| Notre Dame Fighting Irish football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1887; 138 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Pete Bevacqua | ||
| General manager | Mike Martin | ||
| Head coach | Marcus Freeman 4th season, 38–12 (.760) | ||
| Stadium | Notre Dame Stadium (capacity: 77,622) | ||
| Field | Notre Dame Stadium | ||
| Year built | 1930 | ||
| Field surface | Natural grass (1930–2013) FieldTurf (2014–present) | ||
| Location | Notre Dame, Indiana | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FBS | ||
| Conference | Independent | ||
| Past conferences | ACC (2020) | ||
| All-time record | 967–341–42 (.732) | ||
| Bowl record | 22–21 (.512) | ||
| Claimed national titles | 11 (1924,1929,1930,1943,1946,1947,1949,1966,1973,1977,1988)[1] | ||
| Unclaimed national titles | 11 (1919,1920,1927,1938,1953,1964,1967,1970,1989,1993,2012)[2] | ||
| National finalist | 2 (2012,2024) | ||
| Playoff appearances | 3 (2018,2020,2024) | ||
| Playoff record | 3–3 | ||
| Rivalries | Army (rivalry) Boston College (rivalry) Michigan (rivalry) Michigan State (rivalry) Navy (rivalry) Northwestern (rivalry) Pittsburgh (rivalry) Purdue (rivalry) Stanford (rivalry) USC (rivalry) | ||
| Heisman winners | Angelo Bertelli – 1943 Johnny Lujack – 1947 Leon Hart – 1949 Johnny Lattner – 1953 Paul Hornung – 1956 John Huarte – 1964 Tim Brown – 1987 | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 109 | ||
| Current uniform | |||
 | |||
| Colors | Blue and gold[3] | ||
| Fight song | Notre Dame Victory March | ||
| Mascot | Notre Dame Leprechaun | ||
| Marching band | Band of the Fighting Irish | ||
| Outfitter | Under Armour | ||
| Website | FightingIrish.com | ||
TheNotre Dame Fighting Irish football team represents theUniversity of Notre Dame inAmerican football. It plays home games at the 77,622-capacityNotre Dame Stadium, located nearSouth Bend inNotre Dame, Indiana. Notre Dame is one of two schools that competes as anindependent at theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level.[note 1]
The Fighting Irish are one of college football's most prestigious and successful programs. It has won 15national championships since its establishment in 1887, though the school only officially claims 11, including 8 from the major wire-services (AP Poll and/orCoaches' Poll).[5] Seven Notre Dame players have won theHeisman Trophy. Notre Dame has 962 officialvictories, with 21 having been vacated by the NCAA in 2016 for self-reported academic misconduct. The school recognizes 983 total wins in program history.[6] Notre Dame has had 22 undefeated seasons including 12 perfect seasons.[7] Notre Dame home games have been televised byNBC since 1991.[8][9]
The Fighting Irish have played in blue jerseys with gold helmets and highlights for much of their history. Recognizable team symbols include their fight song, the "Notre Dame Victory March", and theNotre Dame Leprechaun mascot. Theirfiercest and most prominent rivalry is with theUSC Trojans; it arose from frequent competition for national championships and is one of the best-known in college football.[10][11][12][13]
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Football did not have an auspicious beginning at the University of Notre Dame. In their inaugural game on November 23, 1887, the Irish lost toMichigan by a score of 8–0.[14] Their first win came in the final game of the1888 season when the Irish defeated Harvard Prep School of Chicago by a score of 20–0.[15] At the end of the 1888 season, they had a record of 1–3 with all three losses being at the hands ofMichigan. Between 1887 and 1899, Notre Dame compiled a record of 31 wins, 15 losses, and 4 ties against a diverse variety of opponents ranging from local high school teams to other universities.[16] In 1894,James L. Morrison was hired as Notre Dame's first head football coach.[17] Notre Dame took a significant step toward respectability, prominence, and stability when they hired Morrison.[18] He wrote an acquaintance after his first day on the job: "I arrived here [Notre Dame] this morning and found about as green a set of football players that ever donned a uniform... They want to smoke, and when I told them that they would have to run and get up some wind, they thought I was rubbing it in on them. "One big, strong cuss remarked that it was too much like work. Well, maybe you think I didn't give him hell! I bet you a hundred no one ever makes a remark like that again."[18]
In1908, the win over Franklin saw endFay Wood catch the first touchdown pass in Notre Dame history.[19] Notre Dame continued its success near the turn of the century and achieved their first victory over Michigan in1909 by the score of 11–3, after which Michigan refused to play Notre Dame again for 33 years. By the end of the1912 season the university's team had amassed a record of 108 wins, 31 losses, and 13 ties.[20]Jesse Harper became head coach in 1913, coaching for five years until retiring in 1917.[21] During his tenure, the Irish began playing only intercollegiate games and posted a record of 34 wins, 5 losses, and one tie.[22] This period would also mark the beginning of the rivalry withArmy and the continuation of rivalry withMichigan State.[23][24] In an effort to gain respect for a regionally successful but small-time Midwestern football program, Harper scheduled games in his first season with national powerhousesTexas,Penn State, andArmy.[25] That year, Notre Dame burst into the national consciousness and helped to transform the collegiate game in a single contest.
On November 1, 1913, the Notre Dame squad stunned Army's Black Knights of the Hudson 35–13 in a game played atWest Point.[26] Led by quarterbackGus Dorais and endKnute Rockne, the Notre Dame team attacked the Cadets with an offense that featured both the expected powerful running game but also long and accurate downfield forward passes from Dorais to Rockne. This game has been miscredited as the invention of the forward pass.[27] Prior to this contest, receivers would come to a full stop and wait on the ball to come to them, but in this contest, Dorais threw to Rockne in stride, changing the forward pass from a seldom-used play into the dominant ball-moving strategy that it is today.[27][26]
Irish assistantKnute Rockne became head coach in 1918.[28] During his 13 years, the Irish won three national championships, had five undefeated seasons, won theRose Bowl in 1925,[29] and produced players such asGeorge Gipp and the "Four Horsemen".[30] Rockne's offenses employed theNotre Dame Box and his defenses ran a7–2–2 scheme.[31][32]
Rockne took over in the war-torn season of1918[33] He made his coaching debut on September 28, 1918, againstCase Tech inCleveland, Ohio, and earned a 26–6 victory.[34]Leonard Bahan, George Gipp, andCurly Lambeau were in the backfield.[35][36] With Gipp, Rockne had an ideal handler of theforward pass.[37][38] The Irish posted a 3–1–2 record for the season, losing only to theMichigan Agricultural Aggies. The1919 team had Rockne handle the line andGus Dorais handle the backfield.[39] The Irish went undefeated and were one of four teams to be selected for the national championship, although Notre Dame does not claim it.[40][41]
Gipp died at age 25 on December 14,1920,[42] just two weeks after Walter Camp elected him as Notre Dame's first All-American.[43][42] Gipp likely contractedstrep throat and pneumonia while givingpunting lessons after his final game on November 20 againstNorthwestern.[43] Sinceantibiotics were not available in the 1920s, treatment options for such infections were limited and they could be fatal even to young, healthy individuals.[44] Rockne was speaking to Gipp on his hospital bed when he was purported to have delivered the famous "Win one for the Gipper" line.[45][42][46][47][48]
John Mohardt led the1921 Notre Dame team to a 10–1 record with 781 rushing yards, 995 passing yards, 12 rushing touchdowns, and nine passing touchdowns.[49]Grantland Rice wrote that "Mohardt could throw the ball to within a foot or two of any given space" and noted that the 1921 Notre Dame team "was the first team we know of to build its attack around a forward passing game, rather than use a forward passing game as a mere aid to the running game."[50] Mohardt had bothEddie Anderson andRoger Kiley atend to receive his passes.[51][52]
The national champion1924 team included the "Four Horsemen" backfield ofHarry Stuhldreher,Don Miller,Jim Crowley, andElmer Layden.[53][54] The line was known as the "Seven Mules".[55] The Irish capped an undefeated, 10–0 season with a victory overStanford in theRose Bowl.[29] The1926 team beatArmy and was led byChristie Flanagan,[56][57] but was undone by a loss toCarnegie Tech in the penultimate game of the season. In this game, Rockne made what anAssociated Press writer called "one of the greatest coaching blunders in history" by traveling to Chicago for theArmy–Navy Game to "write newspaper articles about it, as well as select an All-America football team." Carnegie Tech used the coach's absence as motivation for a 19–0 win; the upset likely cost the Irish a chance for a national title.[58]
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The1928 team lost to national championGeorgia Tech.[59] "I sat atGrant Field and saw a magnificent Notre Dame team suddenly recoil before the furious pounding of one man–Peter Pund," said Rockne. "Nobody could stop him. I counted 20 scoring plays that this man ruined."[60] Among the events that occurred during Rockne's tenure none may be more famous than the Rockne's "Win one for the Gipper" speech.[61] Army came into the 1928 matchup undefeated and was the clear favorite.[62] Notre Dame, on the other hand, was having their worst season under Rockne's leadership and entered the game with a 4–2 record.[62] At the end of the half Army was leading and looked to be in command of the game. Rockne entered the locker room and gave his account of Gipp's final words:"I've got to go, Rock. It's all right. I'm not afraid. Some time, Rock, when the team is up against it, when things are going wrong and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go in there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper. I don't know where I'll be then, Rock. But I'll know about it, and I'll be happy."[63] The speech inspired the team and they went on to upset Army and win the game 12–6.[64]
The1929 and1930 teams both went undefeated,[65][66] winning national championships,[67][68] and the 1930 team was led by the likes ofFrank Carideo,Joe Savoldi,Marchy Schwartz andMarty Brill.[68] It featured the first and only example of all four members of a backfield being named to an All-American team during the same season. The 1929 team played all of its games on the road while the newNotre Dame Stadium was being built.[69] In 1930, "Jumping Joe" Savoldi scored the first Notre Dame touchdown in the new stadium on a 98-yard kickoff return.[70] Savoldi is also known as "the first hero in the lore of Notre Dame's Stadium" based on scoring three touchdowns in the official stadium dedication game against Navy the following week.[71] Rockne coached his last game on December 14, 1930, when he led a group of Notre Dame all-stars against theNew York Giants in New York City.[72][73] The game raised funds for the Mayor's Relief Committee for the unemployed and needy of the city.[74] 50,000 fans turned out to see the reunited "Four Horsemen" along with players from Rockne's other championship teams take the field against the pros.[75]
On March 31, 1931, Rockne died at age 43 inthe crash of a Transcontinental & Western Air airliner inKansas; he was on his way to help in the production of the filmThe Spirit of Notre Dame.[76][77][78] The crash site is located in a remote expanse of Kansas known as theFlint Hills and now features a Rockne Memorial.[79] As Notre Dame's head coach from 1918 to 1930, Rockne posted what has remained for decades the all-time highest winning percentage (.881) for a football coach in the NCAA's flagship FBS division.[80][81] During his 13-year tenure as head coach of the Fighting Irish, Rockne collected 105 victories, 12 losses, 5 ties and 3 national championships.[82][83] Rockne also coached Notre Dame to 5 undefeated and untied seasons.[82][83]
Through game broadcasts during theGolden Age of Radio, Notre Dame football gained a nationwide following of "subway alumni", Catholics who became fans whether or not they attended the university.[84] FormerSaint Louis head coachHeartley "Hunk" Anderson was promoted from assistant coach and took the helm of the Irish after Knute Rockne's death, leading them to a record of 16 wins, nine losses, and two ties.[85] Anderson was a former Irish player under Rockne and was serving as an assistant coach at the time of Rockne's death. Notre Dame finished 6–2–1 in1931.[86] The Irish lost a heartbreaker by a score of 16–14 toUSC on November 21 that snapped the program's 26-game unbeaten streak.[87]1933 was a tough year for the Irish as they finished with a 3–5–2 record, the first losing season for the program since 1888. ND suffered a four-game losing streak, failing to score a point in all four losses toCarnegie Tech,Pittsburgh,Navy, andPurdue.[88] Anderson resigned as Irish head coach after the 1933 season to accept the position of head football coach atNC State.[89]
