Oct. 6, 2006

By John Heisler

Notre Dame is football is as easy as one-two-three.

Behold:

1 – Number of times, we’re guessing, that a team has been named the national team of the week (by the Football Writers Association of America), had the national offensive player of the week (Brady Quinn by the Walter Camp Foundation), had the national defensive players of the week (Terrail Lambert by the FWAA), won a game on the road by scoring 40 points and coming back from a 16-point fourth-period deficit, and still dropped one spot in the polls (as Notre Dame did in the USA Today version after its win at Michigan State two Saturdays ago).

1 – Brady Quinn’s ranking among all active I-A quarterbacks in career pass attempts (1,331).

1 – Geoff Price’s current ranking among all I-A punters, with his 47.48-yard average (he’s in reach of the Notre Dame single-season record of 44.9 by Craig Hentrich in 1990).

2 – Quinn’s ranking among all I-A signalcallers in career completions (761, behind only Houston’s Kevin Kolb with 784) , career passing yards (9,738, behind Kolb’s 10,544) and career total offense yards (9,817, behind Kolb’s 11,196).

3 – Quinn’s ranking in career touchdown passes (with 71, behind Florida’s Chris Leak with 79 and UTEP’s Jordan Palmer with 72).

4 – Rhema McKnight’s Irish career ranking for receptions with 135 – behind only Tom Gatewood’s 157, Jim Seymour’s 138 and Tim Brown’s 137.

7 – Jeff Samardzija’s Notre Dame career ranking for receptions with 128, behind those four plus Maurice Stovall’s 130 and Derrick Mayes’ 129.

7 – Number of Heisman Trophy winners from Notre Dame – all of whom are being honored this fall, one each on the tickets and program covers (and as part of the ceremonial coin toss) for Notre Dame’s seven home games.

9 – Number of winless I-A teams after five weeks (Duke, San Diego State, Stanford, Utah State, Miami of Ohio, Eastern Michigan, Colorado, Florida International and Temple).

9 – Times Notre Dame has scored a touchdown on its opening drive (in 17 games under Charlie Weis – eight times in 2005, once in `06).

9 – Players on the 2006 Irish roster who already have their undergraduate degrees (Dan Chervanick, Marcus Freeman, Chris Frome, Derek Landri, Brian Mattes, McKnight, Bob Morton, Mike Richardson, Dan Santucci). The only I-A school in the country with more is Auburn with 11.

11 – Notre Dame’s current rank (tied with Oklahoma) in the NCAA toughest schedule standings.

11 – Quinn’s current rank in total offense yards per game (274).

12 – Notre Dame’s current ranking in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls.

12 – Number of players from California on current Irish football roster – the most from any individual state. Pennsylvania is next with nine, followed by Illinois, Indiana and Ohio with eight each.

13 – Unbeaten I-A teams remaining, nine with five wins (Wake Forest, Florida, Auburn, Rutgers, Georgia, Boise State, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio State) and four others with four (Oregon, USC, West Virginia and Louisville).

15 – Combined wins by Notre Dame’s five past opponents against I-A opponents (when not playing the Irish), against only two losses (by Penn State at Ohio State, by Michigan State to Illinois). No other team has more than 12 (Arizona, Michigan).

16 – Darius Walker’s ranking among active players in career rushing yards (with 2,355; the only juniors ahead of him are Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson who is second at 3,676, Michigan’s Michael Hart fifth at 2,789, North Texas State’s Jamario Thomas 11th at 2,496, California’s Marshawn Lynch 14th at 2,429).

17 – Number of Notre Dame sports (out of 22) with perfect 100 scores in the NCAA’s Graduation Success Rate rankings released last month.

20 – Career touchdowns by Samardzija (Mayes holds the Irish career record with 22 on TD receptions alone).

22 – Number of first-half first downs by Notre Dame against Purdue.

22 – Season high for first downs in an entire game, prior to Purdue (versus Penn State).

29 – Consecutive starts by Ryan Harris, Landri and Tom Zbikowski, coming into today.

29 – Combined wins by all 12 of Notre Dame’s opponents to date against other I-A opponents (when not playing the Irish). The only teams with more are USC (31), Auburn (30), Michigan (30), South Carolina (30) and Florida (30).

38 – Consecutive starts by Quinn, coming into today’s game.

40 – Times Walker touched the football against Purdue (31 rushes, nine catches), out of 81 offensive plays.

42 – Combined first-half first downs by Notre Dame versus Purdue in 2005 and 2006.

83 – Percentage of fourth-down conversions so far in 2006 by Notre Dame (10 of 12). 189 – Current streak of consecutive sellouts in Notre Dame Stadium, including today’s game.

1,485 – Quinn’s career passing yardage against Purdue.

5,000 – Number of new football season tickets Notre Dame expects to offer beginning in 2007.