From old quarterback to young linebackers, winning streaks, sacks, big yardage, and hefty turnovers – there’s a little something for everyone in this week’s By The Numbers look at the Notre Dame – Boston College game.
28…Age of Boston College back-up quarterback Dave Shinskie, who was a fourth-round pick of the Minnesota Twins in the 2003 MLB Draft. He pitched in the minor leagues until 2009 before retiring to give football a shot. Shinskie started 10 games as a freshman in 2009, but has seen his playing time dwindle since then. His biggest offensive day came in a 298-yard effort against Notre Dame in a 20-16 loss to the Irish that season. Shinskie has more career minor league wins (24) than touchdown passes (20).
17…Age of Notre Dame linebacker Romeo Okwara. The freshman from Charlotte, NC is thought to be the youngest player in the FBS this season. He celebrated his 17th birthday after arriving on the Notre Dame campus for summer workouts last June.
441…Passing yards by starting quarterback Chase Rettig in BC’s season-opening 41-32 loss to Miami. The 441 yards is the sixth-most in a game in school history.
97 & 94…Graduation Success Rates of the Notre Dame and Boston College football programs, respectively. ND’s GSR is the best in the nation among FBS schools according to the latest data released by the NCAA last month, while BC’s football GSR ranks third.
3…Boston College linebackers who have played on each of the last three Super Bowl winning teams. Mark Herzlich played for last year’s Giants squad, Robert Francois was on Green Bay’s 2011 championship team and Jo-Lonn Dunbar played for New Orleans’ 2010 Super Bowl winning team. Additionally, Boston College had six players on rosters for Super Bowl XLVI last February in Indianapolis. It was the most of any school in the nation.
107…Team-leading tackles by current BC linebacker Nick Clancy. The senior from Joliet Catholic High School near Chicago ranks third in the nation in tackle total in 2012.
29…Combined field goals made this season by Notre Dame’s Kyle Brindza and Boston College’s Nate Freese. Brindza ranks third in the FBS with 17 through the cross bars, while Freese ranks 29th with 12. Freese, a redshirt junior, came into the season with a career mark of 44-of-55 field goals.
10…Sacks by Irish defensive end Stephon Tuitt, who had 1.5 last week to creep closer to current New York Giant Justin Tuck’s school single-season record of 13.5. Tuitt needs to just combine on one sack this weekend to tie Victor Abiamiri for second place. Tuitt is tied for eighth nationally this season.
6...Sacks by the entire Boston College defense this season. The Eagles are tied with Eastern Michigan for dead last in the category among FBS teams.
7…Wins without a loss as a starting quarterback for Everett Golson. The redshirt sophomore is tied for fourth place with Matt LoVecchio in the school record books for consecutive wins without a loss to start a career. Bob Williams holds the record with 11, with Kevin McDougal’s nine and Terry Hanratty’s eight such wins rank second and third, respectively.
1,073…Receiving yards for Boston College receiver Alex Amidon in 2012. The junior ranks fifth in the FBS with his hefty yardage total this season. Future Notre Dame opponent Marqise Lee of USC ranks second with 1,286 yards.
50…Points Boston College opponents have scored off turnovers this season. The Eagles allowed 14 such points in last week’s 28-14 loss to Wake Forest and surrendered 17 points from turnovers in their loss to Miami earlier this year. BC has a minus-2 turnover margin this season.
5…Wins without a loss for the Fighting Irish in games decided by a touchdown or less this season. The 1939 team holds the school record in that department with six victories in games decided by such close margins.
8…Wins with just one defeat under Brian Kelly in the head coach’s last nine games at Notre Dame that have been decided by a touchdown or less. The Irish were just 2-5 in their first seven such games under Kelly, but have gone 8-1 since then. The last such loss was last year’s 18-14 setback to Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl.
35…Years since Notre Dame has had a team average at least 200 rushing yards and 200 passing yards in the same season. This year’s Irish squad is averaging 200.3 rushing yards and 204.1 passing yards per game. The 1977 national championship team was the last ND team to do it. The only other Irish team that has averaged as many rushing and passing yards was the 1970 squad that ended the season with a No. 2 national ranking.
2…Boston College game this season that has been decided by less than a touchdown. BC’s 20-17 win over Maryland and their 34-31 loss to Army are their only games this season that have been by a margin of less than nine points this season.
15…Notre Dame games in the last five seasons that have seen the winning points occur either in the final minute of regulation or in overtime. The Fighting Irish have played 60 such games in the 125-year history of the program.
104…Plays ran against Pittsburgh by the Notre Dame offense. That mark ties the school record for most plays in a game by a Notre Dame team. The only other time it happened was in 1968 against Iowa.
82…Years of Notre Dame history and none have seen a greater fourth quarter comeback than the 14-point comeback last week against Pittsburgh. Only a 14-point rally against USC in 1999 matches the history made by the Irish last week.
8.8…Wins per season by Boston College from 2000 through 2009. The 88 total wins are tied with Auburn and USC for 11th in that 10-year span, but the Eagles have won just a total of eight games over the last three seasons (including their two wins this year).
