Previewing the Vanderbilt Game...

Quick Takes: This marks only the second time in the 11-year Lou Holtz era and the first time since posting a 26-7 victory over Michigan at Michigan Stadium on September 12, 1987, that the Irish have opened on an opponent's home field. Despite not opening in an enemy arena since 1987, the Fighting Irish have posted three neutral site victories in the Holtz era -- a 36-13 win over Virginia at Giants Stadium on August 31, 1989, a 42-7 victory over Northwestern at Soldier Field on September 5, 1992 (four years ago Thursday) and a 42-15 win over Northwestern at Soldier Field on September 3, 1994. The victory over Virginia on August 31, 1989 also marks the last time the Irish were involved in a regular season non-Saturday game.

For Openers: Notre Dame is 90-12-5 (.864) in season openers and 8-2 (.800) in lidlifters under Lou Holtz. The Irish are 21-2-2 (.880) in road season openers and 25-3-2 (.867) including season openers played at neutral sites. Holtz stands 20-5-1 in openers as a collegiate head coach. His 8-2 mark at Notre Dame included eight straight wins prior to '95, plus 1-2 at William & Mary, 3-0-1 at North Carolina State, 6-1 at Arkansas and 2-0 at Minnesota. In openers away from home, Holtz stands 6-3-0.

The Injury Report: OUT: K Kevin Kopka (arthroscopic knee surgery Aug. 20, out six-eight weeks), TB Jay Vickers (fractured shoulder in preseason, out approximately six weeks), CB Lee Lafayette (knee ligament injury during preseason, slated for Sept. 6 surgery, out for the season), DE Brad Williams (stress fracture of foot in preseason, out two weeks), C Jeff Kilburg (sprained knee Aug. 26, out three-four weeks).

The Series: Notre Dame leads the series 1-0-0 following a 41-0 shutout victory over Vanderbilt on September 16, 1995 at Notre Dame Stadium (more information on last season's meeting can be found on page two). Notre Dame is 16-9-0 (.680 percentage) against current members of the Southeastern Conference: 5-1 vs. Alabama, 1-0 vs. Florida, 0-1 vs. Georgia, 3-3 vs. LSU, 1-1 vs. Mississippi, 3-1 vs. South Carolina, 2-2 vs. Tennessee and 1-0 vs. Vanderbilt (Notre Dame has never played Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky and Mississippi State). Notre Dame will continue to face an SEC opponent for at least the next two seasons. The Fighting Irish will play at LSU on November 15, 1997, and will play host to the Tigers on November 21, 1998. In both seasons, LSU will be Notre Dame's 10th opponent.

The Coaches: Lou Holtz is in his 11th season with the Irish with an overall 208-92-7 record. His 26-year collegiate record includes three years at William & Mary (13-20, .394, 1969-71), four at North Carolina State (33-12-3, .719, 1972-75), seven at Arkansas (60-21-2, .394, 1977-83), two at Minnesota (10-12, .455, 1984-85) and 10 at Notre Dame (92-27-2, 1986-95).

Rod Dowhower is in his second season at Vanderbilt, with a 2-9 record with the Commodores -- and a 7-14-1 career mark, including his 5-5-1 season at Stanford in 1979. He served as head coach of the NFL Indianapolis Colts in 1985-86 (5-24) and has been a collegiate assistant at San Diego State, UCLA, Boise State and Stanford. Holtz is 2-0 vs. Vanderbilt, including a 48-17 Arkansas win in 1978 and Notre Dame's 41-0 triumph in 1995.

The Last Meeting: Notre Dame's only previous meeting with Vanderbilt came in the third game of the '95 season, a 41-0 Irish victory in Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish scored on every first-half possession and the Notre Dame defense came up with its best statistical effort in 18 years as the Irish whitewashed the visiting Commodores. Defensive coordinator Bob Davie directed the Irish squad in the absence of Lou Holtz, who returned that morning from the Mayo Clinic following major neck surgery the previous Tuesday and watched the game on television from his home. Ron Powlus completed 13 of 18 passes for 200 yards and Randy Kinder rushed 12 times for 110 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, the Notre Dame defense permitted only 94 net yards, the best figure since 82 by Pittsburgh in the 1977 season opener. Notre Dame's pass defense did not permit a completion in any of the last three periods. The shutout marked the first by Notre Dame since a 44-0 verdict over Pittsburgh in 1993.