Anderson was replaced byElmer Layden, who was one of Rockne's "Four Horsemen" of 1924. After graduating, Layden played professional football for one year and then began a coaching career.[90]
Layden's1935 squad posted one of the greatest wins in school history by rallying to defeatOhio State by a score of 18–13 in a game billed as the "Game of the Century".[91][92] His1938 team finished 8–1, losing only toUSC in the season finale.[93] This loss cost them a possible consensus national championship, but the team was named national champion by theDickinson System.[94]
Like Rockne before him, Layden was a goodwill ambassador for Notre Dame during his time as head coach.[95][96] He was able to schedule a home-and-home series withMichigan after meeting withFielding H. Yost, healing a rift between the two schools.[97] The two teams had not met since 1909, when, after eight straight losses to the Wolverines, the Irish posted their first win.[98][99] They were scheduled to meet again in 1910, but Michigan canceled the game and refused to play the Irish again.[99] By the time they met again in 1943, Layden had left Notre Dame andFrank Leahy had taken his place.[99]
The Irish posted a record of 47 wins, 13 losses, and three ties in seven years under Layden,[100] the most successful record of a Notre Dame coach not to win a national championship.[101] He left Notre Dame after the 1940 season to becomeCommissioner of the National Football League.[101][90]
Boston College head coachFrank Leahy was hired by Notre Dame to take over for Layden in 1941 and was another former Irish player who played during the Rockne era. After graduating from Notre Dame, Leahy held several coaching positions, including line coach of theSeven Blocks of Granite ofFordham University that helped that team win all but two of their games between 1935 and 1937.[102] He then coached theBoston College Eagles to a win in the1941 Sugar Bowl and a share of the national championship.[103][104] His move to Notre Dame began a new period of gridiron success for the Irish and ensured Leahy's place among the winningest coaches in the history of college football.[105]
Leahy coached the team for 11 seasons from 1941 to 1943 and 1946 to 1953.[102] After finishing in the AP top 10 each of his first two seasons, Leahy's1943 team went 9–1 and captured Notre Dame's fourth national championship (and first since the advent of theAP Poll). QuarterbackAngelo Bertelli became Notre Dame's firstHeisman Trophy winner. From 1944 to 1945, Leahy served in theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II and was honorably discharged as acaptain.[106]Edward McKeever, Leahy's assistant coach, became interim head coach when Leahy left for the Navy.[107] During1944, his one year at the helm, the Irish managed 8 wins and 2 losses.[108] McKeever left Notre Dame in 1945 to take over as head coach ofCornell.[109] For the1945 season, he was replaced byHugh Devore, who led the Irish to a 7–2–1 record.[110]
Upon Leahy's return in 1946 and due to his status as a veteran himself, the Irish heavily recruited returning veterans who were often much older than incoming freshmen. Largely thanks to this influx of talent, Notre Dame went four consecutive seasons after World War II without losing a game, winning the1946,1947, and1949 national championships in the process.[111] The1946 game against Army, ending in a 0–0 tie, pitted two of the greatest teams of all time against each other and included three consecutive Heisman Trophy winners (Army'sDoc Blanchard andGlenn Davis and Notre Dame'sJohnny Lujack, who quarterbacked the 1946 and 1947 Irish). The1948 team missed out on a national championship due only to a 14–14 tie atUSC in the final game of the season. In 1949, Notre Dame went unbeaten and untied for the second time in three seasons behind Heisman Trophy-winningendLeon Hart, who would later be selected first overall in the1950 NFL draft. A fifth national championship was lost because of a 1953 tie againstIowa, in a game that featured 1953Heisman Trophy winnerJohnny Lattner[112] that caused a minor scandal at the time, when it appeared that some Irish players had faked injuries to stop the clock, leading some to nickname those players the "Fainting Irish".[113][114][115]
Leahy retired in 1954 reportedly due to health issues.[116] Perhaps the best example of this occurred during theGeorgia Tech game in 1953. Leahy fell ill during the game, which led to him collapsing during halftime.[117][self-published source] The situation was so dire that a priest was called in to give Leahy Catholiclast rites.[118] However, Leahy recovered, and the consequent diagnosis was that he was suffering from nervous tension and pancreatitis.[119]
Leahy has the second highest winning percentage (.864) of any college coach in history. He led the Irish to a record of 87 wins, 11 losses, and nine ties including 39 consecutive games without a loss (37–0–2), four national championships, and six undefeated seasons.[105][120]
The departure of Frank Leahy ushered in a downward slope in Notre Dame's performance.[121] 25-year old assistant coachTerry Brennan was hired as Frank Leahy's successor as the Notre Dame head coach in 1954 and would stay until 1958. Brennan was a former player under Leahy. Before joining the Irish, he had coached theMount Carmel High School team in Chicago.[122] His first two seasons the Irish were ranked fourth and ninth respectively in the AP poll, with a loss toPurdue the only blemish on the1954 team's schedule.[122][123] It was the1956 season that began to darken Brennan's reputation, for it became one of the most dismal in the team's history and saw them finish the season with a mere two wins, including losses toMichigan State,Oklahoma, andIowa.[124] One bright spot in the 1956 season was the awarding of theHeisman Trophy toPaul Hornung, who would go on to a legendary NFL career with theGreen Bay Packers. Hornung is the only Heisman winner to win the award while playing for a team that had a losing record.[125] The Irish would recoverthe following season, posting a record of 7–3[126] and including in their wins a stunning upset ofOklahoma, inNorman, Oklahoma, that ended the Sooners' still-standing record of 47 consecutive wins.[127] In Brennan'sfinal season, though, the Irish finished 6–4,[128] leading to Brennan's firing in mid-December.[129] Brennan's tenure can only be properly framed with the understanding that in a time of zero scholarship limitations in college football, Notre Dame's administration inexplicably began a process of de-emphasizing football, severely cutting scholarships and hindering Brennan from building a roster of any meaningful depth.[130] He departed with a total of 32 wins and 18 losses.[131]
FormerSan Francisco,Chicago Cardinals andWashington Redskins head coachJoe Kuharich took the head coaching position at Notre Dame in 1959, realizing a longtime ambition to return to his alma mater.[132][133] He had earlier been courted by Notre Dame after the 1956 season, after the Irish finished 2–8, but before he had a chance to accept an offer,Terry Brennan was given a reprieve.[134] Kuharich brought a professional touch to Irish football, putting shamrocks on the players' helmets and shoulder stripes on their jerseys.[134][135] However, his tenure became one of the worst stretches in program history, including a school-record eight-game losing streak in1960, a year in which the Irish finished 2–8.[136] The consensus opinion was that Kuharich never made the adjustment from pro football to college football, attempting to use complicated pro coaching techniques with collegiate players, and never adapted to the limited substitution rules in effect at the time, having big, immobile linemen playing both ways in an era where smaller, quicker players were preferred. He often said, "You win some and you lose some", and seemed perfectly content finishing 5–5 every year. This did not sit well with the Irish faithful, who expected Notre Dame to beat everybody.[137] When the pressure of winning became too much to bear, Kuharich resigned in the spring of 1963 and assumed the post of supervisor of NFL officials.[134] Because it was so late in the spring, the freshman team's coachHugh Devore was named head coach for the1963 season while the search for a permanent replacement was being conducted.[138]
Kuharich compiled a 17–23 record over four non-winning seasons and remains to this day the only coach ever to have an overall losing record at Notre Dame. Despite his unsuccessful tenure, Kuharich remains the only Irish coach to post back-to-back shutouts over their greatest rival, theUSC Trojans, in 1960 (17–0) and 1961 (30–0).[139]
In 1964,Ara Parseghian left his job as theNorthwestern head football coach when he was hired to take over the coaching duties at Notre Dame.[140] He immediately brought the team back to a level of success in Irish football history that was comparable only to Rockne and Leahy. These three coaches have an 80% or greater winning percentage while at Notre Dame – Rockne at .881, Leahy at .864, and Parseghian at .836. Parseghian's teams never won fewer than seven nor lost more than three games during the ten-game regular seasons of the era.[141]
In hisfirst year, the Irish improved their record to 9–1 behindHeisman Trophy-winning quarterbackJohn Huarte, but they lost any hope for a national championship in the last game of the season atUSC whenCraig Fertig connected with a touchdown pass toRod Sherman.[142] Parseghian earned coach of the year honors from the American Football Coaches Association, the Football Writers Association, andThe Sporting News, as well as several others, and a cover story inTime magazine.[143][144]
The1966 team did finish unbeaten, finishing #1 in the AP Poll and winning the national championship in the process. The Irish had six shutout wins, each by 30 or more points. This includes a season-ending 51-0 win at#10 USC, the largest margin of victory by either side in the rivalry's history. This season is most remembered for a10–10 tie at#2 Michigan State in the "Game of the Century" in which the injury-plagued Irish played for a tie rather than risking a loss.[145]
It was under Parseghian as well that Notre Dame lifted its 40-plus year-old "no bowl games" policy,[146] beginning with the season of1969, after which the Irish played the#1 Texas Longhorns in theCotton Bowl Classic, losing in the final minutes in a closely contested game.[147] Thefollowing year, Parseghian's 9–1 squad[148] ended Texas'Southwest Conference record 30-game winning streak in theCotton Bowl.[147] In1971,Cliff Brown became the first African-American quarterback to start a game for the program.[149] The Irish returned to glory by winning Parseghian's second national championship in1973, sweeping through their regular-season schedule 10–0 and defeating#1 Alabama 24-23 in theSugar Bowl by taking advantage of a fourth-quarter missed extra point by the Crimson Tide. Due to health issues, Parseghian was forced to retire from coaching after anotherbowl win over Alabama to conclude the1974 season.[150]
During Parseghian's eleven-year career, the Irish amassed a record of 95–17–4 and captured two national championships. The Irish finished in the AP Top 10 nine times and never ranked lower than #14 at the end of a season. Parseghian was also named coach of the year by several selectors in his national championship years of1966 and1973 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980.[151][152]
Dan Devine was hired to take over as head coach upon Parseghian's retirement from Notre Dame in 1975.[153] Devine was already a highly successful coach and had ledArizona State,Missouri, and theNFL'sGreen Bay Packers.[153] Devine had been a leading candidate for the head coaching job at Notre Dame in 1964, when Ara Parseghian was hired.[154] When approached for the job following Parseghian's resignation, Devine accepted immediately, joking that it was probably the shortest job interview in history.[155] When he arrived at Notre Dame he already had a college coaching record of 120 wins, 40 losses, and eight ties and had led his teams to victory in four bowl games.[156] At Notre Dame he would lead the Irish to 53 wins, 16 losses, and a tie as well as three bowl victories.[156]
His lasting achievement came midway through this run, when the1977 Notre Dame team won the national championship, led by junior quarterbackJoe Montana.[157] Before the game againstUSC, played at home on October 22, Devine changed the team's jerseys from navy blue & white to kelly green & gold, later known as the "green jersey game", resulting in a 49–19 victory over the Trojans.[158] The Irish continued to wear green for the rest of Devine's tenure at the school.[158] The championship season climaxed with a 38–10 win in the1978 Cotton Bowl Classic over previously top-rankedTexas, led by Heisman Trophy winnerEarl Campbell.[159] The win vaulted the Irish from fifth to first in the polls.
