Notre Dame Founded -- 168 Years Ago Today!

On this day (November 26, 1842), 168 years ago -- Father Edward Sorin, CSC -- of the Holy Cross Congregation, founded the University of Notre Dame!  Happy Birthday!!!  To celebrate -- here's two of Notre Dame's favorite songs:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME GLEE CLUB

A ND Athlete & Family: "Thankful" Today!

The ND GO IRISH BLOG covered Teddy Rogers return to Notre Dame earlier this year -- and today's USA Today recounts his remarkable story.  A wonderful 'thanksgiving" story -- Notre Dame style.  Enjoy!

LINK:  A ND -- THANKSGIVING STORY!

Happy Thanksgiving to the Notre Dame Family!

It's one of my favorite days of the year -- family, football and food -- even though my Lions are usually on the losing end!!!  I'm about to "turn off" my MAC for a day or so to enjoy the time with my family.  I want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!  Trust me, I'll be back getting us fired up for USC -- tomorrow night or Saturday morning!  Here's a link to a Prayer of Thanksgiving video -- you'll enjoy -- and, a link to today's Prayer of Thankgiving at the PRAY.ND.EDU site:

LINK:  A NOTRE DAME PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

LINK:  PRAY.ND.EDU -- PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Less than "65" Hours to ND vs. USC

The Notre Dame vs. USC game in 1988 matched the #1 ranked Fighting Irish against the #2 ranked Trojans at the LA Coliseum.  It was the eighth time, in this storied series, that one of the teams entered the game ranked #1 -- the first time the teams were ranked #1 and #2.  And, both teams were 10-0 -- the first and only time both teams have been undefeated playing each other in the LA Coliseum.  Irish fans will recall, Notre Dame Head Football Coach, Lou Holtz -- sent star players Ricky Watters and Tony Brooks back to South Bend for continual tardiness to team meetings -- the morning of the game!  Yet, the Irish -- behind QB Tony Rice's huge 65 yard TD run in the first quarter and defensive back Stan Smagala's "pick six"-- rolled over USC 27-10!  Four weeks later the Irish capped off a 12-0 season and the National Championship with a convincing win over West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl.  FYI:  It was Notre Dame's sixth straight win over the Trojans.  Here's a link to highlights from the 1988 game:

LINK:  #1 NOTRE DAME vs. #2 USC

ND Hockey To Join Big Ten?

A story broke yesterday out of Minnesota, that the Big Ten has extended an invitation to Notre Dame to join the Big Ten's planned hockey league.  THEY WON'T GIVE UP WILL THEY!!!  Paul Kelly, President of College Hockey Inc., -- a group that has been formed to promote college hockey -- confirmed the Big Ten's offer to Notre Dame.  The Irish and a number of the Big Ten schools that play hockey; Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State are currently members of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA).  Word has it that the Big Ten would like to add hockey as a conference sport in the next few years -- meaning the five current schools in the Big Ten that play hockey -- Wisconsin and Minnesota play in the Western  Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) would be leaving their current conference affiliations.  Jeff Jackson's (pictured) 11th ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish are currently in FIRST PLACE in the CCHA!  Here's a link to the story, along with a link to the current national rankings:

LINK:  BIG TEN INVITATION TO NOTRE DAME

LINK:  IRISH RANKED 11TH IN NATIONAL RANKINGS

Less than "77" Hours to ND vs. USC

It's one of the most "talked about" games in the long history of Notre Dame vs. USC -- the legendary "green jersey" game in 1977!  The Irish came out of the tunnel in green jerseys for the first time in years -- along with a huge trojan horse!  Here's a video of ABC's Keith Jackson and Darrell Broyles talking about Notre Dame's "GREEN MACHINE" entrance into Notre Dame Stadium.  FYI -- the #11th ranked Irish rolled over the #5th ranked USC that day, 49-19 -- on their way to the National Championship that year!

LINK:  THE GREEN JERSEY GAME IN '77

Irish Hoops on TV -- Old Spice Classic!

