Rutgers Pinstripe Bowl Game Notes.

History

The teams first met at the Polo Grounds on Nov. 8, 1921 with the Irish claiming a 48-0 victory.

Notre Dame leads the series against Rutgers 4-0.

The Irish have recorded shutouts in three of the four meetings with the Scarlet Knights while scoring at least 42 points themselves in all four contests.

The New Era Pinstripe Bowl marks the 26^th time that the Irish have played at Yankee Stadium.  Notre Dame is 16-6-3 (.700) all-time at Yankee Stadium, including a 1-0 mark in the new stadium and a 15-6-3 (.688) record in the original facility.

On Nov. 10, 1928 at Yankee Stadium, head coach Knute Rockne delivered perhaps the most famous halftime speech in sports history. With Army leading the Irish at intermission, Rockne told his team about Notre Dame's first All-American, George Gipp, whose death bed wish was that someday when the Irish were down that Rockne implore the team to "win one for the Gipper." Notre Dame scored two second half touchdowns after the speech to defeat Army, 12-6.

Notable Head-to-Head Statistical Matchups

Notre Dame Fighting Irish		Stanford Cardinal
National Rank 78th, Rushing Offense (157.1 yards per game)	vs.		Rushing Defense, National Rank 3rd (89.5 yards allowed per game)
National Rank 116th, Kickoff Return Defense (25.17 yards allowed per kickoff)	vs.		Kickoff Returns, National Rank 1st (27.21 yards gained per kickoff)
National Rank 103rd, Sacks (1.36 sacks game)	vs.		Sacks Allowed , National Rank 10th (0.91 sacks allowed per game)
National Rank 107th, Red Zone Offense (75%)	vs.		Red Zone Defense, National Rank 21st (75.8%)
National Rank 40th, Passing Offense (254.1 yards per game)	vs.		Passing Defense, National Rank 101st (259 yards allowed per game)

 

Top Notre Dame Performances vs. Rutgers

Rushing Yards: Tony Fisher, 27 carries, 135yards, 1 TD

Passing Yards: Carlyle Holiday, 13 attemps, 25 completions, 270yards, 4 TD’s

 

Receiving: Arnaz Battle, 3 receptions, 108yards, 2 TD’s

 

 

NOTRE DAME – RUTGERS CONNECTIONS

 

The Irish boast five student-athletes from the state of New Jersey in Carlo Calabrese (Verona/Verona H.S.), Bennett Jackson (Hazlet/Raritan H.S.), Rashad Kinlaw (Galloway/Absegami H.S.), Elijah Shumate (East Orange/Don Bosco Prep) and Tyler Stockton (Linwood/The Hun School).

Notre Dame’s Elijah Shumate, DB & Rutgers Leonte Carroo, WR, Darius Hamilton, DL, Aidan Murray, P and Gary Nova, QB all attended Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.)

Notre Dame’s James Onwualu, WR and Rutgers Andre Hunt, RB both played for Cretin-Derham Hall H.S. (St. Paul, Minn.)

Notre Dame’s Greg Bryant, RB and Michael Deeb, LB along with Rutgers Bryant-Gross Armiento, DB all attended American Heritage H.S. (Plantation, Fla.)

A VICTORY OVER RUTGERS

Improves Notre Dame’s record to 9-4 on the season.

Improves Notre Dame’s all-time record to 5-0 (1.000) against Rutgers.

Improves Brian Kelly’s all-time record at Notre Dame to 37-15 (.712).

Improves Brian Kelly’s record in bowl games to 2-2 (.500) as Notre Dame head coach.

Irish Milestones Within Reach

George Atkinson III needs 57 rushing yards to reach 1,000 for his career.

TJ Jones needs 131 receiving yards to move into 5th all-time in school history and 150 for 4^th all-time.

TJ Jones needs 4 receptions to move into 2nd all-time in school history.

TJ Jones needs 3 TD receptions to move into 4th all-time in school history.

TJ Jones needs 3 receptions to move into 8th in single-season school history and 5 for 7^th.

TJ Jones needs 39 receiving yards to move into 7th in single-season school history, 73 for 6^th, 82 for 5^th, 106 for 4^th, and 108 for 3^rd.

TJ Jones needs 1 TD reception to move into 8th in single-season school history and 2 for 6^th.

TJ Jones needs 1 100-yd game to move into 3rd in single-season school history and into 7th all-time in school history.

Tommy Rees needs 252 pass yards to move into 3rd all-time in school history.

Tommy Rees needs 2 TD passes to move into 3rd in single-season history.

Tommy Rees needs 42 passing yards to reach 3,000 for the season (third QB in ND history).

Tommy Rees needs to be responsible for 19 points to move into 2nd all-time in school history.

Troy Niklas needs 1 TD reception to move into 1st in single-season TE history.

Stephon Tuitt needs 1.0 sacks to move into tie for 4th all-time in school history, 2 for 3^rd and 3 for 2^nd.

Prince Shembo needs 1.0 sacks to move into tie for 6th all-time in school history and 2 for 5^th.

Kyle Brindza needs 2 field goals to move into 3rd in career history.

*1 more start will extend Zack Martin’s record of most starts and consecutive starts to 52.

Notable “The Last Time” Notre Dame against Rutgers

The Defense Recorded nine or more sacks vs. Rutgers, 1996

The Irish Among the National Leaders

Category Rank Stat	National Category Rank	Category Rank Stat
Passing Yards Allowed	17th	201.7
4th Down Conversion % Defense	5th	0.278
Passing TDs	17th	Tommy Rees – 27
Passing Yards/Completion	8th	Tommy Rees – 14.91