Looking back at the stat story for Notre Dame’s 2006 win over Georgia Tech.
Notre Dame football kicked off the 2006 season with an away game at Georgia Tech. The 2005 Irish team finished with a 9-3 overall record and Georgia Tech’s prior squad had finished with a 7-5 season.
It was the first time that the two programs had faced off since the Gator Bowl in 1999. Tech pulled off a 35-28 win in that game. The most recent regular season game played was in 1997 when Notre Dame walked away with a 17-13 victory.
Total Offensive Context
The Irish recorded 384 yards of total offense in the season opener and averaged 390 yards of total offense during the 2006 season. Georgia Tech was held to 259 yards of total offense but their season average ended up being 332 yards per game.
Passing Context
Notre Dame earned 246 yards through the air against Georgia Tech, just under their 264-yard benchmark for the season. The Yellow Jackets tallied up a significantly smaller 140 passing yards in the game and they only averaged 169 passing yards per game for the season.
It was Brady Quinn’s last time opening a season for the Irish and he completed 23 of his 38 attempts for a 60.5% completion rate and 114.9 QBR.
Receivers
Senior wide receiver Rhema McKnight led the receiving group with eight catches on the day and translated those into 108 yards. Fellow senior wide receiver Jeff Samardzija was #2 and pulled down six catches for 74 yards. The remaining receiving production was spread across Darius Walker (RB), John Carlson (TE) and Marcus Freeman (TE).
Rushing Context
Notre Dame kicked off the 2006 season with 138 rushing yards, compared with a season average of 126 yards per game. Georgia Tech had similar stats. They earned 119 yards on the ground against the Irish and 162 rushing yards per game over the whole season.
Rushers
Junior running back Darius Walker logged 22 carries in the season opener for his final season in South Bend. He was one-yard shy of the century mark and finished with 99 rushing yards against Georgia Tech. The remaining production was spread across Brady Quinn (QB), Travis Thomas (RB, and Asaph Scwapp (RB).
Defensive Context
Tackles for Loss
- Maurice Crum (LB – Junior): 2
- Travis Thomas (LB – Senior): 2
- Tom Zbikowski (DB – Senior): 1
- Chinedum Ndukwe (DB – Senior): 1
Sacks
- Maurice Crum (LB – Junior): 2
Scoring Context
The Irish were the victors, with a 14-10 final score.
The team finished the 2006 season with 31 points scored per game.
Both of Notre Dame’s touchdowns against Georgia Tech came on the ground. The Yellow Jackets struck first with seven points in the 1st quarter. They knocked in a field goal in the 2nd quarter before Brady Quinn finally broke the Irish’s scoring drought with a 5-yard rushing touchdown. Darius Walker clinched the game for ND with a 13-yard rushing touchdown in the 3rd quarter.
Season Context
Notre Dame finished the 2006 season with a 10-3 overall record, including a Sugar Bowl loss to LSU. Georgia Tech also had a relatively solid outing and finished 2006 with a 9-5 overall record, including a loss to Wake Forest in the ACC Championship game as well as a loss to West Virginia in the Gator Bowl.
Category: General Sports