Thefollowing season, the Irish lost their first two games including a shocking 3–0 loss toMissouri in South Bend, but would recover to finish the regular season 8–3 and earn a berth in theCotton Bowl againstHouston. The Irish used three Montana touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) to recover from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter and win 35–34, the largest fourth-quarter comeback in college football history at the time. The game became known as the "Chicken Soup Game" after Montana ate a bowl of chicken soup at halftime while battling the flu.[160] The1979 and1980 Irish did not live up to the standards set by earlier Devine teams, although the former season did seeVagas Ferguson set the single-season program rushing record (1,437 yards) that still stands today.
Because he had the unenviable task of following a legend, Devine came under heavy scrutiny while at Notre Dame and it was felt that he was never fully embraced by the Notre Dame community, despite winning a national championship.[161] After a 5–2 start in his first season, rumors of incompetence were circulated and that Devine would be dismissed and replaced byDon Shula or evenAra Parseghian (who went so far as to say he would not return to Notre Dame under any circumstances).[162] Even on the day of the 1977 USC game, "Dump Devine" bumper stickers were being sold outside Notre Dame Stadium.[162] On August 15, 1980, Devine announced that he would be leaving Notre Dame at the end of season, saying he wanted to be able to spend more time with his wife.[161]
Gerry Faust was a surprise choice when hired to replace Devine in 1981.[163] Prior to Notre Dame, Faust had been one of the more successful high school football coaches in the country. As coach ofMoeller High School inCincinnati he amassed a 174–17–2 record over 19 seasons.[164] Many of his players had gone on to play for Notre Dame; indeed, when he arrived in South Bend, he was reunited with nine of his former players from Moeller. Despite his success in the high school ranks, Faust's success at Notre Dame was mixed. In hisfirst season, the Irish finished 5–6.[165] In Faust'ssecond season, Notre Dame improved slightly to 6–4–1.[166] The most successful years under Faust were the1983 and1984 campaigns where the Irish finished 7–5 and made trips to theLiberty Bowl andAloha Bowl respectively.[167][168] His final record at Notre Dame was 30–26–1.[169] To avoid being fired, Faust resigned at the end of the1985 season.[170][171] He announced his resignation prior to the final game of the year, where Notre Dame suffered a humiliating 58–7 loss at Miami;Allen Pinkett scored the Irish TD. Faust proceeded to take over as head coach atAkron.[172]
Lou Holtz had 17 years of head coaching experience by the time he was hired to lead the Irish.[173] He had previously been head coach ofWilliam & Mary,North Carolina State, theNFL'sNew York Jets,Arkansas, andMinnesota.[173] In contrast to Faust, Holtz was well known as a master motivator and a strict disciplinarian.[174][175] The tone was set with Holtz's first meeting with his team as Irish head coach in 1986, immediately demanding his players sit up straight in their chairs and look him in the eye as he spoke.[176] Holtz began in1986 where his predecessor left off in 1985, finishing with an identical record of 5–6.[177] However, unlike the 1985 squad, which was generally outcoached and outplayed, Holtz's 1986 edition was competitive in nearly every game, losing five out of those six games by a combined total of 14 points. That would be his only losing season as he posted a record of 95–24–2 over the next ten seasons adding up to a 100–30–2 record overall.[178][179]
In1987, Holtz led the Irish to an 8–4 record.[180] Notre Dame's best player was star wide receiverTim Brown, who would win theHeisman Trophy that season and is Notre Dame's seventh and most recent Heisman winner.[181][182]
The1988 campaign began with high hopes, as former Notre Dame coaches Rockne, Leahy, Parseghian, and Devine all won their first national championship in their third season with the program. The Irish defeated their first five opponents, ascending to the #4 ranking in the lead-up to a visit from the reigning national championMiami Hurricanes. In a game which became known asCatholics vs. Convicts due to a popular T-shirt design on Notre Dame's campus, the Irish upset the Hurricanes 31–30 whenPat Terrell knocked downSteve Walsh's two-point conversion attempt with no time on the clock. When star playersRicky Watters andTony Brooks showed up late for dinner right before the then top-ranked Irish played second-rankedUSC in the final regular season game of 1988,[183] in a controversial move, Holtz took his 10–0 Irish squad to Los Angeles without them.[184] His move was vindicated when the Irish defeated USC anyway.[185] Holtz was named national coach of the year,[173] and a win over No. 3West Virginia in theFiesta Bowl captured the Irish's 11th-all time national championship.[186] 1988 remains Notre Dame's most recent undefeated season and national championship.[187][188]
In1989, Holtz led the Irish to a 12–1 record. The Irish began the season in the Kickoff Classic game inEast Rutherford, New Jersey, againstVirginia.[189] The Irish won by a score of 36–13 and ascended to the #1 spot in the AP Poll.[190] Next, top-ranked Notre Dame defeated #2Michigan by a score of 24–19.[191] After nine more consecutive victories to begin the season 11–0, the Irish would lose to #7Miami in the final week of the season, ending Notre Dame's 23-game winning streak.[192] Holtz would lead the Irish to a victory in theOrange Bowl over #1Colorado to end the season, finishing #2 in the AP poll behind Miami.[193]
After beginning the1990 season with a #1 ranking and a victory over #4Michigan by a score of 28–24 and two more wins for a 3–0 start, the Irish took their first loss of the season, losing toStanford by a score of 36–31. The Irish would ascend back to #1 on the strength of a home win over#2 Miami, a game that saw the end of the series between the two until 2010.[194] However, late-season losses toPenn State andColorado in theOrange Bowl would eliminate the Irish from national championship contention.[195] The1991 Fighting Irish began the season 8-1, but lost back-to-back games for the first time since 1987 when they again lost toPenn State. The Irish would receive a berth in theSugar Bowl inNew Orleans, Louisiana, where they defeatedFlorida by a score of 39–28.[196][197]
In1992, Notre Dame finished 10–1–1. After defeatingNorthwestern to start the season,[198] the Fighting Irish tied #5Michigan, their first tie of the Holtz era.[199] This season saw the Irish's largest win in history againstPurdue, a 48–0 win atNotre Dame Stadium, and a 28–3Cotton Bowl against previously unbeaten #4Texas A&M.[200][201]
The Irish enjoyed another successful season in1993, finishing the season at 11–1. After scoring 27 points in wins overNorthwestern and #2Michigan to start the season, the Irish defeated their next six opponents to enter a matchup with undefeated #1Florida State 8–0 and ranked just behind the Seminoles at #2. For the first time, ESPN'sCollege GameDay decided to make a visit to campus to host the show live on Saturday morning.[202] In a classic, the Irish defeated the Seminoles31–24, ascending to the #1 ranking a day later. However, a loss to #17Boston College on a game-winning field goal as time expired by a score of 41–39 ended the Irish's national championship aspirations.[203] The Irish would face a rematch with #6Texas A&M in theCotton Bowl to finish the season, a game the Irish won by a score of 24–21.[204][205] Controversially, Notre Dame finished #2 in the AP poll behind a team in Florida State it had beaten.