The 4-0 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Men's Basketball Team travel to Orlando today to play in the 2010 Old Spice Classic tomorrow night!  The Irish tip-off the tournament with a game against Georgia Thanksgiving night at 7 PM EST on ESPNU.  It's the first of three games scheduled for Notre Dame over their four days in Orlando.  The teams competing with Notre Dame; Georgia, Boston College, California, Marshall, Texas A&M, Temple and Wisconsin.  The photo is of Irish frosh, Eric Atkins -- courtesy of the South Bend Tribune. Here's a couple of links -- first, a website who's predicting the Irish will play Wisconsin in the championship game Sunday.  And, a second link to the Old Spice Classic website -- GO IRISH!

LINK:  WILL THE IRISH WIN THE OLD SPICE CLASSIC?

LINK:  OLD SPICE CLASSIC OFFICIAL SITE

Less than "85" Hours to ND vs. USC

To get you "fired up" for Saturday's ND vs. USC game, here's a link to Eric Penick's 85-yard TD run in the 1973 game! Penick's photo is in the upper left of this Sports Illustrated cover that commemorated this game. FYI:  The Irish beat the Trojans that day 23-14 -- stopping USC's 23 game winning streak.

LINK:  PENICK GOES 85 YARDS FOR TD!

NBC's Mayock Talks Clausen's NFL Future...

Former Notre Dame QB, Jimmy Clausen -- has had a "typical" NFL rookie season for the Carolina Panthers at the quarterback position.  Meaning, not very good.  Here's a story in today's Charlotte Observer about Jimmy and Colt McCoy -- where the writer sought out NBC's Mike Mayock to critique both QB's.  As ND fans know -- Mayock is the "game analyst" on NBC's coverage of Notre Dame Football.  Here's the link:

LINK:  A CRITIQUE OF CLAUSEN

Notre Dame Monogram Club -- Fall Ceremony!

I stumbled across this video yesterday -- and I thought it was "so Notre Dame" that I had to post it on the ND GO IRISH BLOG.  It's a UND.COM video of the Notre Dame Monogram Club's fall ceremony -- awarding the Notre Dame Monogram (it's what ND calls their varsity letter) to student athletes.  Here's a link:


LINK:  NOTRE DAME MONOGRAM CLUB -- FALL CEREMONY

Lauren Fowlkes -- Academic All American!

University of Notre Dame senior soccer co-captain, Lauren Fowlkes was recently named to the 2010 First Team ESPN Academic All America Team.  For Fowlkes, this is a "move up" -- last year she was named a "second team" Academic All American!  She becomes the 9th Notre Dame women's soccer player to be named First Team Academic All American.  Congratulations!  Lauren and her teammates head to Stillwater, OK this Friday for a NCAA Women's Soccer National Championship Quarterfinals game against Oklahoma State.  The Irish are among the "ELITE EIGHT" left in the tournament!  Good Luck!!!

David Ruffer -- Academic All American!

University of Notre Dame senior place kicker, David Ruffer -- was named yesterday to the 2010 First Team ESPN Academic All America Football Team.  Ruffer has a 3.90 GPA in his economics major at Notre Dame.  He is the 31st Notre Dame football player in history to receive 1st team Academic All American honors.  Congratulations!!!  Here's a link to the 2010 Academic All America Football Team:

LINK:  2010 ACADEMIC ALL AMERICANS -- FIRST TEAM

ND Football Player Interviews -- USC Week

The gang at UND.COM interviewed quite a few Notre Dame football players after yesterday's practice; Tommy Rees, Braxston Cave, Michael Floyd, Tyler Eifert, Cierre Wood, Brian Smith, Harrison Smith and Manti Teo.  Here are the links:

LINK:  OFFENSIVE PLAYER INTERVIEWS -- USC WEEK

LINK:  DEFENSIVE PLAYER INTERVIEWS -- USC WEEK

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 ELEVEN 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 - #55 with 20.27 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 27.36 first downs per game.  

Third Down Conversions:  2010 Rank - #71 with a 37.93% conversion rate -- in 2009 we had a 39.1% conversion rate for the season, ranking us #48 -- Stanford leads the country converting 55.53% of their third downs.  

Passing Yards Per Attempt:  2010 Rank - #62 with 7.0 yards passing per attempt -- in 2009 we averaged 8.7 yards passing per attempt, ranking us #7 in the country.  Auburn and Boise State lead the country averaging 10.2 yards per attempt.

Passing Yardage:  2010 Rank - #27 with 267 yards per game  (2,940 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 391 yards passing per game (4,303 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 - #98 with 118 yards rushing per game (1,303 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 -- #66 giving up 19 QB sacks -- in 2009 we gave up 25 QB sacks for the season, ranking us #66 -- Washington State and Rutgers lead the country in giving up 46 QB sacks this season.  

