With Saturday's victory, Notre Dame finished the season with an undefeated home record for the first time since 1998. The Irish went 6-0 at Notre Dame Stadium and have won eight straight home games dating back to last season.
"We played very well today," Irish coach Brian Kelly said after Saturday's victory. "We saved our best for the last home game. The goal for all of us was to be undefeated this year at home. We were able to achieve that goal, so our guys are pretty excited about that. We feel really good about the accomplishment."
Eifert breaks record
With a third-quarter reception, senior tight end Tyler Eifert passed Ken MacAfee for the most career receptions by a Notre Dame tight end with his 129th grab.
"I was really happy to have it, and just happy I don't have to think about it anymore," Eifert said. "Coach Kelly said to me, 'If you drop this, we're not throwing it to you for the rest of the game,' so I made sure I caught it."
The 6-foot-6, 251-pound John Mackey Award semifinalist, who decided to forgo entering last year's NFL Draft and returned to Notre Dame, had one more reception and finished with six catches for 85 yards and a touchdown.
"Coming back to get his degree says so much about the Notre Dame football player and how important it is to have their degree, but to also play at the level that he has played, to break the kind of records with the great tight ends that have been here at Notre Dame is an amazing feat," Kelly said.
Contact Mike Monaco at jmonaco@nd.edu
