This Week: The Notre Dame College football program travels to No. 7 Shepherd University to kick off the 2017 season on Saturday, September 2. The Falcons will play in Ram Stadium on at 12 p.m. The game will be broadcasted live via ESPN3 and live radio will also be provided through ESPN Cleveland 1540 KNR2.
Records: This is the first game for both the Falcons and the Rams. Both teams are 0-0.
Coaches Corner: Mike Jacobs is in his second year as the head coach of the NDC football program. He has an overall record of 9-2 (8-2 MEC). Monte Carter is in his 31st year as the Rams' football head coach. In his first 30 years, he has ammassed a record of 235-91-1.
Rankings: Shepherd is ranked as the No. 7 team in NCAA Division II according the August 14 AFCA Coaches Poll. Notre Dame did not receive any votes.
Series History: The Falcons trail the Rams 1-3 in a series dating back to 2013. NDC last won against Shepherd on October 18, 2014 in a close 35-34 game. Last season, the Rams won 38-17.
Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame completed its best season in school history in 2016 after finishing 9-2 and just missing out on the playoffs. The Falcons ranked first in the Mountain East Conference last season in scoring offense (31.9 points per game) and third in scoring defense (21.5 ppg). NDC broke several single-season records as well, including rushing yards (2,121), pass completion percentage (60.5), and passing efficiency (157.7). The Falcons return many starters on both sides of the ball, but have graduated three of their top receivers from 2016 who combined for 1,965 (of 2,714) yards and 22 (of 32) touchdowns.
Noting the Rams: Shepherd is also returning from a strong 2016 season. The Rams made it to the NCAA DII Semifinal game, undefeated, before losing 23-13 to the No. 7 North Alabama. While the Falcons return many top performers from 2016, the Rams lost their top rusher, top passer and top two receivers. SU does return one of its defensive leaders in James Gupton, a linebacker who recorded 99 tackles in 2016. Gupton also had 9.5 tackles for a loss and one interception.
Getting his Grove on: Senior QB,
Malik Grove, returns for his third season as a starter after a spectacular 2016 season where he threw 32 touchdowns to just three interceptions. In 2017, Grove will be just one of three quarterbacks playing who passed for more than 2,700 yards and rushed for more than 500 yards.
BY THE NUMBERS
2: 1,000-yard rushing seasons recorded by junior
DJ Greene. Greene rushed for 1,003 yards in 2016 after a debut of 1,132 yards in 2015.
13.5: Tackles for a loss recorded by
Claudy Mathieu last season. Mathieu is one of three returning players who reached the double digit TFL mark last year.
Vincent Ellis (11.5) and
Jalon Avent (10.0) were the other two.
20: Touchdowns scored by NDC in the red-zone in 2016. The Falcons scored a total of 48 touchdowns while holding opponnets to 32 (17 in red-zone).