In1994, Holtz led Notre Dame to a 6–5–1 record, the Irish's worst record since Holtz's first season in 1986.[206] The team lost three of four games midseason to drop out of the rankings for the first time since 1986. The Irish would improve to 9–3 in1995, but lost to #8Florida State in theOrange Bowl.[207][208] Lou Holtz's final season at Notre Dame in1996 resulted in an 8–3 record. The season notably saw Notre Dame's first participation in theEmerald Isle Classic inIreland, a 54–27 win overNavy, and an overtime loss toUSC, snapping the Irish's 13-game non-losing streak against the Trojans.[209][210]
Holtz's option offense, which helped catapult Notre Dame to many victories in the late 1980s and early 1990s, also helped rack up impressive recruiting classes. During the 1989 season, Holtz had the following future NFL players on offense: QBRick Mirer, RBRicky Watters, RBAnthony Johnson, RBRodney Culver RBDorsey Levens, and WRRaghib Ismail. In 1990, he added RBJeff Burris (who would later move to safety), FBJerome Bettis and TEIrv Smith. 1991 saw the additions of RBReggie Brooks and FBRay Zellars. 1992 saw the addition of WRDerrick Mayes. For 1993, he added FBMarc Edwards. In 1995, he added RBAutry Denson. From the 1987–1995NFL drafts, there were a total of 65 Notre Dame players selected.[211] Overall, Holtz took Notre Dame to one undefeated season, nine consecutive New Year's Day bowl games, and top 10 finishes in the AP poll in five seasons,[212] as well as overseeing the majority of the longest winning streak againstUSC in program history (11 games). Holtz retired from Notre Dame following the 1996 season,[213] but would unretire in 1999 to accept the head coaching position atSouth Carolina where he would serve until the completion of the 2004 season.[214][215]
Bob Davie, who had been Holtz's defensive coordinator from 1994 to 1996, was promoted to head coach when Holtz retired.[216] Davie, who turned down a head coaching offer fromPurdue to accept the Irish's head coaching position,[217] was a well-respected defensive mind who had also served as defensive coordinator atTulane andTexas A&M.[218] Davie had also filled in as head coach for one game during the 1995 season when Lou Holtz was dealing with a health issue.[219] One of his first major decisions was to fire long-time offensive line coachJoe Moore, who then successfully sued the university for age discrimination.[220] On Davie's watch, the team suffered three bowl game losses (1997 Independence Bowl,[221]1999 Gator Bowl,[222] and2001 Fiesta Bowl)[223] and it failed to qualify for a bowl game in two others (1999 and 2001). The highlight of Davie's tenure was a 36–20 upset win in1998 over #5Michigan, the defending national champions.[224][225]
On December 17, 1999, Notre Dame was placed onprobation by the NCAA. The association's Committee on Infractions found two series of violations.The New York Times reported "the main one involved the actions of a booster, Kimberly Dunbar, who lavished gifts on football players with money she later pleaded guilty toembezzling." In the second series of events, a football player was accused of trying to sell several complimentary game tickets and of using others as repayment of a loan. The player was also said "to have been romantically involved with a woman (not Dunbar), a part-time tutor at the university, who wrote a term paper for another player for a small fee and provided players with meals, lodging and gifts."[226] The Dunbar violation began while Lou Holtz was head coach: "According to the NCAA committee report, Dunbar, the woman at the center of the more serious violations, had become romantically involved with several Notre Dame football players from June 1995 to January 1998 and had a child with one, Jarvis Edison."[226] Notre Dame was placed on probation for two years and lost one of its 85 football scholarships each year in what theTimes termed "minor" penalties.[226][227]
The2001 Fiesta Bowl was Notre Dame's first invitation to theBowl Championship Series. The Irish lost by 32 points toOregon State[228] but would finish No. 15 in the AP Poll, Davie's highest final ranking as head coach. Despite Davie's rocky tenure, new athletic directorKevin White gave the coach a contract extension following the 2000 season,[229] then saw the team start 0–3 in2001 – the first such start in school history.[230] Disappointed by the on-field results, coupled with the Joe Moore and Kim Dunbar scandals, the administration decided to dismiss Davie after the 2001 season.[231] His final record at Notre Dame was 35–25.[232]
On December 9, 2001, Notre Dame hiredGeorge O'Leary, the head coach atGeorgia Tech, to replace Davie.[233] However, while researching a story on O'Leary,New Hampshire Union Leader reporter Jim Fennell uncovered misrepresentations in O'Leary's resume that had influenced the administration's decision to hire him.[234] The resulting media scandal embarrassed Notre Dame officials and tainted O'Leary; he resigned five days later before coaching a single practice, recruiting a single player, or hiring a single assistant coach.[235] O'Leary's tenure is the shortest of any head coach in FBS history.[236] O'Leary would go on to become the head football coach at theUniversity of Central Florida.[237]
Once again in need of a new head coach, the school turned toTyrone Willingham, the head coach atStanford.[238] Willingham's hiring made him the firstAfrican American head coach in Notre Dame football history.[239] Bringing a feeling of change and excitement to campus, Willingham led the2002 squad to a 10–2 regular season record, including an 8–0 start with wins over #7Michigan and #11Florida State and a #4 ranking. This great early start, however, would be the lone highlight of Willingham's tenure, as Notre Dame finished the year with a loss toBoston College, then lopsided losses toUSC andNorth Carolina State in theGator Bowl.[240] The program faltered over the next two seasons under Willingham, compiling an 11–12 record.[241] During this time, Notre Dame lost a game by at least 30 points on five occasions. Furthermore, Willingham's 2004 recruiting class was judged by analysts to be the worst at Notre Dame in more than two decades.[242] Citing Notre Dame's third consecutive four-touchdown loss to arch-rivalUSC[243] compounded by another year of subpar recruiting efforts, the Willingham era ended on November 30, 2004 after the conclusion of the season when the university chose to terminate him and pay out the remainder of Willingham's six-year contract.[244]
After Willingham's firing, Notre Dame initially pursuedUtah head coachUrban Meyer, who had been an Irish assistant from 1996 to 2000 and had a clause in his Utah contract that stated he could take the Notre Dame head coaching job without paying a buyout.[245][246] After Meyer accepted theFlorida head coaching position and turned down the Irish,[247]Charlie Weis left theNFL'sNew England Patriots, where he won threeSuper Bowls as offensive coordinator,[248] to become head football coach for the Irish beginning with the2005 season.[249] A first-time head coach when he was hired by Notre Dame,[250] Weis was officially introduced on December 12, 2004.[251] Weis' hiring as the Irish's 30th head football coach made him the first Notre Dame graduate to hold the football head coaching position on a full-fledged basis sinceJoe Kuharich.[252] Weis signed a six-year contract worth about $2 million annually excluding incentives.[253][254][255]
To kick off hisinaugural season, Weis led the Irish to back-to-back road wins over ranked teams, the first time that had been done by a Notre Dame coach sinceKnute Rockne. On September 25, Weis and the Irish traveled toSeattle to faceWashington and former head coachTyrone Willingham, who was hired by the Huskies to be their head coach two weeks after getting fired at Notre Dame.[256] The Irish won by a score of 36–17.[257] Entering the rivalry game withUSC, defending national champions and owners of a 27-game winning streak, the Irish had risen to #9 in the AP Poll. In one of the most famous games inthe rivalry's history, USC defeated Notre Dame34–31. The game concluded with Trojan running back and eventual Heisman winnerReggie Bush, who had already scored three touchdowns that day, illegally pushing quarterbackMatt Leinart into the end zone on the final play of the game in a play now known as the "Bush Push". The Irish won their remaining five games to earn an appearance in theFiesta Bowl. They were defeated there by theOhio State Buckeyes 34–20[258] to finish the season 9–3 and #9 in the AP poll, their highest final ranking since 1993. QuarterbackBrady Quinn broke numerous team passing records that season and became a topHeisman Trophy contender.[259] Wide receiverJeff Samardzija was the team's leading receiver and also broke Notre Dame's single-season records for receiving yards and touchdowns.[260] During the 2005 season, Notre Dame signed Weis to a big raise and ten-year contract extension that was set to keep the coach at the university through the 2015 season.[261][262]
Weis and the Irish went into the2006 season with a No. 2 preseason ranking in the ESPN/Coaches Poll.[263] They finished the regular season with a 10–2 record, losing only toMichigan andUSC. Notre Dame accepted a bid to the2007 Sugar Bowl, losing toLSU 41–14. This marked their ninth consecutive postseason loss, the longest drought in NCAA history.[264] As a result, Notre Dame dropped to #17 in the final rankings.[265][266] In the wake of a graduating class that sent eleven players to the NFL,[267] the2007 season included various negative milestones: the most losses in a single year (9),[268] two of the ten worst losses in program history (38–0 losses to bothMichigan[269] andUSC),[270] and the first 6-game losing streak for home games in ND history.[271] TheNaval Academy recordedtheir first win over the Irish since 1963, breaking Notre Dame's NCAA-record 43-game win streak.[272]
In2008, the Irish started 4–1 but completed the regular season with a 6–6 record,[273] including a 24–23 home loss toSyracuse, the first time that Notre Dame had fallen to an eight-loss team.[274] QuarterbackJimmy Clausen was the team's star player, completing over 60% of his passes.[275][276] Despite speculation the university might fire Weis, the university announced that he would remain head coach.[277] Weis's Notre Dame squad ended the season breaking the Irish's NCAA bowl losing streak by beatingHawaii 49–21 in theHawaii Bowl.[278] Weis entered the 2009 season with the expectation from the Notre Dame administration that his team would be in position to compete for aBCS Bowl berth.[279] Notre Dame started the first part of the season 4–2, with close losses toMichigan andUSC. Sitting at 6–2, however, Notre Dame lost toNavy for the second time in three years,[280] which became the first loss in a four-game losing streak to finish the season. QuarterbackJimmy Clausen and wide receiverGolden Tate would forgo their senior seasons and enter theNFL draft.[281] Weis was fired on November 30, 2009.[282] According to his buyout provision, Weis was to be paid $6 million first and then $2.05 million annually until the contract ran out in December 2015 for a total of about $19 million.[283] During that time, Weis made more money annually not to coach the Irish than his successorBrian Kelly earned to coach the team.[284]
On December 10, 2009,Cincinnati head coachBrian Kelly became the 31st head coach of the Fighting Irish after leading theBearcats to a 12–0 record and BCS bowl-game berth, but he left the team before the bowl game.[285][286] Kelly's hiring surprised very few as he was a northern Irish Catholic who was considered one of college football's rising stars.[287] In hisfirst season, Kelly led the Fighting Irish to an 8–5 record.[288] Tragedy struck early in the season when Declan Sullivan, a junior working for the athletic department, died while filming a practice on a scissor lift in dangerously high winds.[289]Dayne Crist started the season at quarterback but was injured for a second consecutive year, this time in theTulsa game, which the Irish lost.[290] Kelly turned to freshman quarterbackTommy Rees, who led the Irish to victories in the last three games against #15Utah,Army inYankee Stadium, and breaking an eight-year losing streak to USC in theLA Coliseum. Kelly guided the Irish to a 33–17 win overMiami (FL) in the2010 Sun Bowl to finish 2010 with an 8–5 record.[291] With wideoutMichael Floyd returning for his senior season and an outstanding recruiting class that included several highly touted defensive linemen,[292] Kelly and the Irish looked to improve on their 8–5 record from the prior year. However, an early season upset to aSkip Holtz-ledSouth Florida team and a last-second loss toMichigan inAnn Arbor, games in which the Irish committed 10 total turnovers, left the Irish at 0–2 to start the season. The Irish bounced back to beat #15Michigan State and had two 4-game winning streaks, with the only loss during that stretch coming at the hands ofUSC.[293] The Irish also broke Navy's 2-game winning streak over Notre Dame. Notre Dame lost 18–14 toFlorida State in the2011 Champs Sports Bowl, concluding the 2011 campaign with an 8–5 record overall, identical to the 2010 season.[294] In the team's losses, multiple turnovers from the quarterback position were often the culprit, and as a whole turnovers at critical times in the game often derailed potential Irish comebacks.