This Date In Irish History: Notre Dame has played on September 5 only one time in its previous 999 games. The year was 1992 and the Irish opened the season with a 42-7 victory over Northwestern at Soldier Field in Chicago. Many similarities between that situation and this season's opener against Vanderbilt exist. Both games were played on the same day, both were season openers, both played away from Notre Dame Stadium and both seasons Notre Dame was coming off a three-loss season. In 1992, Notre Dame ended the season with seven consecutive victories, including a 28-3 win over Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. The Irish ended the campaign with a 10-1-1 mark and a No. 4 national ranking.

The Connections: Notre Dame-Vanderbilt connections include:
* Notre Dame president Rev. Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C., earned his doctoral degree in Christian ethics from Vanderbilt in 1975.
* Sportswriter Grantland Rice, who made the Four Horsemen famous, is a Vanderbilt graduate.
* Notre Dame offensive coordinator Dave Roberts was an assistant coach at Vanderbilt from 1979-83, coaching defensive ends and later running backs.
* Vanderbilt's assistant athletic director for compliance, Beth DeBauche, owns a master's degree in communications and a law degree from Notre Dame. She's a 1983 Saint Mary's College graduate.
* Vanderbilt provost Tom Burish is a 1972 Notre Dame graduate.
* In the history of college football, only two coaches have been knighted -- Notre Dame's Knute Rockne and Vanderbilt's Henry Thornton.

In the State of Tennessee: Though this marks Notre Dame's first visit to Nashville to play football, the Irish have appeared in the state of Tennessee on three previous occasions:
* A 40-18 loss to Tennessee in Knoxville in 1979.
* A 19-18 win over Boston College in Memphis in the 1983 Liberty Bowl.
* A 34-29 win over Tennessee in Knoxville in 1990 (the Irish were ranked #1 nationally at the time). The Irish men's basketball team played Vanderbilt in Nashville during the 1986-87 season, with Vandy posting a 60-56 win.

Scouting Vanderbilt: The Commodores will build their '96 hopes around a defensive unit that returns 10 starters to go with strong special team play. Vanderbilt permitted only 138.3 rushing yards per game a year ago, though a major loss to graduation is '95 Southeastern Conference most valuable lineman James Manley. Leading the linebacking unit is junior Jamie Duncan, who made 120 tackles in '95, including 20 vs. Notre Dame. The special teams feature punter Bill Marinangel, who has ranked 16th nationally in that category each of the last two years, including a 70-yard boot in '95 vs. Notre Dame. In addition, Vanderbilt blocked five punts and six PATs or field goals in '95. Top names on offense are senior OT Allen DeGraffenreid, junior QB Damian Allen and senior TE Jason Tomichek. The Commodore running game must find a replacement for graduated 1,072-yard rusher Jermaine Johnson (he was held to 38 yards on 13 attempts by the Irish in '95).

Irish Items:
* Notre Dame has played in front of capacity crowds in 78 of its last 89 games, including 22 of the last 23 prior to a less-than-capacity crowd in the '96 Orange Bowl vs. Florida State.
* During the Lou Holtz era, Notre Dame has returned 11 kickoffs, 11 punts (one blocked), 14 interceptions and three fumbles for touchdowns -- compared to only one punt and three interceptions for opponents.
* Notre Dame has held 20 of its last 41 opponents to 100 or less rushing yards, including Vanderbilt (56 yards) in 1995.
* Notre Dame's rushing attack has ranked 20th or better nationally nine years running under Holtz:

 
Year	Rushing Avg.       NCAA Rank       Rushing TDs 
1986	   189.4	      33rd	        18
1987	   252.1	      14th	        33 
1988	   258.0	      11th	        30 
1989	   287.7	       8th	        42
1990	   250.3	      12th	        33 
1991	   268.0	       5th	        31 
1992	   280.9	       3rd	        34
1993	   260.7	       6th	        36 
1994	   215.6	      20th	        18 
1995	   233.5	       6th	        29

ScoutingThe Irish Offense:

LINE -- Notre Dame prospects up front bode well for a solid running game in '96, despite the graduation loss of veterans Dusty Zeigler and Ryan Leahy from a year ago. With four of five '96 starters tipping the scales at better than 300 pounds, the Irish will depend on the experience of senior tackles Mike Doughty (18 career starts) and Chris Clevenger (15 career starts), senior guard Jeremy Akers (15 career starts), sophomore guard Mike Rosenthal (a future all-star for the Irish, he switched from tackle to become a starter at guard) and senior center Rick Kaczenski (11 consecutive starts). Plus, Doughty, Clevenger and Kaczenski all have another year of eligibility available, should they choose to apply for it.

