the time, ranking us #15.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Michigan allowing opponents to score 45% of the time in the red zone.

Turnovers Gained:  2011 after game #5:  6 turnovers gained, ranked #80 in the country.  2010 Rank - #54 with 21 turnovers gained -- in 2009 we gained 19 turnovers for the season, ranking us #80.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Cincinnati and Rutgers with 18 turnovers gained this season.

Rushing Yards:  2011 after game #5:  91.2 rushing yards per game given up, ranked #19 in the country.  2010 Rank #57 giving up an average of 147 yards rushing per game -- in 2009 we gave up an average of 170 yards rushing per game, ranking us #89.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Alabama giving up an average of 39.6 yards rushing per game.

Passing Yards:  2011 after game #5:  230.4 passing yards per game given up, ranked #72 in the country.  2010 Rank #44 giving up an average of 206 yards passing per game -- in 2009 we gave up an average of 227 yards passing per game, ranking us #76 in the country.  2011 NCAA Leader:  UCF giving up an average of 103.5 passing yards per game.

Total Yards:  2011 after game #5:  321.6 yards of total offense per game given up, ranked #31 in the country.  2010 Rank #49 giving up 353 yards per game -- in 2009 we gave up an average of 397 yards per game, ranking us #86.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Michigan State giving up an average of 173.4 yards per game in total offense.


Points Allowed Per Game:  2011 after game #5:  18.6 points allowed per game, ranked #26 in the country.  2010 Rank #29 giving up 20.5 points per game -- in 2009 we gave up 25.3 points per game, ranking us #63.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Alabama allowing 8.4 points per game.