Irish Face First True Road Test At NC State

Notre Dame Game Notes | NC State Game Notes

NOTRE DAME – NC STATE SERIES HISTORY

• Notre Dame and NC State will be meeting for just the fourth time on Saturday afternoon. The Wolfpack lead the all-time series 2-1.
• The Irish will be making their second trip to Raleigh this weekend. In 2016, Notre Dame and NC State played a water-logged game as Hurricane Matthew worked its way through North Carolina. The Wolfpack earned a 10-3 victory in a game that included a 30-minute weather delay at the start of the second half.
• Sullivan Absher (Belmont), Sam Hartman (Charlotte), Bryce McFerson (Indian Trail), Sam Pendleton (Lawsonville) and Davis Sherwood (Greensboro) will all be returning to their home state of North Carolina for this weekend’s game.

IRISH ITEMS – BY THE NUMBERS

SAM HARTMAN

• Leads all active FBS quarterbacks in career touchdowns (116) and passing yardage (13,412).
• Is just the 12th FBS quarterback to throw for over 13,000 yards with 110 touchdown passes in a career.
• Holds Wake Forest records for career completions, attempts, total touchdowns and total yards.
• Owns an ACC-record 21 career 300-yard passing performances.
• Has a 36-game streak of games in which he is responsible for at least one touchdown, a streak which leads all active FBS players.
• Second behind Oregon’s Bo Nix (48) in active career quarterback starts with 47.
• The 2022 Brian Piccolo Award Winner, which is given annually to the “most courageous” football player in the ACC. Hartman earned the award by making his way back to the field after being diagnosed with Paget-Schroetter syndrome (effort thrombosis). Hartman missed much of the month of August in 2022 and the ‘22 Wake Forest season-opener.
• Announced his decision to graduate transfer to Notre Dame for his final season of eligibility on January 5, 2023.
• Joined Jack Coan (2021 vs. Florida State) and Ron Powlus (1994 vs. Northwestern) as the only two Irish quarterback to throw four touchdowns in their debuts with the program.

HARTMAN ON ACTIVE FBS CAREER CHARTS

TOUCHDOWN PASSES

PASSING YARDS

PASSING YARDS/GAME

CAREER NCAA RANKINGs

Hartman has thrown for 116 touchdowns in his career, including 38 scoring throws in 2022 and 39 in 2021. The NCAA record for career touchdown passes is 155 by Case Keenum from 2007-11.

NCAA CAREER TOUCHDOWN LEADERS

NCAA CAREER PASSING YARDAGE LEADERS

AUDRIC ESTIMÉ

Junior Audric Estimé led the 2022 Irish rushing attack with 920 yards, averaging 5.9 yards-per-carry and logging 11 rushing touchdowns.

Estimé has led the Irish in rushing this season as well, earning 95 yards against Navy and his fourth career 100-yard rushing game against Tennessee State with 116 yards (which also included a career-best 50-yard run).

With four 100-yard performances in his career, Estimé also has games with 95 (twice) and 97 total rushing yards.

BENJAMIN MORRISON

Sophomore Benjamin Morrison led the Irish with six interceptions in 2022, earning consensus Freshman All-America honors.

He was named the Walter Camp Player of the Week after his dominating performance against No. 5 Clemson, setting up Notre Dame’s third touchdown with his first career interception, then picking off another pass and returning it 96 yards for a touchdown. He also contributed a career-best seven tackles and a PBU against the Tigers.

His six interceptions in 2022 were the most for an Irish player since Manti Te’o picked off seven passes on his way to finishing second in the 2021 Heisman Trophy balloting. It also is the most for an Irish cornerback since Cole Luke intercepted four passes in 2014.

The six interceptions were the third-most for any FBS defensive player in 2022 and tied for the most of any Power 5 defensive back.

Shares the Notre Dame single-game record for interceptions in a game with 15 other players, picking off three Boston College passes during the 2022 home finale. He ended the Eagles first drive with an interception, then took away a BC scoring chance with an interception in the end zone later in the first quarter. Finally, in the midst of a snow storm in the second half, Morrison earned his third interception tracking down an overthrown screen pass.

