THE RUNNING START

When: Friday, January 1, 2016
Where: Glendale Arizona // University of Phoenix Stadium
TV: 1:00 // ESPN 
Announcers: Sean McDonough // Chris Spielman // Todd McShay  

Below you will find some interesting facts about the teams, key offensive player stats, coach information, and team stats.
 

THE LAST TIME...

• Ohio State played Notre Dame the Buckeyes won 34-20 in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl.
• The Buckeyes lost to Notre Dame was 2-7 in 1936.
• Ohio State won 24 straight games was between 2012-13.
• Ezekiel Elliott did not rush for 100 yards was Week 11 against Michigan State.
• Michael Thomas did not catch a pass in a game was against Michigan State in the 2013 B1G Championship.
• The Buckeyes lost a bowl game was against Clemson (35-40) in the 2014 Orange Bowl.

2015 OHIO STATE AWARDS AND HONORS

• Ezekiel Elliott won the 2014 Silver Football trophy. That is the 18th time an Ohio State player was named the Big Ten MVP by the Chicago Tribune.
• Elliott was named the Graham-George offensive player of the year award. 
• Ezekiel Elliott won the Ameche-Dayne running back of the year award.
• Joey Bosa earned the Smith-Brown defensive lineman of the year for the second time in as many seasons.
• Taylor Decker was named the Rimington-Pace offensive lineman of the year award.
• 2015 First Team All-Americans: Vonn Bell, Joey Bosa, Taylor Decker and Adolphus Washington.
• 2015 Second Team All-Americans: Pat Elflein, Ezekiel Elliott, Darron Lee and Raekwon McMillan. 
   

GET TO KNOW NOTRE DAME

• Notre Dame is located in South Bend, IN.
• The school was established in 1842.
• Notre Dame is 10-2 this season.
• The Irish are 29-10 (.744) since 2012.
• The 1994 Cotton Bowl was the last time Notre Dame defeated top ten team in a bowl game (No. 6 Texas A&M).
• The Irish have never defeated a B1G* team in a bowl game.
  *Penn State was not a member of the B1G in 1976.
   

TODAY'S TRIVIA QUESTIONS:

1. How many bowl games did Ohio State win between 1995 and 2007?
    
2. How many bowl games did Notre Dame win between 1995 and 2007?

Answers at the bottom of today's article.

NOTRE DAME'S INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

PASSING

QB DeSHONE KIZER

STATS	PASSING	%	YARDS	TDS	INTS
LAST GAME	13/25	.520	234	1	0
2015	188/297	.633	2,596	19	9
CAREER	188/297	.633	2,596	19	9

 

RUSHING

RB C.J. PROSISE

STATS	YARDS	YPC	TDS
LAST GAME	---	---	---
2015	1,029	6.6	11
CAREER	1,155	6.9	12

 

RB JOSH ADAMS

STATS	YARDS	YPC	TDS
LAST GAME	168	9.3	1
2015	760	7.5	5
CAREER	760	7.5	5

QB DeSHONE KIZER

STATS	YARDS	YPC	TD
LAST GAME	128	8.0	1
2015	504	4.2	9
CAREER	504	4.2	9

 

RECEIVING
 

WR WILL FULLER

STATS	YARDS	YPR	TDS
LAST GAME	136	22.7	1
2015	1,145	20.4	13
CAREER	2,399	17.4	29

 

WR CHRIS BROWN

STATS	YARDS	YPR	TDS
LAST GAME	7	7.0	0
2015	562	12.8	3
CAREER	1,375	13.8	5

 

WR TORII HUNTER JR.

STATS	YARDS	YPR	TDS
LAST GAME	33	16.5	0
2015	311	13.0	2
CAREER	376	12.1	3

 

OHIO STATE'S INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

PASSING
 

QB J.T. BARRETT

STATS	PASSING	%	YARDS	TDS	INTS
LAST GAME	9/15	.600	113	1	0
2015	74/116	.638	781	10	3
CAREER	277/430	.644	3,615	44	13

 

QB CARDALE JONES

STATS	PASSING	%	YARDS	TDS	INTS
LAST GAME	---	---	---	---	---
2015	109/175	.623	1,459	8	5
CAREER	166/269	.617	2,322	15	7

 

RUSHING

RB EZEKIEL ELLIOTT

STATS	YARDS	YPC	TDS
LAST GAME	214	7.1	2
2015	1,672	6.4	19
CAREER	3,812	6.7	39

 

