Notre Dame ended the season with four consecutive wins, the first Irish team to do so since 1992 (that team finished its season with seven straight wins). They utterly routed a struggling Miami Hurricanes team with serious quarterback issues in a very chilly Sun Bowl game.
There are a ton of questions to be answered in the offseason, starting mostly with the health of the skill position guys and whether or not Kyle Rudolph and Michael Floyd return to school for their senior seasons.
We’ll delve into that later; for now let’s look at some of the more notable season-ending nuggets and tidbits.
By Paul M. Banks
– Based on results from the GoDaddy.com Bowl and Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, there will be as few as seven or as many as only nine teams that will enter 2011 with a longer winning streak than Notre Dame
– Depending on results from the GoDaddy.com Bowl and Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, Notre Dame will be one of between eight and 10 teams to have not lost since Halloween
– After going a combined 1-8 in November games in 2008 and 2009, the Irish were 3-0 in November 2010
– It was only the fourth undefeated November by a Notre Dame team in the last 15 seasons
– Two of the three November wins were against No. 15 Utah (first win against a ranked team in 11 tries) and at USC (snapped eight-game losing streak to Trojans and first win at LA Coliseum since 2000)
– During the recent four-game win streak, Notre Dame’s defense allowed a total of four touchdowns and Irish opponents totaled only 39 points (Average points per game of opponents entering game vs. Notre Dame: Utah – 41 pts., Army – 31 pts., USC – 32 pts., Miami – 27 pts.)
– The 39 points allowed over the final four games in 2010 was the fewest by a Notre Dame defense in any four-game stretch since the ’89 Irish allowed 36 points from Oct. 28 to Nov. 18 and the fewest in the final four games of a
season since the Irish permitted 37 points in the final four games of Notre Dame’s 1977 national championship season
– Against Utah, Army, USC and Miami to close 2010, Notre Dame’s defense was nothing short of dominant, permitting 9.8 points, 91.8 rushing yards, 184.8 passing yards and 276.5 total yards per game (those numbers projected over the entire season, the Irish would have ranked first in points per game, third in rushing yards, 21st in passing yards and fifth in total yards)
– Notre Dame finished the regular season with the toughest schedule in the nation, according to the NCAA, and no school faced more opponents that finished the regular season with a .500 record or better than Notre Dame’s 11 opponents
– Brian Kelly became the first Irish head coach to win a bowl game in his first season at Notre Dame
– 16 of the 22 starters for the Fighting Irish in the Sun Bowl (18 of 24 starters if you include the punter and kicker) have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining (nine on offense, seven on defense)
Here are some more notes from the Sun Bowl
In the locker room, Brian Kelly gave a game ball to quarterback Tommy Rees.
— It’s the first time the Irish have won bowl games in consecutive years since beating Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl two years in a row in 1993 and 1994.
— It’s Notre Dame’s best season-ending win streak (four games) since 1992 when Notre Dame closed with seven straight victories.
— It’s Notre Dame’s longest win streak (four games) since a 2006 streak of eight straight wins.
— By halftime, Notre Dame’s Harrison Smith had caught more passes (three interceptions) than any Miami receiver.
— Notre Dame now owns a 15-15 record in bowl games and has played in 12 different postseason contests.
— Notre Dame’s defense held Miami to 211 total yards and a single touchdown through the first three periods.
— Miami had been averaging 190.4 rushing yards per game this season but managed only 103 against Notre Dame for its second lowest total of the season.
— Michael Floyd now has 171 career receptions – just eight shy of Jeff Samardzija’s career mark of 179.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net , a Midwest webzine. He’s also a regular contributor to the Tribune’s Chicago Now network, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker Network, and Fox Sports.com
You can follow him on Twitter @thesportsbank
He also does a regular guest spot each week for Chicagoland Sports Radio.com