BACKS -- The Irish boast an all-senior blue-chip parade of backs, led by QB Ron Powlus ("He's the best quarterback I've been around," says Lou Holtz of Powlus, who needs 11 TD passes in '96 to break Rick Mirer's Irish career record of 41), TBs Randy Kinder (Notre Dame's eighth-best career rusher at 2,048 yards) and Robert Farmer and unselfish FB Marc Edwards (1,210 career rushing yards; top returning receiver from '95 with 25 for 361, 3 TDs).

RECEIVERS -- If Notre Dame has a question mark on offense in '96, it's at the wide receiver slots, especially following the loss of big-play artist Derrick Mayes from the split end spot. Senior split end starter Emmett Mosley is the most experienced of the wide receivers, with 28 career catches to his credit (17 for 268 in '95). Helping to fill the void is all-around standout Autry Denson, who rushed for 695 yards in '95, will start at flanker in '96 but also will help at tailback. Denson's switch to flanker has been the most noteworthy position switch of the '96 preseason. Tight end is a strong point, with potential all-star Pete Chryplewicz (17 for 204, 1 TD in '95) returning.

Scouting the Irish Defense:

LINE -- Fifth-year veteran end Renaldo Wynn (28 career starts), probably Notre Dame's most consistent defensive player in '95, will be joined by two players who did not play at all in '95. Senior DE Melvin Dansby (19 career games played, but no starts) missed all of '95 after May '95 neck surgery but possesses all-star potential. Noseguard Alton Maiden missed the '95 campaign while improving his academic standing and will make his first career start vs. Vanderbilt.

LINEBACKERS -- Notre Dame appears in great shape here, with seniors Lyron Cobbins (14 career starts; Notre Dame's leading tackler, interceptor and fumble recoverer in '95) and Kinnon Tatum (77 tackles in '95) inside, to go with senior Bert Berry (23 career starts) and sophomore Kory Minor (started 11 games as freshman in '95) outside. All four are returning standouts and should have major impacts in '96. Among others slated to make solid contributions are sophomores Bobbie Howard inside and Lamont Bryant outside.

BACKS -- Like the wide receiving corps on offense, Notre Dame's question on defense is in the secondary. Small but sticky junior CB regulars Allen Rossum (two int. returns for TDs in '95) and Ivory Covington (made game-saving tackle on late two-point attempt by Army) anchor the group. Neither FS starter Jarvis Edison (he scored a TD vs. Vanderbilt in ï95 after picking up a fumble on a kickoff) nor sophomore SS A'Jani Sanders has started a game before -- and the Vanderbilt game will mark Sanders' first-ever game appearance.

Scouting the Irish Kicking Game: Punter Hunter Smith had an average rookie season in '95 (36.4 average) but has been outstanding in preseason drills. Placekicker Scott Cengia (10 of 13 in career FGs) boasts a slight edge in that category over freshman Jim Sanson. Kickoff returner Allen Rossum is the fastest man on the Irish roster ('95 NCAA indoor track All-American in the 55 meters), while Autry Denson will augment his all-purpose role by returning punts.

The Spread Offense: Irish coach Lou Holtz unveiled a spread offense against Florida State in the '96 Orange Bowl and promised to offer it again in '96. Drawbacks to its developments were the absence of QB Ron Powlus during spring drills and the lack of a proven receiving corps. Even now, Holtz says one key to its potential use is the productivity at receiver. Holtz's interest in the offense is based on utilization of Powlus' talents -- as well as the ability to make use of the formations without requiring substitutions.

The Honorees: The list of 65 preliminary candidates for the 1996 Butkus Award as the top linebacker nationally includes three Irish players -- seniors Lyron Cobbins and Bert Berry and sophomore Kory Minor. Both Cobbins and Berry made the '95 preliminary list as well. The list will be trimmed to 10 semifinalists on October 17 and three finalists will be named November 14. The winner will be announced December 14. Also, FB Marc Edwards is a nominee for the Doak Walker Award presented to the top running back nationally.

1,000 Games and Counting: As Notre Dame prepares to close out its first one thousand football games, here's a quick review of just some of the numbers the Fighthing Irish have posted since an 8-0 setback to Michigan on November 23, 1887.
* Notre Dame leads the nation in winning percentage at .760 through 107 seasons. In fact the gap between the Fighting Irish and second place Michigan (.743) is the widest difference between any consecutive schools in the top 10. If Notre Dame, which hasn't lost three consecutive regular season games in Lou Holtz's 10 seasons, lost 17 consecutive games and Michigan won 17 consecutive games, the Irish still would lead the all-time NCAA standings.
* Notre Dame is tied with Oklahoma and Alabama for the most national championships won with 11. No other school has more than eight national titles.
* In 107 previous seasons, Notre Dame has had 12 perfect seasons, 22 undefeated seasons and 28 seasons where the Fighting Irish suffered just one loss. In 50 of 107 seasons Notre Dame has lost more than one game.
* Notre Dame leads the nation in consensus All-Americans with 77 (24 more than any other school) and Heisman Trophy winners with seven.
* Since 1981, Notre Dame has led the nation in football graduation percentage five times and is the only school to have been awarded special recognition by the College Football Association every season since 1982.

