The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the intercollegiate football team representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend, Indiana. The team plays its home games at the campus' Notre Dame Stadium, which has a capacity of 77,622. Notre Dame is one of four schools that competes as an Independent at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level; however, they play five games a year against opponents from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), of which Notre Dame is a member in all other sports except ice hockey.
The Holy War is an American rivalry between the Boston College Eagles and University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, a technical nonconference rivalry in college football, but in most sports an Atlantic Coast Conference rivalry. The series derives its name from the fact that the Eagles and the Fighting Irish represent the only two Catholic universities in the United States which still compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the highest level of competition in American college football.
The 1988 Notre Dame vs. Miami football game was a college football game played between the Miami Hurricanes of the University of Miami and the Fighting Irish of the University of Notre Dame on October 15, 1988, at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana.
The 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Notre Dame winning the national championship. The Fighting Irish won the title via a 34–21 defeat of previously unbeaten West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona. With 4 of the final Top 5 teams being independents, 1988 became a focus for fans and critics who wondered how the traditional conferences would deal with the indies.
The Notre Dame–Purdue football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team of the University of Notre Dame and Purdue Boilermakers football of Purdue University.
Tony Rice is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and World League of American Football (WLAF). Rice is perhaps best remembered as the dynamic option quarterback of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish's 1988 national championship team under coach Lou Holtz. Rice played professional football for three seasons for the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Barcelona Dragons of the World League from 1990 to 1992. He also played for Munich Thunder in the Football League of Europe in 1994.
The Michigan–Notre Dame football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Michigan Wolverines and Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
The 1988 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Irish, coached by Lou Holtz, ended the season with 12 wins and no losses, winning the national championship. The Fighting Irish won the title by defeating the previously unbeaten and No. 3 ranked West Virginia Mountaineers in the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona, by a score of 34–21. The 1988 squad, one of 11 national title squads for the Irish, is considered to be one of the best undefeated teams in the history of college football. The Irish beat the teams which finished the season ranked #2, #4, #5, and #7 in the AP Poll. They also won 10 of 12 games by double digits. The 1988 squad is best remembered for its 31–30 upset of No. 1 ranked Miami, ending their 36-game regular season winning streak. The game is remembered to this day as one of the most memorable games in all of college football.
The 1993 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University and were the national champions of the 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Bobby Bowden and played their home games at Doak Campbell Stadium.
The 2009 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Weis entered his fifth season as head coach with the expectation from the Notre Dame administration that his team would be in position to compete for a BCS Bowl berth. Notre Dame started the first part of the season 4–2, with close losses to Michigan and USC but ended the season with four straight losses, including a second loss to Navy in three years. Weis was fired as head coach the Monday after the Stanford loss at the end of the season. Although Notre Dame was bowl eligible with 6 wins, the University announced on December 4 that the Irish had chosen not to play in a bowl game. Irish athletic director Jack Swarbrick hired Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly after a 10-day coaching search.
The 1983 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Gerry Faust and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.
The 1986 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Lou Holtz and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.
The 2010 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Brian Kelly and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. This was Kelly's first season as Notre Dame's head coach, after leading the Cincinnati Bearcats to a 12–0 regular season and BCS bowl berth. In 2010, Notre Dame's regular season schedule was ranked the most difficult schedule in the nation with a Team Opposition Record Percentage of .6529. They finished the season 8–5 and were invited to the Sun Bowl where they defeated the Miami Hurricanes, 33–17.
The 2010 Hyundai Sun Bowl game was the 77th edition of the annual college football bowl game known as the Sun Bowl. It was played on December 31, 2010 between the Miami Hurricanes from the ACC and the independent Notre Dame Fighting Irish, in a revival of a long-dormant rivalry. CBS television broadcast the 2 p.m. (ET) game. Hyundai took over as the title sponsor. Bernie Olivas is its executive director.
The 1974 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1974 NCAA Division I football season. It was Ara Parseghian's final season as head coach.
The 1973 Sugar Bowl, part of the 1973 bowl game season, took place on December 31, 1973, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. The top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) met the independent Notre Dame Fighting Irish; both teams were undefeated.
The 1990 Orange Bowl was the 56th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Monday, January 1. Part of the 1989–90 bowl game season, it matched the independent and fourth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the undefeated #1 Colorado Buffaloes of the Big Eight Conference.
The 2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Brian Kelly and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. They competed as an independent.
The 2014 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Brian Kelly and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. They compete as an independent.
The 2017 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Brian Kelly and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. They competed as an independent. They finished the season 10–3, an impressive turnaround from the season before, where the Irish finished with their worst record since 2007. They were invited to the Citrus Bowl where they defeated LSU. The Irish would finish the season with four wins over teams that finished in the top 25 rankings, including winning three of those by over 20 points or more.
