Perhaps the marquee attraction in college football today is at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz., where the No. 9 Arizona State Sun Devils (7-1) host the No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1). Each school is hoping a victory will help boost them to a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Some thoughts and musings about today's matchup at 12:30 PT:
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 3-0, and comes off a 37-34 victory over ASU in Arlington, Tex., last season.
- The first meeting between the two schools was on Oct. 10, 1998. The Irish, led by 193 combined rushing yards by Joey Goodspeed (109) and Autry Denson (84), prevailed 28-9.
- Which leads to a trivia question: Name the Notre Dame quarterback at the time (pictured below). The answer is at the bottom of this post.
- All told, Notre Dame has an all-time record of 2-3 in games played at Sun Devil Stadium. They are 1-3 in Fiesta Bowls played at the site.
- Notre Dame won the 1988 National Championship on Sun Devil Stadium turf, beating West Virginia, 34-21, on Jan. 2, 1989.
- Arizona State's passing attack ranks 22nd in the nation, with 291.1 yards per game.
- Notre Dame's pass offense is positioned just a few slots lower (26th), with 288.9 yards per game.
- In a 49-39 win over Navy on Nov. 1, Notre Dame senior quarterback Everett Golson became the first player in Irish history to rush for three touchdowns and pass for three touchdowns in the same game.
Trivia question answer: Jarious Jackson.
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