Fifth-Year Players: Notre Dame has seven fifth-year players on its team this year. They are: OG Jeremy Akers, ILB Joe Babey, TE Kevin Carretta, TE Pete Chryplewicz, NG David Quist, OLB Bill Wagasy and DE Renaldo Wynn. All seven players have earned their undergraduate degrees and are currently enrolled in graduate work. Chryplewicz is in the unique position to earn five monograms during his career. The tight end played in just two games during '94 because of a wrist injury, but did earn a monogram for the season. Other players to earn five monograms in Irish history include current Notre Dame graduate assistant Justin Hall (1988-92) and defensive back Randy Harrison (1974-78).

Fighting Irish Captains: Notre Dame has three senior captains for the '96 season: quarterback Ron Powlus, linebacker Lyron Cobbins and fullback Marc Edwards.

New Faces/Three New Coaches: There are three new faces on the Notre Dame coaching staff for '96: Reciever coach Urban Meyer -- an '86 Cinncinati graduate, Meyer was previously at Colorado State for the past six seasons. Graduate assistant Justin Hall -- a former Notre Dame offensive lineman who graduated in 1993. He spent the '95 season as offensive line coach at Hiram (Ohio) College. Graduate assistant Jay Sawvel -- a '93 graduate of Mount Union (Ohio) College, he spent the previous two years as a graduate assistant at Eastern Kentucky.

Stadium Expansion: Notre Dame Stadium is currently undergoing an expansion and renovation which will put the capacity of the facility at 80,990 -- an addition of nearly 22,000 seats from the current capacity of 59,075. The expansion, which will be completed for the 1997 home opener against Georgia Tech, is a 21-month project which cost a total of $50 million -- all raised through bond sales. Casteel Construction, Inc. of South Bend is the general contractor, while Ellerbe Beckett, Inc., of Kansas City is the architect. The expansion will include a new three-story press box, a new natural grass field, expanded locker rooms for Notre Dame and visiting teams. The Notre Dame football team will permanently be housed in the stadium and dress there for all practices and games. A new, expanded training room also will be added to the Stadium. The '96 campaign features use of the same 59,075 seats, though the concrete structures supporting the new sections already are in place and in full view. Construction has eliminated 750 parking spaces in the areas surrounding the Stadium, and access to seating sections during the '96 season will come through newly-created entrances at the four corners of the Stadium.

The StadiumCam: The Notre Dame Office of Information Technologies has a web site at http://www.nd.edu/~jeremy/stadium/ that is better known as "Stadiumcam." Under the direction of Jeremy McCarty and Tom Monaghan, two consultants and analysts in the Office of University Computing, this site features an up-to-date image of the expansion of Notre Dame Stadium. The site is updated every five minutes during the day and every half hour at night. The departments of computer science and electrical engineering have a site at http://lisa.ee.nd.edu/DomeCam/, which gives you a look at the Gold Dome of the Main Building, which is viewable 24 hours a day. For information on all facets of Notre Dame, the home page is at http://www.nd.edu/.

Holtz To Pass Career Games Coached Record: Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz will pass a significant milestone early in the '96 season. When the Irish take the field against Vanderbilt Sept. 5, it will mark Holtz's 122nd game as head coach at Notre Dame. The current record for games coached at Notre Dame is 122 set by Knute Rockne between 1918-30. Holtz is currently third for career wins at Notre Dame with 92 (92-27-2 overall), while Rockne had 105 and Ara Parseghian (1964-74) is second with 95. Holtz is entering his 11th year in charge of the Irish program and has a 208-92-7 career record in 26 seasons. He led the Irish to the '88 national championship and has brought Notre Dame to traditional New Year's Day bowl games in each of the last nine years (five wins). His collegiate mark also includes stints at William & Mary (13-20 from 1969-71), North Carolina State (33-12-3 from 1972-75), Arkansas (60-21-2 from 1977-83) and Minnesota (10-12 from 1984-85).

Thursday Night Lights: The Thursday night date against Vanderbilt, to accommodate an ESPN audience, will be the first non-Saturday regular-season game played by the Irish since Aug. 31, 1989, when Notre Dame topped Virginia by a 36-13 victory in the Kickoff Classic played at the Meadowlands' Giants Stadium.