On September 12, 2012, during the football program's 125th season, Notre Dame announced that it would leave theBig East Conference for theAtlantic Coast Conference, excluding the football and hockey programs.[295] This move became official on July 1, 2013. While the Fighting Irish football team remained an FBS independent, it agreed to play five games per season against ACC teams starting with the 2014 football season. In return, Notre Dame became eligible to participate in the ACC's sub-BCS level bowl arrangements.[296]
The2012 season was another entry in historic third seasons for Notre Dame head coaches. The Irish began the season 7–0, including wins over ranked rivals inMichigan State,Michigan, andStanford. The game against the Cardinal required agoal-line stand against running backStepfan Taylor in overtime to preserve the win for the Irish.[297] The season's signature win came at#8 Oklahoma with ESPN'sCollege GameDay in town. On November 18, after a loss by#1 Oregon, Notre Dame became ranked #1 in the nation in both the AP and Coaches' polls after reaching 11–0 during the regular season for the first time since 1993, also ranking #1 in theBCS standings for the first time in the 14-year history of the selection system.[298] After defeatingUSC on November 24,[299] Notre Dame concluded its first 12–0 regular season, and the Irish were soon formally named to appear in theBCS National Championship Game for the first time. In that game, on January 7, 2013, the Irish lost toAlabama42–14.[300] The strength of the 2012 Fighting Irish was its defense, captained by senior leaderManti Te'o, who broke the school record for interceptions by a linebacker with 7 and finished second toJohnny Manziel in Heisman Trophy voting.
Coming off the previous year's national title game appearance, the Fighting Irish were dealt a blow when 2012 starting quarterback,Everett Golson, was suspended from the University due to an academic violation.[301] Senior Tommy Rees then took over. Notre Dame's2013 season ended with a record of 9–4,[302] a victory overRutgers in thePinstripe Bowl, and a #20 AP poll ranking.[303][304] The2014 season started off with 6 straight victories and a #5 national ranking heading into a showdown with #2Florida State inTallahassee, Florida. FSU won that game 31–27, on a controversial offensivepass interference call that brought back a last-second Notre Dame touchdown. The Fighting Irish bounced back with a win againstNavy before dropping their final 4 games of the season. They did win theMusic City Bowl by defeating theLSU Tigers and finished the season at an 8–5 record.[305]
The2015 Fighting Irish began its season with another new offensive coordinator,Mike Sanford Jr.[306] Led for most of the year by sophomore quarterbackDeShone Kizer, the Irish had fourteen plays of over 50 yards during the season, which was a school record, including two touchdowns of over 90 yards (a 91-yard touchdown run byC. J. Prosise and a 98-yard touchdown run byJosh Adams). The Irish only had two in the previous 126 years of Notre Dame football. They finished the regular season averaging 34 points per game, including a 62-point effort against UMass, the most points in a game since 1996. The Irish began the season 10–1 and were in position for aCollege Football Playoff appearance, but lost a last-second game toStanford to finish with a 10–2 record and a berth in theFiesta Bowl.[307] Star linebackerJaylon Smith was injured early in the game which became a loss toOhio State.[308] The2016 season ended with a 4–8 record, Brian Kelly's worst win–loss record at Notre Dame. The tone for the season was set early, with a heartbreaking double overtime loss toTexas in the season opener.[309] Just 4 games into the season, Brian Kelly fired defensive coordinatorBrian VanGorder.[310] At the end of the season, starting quarterbackDeShone Kizer declared for the NFL draft[311] and backup quarterbackMalik Zaire announced he would be transferring in the winter after graduation.[312][313] Amidst speculation that Kelly's job was in jeopardy and that Kelly was looking to leave Notre Dame, athletics directorJack Swarbrick announced that Kelly would return for the 2017 season.[314]
The2017 season was one of Kelly's strongest seasons at ND. An early one-point loss to#2 Georgia was the only blemish on an 8-1 start, keyed by a 49-14 blowout over rivalUSC. The tough running of running back Josh Adams behind an experienced and talented offensive line, which included future top-10 picksQuenton Nelson andMike McGlinchey and won theJoe Moore Award as the best offensive line in that nation, allowed Notre Dame to string together 6 consecutive 20+ point victories. However, when #3 Notre Dame visited#7 Miami in South Florida on November 7, an embarrassing 41-8 loss effectively ended the Irish hopes of a playoff run. They ended the season with a win overLSU in theMusic City Bowl.[315] The Irish opened the 2018 season at home againstMichigan and won, 24–17.[316] After benching quarterbackBrandon Wimbush in favor ofIan Book, the Irish then won the remainder of their regular season games, including victories over #7Stanford, #24Virginia Tech, #12Syracuse, andNorthwestern.[317] This led to Notre Dame's first undefeated regular season since 2012.[318] They were ranked #3 in the nation by the College Football Playoff committee and selected to play in theCollege Football Playoff semifinal at theCotton Bowl againstClemson.[319] Notre Dame's undefeated streak came to an end after losing to the eventual national champions 30–3 to finish the season at 12–1.[320] Kelly was named AP Coach of the Year and Home Depot Coach of the Year for the 2018 season.[321][322]
Kelly and the Fighting Irish started off the2019 season with a #9 ranking in the AP Poll. Notre Dame won their first two games before dropping a 23–17 result to #3Georgia. Notre Dame won their next three games before dropping a 45–14 game to #19Michigan. Notre Dame closed out the regular season with victories in their last five games, followed by a win in theCamping World Bowl 33–9 overIowa State.[323]
In response to theCOVID-19 pandemic and thecancellation of regular season scheduled games, Notre Dame joined the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in football for a single season in2020 and played a full slate of conference matches.[324] The Irish won all ten of their games, including a mid-season contest against perennial conference power and top-rankedClemson. The Fighting Irish defeated the Tigers 47–40 in double overtime. However, Clemson defeated the Irish in a rematch in theACC Championship Game 34–10. Notre Dame qualified for theCollege Football Playoff as the #4 seed.[325] In the College Football Playoff Semifinals againstAlabama at theRose Bowl, Notre Dame lost 31–14 to finish with a 10–2 record.[326] In what would become Kelly's final season as head coach in2021, the Fighting Irish were ranked #9 to begin the season, but struggled in their first two games, beatingFlorida State 41–38 andToledo 32–29. Following a 24–13 loss to #7Cincinnati, Kelly helped lead the Fighting Irish to a seven-game winning streak to finish the regular season 11–1 and earn a berth in theFiesta Bowl.[327]
On November 29, 2021, Kelly resigned as Notre Dame head coach to accept a ten-year, $95 million contract offer to become head coach atLSU.[328] In so doing, Kelly became the first Irish head coach since Thomas A. Barry in 1907 to leave Notre Dame for another coaching job.[329] Kelly left the Irish as the program's all-time winningest head coach.[330][331]
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On December 3, 2021, Notre Dame's defensive coordinatorMarcus Freeman was promoted to the head coaching position to replace Brian Kelly, becoming the 32nd head coach in program history.[332][333] The secondAfrican American head coach in the history of the Irish football program, Freeman signed a five-year contract worth $4 million annually excluding incentives.[334][335][336] Freeman took control immediately, coaching the Irish in theirFiesta Bowl loss toOklahoma State.[337][338]
Freeman opened the2022 season with losses toOhio State (his alma mater) andMarshall, thus becoming first head coach in Notre Dame history to start his tenure with three losses.[339] He collected his first win the following week againstCalifornia.[340][341] Freeman's Irish would go on to finish the regular season ranked 19th with a record of 8-4, including an upset win over #5Clemson.[342][343] They were awarded a berth in theGator Bowl where they defeatedSouth Carolina 45–38.[344][345] In2023, Freeman guided Notre Dame to a 10-win season. SafetyXavier Watts received theBronko Nagurski Trophy for college football's best defensive player and the team earned victories over#17 Duke (and future Notre Dame quarterbackRiley Leonard),#10 USC, and#19 Oregon State in theSun Bowl. Notre Dame finished the year ranked #14 in the final AP Top 25.
Freeman and the Fighting Irish played their first home game of the2024 season againstNorthern Illinois as the #5 ranked team in the AP Top 25 and as a 28.5-point favorite to win. They fell to the Huskies 16-14, with quarterback Riley Leonard throwing two interceptions and the team giving up two blocked field goals. It was the second early-season home loss for the Irish against a heavy underdog in three years following the 2022 loss to Marshall, the first-ever win by aMid-American Conference football program against a top 5 team, the first-ever Huskie win against a top 10 team, and one of the largest point-spread upsets in modern college football.[346] Despite the upset, the Irish won every remaining game to complete the regular season 11-1 and hosted a home game in the first year of the expanded college football playoffs in which they beat #10Indiana 27-17. They next beat theSEC champion #2Georgia Bulldogs in theSugar Bowl by a score of 23-10, earning the program's first major bowl win since the1993 season and followed it with a 27-24 win over #6Penn State in theOrange Bowl to advance to the2025 National Championship Game, their first appearance in the title game since 2012. The Irish fell short of winning a national championship as they were defeated byOhio State by a score of 34-23.[347] Watts was voted a consensus All-American at safety for the second consecutive year,[348] while Freeman won the Dodd[349] and the Bear Bryant[350] trophies for national coach of the year.
