Notre Dame-Toledo: By the numbers
3 Touchdown receptions for sophomore tight end Michael Mayer through two games, which already surpasses the two he had in 12 games last year. That puts Mayer on an absurd pace of 18 for a 12-game regular season.
The single-season school record for scoring grabs by a tight end is six, held by Cole Kmet (2019) and Ken McAfee (1977).
5 Receptions for 64 yards and two scores for Mayer came on two possessions — the opening drive of the game and go-ahead touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. Those two drives spanned just 2:41, which means Mayer had just two grabs for 17 yards the rest of the contest — a span of 57:19.
9 Of Notre Dame’s 34 consecutive wins against unranked opponents have come by eight points or fewer. The Irish edged Toledo (32-29) and Florida State (41-38 in overtime) this year, plus squeezed past Louisville (12-7) in 2020, USC (30-27) and Virginia Tech (21-20) in 2019, Ball State (24-16), Vanderbilt (22‑17) and Pitt (19-14) in 2018, and Navy (24-17) in 2017.
The go-ahead touchdown against the Rockets came with 1:09 left, the latest during this streak since the Irish got an Ian Book touchdown run with 29 seconds left to beat Virginia Tech two years ago.
9-0 All-time record for Notre Dame against current Mid-American Conference schools, with all the games being played at home. The Irish are 3-0 versus Western Michigan, 2-0 against Miami (Ohio), and 1-0 versus Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green and Toledo.
They have yet to face Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Northern Illinois and Ohio. The Irish are scheduled to play Central Michigan in 2023, and Miami (Ohio) and Northern Illinois in 2024.
10 Straight wins in home openers for Notre Dame under head coach Brian Kelly. It is the Fighting Irish’s longest win streak in home openers since 1964-73 when head coach Ara Parseghian also led them to 10 consecutive wins.
11 Tackles for JD Bertrand for the second straight game. The junior who was slotted for a backup role at Will linebacker is the first Irish defender to post back-to-back games with double-digit tackles since safety Alohi Gilman had 10 versus USC and 18 against Clemson at the end of the 2018 campaign.
26 Yards gained by freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner on a running play the first time he touched the ball in his Notre Dame career. He followed that up with an 11-yard run that sparked a five-play, 96-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter.
He finished the game with seven carries for 68 yards, and was also 3-of-3 passing for 78 yards with his first career touchdown pass — a perfectly placed toss to sophomore running back Chris Tyree on a read-option play that went for 55 yards.
99 Penalty yards on 11 infractions against Toledo. The Rockets were flagged four times during Notre Dame’s opening 75-yard touchdown march, though the Irish declined three of them. The Rockets also committed six penalties (five accepted) after tallying the go-ahead touchdown with 1:35 remaining. Meanwhile, Notre Dame was penalized just three times for 27 yards the entire game.
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