Notre Dame-Bowling Green: By The Numbers
1 Ranking of Notre Dame nationally in best turnover margin going into the Bowling Green game, and it is expected to maintain that entering next weekend’s game versus arch rival USC (which was 121st out of 130 teams).
During its 4-1 start, the Fighting Irish generated 14 turnovers — the most recent an interception by senior safety Jalen Elliott versus the Falcons — while committing only four. That is now a plus-2.0 ratio per game.
2 Notre Dame players who had their jersey numbers switched in this game. Junior walk-on safety Patrick Pelini, who has started on special teams, was previously No. 32 but now No. 7 (along with freshman quarterback Brendon Clark on offense). Freshman linebacker J.D. Bertrand previously was No. 27 but changed to No. 30.
6 Different schools in October and November, including Bowling Green this past week, that had or will have a bye prior to facing Notre Dame. In addition to the Falcons, they include USC (Oct. 12), Virginia Tech (Nov. 2), Duke (Nov. 9), Navy (Nov. 16) and Boston College (Nov. 23).
8-8 This was the second consecutive game that senior quarterback Ian Book completed all eight of his pass attempts in the first quarter. The difference was that while building a 14-7 lead against Virginia in the first quarter the completed passes totaled 68 yards.
This time versus Bowling Green it was 128, with touchdown passes to tight ends Tommy Tremble (17 yards) and Cole Kmet (21) and senior wideout Chase Claypool (34).
19 Consecutive games Notre Dame has limited the opposition to 30 or fewer points, which trails the University of Washington by only one game for best in the nation currently. The streak began with the 21-17 Citrus Bowl victory against LSU on Jan. 1, 2018.
20-20 Notre Dame’s success rate scoring in the red zone (reaching at least the opponent’s 20-yard line), including 6 of 6 versus Bowling Green. More noteworthy is that 17 of the 20 scores are touchdowns, a remarkable .850 percentage.
The Irish entered the game as one of only eight units in the 130-team Football Bowl Subdivision to have a perfect scoring mark in that area of the field.
35-0 This halftime lead against Bowling Green was the largest by a Notre Dame team since it held the same 35-0 advantage at the intermission versus Rutgers in head coach Lou Holtz’s final game at Notre Dame Stadium in 1996 (the Irish won that game 62-0).
45 Points given to Bowling Green in the pre-game point spread. That is believed to be the second-highest margin ever Notre Dame has been favored in a game since the existence of such spreads. According to Betchicago.com, in November 1989 the Fighting Irish were a 52.5-point favorite versus SMU — and covered by a half-point with a 59-6 victory.
The reason for that enormous spread was the combination of reigning national champion Notre Dame winning a school record 22nd consecutive game with the defeat of SMU, while the Mustangs were coming off the NCAA death penalty (it did not compete in football in 1987 and 1988) and reportedly dressed 59 freshmen for the Notre Dame game.
66 Games since Notre Dame’s most recent shutout victory versus Michigan (31-0) on Sept. 6, 2014 before achieving the feat again in the 52-0 whitewash against Bowling Green. The longest drought without a shutout for the Fighting Irish was 76 games, starting with the regular season finale in 2002 following a 42-0 home win versus Rutgers and until a 35-0 win versus Nevada to open the 2009 season.
There was also a 72-game dry spell from 1983 (after defeating Army 42-0) until 1989 (a 41-0 victory versus Navy).
1,211 Carries by Notre Dame running backs without losing a fumble, per Notre Dame’s sports information office (Fighting Irish Media), including the 25 versus Bowling Green. This dates back to Nov. 21, 2015, a 19-16 victory versus Boston College at Fenway Park. It is the longest active streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision, with Northwestern’s 1,128 entering the weekend of Oct. 5 the second most.
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