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | |||
| Name | Position | Consecutive season(s) at Notre Dame in current position | Previous position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Denbrock | Offensive coordinator /tight ends | 2nd | LSU – Offensive coordinator / tight ends (2023) |
| Chris Ash | Defensive coordinator | 1st | Jacksonville Jaguars – Scout (2024) |
| Marty Biagi | Special teams coordinator | 3rd | Ole Miss – Special teams coordinator (2022) |
| Gino Guidugli | Quarterbacks / pass game coordinator | 3rd | Cincinnati – Offensive coordinator / quarterbacks (2022) |
| Ja'Juan Seider | Associate head coach /running backs | 1st | Penn State – Associate head coach / co-offensive coordinator / running backs (2024) |
| Mike Brown | Wide receivers | 2nd | Wisconsin – Associate head coach / wide receivers (2023) |
| Joe Rudolph | Offensive line | 3rd | Virginia Tech – Offensive line (2022) |
| Al Washington | Defensive line / defensive run game coordinator | 4th | Ohio State – Linebackers (2019–2021) |
| Max Bullough | Linebackers | 2nd | Notre Dame - Graduate assistant (Linebackers) (2023) |
| Mike Mickens | Defensive backs / defensive pass game coordinator | 6th | Cincinnati – Cornerbacks (2018–2019) |
| Loren Landow | Director of football performance | 2nd | Denver Broncos – Head strength & conditioning coach (2018–2023) |
| Reference:[351] | |||
Notre Dame's 11 claimed national championships are:
| Year | Coach | Selector | Record | Bowl | Final AP | Final Coaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | Knute Rockne | Dickinson System | 10–0 | WonRose | – | – |
| 1929 | 9–0 | – | – | – | ||
| 1930 | 10–0 | – | – | – | ||
| 1943 | Frank Leahy | AP | 9–1 | – | No. 1 | – |
| 1946 | 8–0–1 | – | – | |||
| 1947 | 9–0 | – | – | |||
| 1949 | 10–0 | – | – | |||
| 1966 | Ara Parseghian | AP,Coaches | 9–0–1 | – | No. 1 | |
| 1973 | AP | 11–0 | WonSugar | No. 4 | ||
| 1977 | Dan Devine | AP, Coaches | 11–1 | WonCotton | No. 1 | |
| 1988 | Lou Holtz | 12–0 | WonFiesta | |||
| National Championships | 11 | |||||
Following its appearance in the 1925 Rose Bowl, Notre Dame did not play in a post-season game for 44 consecutive years (1925–1968), including after many of the team's most successful seasons from the Rockne era in the 1920s and the Leahy era in the 1940s. The university's stated reasons for its self-imposed hiatus were that bowl games were "glorified exhibitions" that played no part in national championship selections and that they extended the season too far to the detriment of players' academic progress.[357]
Notre Dame has made 874 appearances in the Associated Press poll over 71 seasons. Notre Dame has spent 591 weeks in the Top 10, 318 weeks in the Top 5, and 98 weeks at No. 1.[358] Notre Dame has finished the year ranked in the final Associated Press poll of the season 56 times:
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Notre Dame has participated in eleven "No. 1 vs No. 2" matchups since the AP poll began in 1936.[375] They have a record of 5–3–2 in such games, with a 4–1–1 record as the No. 1 team in such matchups. Those games include:
| Date | No. 1 Team | No. 2 Team | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 9, 1943 | Notre Dame | Michigan | W 35–14 |
| November 20, 1943 | Notre Dame | Iowa Pre-Flight | W 14–13 |
| November 10, 1945 | Army | Notre Dame | L 0–48 |
| November 9, 1946 | Army | Notre Dame | T 0–0 |
| November 19, 1966 | Notre Dame | Michigan State | T 10–10 |
| September 28, 1968 | Purdue | Notre Dame | L 22–37 |
| November 26, 1988 | Notre Dame | Southern California | W 27–10 |
| September 16, 1989 | Notre Dame | Michigan | W 24–19 |
| November 13, 1993 | Florida State | Notre Dame | W 31–24 |
| January 7, 2013 | Notre Dame | Alabama | L 14–42 |
Notre Dame has played in many regular season games that have been widely regarded by both the media[376] and sports historians[377] as historic or famous games. Notre Dame has played in many games labeled "Game of the Century" as well as several No. 1 vs No. 2 matchups.[378]
Notre Dame has also played in several bowl games considered by many sportswriters to be among the best bowl games played:[390][391]
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Notre Dame'sall-time record after the 2023 season stands at 948 wins, 338 losses, and 42 ties.
| Team | Record | Percentage | Streak | First meeting | Last meeting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 1–0 | 1.000 | Won 1 | 2018 | 2018 |
| Indiana | 24–5–1 | .817 | Won 7 | 1898 | 2024 |
| Indiana State | 0–0 | – | – | – | – |
| Purdue | 57–26–2 | .682 | Won 6 | 1896[392] | 2024 |
| Valparaiso | 1–0 | 1.000 | Won 1 | 1920 | 1920 |
| Overall Record | 82–30–3 | ||||
| Years | Coach | Seasons | Record | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1887–1889, 1892–1893 | None | 5 | 7–4–1 | .625 |
| 1894 | James L. Morrison | 1 | 3–1–1 | .700 |
| 1895 | H.G. Hadden | 1 | 3–1 | .750 |
| 1896–1898 | Frank E. Hering | 3 | 12–6–1 | .658 |
| 1899 | James McWeeney | 1 | 6–3–1 | .650 |
| 1900–1901 | Pat O'Dea | 2 | 14–4–2 | .750 |
| 1902–1903 | James F. Faragher | 2 | 14–2–2 | .843 |
| 1904 | Red Salmon | 1 | 5–3 | .625 |
| 1905 | Henry J. McGlew | 1 | 5–4 | .556 |
| 1906–1907 | Thomas A. Barry | 2 | 12–1–1 | .893 |
| 1908 | Victor M. Place | 1 | 8–1 | .889 |
| 1909–1910 | Shorty Longman | 2 | 11–1–2 | .857 |
| 1911–1912 | Jack Marks | 2 | 13–0–2 | .933 |
| 1913–1917 | Jesse Harper | 5 | 34–5–1 | .863 |
| 1918–1930 | Knute Rockne | 13 | 105–12–5 | .881 |
| 1931–1933 | Hunk Anderson | 3 | 16–9–2 | .630 |
| 1934–1940 | Elmer Layden | 7 | 47–13–3 | .770 |
| 1941–1943, 1946–1953 | Frank Leahy | 11 | 87–11–9 | .855 |
| 1944 | Ed McKeever | 1 | 8–2 | .800 |
| 1945, 1963 | Hugh Devore | 2 | 9–9–1 | .500 |
| 1954–1958 | Terry Brennan | 5 | 32–18 | .640 |
| 1959–1962 | Joe Kuharich | 4 | 17–23 | .425 |
| 1964–1974 | Ara Parseghian | 11 | 95–17–4 | .836 |
| 1975–1980 | Dan Devine | 6 | 53–16–1 | .764 |
| 1981–1985 | Gerry Faust | 5 | 30–26–1 | .535 |
| 1986–1996 | Lou Holtz | 11 | 100–30–2 | .765 |
| 1997–2001 | Bob Davie | 5 | 35–25 | .583 |
| 2001† | George O'Leary | 0 | 0–0 | – |
| 2002–2004 | Tyrone Willingham | 3 | 21–15 | .583 |
| 2004‡ | Kent Baer | 0 | 0–1 | .000 |
| 2005–2009 | Charlie Weis | 5 | 35–27 | .565 |
| 2010–2021 | Brian Kelly | 12 | 92–40^ | .697 |
| 2021–present | Marcus Freeman | 3 | 31–9 | .775 |
† George O'Leary did not coach a single practice or game, resigning five days after being hired for misrepresenting his academic credentials.
‡ Kent Baer served as interim head coach for one game at the 2004Insight Bowl after Tyrone Willingham was fired.
Notre Dame has made 45 bowl game appearances, winning 23 and losing 21, with one game vacated.[393] After an initial appearance in a postseason contest in the1925 Rose Bowl, the Fighting Irish refused to participate in bowl games for more than four decades;[394] Sports Illustrated'sDan Jenkins speculated that Notre Dame might have gone to as many as twenty bowl games during the self-imposed forty-five-year hiatus.[394] From 1994 to the 2006 football seasons, Notre Dame lost 9 consecutive bowl games, tied with Northwestern for the most in NCAA history. That streak ended with a 49–21 win over Hawaii in the2008 Hawaii Bowl. In the process, Notre Dame scored its highest point total in postseason play. The record of 9 consecutive bowl losses was later tied by Northwestern in 2011, then that streak was snappeda year later. The Fighting Irish suffered in a multi-decade skid with an 0-8 record in BCS/Playoff games and an 0-10 record in major bowl games between1994 and 2025. The losing streak would come to an end when Notre Dame beat Georgia in the2025 Sugar Bowl. As of 2024, Notre Dame has said they will not list CFP first round games under their bowl games. They will “have two sub-categories: bowl record and playoff record, with the latter including CFP first-round games. Bowl games played in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the CFP would count toward both records.”[395]
| Date | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 1925 | Rose Bowl | Stanford | W 27–10 |
| January 1, 1970 | Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 1Texas | L 17–21 |
| January 1, 1971 | Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 1Texas | W 24–11 |
| January 1, 1973 | Orange Bowl | No. 9Nebraska | L 6–40 |
| December 31, 1973 | Sugar Bowl | No. 1Alabama | W 24–23 |
| January 1, 1975 | Orange Bowl | No. 2Alabama | W 13–11 |
| December 27, 1976 | Gator Bowl | No. 20Penn State | W 20–9 |
| January 2, 1978 | Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 1Texas | W 38–10 |
| January 1, 1979 | Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 9Houston | W 35–34 |
| January 1, 1981 | Sugar Bowl | No. 1Georgia | L 10–17 |
| December 29, 1983 | Liberty Bowl | No. 13Boston College | W 19–18 |
| December 29, 1984 | Aloha Bowl | No. 10SMU | L 20–27 |
| January 1, 1988 | Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 8Texas A&M | L 10–35 |
| January 2, 1989 | Fiesta Bowl | No. 3West Virginia | W 34–21 |
| January 1, 1990 | Orange Bowl | No. 1Colorado | W 21–6 |
| January 1, 1991 | Orange Bowl | No. 1Colorado | L 9–10 |
| January 1, 1992 | Sugar Bowl | No. 3Florida | W 39–28 |
| January 1, 1993 | Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 3Texas A&M | W 28–3 |
| January 1, 1994 | Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 6Texas A&M | W 24–21 |
| January 2, 1995 | Fiesta Bowl | No. 5Colorado | L 24–41 |
| January 1, 1996 | Orange Bowl | No. 8Florida State | L 26–31 |
| December 28, 1997 | Independence Bowl | No. 15LSU | L 9–27 |
| January 1, 1999 | Gator Bowl | No. 12Georgia Tech | L 28–35 |
| January 1, 2001 | Fiesta Bowl | No. 5Oregon State | L 9–41 |
| January 1, 2003 | Gator Bowl | No. 17North Carolina State | L 6–28 |
| December 28, 2004 | Insight Bowl | Oregon State | L 21–38 |
| January 2, 2006 | Fiesta Bowl | No. 4Ohio State | L 20–34 |
| January 3, 2007 | Sugar Bowl | No. 4LSU | L 14–41 |
| December 24, 2008 | Hawaii Bowl | Hawaii | W 49–21 |
| December 31, 2010 | Sun Bowl | Miami (FL) | W 33–17 |
| December 29, 2011 | Champs Sports Bowl | No. 25Florida State | L 14–18 |
| January 7, 2013 | BCS National Championship | No. 2Alabama | L 14–42 |
| December 28, 2013 | Pinstripe Bowl (vacated) | Rutgers | W 29–16 |
| December 30, 2014 | Music City Bowl | No. 23LSU | W 31–28 |
| January 1, 2016 | Fiesta Bowl | No. 7Ohio State | L 28–44 |
| January 1, 2018 | Citrus Bowl | No. 17LSU | W 21–17 |
| December 29, 2018 | Cotton Bowl Classic (CFP Semifinal) | No. 2Clemson | L 3–30 |
| December 28, 2019 | Camping World Bowl | Iowa State | W 33–9 |
| January 1, 2021 | Rose Bowl (CFP Semifinal) | No. 1Alabama | L 14–31 |
| January 1, 2022 | Fiesta Bowl | No. 9Oklahoma State | L 35–37 |
| December 30, 2022 | Gator Bowl | No. 19South Carolina | W 45–38 |
| December 29, 2023 | Sun Bowl | No. 19Oregon State | W 40–8 |
| January 2, 2025 | Sugar Bowl (CFP Quarterfinal) | No. 2Georgia | W 23–10 |
| January 9, 2025 | Orange Bowl (CFP Semifinal) | No. 4Penn State | W 27–24 |
| January 20, 2025 | CFP National Championship | No. 6Ohio State | L 23–34 |
Between 2009 and 2016, and resuming again in 2018, Notre Dame has hosted an annual off-site home football game known as theShamrock Series. The series promotes Notre Dame's athletic and academic brand, and has brought the Fighting Irish toSan Antonio,New York,Greater Washington, D.C.,Chicago,Indianapolis,Boston and theDallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Each game in the series also features a unique alternate uniform for the Notre Dame team. Notre Dame has yet to lose a game in the Shamrock Series with a record of 11–0 (including the later-vacated win overArizona State in the 2013 season).
