0 Turnovers by Notre Dame. It marked the first time in eight road games (dating back to last year’s 20-6 win at UCLA) the Irish did not lose the ball on a turnover. The Irish had been minus-17 in six road games this year (22 turnovers to the opponent’s five).
1 Winning streak of Notre Dame in bowls now that it has ended the NCAA-record nine straight losses in the preseason dating back to the 1994 season. The longest Irish winning streak in bowl games is 5 from 1973 through 1978.
2 Consecutive years Notre Dame has finished a season with victories, a first since 1992-93, when the Irish were a combined 21-2-1. In the 13 seasons from 1994-2006, Notre Dame won its final game only once.
Allen became the first Irish player in six years to return a kick for a touchdown.
3 Notre Dame bowl-game passing records set by Jimmy Clausen: Completion percentage (84.6), yards (401) and touchdown passes (5). Clausen’s passing total was a career high, and his 395 yards total offense easily eclipsed Tony Rice’s record of 288 (213 passing and 75 rushing) in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl win over West Virginia.
5 Running plays attempted by Hawaii that didn’t involve quarterback sacks or scrambles. The Warriors didn’t even attempt a running play until midway through the second quarter. Kealoha Pilares’ two carries (19 yards) were the most by a Hawaii running back.
6 Years and 78 games since Notre Dame last returned a kickoff for a touchdown (Vontez Duff at Navy in 2002), until Armando Allen broke the drought with a 96-yard TD in the third quarter that extended the Irish cushion to 49-14. It also was Notre Dame’s first kickoff return for a TD in a bowl since Al Hunter’s 93-yard score versus Alabama in the 1973 Sugar Bowl.
8 Sacks recorded by Notre Dame against the Warriors for 55 yards in lost yardage. Hawaii ended up surrendering 57 sacks this season, one short of the NCAA-record 58 set by the Irish offense last season.
21 Seasons since Notre Dame players last had their names on the back of their jerseys, until this year’s Hawaii bowl. It last occurred in Lou Holtz’s second year (1987), a 35-10 loss to Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.
22 Completions on 26 attempts by Clausen for an astounding .846 percentage, the fifth highest in any game by a Notre Dame quarterback. It also is the highest ever by an Irish QB who completed more than 12 passes and attempted at least 15.
28 Margin of victory against Hawaii, tying the most by Notre Dame in a bowl game. It matched the standard set in the 38-10 triumph against No. 1 Texas in the 1978 Cotton Bowl (Charlie Weis’ senior year at Notre Dame) to capture the national title.
49 Points tallied by Notre Dame, marking the first time it eclipsed the 40-point barrier in 29 bowl outings. The previous high for point scored was a 39-28 victory over No. 3 Florida in the 1992 Sugar Bowl. This was only the fifth time total the Irish surpassed 30 points in a bowl.
69 Yards on Golden Tate’s TD reception that helped extend the Irish lead to 21-7. It was the longest play of the season for Notre Dame – and the longest play ever on offense by Notre Dame in its 29 bowls. The previous high was a 60-yard pass from Joe Theismann to Jim Yoder in the 1971 Cotton Bowl, a 24-11 win over No. 1 Texas.
177 Yards receiving by Tate, easily another Irish bowl record, on just six receptions. The previous standard was 126 by Maurice Stovall in the 34-20 loss to Ohio State in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. Tate’s three scoring catches (69, 18 and 40 yards) also are an Irish bowl record.
300 Yards passing by Jimmy Clausen in the first half alone while completing 18 of his 21 tosses and staking the Irish to a 28-7 halftime lead. In just one half he broke the previous bowl-game passing record of 286 set by Brady Quinn in a 34-20 loss to Ohio State in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl.
478 Yards total offense amassed by the Irish, eclipsing the previous mark of 455 set in the aforementioned 1989 Fiesta Bowl versus West Virginia.
Three Observations
Stories Stats Don’t Tell –Michael Floyd caught only two passes for 17 yards against Hawaii, but his mere presence helped open up Golden Tate’s 177-yard, three-TD effort. It also helped force a Cover 2 scheme that left the middle open for huge plays. Tight end Kyle Rudolph took advantage by snaring receptions that gained 29, 28 and 24 yards. It’s like the basketball point guard who might score only two points but hands out 15 assists. On other days, Tate might be shut down while Floyd prospers.
Beyond The Whistle – It was pretty easy to see why Hawaii led the nation in penalties (114) and penalty yardage (1,028 or 79.08 per game). The trend continued against the Irish with eight infractions for 69 yards. Not even a cookie factory might have more chips – as in “chippiness” after plays are blown dead than the Hawaii football team. For a senior-laden lineup, it’s not very disciplined.
Free at Last, Free at Last… This will not go down in Notre Dame annals as a great nor even good season, but one should not underestimate the psychological benefits of destroying the bowl streak albatross that hovered over the program. Next year when the Irish go to a bowl, it will no longer have to face two opponents – the foe on the field and the onus of the dubious postseason losing streak.
In fact, prominent programs that used to have long bowl droughts became quite adept in the bowl scene after they had their own droughts ended. Alabama was 0-7-1 in bowls under Bear Bryant from 1967-74 – and then won six in a row and 10 of its next 11. Nebraska was 0-7 in bowls under Tom Osborne from 1987-93 – and then won four in a row and six of its next seven.
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