Mark Bavaro -- NY Giants' "RING OF HONOR"

Former University of Notre Dame All American tight end Mark Bavaro, will be enshrined in the New York Giants' "Ring of Honor" during Sunday's game against the Packers.

This week, Bavaro was a guest on the Nick & Artie Show (just click on the link and scroll down to the interview).  Congratulations Mark!

LINK:  MARK BAVARO RADIO INTERVIEW

LINK:  ESPN STORY

LINK:  GIANTS VIDEO TRIBUTE TO BAVARO

Taylor Dever -- Life Long Notre Dame Fan...

The University of Notre Dame's starting right tackle, Taylor Dever -- granted an interview to a paper from his hometown in Northern California.  After reading this story -- ND fans will be rooting for #75!

LINK:  NOTRE DAME FAN -- NOW NOTRE DAME MAN

NOTRE DAME OFFENSE: Last Three Seasons

Here's how the Fighting Irish rank amongst the 120 teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision -- FOR THE 2011 SEASON -- and how this season compares to ND's final rankings for 2010 and 2009.  You'll also find the 2011 NCAA leader in each category.

OFFENSIVE TEAM STATISTICS

First Downs:  2011 Season:  23.92 first downs -- ranked #19 in the country.  2010 Rank #57 with 19.83 first downs per game -- in 2009 we averaged 24.4 first downs per game for the season, ranking us #13.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Baylor with an average of 29.09 first downs per game. 

Third Down Conversions:  2011 Season:  46.54% -- ranked #23 in the country.  2010 Rank #76 with a 37.5% conversion rate -- in 2009 we had a 39.1% conversion rate for the season, ranking us #48.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Wisconsin with a 55.24% third down conversion rate. 

Passing Yards Per Attempt:  2011 Season:  7.1 yards per passing attempt -- ranked #62 in the country.  2010 Rank #75 with 6.8 yards passing per attempt -- in 2009 we averaged 8.7 yards passing per attempt, ranking us #7 in the country.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Georgia Tech averaging 11.3 yards per pass attempt. 

  

Passing Yardage:  2011 Season:  258.08 yards per game -- ranked #34 in the country.  2010 Rank #29 with 257 yards per game -- in 2009 we passed for 323 yards per game, ranking us #7.  2011 NCAA Leader:  University of Houston averaging 449.67 passing yards per game.  

Rushing Yards Per Attempt:  2011 Season:  5.0 yards per attempt -- ranked #22 in the country.  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.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Oregon averaging 6.5 yards per rushing attempt. 

Rushing Yardage:  2011 Season:  166 rushing yards per game -- ranked #51 in the country.  2010 Rank #97 with 121 yards rushing per game -- in 2009 we rushed for 127 yards per game, ranking us #88.  2011 NCAA Leader:  U.S. Military Academy averaging 350.91 rushing yards per game. 

Most QB Sacks Given Up:  2011 Season:  13 sacks given up -- ranked #19 in the country.  2010 Rank #66 giving up 19 QB sacks -- in 2009 we gave up 25 QB sacks for the season, ranking us #66.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Oklahoma giving up 6 sacks this season. 

Fewest Pass Interceptions Thrown: 2011 Season:  14 interceptions thrown -- ranked #98.  2010 Rank #105 having thrown 16 pass interceptions -- in 2009 we threw 5 interceptions for the season, raking us #4.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Six schools have thrown only 4 interceptions this season; Army, Houston, LSU, Northern Illinois, Temple & Wisconsin. 

Fewest Fumbles Lost:  2011 Season:  12 fumbles lost -- ranked #83 in the country.  2010 Rank #31 having lost 8 fumbles -- in 2009 we lost 9 fumbles for the season ranking us #39.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Four schools lost only 4 fumbles for the season; Alabama, Wisconsin, LSU and Wake Forest.

Fewest  Turnovers Lost:  2011 Season:  26 turnovers lost -- ranked #103 in the country.  2010 Rank #84 with 24 turnovers lost -- in 2009 we had 14 turnovers for the season, ranking us #7.  2011 NCAA Leaders:  LSU and Wisconsin -- each with 8 turnovers lost.

Total Offense:  2011 Season:  424.08 yards per game -- ranked #33 in the country.  2010 Rank #63 with 378 yards per game of offense -- in 2009 we had 451 yards per game of offense, ranking us #8.  2011 NCAA Leader:  University of Houston with 613.25 yards per game in total offense. 

Points Per Game:  2011 Season:  30.5 points per game -- ranked #41 in the country.  2010 Rank #73 with 25.75 points per game -- in 2009 we averaged 30.1 points per game for the season, ranking us #32.  2011 NCAA Leader:  University of Houston averaging 52.67 points per game. 

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TEAM STATISTICS

Fewest Penalty Yards:  2011 Season:  729 penalty yards -- ranked #93 in the country.  2010 Rank #25 with 511 yards in penalties -- in 2009 we had 666 yards in penalties, ranking us #60.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Naval Academy with only 230 penalty yards.

Net Punting Yards:  2011 Season:  34.04 net yards per game -- ranked #104 in the country.  2010 Rank #72 with an average net of 36.9 yards per punt -- in 2009 we averaged 32.1 yards per punt, ranking us #112.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Florida State averaging 42.04 net yards per punt.

Field Goals Made:  2011 Season:  10 field goals made -- ranked #78 in the country.  2010 Rank #32 with 15 field goals made.  In 2009 we made 19 field goals, ranking us #22 -- while going 19 for 22 in the process.  2011 NCAA Leader:  Texas A&M with 25 field goals made this season.