Prior to the 2012 season, Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick announced at a news conference of plans to continue the series through 2016. He confirmed after his news conference that New York is expected to fall in that rotation and then continue to be the one consistently repeating venue for Shamrock Series games. While the Shamrock Series was not held in 2017 or 2023, Notre Dame still featured a unique alternate uniform at one game each of those years, both times againstNavy (at Notre Dame in 2017 and inDublin, Ireland in 2023).[396][397]
One of the unique aspects of the Shamrock Series is its inclusion of academic and other non-football activities in the area of that year's host city the days and hours leading up to the game, which include pep rallies, drummers' circles, and academic lectures.[398][399][400]
The Shamrock Series held in Las Vegas in 2022 was the largest crowd for a college athletic event inNevada history.[401]
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 31, 2009 | 7:30 p.m. | vs.Washington State | No. 25 | NBC | W 40–14 | 53,407 | |
| November 20, 2010 | 7:00 p.m. | vs.Army | NBC | W 27–3 | 54,251 | ||
| November 12, 2011 | 7:30 p.m. | vs.Maryland | NBC | W 45–21 | 70,251 | ||
| October 6, 2012 | 7:30 p.m. | vs.Miami (FL) | No. 10 | NBC | W 41–3 | 62,871 | |
| October 5, 2013 | 7:30 p.m. | vs. No. 22Arizona State | NBC | W 37–34 (vacated) | 66,690 | ||
| September 13, 2014 | 7:30 p.m. | vs.Purdue | No. 11 | NBC | W 30–14 | 56,832 | |
| November 21, 2015 | 7:30 p.m. | vs.Boston College | No. 5 | NBCSN | W 19–16 | 38,686 | |
| November 12, 2016 | 3:30 p.m. | vs.Army |
| NBC | W 44–6 | 45,762 | |
| November 17, 2018 | 2:30 p.m. | vs. No. 12Syracuse | No. 3 |
| NBC | W 36–3 | 48,104 |
| October 3, 2020 | 7:30 p.m. | vs.Wisconsin | NBC | No contest[a] | |||
| September 25, 2021 | 12:00 p.m. | vs. No. 18Wisconsin | No. 12 |
| Fox | W 41–13 | 59,571 |
| October 8, 2022 | 7:30 p.m. | vs. No. 16BYU[402] | NBC | W 28–20 | 62,742 | ||
| November 23, 2024 | 7:00 p.m. | vs. No. 19Army | No. 6 |
| NBC | W 49–14 | 47,342 |
| September 6, 2026 | vs.Wisconsin |
| NBC | ||||
| |||||||
Seven Notre Dame football players have won the Heisman Trophy, which ties them with theUniversity of Oklahoma for the second most by any university. (Ohio State also has seven trophies that were won by only six players, whileUSC has the most winners with eight).
| Heisman Trophy Winners | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Name | Position | ||||||
| 1943 | Angelo Bertelli | QB | ||||||
| 1947 | Johnny Lujack | QB | ||||||
| 1949 | Leon Hart | End | ||||||
| 1953 | Johnny Lattner | HB | ||||||
| 1956 | Paul Hornung | QB | ||||||
| 1964 | John Huarte | QB | ||||||
| 1987 | Tim Brown | WR | ||||||
Heisman voting:[403]
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50 former Notre Dame players and 6 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, located inAtlanta, Georgia.[370] Notre Dame leads all universities in players inducted.
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Notre Dame's home jersey is navy blue with white numerals, gold outlining, and a small interlocking "ND" logo on each sleeve. The away jersey is white with navy numerals, gold outlining, and the interlocking "ND" on the sleeves. These uniforms were introduced by Lou Holtz in 1986 and retained during the tenures of Bob Davie (1997-2001) and Tyrone Willingham (2002–04). In 2005, Charlie Weis removed the interlocking "ND" from the sleeves, replacing it with the player's number, the first time the Irish had worn "TV numbers" since 1986, when they were located on the shoulders. These jerseys remained throughout Weis' tenure. When Brian Kelly succeeded Weis in 2010, the interlocking "ND" returned to the sleeves, and it has remained since.
The Irish traditionally have not worn player names on their jerseys during regular season games, but they were included during the coaching tenures of Dan Devine (1975–80) and Gerry Faust (1981-85). When Notre Dame appeared in the1970 Cotton Bowl Classic, its first bowl game in 45 years, Ara Parseghian had player names placed on the backs of the jerseys, a tradition which was retained for four other bowl appearances under Parseghian. Holtz, Davie, Willingham and Weis (in the2006 Fiesta Bowl and2007 Sugar Bowl) did not adhere to this tradition for bowl games they coached, but it returned under Weis for the2008 Hawaii Bowl and has been continued by Kelly and Marcus Freeman.
Notre Dame's helmets are solid gold with gray facemasks, the gold being emblematic of the University's administration building's "Golden Dome". Notre Dame's tradition for the team's student managers to spray-paint the team's helmets prior to each game ended in 2011 when the football equipment staff, along with Notre Dame Athletics Director Jack Swarbrick and head coach Brian Kelly outsourced the painting process to Hydro Graphics Inc.
During Gerry Faust's tenure (1981–85), Notre Dame's blue jerseys switched from the traditional navy (although Notre Dame wore green jerseys full-time between the 1977 game vs. USC and the end of the1980 season) to royal blue with gold and white stripes on the sleeves. The navy blue jerseys returned for the1984 season and have continued through the 2024 season.
No uniform numbers have been retired by Notre Dame. Upon being issued a number, each player is given a card that lists some of the more famous players who have worn that particular number. An examples is number 3, which was worn byRalph Guglielmi,George Izo,Daryle Lamonica,Coley O'Brien,Joe Montana,Michael Floyd,Rick Mirer andRon Powlus, among others. Number 5 is also notable, as it is the only number to be worn by one of the so-called "Four Horsemen" (Elmer Layden), a Heisman Trophy winner (Paul Hornung), and a national championship-winning quarterback (Terry Hanratty).[435] Number 7 has been worn by such Irish greats as 1964 Heisman Trophy winnerJohn Huarte, 1970 Heisman runner-upJoe Theismann, Steve Beuerlein, Jimmy Clausen, and Jarious Jackson.[435]
In 2011, both Michigan and Notre Dame wore throwback uniforms in their game against each other. For each Shamrock Series game, Notre Dame wears specially designed helmets, jerseys, and pants.
Champion supplied football jerseys for Notre Dame for over 50 years until the Irish switched toAdidas in 2001. On July 1, 2014, the Notre Dame athletic department began wearing uniforms and footwear supplied byUnder Armour.
Over the years, Notre Dame has occasionally worn green instead of blue as its home jersey, sometimes adopting the jersey for an entire season – or more – at a time. Notre Dame is confirmed to have worn green as far back as 1926 againstPenn State, and in 1942 they officially became an alternate color for the team.[436]
Currently, Notre Dame reserves its green jerseys for special occasions. Sometimes on such occasions, the Irish will take the field for warmups dressed in blue, only to switch to green when they go back to the locker room before kickoff. This tradition was started by Dan Devine in 1977 before the USC game. Notre Dame has also been known to switch jerseys at halftime, as during the 1985 USC game and in the loss toNile Kinnick-led Iowa in 1939, although this was to help avoid confusion between their navy uniforms and Iowa's black ones. The current design of the jersey is kelly green with gold numbers and white outlining. For the 2006 Army game, Coach Charlie Weis broke out the green jerseys as a reward to his senior players and in an attempt to end the string of losses by the Irish when wearing green. Notre Dame wore throwback green jerseys in 2007 against USC in honor of the 30th anniversary of the 1977 National Championship team but lost the game 38-0.[437] As of 2023, Notre Dame's record in green is 42-15-1, going back to 1975.[436]
On October 4, 2025, the Irish paired green jerseys with green pants, defeating Boise State.
On at least one occasion (1992 Sugar Bowl) Notre Dame has worn an away variant of the jersey, a white jersey with green numbers.
Notre Dame Stadium is the home football stadium for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. Located on the southeast part of the university's campus in Notre Dame, Indiana and with a seating capacity of 77,622, Notre Dame Stadium is one of the most renowned venues in college football.[438] TheSporting News ranks Notre Dame Stadium as #2 on its list of "College Football Cathedrals".[439] and the stadium experience evokes a more traditional feel. Notre Dame Stadium is used for football-related activities and for Commencement (since 2010). Notre Dame Stadium had no permanent lighting until the expansion project in 1997. NBC paid for the lighting as they have televised all Notre Dame home football games since 1991. On April 12, 2014, it was announced during the annual Blue-Gold Spring Game that a FieldTurf synthetic surface would replace the grass field after the 2014 Commencement Weekend. In November 2014 the University of Notre Dame embarked on a $400 million stadium expansion called the Crossroads Campus Project, which was completed in time for the 2017 season.
Cartier Field was the original playing field of the Fighting Irish. In 1930, it was replaced by Notre Dame Stadium, due to the growing popularity of ND football.
Known by fans as "The Gug" (pronounced "goog"), The Guglielmino Athletics Complex is Notre Dame's football headquarters. The Gug houses the offices for all team staff members, an auditorium, a weight room, a training room, the equipment room, the practice locker room, a brand new napping room, and various other spaces for the football team to utilize. The complex was underwritten by Don F. Guglielmino and his family.
The indoor practice facility has a synthetic turf field and a video board at midfield for replay and graphics. On the second level of the facility, there is a 1,600-square-foot recruiting lounge. In all, the facility totals 111,400 square feet, and the ceiling is 95 feet at its peak.