Most Pass Interceptions Thrown:  2010 Rank -- #25 having thrown 13 pass interceptions this season -- in 2009 we threw 5 interceptions for the season, raking us #116 -- Buffalo and Miami, FL lead the country having thrown 21 pass interceptions this season.  

Fewest  Turnovers Lost:  2010 Rank - #69 with 20 turnovers lost -- in 2009 we had 14 turnovers for the season, ranking us #7 -- Iowa and Oregon State lead the country with 7 turnovers lost for the season.  

Total Offense:  2010 Rank -- #58 with 386 yards per game of offense -- in 2009 we had 451 yards per game of offense, ranking us #8 -- Oklahoma State leads the country 552 yards per game of offense. 

Points Per Game:  2010 Rank -- #70 with 26.27 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 - #14 with 54 penalties -- in 2009 we had 75 penalties for the season, ranking us #50 -- Wisconsin leads the country in the fewest penalties with 33.  

Fewest Penalty Yards:  2010 Rank -- #32 with 501 yards in penalties -- in 2009 we had 666 yards in penalties, ranking us #60 -- Penn State leads the country in fewest penalty yards with 306

Net Punting Yards:  2010 Rank -- #75 with an average net of 36.8 yards per punt -- in 2009 we averaged 32.1 yards per punt, ranking us #112 -- Illinois leads the country with 44.6 net yards per punt.  

Field Goals -- 2010 Rank -- #24 with 15 field goals made this season.  The Irish are 15 for 15 (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 #60 in the country with 2,033 yards passing

-Ranked #51 in the country with 15 TD passes
-Ranked #63 in the country with a 129.3 QB rating

-Ranked #67 in the country with a 59.2% pass completion percentage

-Ranked #67 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 #21 in the country in most field goals made with 13

-Ranked #1 in the country with most field goals made without a miss (15)

-Ranked #31 in the country for longest field goal made - 50 yards

Michael Floyd:

-Ranked #31 in the country with 830 yards receiving

-Ranked #28 in the country with 62 catches

-Ranked #17 in the country with 9 TD catches

-Ranked #26 in the country with an 80 yard catch

Kyle Rudolph:

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

ESPN "Experts" an OXYMORON: Talk ND / USC

Six ESPN "talking heads" sit and talk Notre Dame vs. USC in the video below.  Please know, I find this group "difficult to watch."  I truly question if any of them have a clue...  You decide on your own:

LINK:  ESPN'S EXPERTS -- TALKIN' NOTRE DAME vs. USC

LINK:  ESPN'S PICK OF THE WEEK

UPDATED: ND vs. USC -- ABC Coverage Map

Here's the UPDATED (11/24) Coverage map for the ND vs. USC football game (Saturday @ 8 PM EST).  ABC MADE A CHANGE THIS MORNING!!! -- ABC JUST RELEASED THAT A FEW MARKETS ON THE EAST COAST WILL NOW BE GETTING THE ND vs. USC GAME;  New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh markets.  Approximately 46% of the country will now be receiving this game.  Here's hoping that still improves -- as ND fans across the country are putting pressure on ABC to broadcast the game.  If you reside in the "yellow area" of this map -- you won't see the game on ABC, but you can catch it on ESPN3.COM or ESPN GAMEPLAN (You must buy at least a "weekly package" which will run you $24.  Here are links to both -- click on the map to enlarge:

LINK:  ESPN3.COM

LINK:  ESPN GAMEPLAN

Coach Kelly's Press Conference -- USC Week

University of Notre Dame Head Football Coach -- Brian Kelly met with the media today at noon to discuss this week's opponent -- the University of Southern California Trojans.  Here's the link:

LINK:  COACH KELLY TALKS USC GAME

Notre Dame's Weekend in NYC -- A Great Video!

This video captures -- quite quickly -- what Notre Dame pulled off this past weekend in New York City.  You'll see photos and video footage of events, places, etc. -- that have not been available before -- it's great stuff!  A truly historic weekend for the University of Notre Dame.  This video, that was just "tweeted" by @Tony_Fuller -- IS MUST SEE -- thanks Tony!  There's also a link to a photo gallery of ND in NYC posted on Notre Dame's student newspaper's site:

LINK:  ND in NYC! 