Back To Culver: For the second straight season, the Notre Dame football team returned to the shores of Lake Maxinkuckee and the Culver Academies in Culver, Ind., for some of its '96 preseason practice. The Irish arrived at Culver August 16, then began practice the next day on the first day the Irish could practice in pads. Notre Dame returned to campus following two practices at Culver August 22. In 1995, head coach Lou Holtz took the Irish off-campus for the first time in the history of the program for 10 days of preseason practice at Culver . The Culver Academics are located appoximately 40 miles south of South Bend.

The Schedule: Notre Dame's 1996 slate brings up a few trends and notes of interest:
* After taking on the most difficult schedule in the country in '95 according to the NCAA -- and recording wins over ranked opponents Texas, Washington and USC -- Notre Dame's '96 agenda includes assignments against five teams that played in bowl games following the '95 season. USC (9-2-1 and Rose Bowl champion), Texas (10-2-1 and a Sugar Bowl appearance), Ohio State (11-2 and a Citrus Bowl appearance), Washington (7-4-1 and a Sun Bowl appearance) and Air Force (8-5 and a Copper Bowl appearance) all qualified for '95 postseason action. 1996 Irish opponents who finished in the final Associated Press top 25 for '95 are Ohio State (sixth), USC (12th) and Texas (14th).
* There are only two new names on the '96 schedule -- with Pittsburgh (2-9 in '95) and Rutgers (4-7 in '95) replacing Northwestern (10-2 in '95) and Army (5-5-1 in '95). Pitt returns to the schedule after a two-year absence, but the Panthers have played Notre Dame 55 previous times. The only other time Notre Dame and Rutgers met came in 1921.

Irish To Ireland: Notre Dame will play Navy on Nov. 2 Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, in the Shamrock Classic. Croke Park is the home of the hottest Gaelic sporting event -- all-Ireland football and hurling, but the Notre Dame vs. Navy contest is the first non-Gaelic sporting event ever to be played there. Croke Park has a capacity of 40,000, but additional seating and standing room only tickets put the capacity at 55,000. According to the Irish Tourist Board in the United States, the event may be the single largest tourist event in the history of Ireland. The game will be of special significance to Notre Dame athletic director Mike Wadsworth, who was the Canadian ambassador to Ireland form 1989 to 1994. Tour and ticket packages are available for the contest by calling the Notre Dame ticket office at (219) 631-7356. The Notre Dame-Navy series is the longest continuous intersectional rivalry in the country and has been played every year since 1927. Notre Dame's only other international football game was played Nov. 24, 1979, when the Irish defeated Miami 40-15 at Tokyo National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, in the third annual Mirage Bowl.

Irish Finish 11th in Sears Directors' Cup: A national championship in women's soccer and a runnerup finish at the men's and women's NCAA combined fencing team championship helped Notre Dame place 11th in the 1995-96 Sears Directors' Cup competition. Irish athletic teams also earned an 11th-place finish in the inaugural 1993-94 competition and were 30th in 1994-95. The Sears Directors' Cup, sponsored by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and promoted by USA Today, annually recognizes the top Division I schools in 22 sports -- nine for men, nine for woman plus two wild card sports for both men and women. Stanford won the 1995-96 competition followed by UCLA, Florida and Texas. Notre Dame's finish was the highest of any school in the BIG EAST Conference. In 1995-96, Notre Dame enjoyed more success as an all-around athletic program. The fall season saw the women's soccer team win the NCAA championship and the football team advance to its ninth straight appearance in a New Year's Day bowl game. In addition, the women's volleyball and men's cross country teams participated in NCAA postseason play. The women's basketball team played in the NCAA tournament and the men's and women's fencing team finished second at the NCAA tournament during the winter months. The spring season was highlighted by a trip to the NCAA quarterfinals by the women's tennis team and NCAA appearances by the softball, lacrosse and baseball teams. In addition, representatives from men's and women's track, women's swimming and men's tennis took part in NCAA play. Notre Dame offers 25 different sports at the varsity level. Women's lacrosse is making its debut this year, while women's crew will be added to the list of Notre Dame sports for the '97-'98 academic year.

School Is Job One: The Notre Dame-Vanderbilt football game will feature two universities with student-athlete graduation rates that are among the best in the nation. For all student-athletes, Notre Dame ranks fourth in Division I-A while Vanderbilt is seventh. Among football players, Vanderbilt ranks third and Notre Dame is eighth. NCAA graduation rates are based on the comparison of the number students who entered an institution and the number of those who graduated within six years. The survey regards students who leave or transfer, regardless of academic standing, as nongraduates. Among Notre Dame student-athletes who complete their eligibility at the University, 99 percent earn a degree. Please refer to the charts at the right.