JD BERTRAND

JD Bertrand piled up 183 tackles in 2021 and 2022 (including 101 in ‘21) which is among the best two-year stretch for an Irish linebacker since 2000-

Notre Dame Linebackers Since 2000, Two-Year Tackle Totals

Bertrand was a selection for the 2022 Allstate AFCA Good Works team and his passionately invovled in Uplifting Athletes and serves as the Notre Dame chapter president for the organization. Dedicated to service from a very young age, Bertrand started volunteering with his family at Must Ministries when he was just three years old.

Bertrand has eight tackles through two games in 2023.

JADEN GREATHOUSE

True freshman wide receiver Jaden Greathouse was the first freshman wideout to catch two touchdown passes in his first career game against Navy on Aug. 26. He also became just the fifth Irish wide receiver to catch two touchdown passes in a season-opener since 1996.

Michael Floyd did it twice, nabbing three scores in the ‘09 opener against Nevada then starting the 2011 season with two scoring receptions agianst USF. Davaris Daniels caught two touchdowns in the 2013 opener against Temple, Will Fuller caught two against Texas in 2015 and Equanemious St. Brown followed up in 2016 with two against the Longhorns.

TEAM CAPTAINS

Notre Dame announced the selection of four captains for the 2023 season – junior offensive tackle Joe Alt, senior linebacker JD Bertrand, senior cornerback Cam Hart and graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman.

Bertrand becomes the 27th two-time captain in program history. Hartman has now earned captaincy status from his fellow teammates in the last four seasons – 2020, 2021 and 2022 at Wake Forest and now in 2023 at Notre Dame.

BOOKEND OFFENSIVE TACKLES – ALT AND FISHER

Junior Joe Alt and sophomore Blake Fisher combined to provide the Irish offensive line possibly the finest offensive tackle tandem in college football. Interestingly enough, the duo at one point were competing for the same position – left tackle.

At the end of the 2020 season, Liam Eichenberg – a consensus All-American – was seleted 42nd overall in the NFL Draft. The Irish offensive line had a massive role to fill entering the 2021 season and true freshman Blake Fisher ended up earning the start in a big game at Florida State for the ‘21 opener.

Fisher started the game, played well but suffered a knee injury. Joe Alt, who played some tight end for the Irish early in the ‘21 season in short yardage situations, eventually earned the left tackle spot and started the final eight games of the season.

Fisher would recover from his knee injury in time to return to the Irish lineup in the final game of the ‘21 season – a Fiesta Bowl matchup with Oklahoma State. But this time, with Alt established at left tackle, Fisher lined up at right tackle and the dominating duo was born.

The two combined to help the Irish average 4.6 yards per carry in 2022, rack up over 2,400 rushing yards (which was the sixth-best total for the program since 1996) and finish with 25 total rushing touchdowns.

The college football world has noticed the skills. Alt and Fisher are on the Outland Trophy Watch List, while Alt also found himself on the Walter Camp Award and Lombardi Award watch lists.

So far, the duo has helped pave the way for 206.0 yards per game rushing through two games and have yet to give up a quarterback sack (Navy and TSU combined for just two quarterback hurries).

COACHING STAFF CHANGES

Notre Dame welcomes back a former staff member (who was an analyst in his previous time with the program) in addition to two brand new faces to the Irish coaching staff. Marty Biagi assumes the special teams coordinator role after serving as a special teams analyst with the Irish in 2016. He replaces Brian Mason who moved to the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL.

Gino Guidugli, the Bob and Leslie Mohr Family Quarterbacks Coach and Pass Game Coordinator takes the quarterback room reins from Tommy Rees, who is now the offensive coordinator at Alabama.

Joe Rudolph has also joined the Irish staff at the Joe Moore Offensive Line Coach. He steps in for Harry Hiestand, who retired after the 2022 season.

While not a new face, Gerad Parker – in his second year at Notre Dame – continues his work with the tight ends and will also serve as the John and Bobbie Arlotta Family Offensive Coordinator.

Along with those staff changes, selected members of the returning Irish coaching staff assumed new titles. Deland McCullough added Run Game Coordinator and Mike Mickens is the Defensive Pass Game Coordinator.

