By the Numbers: Notre Dame Football’s Last 100 Games

With 100 days left before Notre Dame football kicks off their 2019 campaign vs Louisville, what better time is there to look at the last 100 games played by the Irish.

This is what I like to call “peak off-season content.” With a few months still standing in the way of the college football season, this is certainly a slow time of year, outside of exciting recruiting news.

However, we are closer to the season than we were a day ago and before you know it, we’ll be leaving work early to set up for the Monday night kickoff vs Louisville on September 2nd.

With the countdown until the 2019 Notre Dame football season officially in it’s final day of triple digits, I thought we’d take a look at the previous 100 games Notre Dame has played. Breaking down the numbers, great individual and team performances, and how far this program has come over that time period.

Just to clarify, though it might not need to be explained, the entire 2012 season counts towards these 100 games, despite the wins technically being vacated. Bowl games count as well and are also classified as neutral site games.

So, with that out of the way, let’s dive right in.

The last 100 Notre Dame football games spans from week four of the 2011 season vs Pittsburgh all the way to the 2018 College Football Playoff vs Clemson. This stretch is roughly the entirety of Brian Kelly’s career, minus a season and three games.

Their Record

Over the course of those 100 games, the Irish have gone 72-28, posting a 72% winning percentage. Let’s break down that record:

• 33 of those 100 games have been vs Top-25 opponents (at the time of when they played, not at season’s end), 12 games vs opponents in the Top-10, and three opponents in the Top-5.
• Yes, that means the Irish have literally played 1/3 of their last 100 games vs ranked opponents (your move, “Notre Dame plays nobody” crowd.)
• The Irish are 16-17 in those 33 ranked matchups, including 3-9 vs Top-10 opponents and 0-3 vs Top-5 opponents.
• The three losses vs Top-5 opponents are to No. 2 Alabama in 2012, No. 2 FSU in 2014, and No. 2 Clemson in 2018.
• Interestingly enough, the Irish have not played the No. 1 ranked team in the country in their last 100 games.
• Notre Dame has only played four overtime games in this period and have a 2-2 record. Both wins came in 2012 vs Stanford and Pittsburgh and the two losses came in 2014 vs Northwestern and 2016 vs Texas.

Obviously, these numbers aren’t ideal for a blue-blood program like Notre Dame. They shouldn’t have a sub-500 winning percentage vs Top-25 opponents. It has been a knock on Brian Kelly his entire career with the Irish, and an area that has improved over the last two seasons.

Success at Home, on the Road, and Everywhere Else

Protecting the “House that Rockne Built” is always a main goal each season and was one of the three team goals of 2018. Notre Dame Stadium is an iconic image in college football, one that has been the epitome of tradition and success since it was built in 1930.

Blowouts of Michigan and USC, a goal line stand for the ages vs Stanford, and some luck of the Irish in the 2012 triple overtime win vs Pittsburgh; South Bend is a special place that this team has had some incredible moments in over the last 100 games.

During this time period, Notre Dame has played 47 home games, posting an impressive 38-9 record. Since 2011, they’ve put up an undefeated home record three times – 2012, 2015, and 2018.

On the road, the Irish are 19-14 in the 33 true road games played during this time as well.

When it comes to neutral site games, Notre Dame has always prided itself on having the ability and free-will to schedule opponents coast-to-coast without being tied down by conference games. This allows the Irish to play in a variety of stadiums and unique venues.

Here are a few of the cities and stadiums Notre Dame has played in over their last 100 games:

• FedEx Field, Landover, MD
• Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
• Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
• Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
• AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
• Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
• Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
• MetLife Stadium, Meadowlands, NJ
• Fenway Park, Boston, MA
• State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
• Alamodome, San Antonio, TX

Since week four of 2011, Notre Dame has played 20 neutral site games, including bowl games. In those 20 games Notre Dame is 15-5, largely helped by the success they’ve had in the Shamrock Series.

Seven of those 20 games have been bowl games, in which the Irish are 3-4; the three wins coming vs Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl in 2013, LSU in the Music City Bowl in 2014, and LSU again in the Citrus Bowl in 2017.

Points, Points, and More Points

Okay, now for the fun stuff. Let’s take a look at some of the numbers when it comes to points scored and allowed over the last 100 games.

• The Irish have scored a total of 3,093 points in the last 100 contests, averaging out to 30.9, or just under 31 points scored per game.
• On the opposite end, they’ve given up 2,190 points to their opponents, which comes out to 22 points per game.
• Notre Dame has scored 30+ points in 52 of the 100 games, 40+ points in 22, 50+ points in eight, and 60+ points once.
• The lone 60-point performance was when they hung 62 on UMASS in week four of 2015, the most points they’ve scored in their last 100 games.
• On the opposite end, the least amount of points the Irish offense has put up was three, done twice (vs NC State in 2016 and Clemson in 2018). They have scored 10 points or less only four times and have not been shutout.
• The most points Notre Dame has allowed in their last 100 meetings was 55 to Arizona St. in week ten of 2014.
• The Irish defense has pitched two shutouts over this period (Wake Forest in 2012 and Michigan in 2014) and has given up 10 points or less to opponents a total of 18 times.

Individual Performances

Over the last 100 games, Notre Dame has seen the ups and downs of the Tommy Rees, Everett Golson, Malik Zaire, DeShone Kizer, Brandon Wimbush, and Ian Book eras (with Book’s chapter still being written). Outside of the signal callers, we’ve seen the speed of C.J Prosise, rise of Josh Adams, and record breaking years by Will Fuller and Manti Te’o.

Here are a few highlights of some incredible individual performances over Notre Dame’s last 100 contests:

• The most rushing yards by a player over this span came from Josh Adams, who put up 229 yards on the ground in 2017 vs Boston College.
• The most passing and receiving yards by a player came in the same game. DeShone Kizer threw for 471 yards and Equanimeous St. Brown hauled in 182 receiving yards vs Syracuse in 2016.
• The 471 yards by Kizer is currently the 3rd most passing yards in a game in school history.
• That means no player has more than 200 receiving yards for the Irish over the last 100 games, with the last such performance coming in 2009, when Golden Tate did it twice and hauled in 244 yards vs Washington and 201 yards vs Stanford.
• Josh Adams and Dexter Williams are tied with the longest rush over this time period, each tallying a 99-yard score on the ground. Adams vs Wake Forest in 2015 and Williams vs Virginia Tech in 2018.
• The longest reception goes to Kevin Stepherson, who hauled in an 83-yard TD vs Stanford in 2017. It was the longest Notre Dame pass play since 2010 when Kyle Rudolph  had a 95-yard TD vs Michigan.
• Lastly, Jerry Tillery’s four sacks vs Stanford in 2018 were the most in a game by a Notre Dame player since 2005. The performance tied him with three others for the most sacks in a single game in Irish history.

So, over the last 100 games, there has been a lot of good; two undefeated seasons, four 10-win seasons, huge victories, and iconic moments. There has also been some bad, such as a handful of heartbreaking losses, or the entire 2016 season.

Regardless, one undeniable truth is that looking at where Notre Dame football is now compared to week four of 2011, this program is miles ahead and continuing to head in the right direction.

Here’s to the next 100 games Irish fans, starting with Louisville in exactly 100 days!