Notre Dame-Georgia Countdown: 10 To 1
10 Straight losses Notre Dame has versus a top-5-ranked opponent at the time of the game, dating back to the Sept. 10, 2005 conquest at No. 3 Michigan (17-10). That 14-year span is the longest such drought for the Irish. It previously was eight years from 1958-65 while going 0-7. Four of them have been under current head coach Brian Kelly, most recently last year’s 30-3 College Football Playoff loss to No. 2 Clemson.
9 & 8 Ranking of Notre Dame nationally in tackles for loss per game at nine. This could be vital because Georgia is No. 8 nationally in rushing yards per game with 286.7 yards per game and 7.6 yards per carry.
That is considered the prime statistical disparity against a Notre Dame run defense that among 130 Football Bowl Subdivision ranks No. 120 while yielding 230.5 yards per its first two contests.
7 Turnovers forced by Notre Dame in the first two games while committing only one. That plus-3 turnover rate per game ranks No. 1 in the country. As a two-touchdown underdog, the Irish might need at least a plus-2 advantage in Athens to pull out the victory.
6 Different SEC home fields Notre Dame has debuted on before Sanford Stadium tonight. This refers only to when the opponent actually was in the SEC (i.e., Texas A&M in 2001 doesn’t count because it was in the Big 12).
The six in chronological order were Georgia Tech (1938), Tulane (1945) — this duo dropped out in the mid-1960s — LSU (1971), Ole Miss (1977), Tennessee (1979), and Vanderbilt (1996). Technically, Alabama in 1980 and 1986 don’t count because the games were in Birmingham instead of the on-campus site in Tuscaloosa.
This also will be only the second time Notre Dame faces a top-5-ranked SEC team on the foes home field. The first was 1999 when the No. 24 Irish fell at No. 4 Tennessee 38-14.
5 Touchdowns passes tossed last week by senior quarterback Ian Book that now places him No. 5 nationally in pass efficiency ranking (202.7). He also is 5-0 in his career on the home field of the opposition. This is the game that will put him either into the conversation as a Heisman Trophy contender or possibly renew questions about whether Notre Dame can reach the "next level" collectively as an offense.
4 Teams selected in the College Football Playoff — and this is the lone regular season meeting in 2019 between two who were represented in the CFP each of the last two seasons: Georgia (2017) and Notre Dame (2018).
Per ESPN’s Seth Walder and the Allstate Playoff Predictor, a Notre Dame victory would vault the Irish up to a 66% chance to reach the CFP — the third-highest chance behind Clemson (77%) and Alabama (74%). That also means the Irish have an opportunity to finish a regular season unbeaten and untied in back-to-back years for the first time since 1929 (9-0) and 1930 (10-0) under Knute Rockne.
3 Georgia is attempting to become the first team since Iowa in 1940 to have a 3-0 series advantage against Notre Dame, and the fourth overall since 1900. The Bulldogs clinched their lone Associated Press national title with a Jan. 1, 1981 Sugar Bowl win against the Irish (17-10), and then won Sept. 9, 2017 at Notre Dame Stadium, 20-19.
2 Teams in the 130-school Football Bowl Subdivision that have held opponents to 30 or fewer points in 16 consecutive games: Notre Dame and Washington. For the Irish it began with a 21-17 Citrus Bowl win versus LSU on Jan. 1, 2018, and included the 30-3 defeat last December to Clemson in the College Football Playoff.
During the 2018 regular season, Notre Dame and Fresno State were the only two teams not to permit more than 27 points in a game.
1 Georgia is expected to have its No. 1 attendance total ever at Sanford Stadium — a 93,246 total with the addition of new seating for this game. This would be an FBS-leading 10th different college football stadium the Fighting Irish would hold the attendance record in, and the second in as many trips this year (58,187 at Louisville on Sept. 2).
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