Notre Dame has rivalries with several universities. Although the Fighting Irish competes as an Independent, they play a national schedule that includes annual or otherwise regularly scheduled rivalry games.Army,Boston College,Michigan,Michigan State,Navy,Northwestern,Pittsburgh,Purdue,Stanford, andUSC are among Notre Dame's rivals.
USC is Notre Dame's primary rival, and the schools compete annually for theJeweled Shillelagh. The rivalry has produced 39national championships,[440]: 113–118 15Heisman Trophy winners,[441] and 184Consensus All-Americans through the 2021 season.[442] It is considered one of the most prominent rivalries in college football,[10][11][12][13] and has been called the greatest rivalry not dictated byconference affiliation or geography.[443] The teams have played each other annually since 1926, except from 1943 to 1945 and 2020. Notable games in the series include the 1977 "Green Jersey" game and the2005 "Bush Push" game. Through the 2024 season, Notre Dame leads the all-time series 50–37–5 and the trophy series 35–30–3.[444]
Notre Dame and theMiami Hurricanes first met during the1955 college football season.[445] They met three times during the 1960s (1960, 1965, and 1967) and proceeded to play each other annually from 1971 to 1990 (except in 1986). Notre Dame consistently dominated the series in the 1970s, but in the 1980s, Miami began to dominate as the once docile rivalry intensified significantly. Both teams were national contenders in the later part of the decade, and both teams cost each other at least one national championship. Hostilities were fueled when the Hurricanes routed the Fighting Irish in the 1985 season finale 58–7, with Miami widely accused ofrunning up the score in the second half. The rivalry gained national attention and both teams played their most famous games from 1988 to 1990. The game known asCatholics vs. Convicts in Indiana was won by the Fighting Irish 31–30. The following year, Miami ended Notre Dame's 23-game winning streak with a 27–10 victory. The rivalry ended after the Fighting Irish dashed #2 Miami's hopes for a repeat national championship with a 29–20 victory in Indiana.
The two teams are next scheduled to meet in the 2025 season opener atHard Rock Stadium. They also will play each other in yet to be scheduled dates in the 2031, 2032, 2034, and 2037 seasons.[446]
The first meeting between Notre Dame and Michigan was in 1887, the first official football game in Notre Dame's history.[447] The two schools have met 44 times in total, the latest matchup in 2019. Through the 2021 season, the two schools are both in the top five in all-time Division I winning percentage, with Notre Dame fourth and Michigan third. Michigan leads the series 25–18–1.
Meeting for the first time in 1897, Notre Dame andMichigan State play for the Megaphone Trophy. The two schools played in 64 out of 70 seasons from 1948 to 2017, but have not met since. Their next scheduled game is in 2026.[448] Notable games in the series include the1966 "Game of the Century". Through the 2023 season, Notre Dame leads the all-time series 48–28–1 and the trophy series 33–27–1.[449]
Navy and Notre Dame played 93 games without interruption from 1927 to 2019. Notre Dame had a 43-game win streak during this time frame, the longest streak by one team over another in Division I-A football, which ended in 2007.[450] While the 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the series resumed in 2021. Through the 2024 season, Notre Dame leads the series 83–13–1.[451]
Due to its long history, Fighting Irish football has a number of traditions unique to Notre Dame. Some of these are:
Since the NFL began drafting players in 1936, 495 Notre Dame football players have been selected by NFL teams. Additionally, Notre Dame has had 65 players selected in the first round of the NFL draft, including five overall number one picks. Of the 46 Super Bowls competed, as of 2012, only 14 teams have won the event without an Irish player on the roster.[463] Looking at both participating team rosters, there have only been five Super Bowls that did not feature at least one former Notre Dame player on either team's roster – Denver vs. Atlanta, 1999; Dallas vs. Buffalo, 1994; Washington vs. Denver, 1988; Dallas vs. Denver, 1978; and Baltimore vs. Dallas, 1971.[463] Eleven former players have won multiple Super Bowls: Mark Bavaro, Rocky Bleier, Nick Buoniconti, Eric Dorsey, Dave Duerson, David Givens, Terry Hanratty, Bob Kuechenberg, Joe Montana, Steve Sylvester and Justin Tuck.[463]
13 former Notre Dame players, plus 1 non-player alumnus, have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, tying it for first withUSC among all college football programs.[464][465]
*McNally graduated from St. John's (MN), but started his career at Notre Dame and is listed as a hall of famer under both schools in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[466]
The Fighting Irish are the only team, professional or collegiate, to have all their games broadcast nationally on the radio and their home games on television.[468] Notre Dame famously left theCollege Football Association, a consortium that administered television broadcast rights on behalf of over 64 schools, in 1990, in order to establish its own broadcasting deal withNBC. From 1968 to 2007,Westwood One served as the official radio partner for the Irish, broadcasting their games for 40 consecutive years.[469]
Until the 2006 Air Force game, Notre Dame had a record 169 consecutive games broadcast nationally on eitherNBC, ABC, ESPN, orCBS.[470] The 2006 ND vs. Air Force game was broadcast onCSTV, a college sports channel owned by CBS who had an exclusive contract with theMountain West Conference, of which Air Force is a member.
Radio rights to the Fighting Irish are held by Skyview Networks, who began distributing the broadcasts as part of a multi-sport arrangement in 2020.[471]
NBC has been televising Notre Dame home regular season football games since the 1991 season.[8] In addition to TV broadcasts, NBC also maintains several dedicated websites to ND football and Notre Dame Central,[472] which provides complete coverage, full game replays and commentary of the Notre Dame team. NBC's television contract with Notre Dame was renewed in April 2013 and was set to continue through the 2025 football season,[473] before another contract renewal was made in 2023. NBC is now set to be the home of Notre Dame football through the 2029 season. It also aired football games on NBC's streaming servicePeacock started in the 2021 season, with the home opener on September 11, 2021, againstToledo aired exclusively on the streaming service.[474][475] South Bend NBC affiliateWNDU-TV also produces its own pregame show,Countdown to Kickoff, which airs prior to every home game broadcast on NBC. InternationallySky Sports has been covering Notre Dame Football home games in theUnited Kingdom,Republic of Ireland,Italy andGermany since 2018 as a result ofComcast's takeover ofSky.
Although the Notre Dame football program is not a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), it has an agreement to play an average of five ACC schools per season. In return Notre Dame has access to the non-College Football Playoff ACC bowl line-up.[476][477] Notre Dame utilizes a format of six home games in South Bend, five away games, and one major metropolitan area neutral site "Shamrock Series" home game for scheduling.[398] This includes preserving traditional yearly rivalries with USC, Stanford, and Navy,[478] five rotating ACC opponents (two away ACC games will coincide in even years with away games at Navy and three away ACC games will coincide in odd years with home games against Navy),[479] two home and home series (one home game and one away game), one one-time opponent home game, and the traveling "Shamrock Series" home game.[480][481]
| Date | Opponent | Site | TV | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 6 | vs.Wisconsin[482] | NBC | ||
| September 12 | Rice[483] | |||
| September 19 | Michigan State[484] |
| ||
| September 26 | atPurdue[485] | |||
| October 3 | atNorth Carolina[486] | |||
| October 31 | vs.Navy | |||
| November 28 | atUSC | |||
| TBA | Miami[487] |
| ||
| TBA | SMU[488] |
| ||
| TBA | atFlorida State[489] | |||
| TBA | atSyracuse[489] |
TBA: 1 additional game will be scheduled.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 4 | Purdue[485] | ||
| September 18 | atMichigan State[484] | ||
| October 2 | Georgia Tech[489] |
| |
| October 9 | vs.Wake Forest[489] | ||
| November 6 | Virginia Tech[489] |
| |
| November 13 | atClemson[489] | ||
| November 20 | Navy[478] |
| |
| TBA | atDuke[489] |
TBA: 4 additional games will be scheduled.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 9 | Texas[478] | ||
| September 16 | Arkansas[491] |
| |
| September 23 | atPurdue[485] | ||
| November 4 | atVirginia Tech[489][492] | ||
| November 11 | Clemson[489] |
| |
| November 18 | atNavy[478] | ||
| TBA | Boston College[489] |
| |
| TBA | Miami[489] |
| |
| TBA | atPittsburgh[489] |
TBA: 3 additional games will be scheduled.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 1 | Alabama[493] | ||
| September 15 | atSouth Florida[494] | ||
| September 22 | atTexas[489] | ||
| October 6 | atNC State[489] | ||
| November 3 | Georgia Tech[489] |
| |
| November 10 | atFlorida State[489] | ||
| TBA | Wake Forest[489] |
| |
| TBA | Navy[478] |
| |
| TBA | atSyracuse[489] | ||
| TBA | atClemson[489] |
TBA: 2 additional games will be scheduled.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 31 | Indiana[495] | ||
| September 14 | atAlabama[493] | ||
| November 2 | atLouisville[489] | ||
| TBA | Duke[489] |
| |
| TBA | Florida State[489] |
| |
| TBA | North Carolina[489] |
| |
| TBA | Clemson[489] |
| |
| TBA | atBoston College[489] | ||
| TBA | atNavy[478] |
TBA: 3 additional games will be scheduled.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 1 | atClemson[489] | ||
| September 13 | South Florida[494] | ||
| September 27 | atIndiana[478] | ||
| October 11 | atVirginia[489] | ||
| November 15 | Florida[496] |
| |
| November 22 | NC State[489] |
| |
| TBA | Miami[489] |
| |
| TBA | Navy[478] |
| |
| TBA | atPittsburgh[489] | ||
| TBA | atNorth Carolina[489] |
TBA: 2 additional games will be scheduled.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 11 | atFlorida[496] | ||
| October 30 | atGeorgia Tech[489] | ||
| TBA | Florida State[489] |
| |
| TBA | Louisville[489] |
| |
| TBA | Wake Forest[489] |
| |
| TBA | Clemson[489] |
| |
| TBA | atMiami[489] | ||
| TBA | atNavy[478] |
TBA: 4 additional games will be scheduled.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 3 | atMichigan[497] | ||
| September 24 | atDuke[489] | ||
| November 5 | Virginia Tech[489] |
| |
| TBA | Pittsburgh[489] |
| |
| TBA | atBoston College[489] | ||
| TBA | atLouisville[489] | ||
| TBA | atClemson[489] |
TBA: 5 additional games will be scheduled.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2 | Michigan[497] | ||
| October 26 | atMiami[489] | ||
| November 11 | Clemson[489] |
| |
| November 18 | Virginia[489] |
| |
| TBA | Syracuse[489] |
| |
| TBA | atPittsburgh[489] |
TBA: 6 additional games will be scheduled.
win just one for the gipper.
The Difference By Score System
The big Litkenhous trophy which now resides at Ann Arbor, Mich., will be transferred to South Bend.
It was surely the game of the year, and many have said it was the college football game of the century
