Greetings from the Notre Dame press box, where a few seats to my right Gerry Faust is doing a phone interview. I don't even need to look to my right to check if it's the former Fighting Irish coach. Faust has a voice that makes jackhammers flinch.
Both squads are on the field for warm-ups and Coach Weis is moving nimbly (for him) for the first time since last year's season-opener, one game prior to his devastating knee injury. Below, I offer ten things to know about today's Nevada-Notre Dame game. So that your friends will be impressed.
Check them out after the jump.
1) The Irish return their top three rushers and top three receivers from 2008 as well as their quarterback, Jimmy Clausen.
2) Nevada returns three different players (Colin Kaepernick, Luke Lippincott and Vai Taua) who have rushed for 1,000 yards and may be the first FBS team ever to have such a trio.
3) Notre Dame's offensive line (average weight, 315 pounds) outweighs Nevada's defensive line (263 lbs) by an average of 52 pounds per man.
4) The two schools have never met...not even for coffee. The Irish have never faced a team from the Silver State, one of twelve states (eleven after today) that has no history with the Irish.
5) That won't be Armando Allen playing linebacker. Notre Dame's starting tailback wears No. 5, but the Irish have given freshman linebacker Manti Te'o that number as well (by the way, I expect it to be midseason before I'm able to properly type Te'o's name without having to consult the flipchart). So Notre Dame should have two No. 5's seeing action today.
6) Notre Dame's opponent has scored first in each of the Irish's past six season openers. So, if Kaepernick runs one in early, just simmer down, Domers.
7) The Irish have not gone undefeated in the month of September since 2002, Tyrone Willingham's first season.
8) Nevada allowed more passing yards in 2008 than any team in the FBS.
9) The Wolf Pack have not returned a kick or a punt for a touchdown (i.e., to the figurative "house") since October 13, 2001.
10) Jimmy Clausen has better passing numbers after his first two seasons of college than both Brady Quinn and this year's No. 1 NFL draft pick, Matt Stafford, did after their first two seasons.