QB J.T. BARRETT

STATS	YARDS	YPC	TDS
LAST GAME	139	7.3	3
2015	586	6.4	11
CAREER	1,524	5.8	22

 

RECEIVING
 

WR MICHAEL THOMAS

STATS	YARDS	YPR	TDS
LAST GAME	50	25.0	0
2015	709	14.5	8
CAREER	1,530	14.4	17

 

WR JALIN MARSHALL

STATS	YARDS	YPR	TDS
LAST GAME	31	15.5	1
2015	448	14.5	5
CAREER	947	13.7	11

---

THE RUNOFF

49-4 (.925) at Ohio State (4th year)

153-27 (.850) overall (14th year)

Urban Meyer is 9-2 in bowl games.

Meyer has never coached against Notre Dame or Brian Kelly.
 

55-22 (.714) at Notre Dame (5th year)

226-79-2 (.739) overall as a college coach (26th year)

108-44 (.711) at FBS level (13th year)

First meeting as a coach against Ohio State and Urban Meyer.
 

CLIFF CLAVEN'S LITTLE KNOWN FACTS CORNER

• Ohio State is 19-6 all-time in games played indoors.
• This is the 45th Fiesta Bowl.
• Ohio State's seniors won a school record 49 games since 2012.
• The seniors never lost a game played on an opponents field (18-0). 
• Ezekiel Elliott led the B1G averaging 152.1 rushing yards in conference play.
• Elliott's 3,550 rushing yards since 2014 is the most in the FBS.
• The Buckeyes have allowed 64 points in the last six games. That's 10.7 points per game.
• The Buckeyes are first in the B1G in rushing yards per game (241.9).
• Urban Meyer's winning percentage of .850 is the highest among active coaches.
• Cameron Johnston's 81 punts downed inside the 20 is an Ohio State record.
• Joey Bosa's 13.5 TFL led the B1G in conference play.
• Michael Thomas has caught a pass in 28-straight games. 
• Joey Bosa has 26.0 career sacks.
• The Buckeyes lead the B1G in passing efficiency (141.6).
• Braxton Miller owns Ohio State's all-time record with 88 career touchdowns.
• Tyvis Powell's blocked field goal against WMU was Ohio State's first since 2012.
• Ohio State has the most all-time appearances in the AP Poll with 850.
• Elliott is the first Urban Meyer coached running back to rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons.
• Braxton Miller and Ezekiel Elliott have rushed for 7,100 yards and 72 rushing touchdowns.

LITTLE KNOWN FACTS BUSTED

The Buckeyes' defense has not allowed a rush of 20+ yards this season. 
Diamont scored on a 79-yard touchdown run.

Ohio State is 28-0 in regular season B1G games with Urban Meyer as head coach.
The Buckeyes are now 29-1.

Ezekiel Elliott has 15-straight games of at least 100-yards rushing.
Elliott rushed for 33 yards against Michigan State.
 

 

2015 STATISTICAL COMPARISON

2015 STATS	RANK	CATEGORY	2015 STATS	RANK
35.0	29th	Points For	34.8	31st
14.0	2nd	Points Against	22.4	34th
		OFFENSE
241.9	12th	Rushing Offense	214.8	25th
187.0	104th	Passing Offense	256.7	37th
428.9	41st	Total Offense	471.5	25th
		DEFENSE
127.3	22nd	Rushing Defense	166.5	65th
176.2	12th	Pass Defense	195.9	28th
303.5	10th	Total Defense	362.4	38th
		OFF. MISC.
.390	73rd	3rd Down Conv.	.429	37th
.800	89th	Red Zone	.800	89th
12.3	25th	Punt Return	8.0	68th
23.0	32nd	Kickoff Return	23.2	30th
		DEF. MISC.
.347	32nd	3rd Down Conv.	.329	18th
.786	32nd	Red Zone	.765	22nd
101.9	6th	Pass Eff. Def.	124.1	61st
40.2	15th	Net Punting	38.8	35th
		MISC.
+ 0.2	52nd	Turnover Margin	- 0.4	97th
6.0	59th	Penalties Per Game	5.3	32nd
	Total: 11	THE EDGE	Total: 8

TRIVIA ANSWERS

How many bowl games did Ohio State win between 1995 and 2007?

Answer: 6 (6-6). 

How many bowl games did Notre Dame win between 1995 and 2007?

Answer: Zero (0-7)
 

Sources
ohiostatebuckeyes.com
stats.ncaa.org
sportsreference.com