TRANSFERS READY TO MAKE AN IMPACT

Notre Dame welcomes six transfers into the program this season that are all expected to have an immediate impact on the field.

• Antonio Carter II adds to the Notre Dame safety group after starting all 11 games at Rhode Island last season and finishing with 60 tackles and 10 pass break ups.
• Devyn Ford brings experience to a talented running back corps and is expected to be a big contributor for the Irish special teams. Ford played in 27 games at Penn State, logging 133 carries and six rushing touchdowns.
• Thomas Harper is another addition to the Irish back seven on defense. Harper saw action in 42 career games and boasts 93 tackles, eight pass break ups and two interceptions in his time at Oklahoma State.
• Sam Hartman, the Wake Forest record holder for career completions, passing attempts and total touchdowns joined the Irish quarterback group.
• Javontae Jean-Baptiste is another experienced defensive player (47 games played at Ohio State) and injects a veteran athletic presence on an Irish defensive line that saw all-time sack leader Isaiah Foskey parlay a three-year career on the defensive line into a second round NFL draft selection.
• Spencer Shrader chose Notre Dame for his final year of eligibility and finds himself on the preseason Lou Groza Award Watch List. One of the top kickoff specialists in the country, Shrader has kicked 28 field goals during his career and has kicked off 209 times in college football without one kick sailing out of bounds.
• Other newcomers via the transfer route include punter Ben Krimm and defensive lineman Grant Ristoff – both from Penn – and Cole Aubrey from Princeton.

YEAR TWO OF A GOLDEN DEFENSE

Notre Dame will enter the season with the same defensive coordinator for the second consecutive year, something that has not occurred since the 2020 season.

Clark Lea left after the 2020 season to be the head coach at Vanderbilt. He was replaced by Marcus Freeman who was promoted to head coach at the conclusion of the ‘21 regular season.

In 2023, Al Golden will enter his second year as the head of the Irish defense and hopes to get that second-year-in-the-system bounce.

Golden’s first Irish defense was a solid 21st overall in total defense in ‘22, bolstered by a rush defense that held Notre Dame’s opponents under 200 total rushing yards per game for the first time since 2019.

Lea held the defensive coordinator spot for three seasons, in his second (2019) the Irish moved from 30th overall in defense to 18th. The rush defense surged from 44th to third.

The Irish defense has started the season in fine form thus far, holding Navy and Tennessee State without a touchdown – the first time the program has achieved that since 1975.

EXPERIENCE CHART

In 2022 the Notre Dame roster would finish the season with seven players logging over 50 games played in their career, including defensive back Houston Griffith, who ended his career as the all-time games played leader at Notre Dame with 62.

The Irish roster this season is led by DJ Brown’s 49 games played and has been injected with three transfer veterans that boast over 45 career games played:

IRISH WILL PLAY 500th GAME IN NOTRE DAME STADIUM

Since the first season of competition in Notre Dame Stadium in 1930, Notre Dame is 373-117-5 (.759) in the facility and will play the 500th game in ‘The House That Rockne Built’ against Wake Forest on November 18th.

Here are the other ‘milestone’ games in Notre Dame Stadium –

• Game 100: No. 2 Notre Dame 21, No. 4 Texas 0 – Sept. 25, 1954 – the first game of the Terry Brennan era at Notre Dame.
• Game 200: No. 5 Notre Dame 48, Air Force 15 – Nov. 22, 1973 – this game is memorable as it was the last non-sellout of Notre Dame Stadium before the program’s sell out streak ended at 243 games on Nov. 16, 2019. The Irish and Falcons met on Thanksgiving Weekend in front of 57,236 fans (the capacity of Notre Dame Stadium in 1973 was 59,075).
• Game 300: No. 13 Tennessee 35, No. 5 Notre Dame 34 – Nov. 19, 1991 – the only game on this list that Notre Dame fans would like to forget. The Volunteers rallied from a 31-7 deficit and partially blocked Notre Dame’s potential game-winning field goal as time expired.
• Game 400: Notre Dame 21, San Diego State 13 – the first game of the 2008 season.