LINK:  OBSERVER -- PHOTO GALLERY FROM NYC

Notre Dame's Defense -- 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 ELEVEN GAMES OF THE 2010 SEASON.  In today's analysis you'll see how Notre Dame's defense currently stands on a national basis -- as compared to their final ranking for 2009 and against the top team in the country -- in each category this season.

DEFENSE -- TEAM STATISTICS

Quarterback Sacks:  2010 Rank - #29 with 26 QB sacks -- in 2009 we had 19 QB sacks for the season, ranking us #92 -- Florida State leads the country with 41 QB sacks.  

Tackles for Loss:  2010 Rank - #57 with an average of 5.91 tackles for loss per game -- in 2009 we averaged 6.0 tackles for loss per game, ranking us #48 in the country.  Boise State leads the country with an average of 8.8 tackles for loss per game.  

Interceptions:  2010 Rank - #30 with 13 interceptions -- in 2009 we had 12 interceptions for the season, ranking us #50 -- Alabama leads the country with 21 interceptions. 

First Downs:  2010 Rank - #42 allowing an average of 18.45 first downs per game -- in 2009 we gave up an average of 19.67 first downs per game, ranking us #72   -- TCU leads the country giving up an average of 11.55 first downs per game.

Third Down Conversion Rate:  2010 Rank - #30 allowing only 36,21% conversion rate on third down -- in 2009 we allowed a 39.5% conversion rate, ranking us #67 -- West Virginia leads the country allowing only a 21.74%  conversion rate. 

Red Zone Efficiency:  2010 Rank - #36 allowing the team to score 79% of the time -- in 2009 we allowed teams to score 75% of the time, ranking us #15 -- Boise State leads the country allowing teams to score 47% of the time.

Turnovers Gained:  2010 Rank - #44 with 20 turnovers gained -- in 2009 we gained 19 turnovers for the season, ranking us #80 -- Hawaii leads the country with 31 turnovers gained this season. 

Rushing Yards:  2010 Rank - #62 giving up an average of 153 yards rushing per game -- in 2009 we gave up an average of 170 yards rushing per game, ranking us #89 -- Boise State leads the country giving up an average of 72 yards rushing per game.  

Passing Yards:  2010 Rank - #51 giving up an average of 208 yards passing per game -- in 2009 we gave up an average of 227 yards passing per game, ranking us #76 in the country.  TCU leads the country giving up an average of 135 yards passing per game.

Total Yards:  2010 Rank - #55 giving up 362 yards per game -- in 2009 we gave up an average of 397 yards per game, ranking us #86 -- TCU leads the country giving up 223 yards per game.  

Points Allowed Per Game:  2010 Rank - #33 giving up 20.91 points per game -- in 2009 we gave up 25.3 points per game, ranking us #63 -- TCU leads the country giving up 10.91 points per game. 

DEFENSE -- INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Tackles Per Game:

• Manti Teo -- averaging 10.73 tackles per game -- ranked #13 in the country

Sacks:

• Darius Fleming -- 5.5 sacks this season -- ranked #70 in the country
• Ethan Johnson --  5.0 sacks this season -- ranked #83 in the country

Interceptions

• Harrison Smith -- 3 interceptions this season -- ranked #47 in the country
• Darrin Walls -- 3 interceptions this season -- ranked #47 in the country

TOMORROW AN ANALYSIS OF THE NOTRE DAME OFFENSE

Ruffer -- A Finalist For The Lou Groza Award!

Notre Dame's "Mr. Perfect" David Ruffer -- was named yesterday as one of the three Finalists for the 2010 Lou Groza Award -- which is awarded annually by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission to the nation's top place-kicker.  Ruffer, joined the Irish in the middle of last season as a "walk on" straight from Notre Dame's "interhall" football league.  And, all he's done is make every kick he's attempted ever since!  Ruffer is a "perfect" 15 for 15 this season -- the only kicker in the FBS that has attempted at least 10 field goals without missing -- and he's now 20 for 20 for his career.  Could be a movie here!!!  The winner will be announced at the 19th Annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet on Tuesday, Dec. 7th at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, Florida -- and again on Thursday, Dec. 9th at the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show.

LINK:  LOU GROZA AWARD FINALISTS