1981 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

1981 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–6
Head coach	Gerry Faust (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Tom Lichtenberg (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Jim Johnson
Captains	Bob Crable Phil Carter
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium
Seasons ←  1980 1982  →

1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 3 Penn State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Miami (FL)		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
No. 17 West Virginia		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Colgate		–		–				7	–	3	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Navy		–		–				7	–	4	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Florida State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Holy Cross		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Tulane		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
UNLV		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
Temple		–		–				5	–	5	–	0
Boston College		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Louisville		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Richmond		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Army		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
North Texas State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Gerry Faust was the new Notre Dame head coach. The offense scored 232 points, while the defense allowed 160 points. It was Notre Dame's first losing season in 18 years.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	2:30 p.m.	LSU	No. 4	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN		W 27–9	59,075	[1]
September 19	1:50 p.m.	at No. 11 Michigan	No. 1	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	ABC	L 7–25	105,888	[2]
September 26	2:30 p.m.	at Purdue	No. 13	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)		L 14–15	70,007	[3]
October 3	2:30 p.m.	Michigan State		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 20–7	59,075	[4]
October 10	2:30 p.m.	No. 20 Florida State		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		L 13–19	59,075	[5]
October 24	2:30 p.m.	No. 5 USC		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		L 7–14	59,075	[6]
October 31	1:30 p.m.	Navy		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 38–0	59,075	[7]
November 7	1:30 p.m.	Georgia Tech		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 35–3	59,075	[8]
November 14	3:00 p.m.	at Air Force		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)		W 35–7	36,800	[9]
November 21	1:00 p.m.	at No. 13 Penn State		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		L 21–24	84,175	[10]
November 27	3:00 p.m.	at No. 9 Miami (FL)		Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)	ABC	L 15–37	50,681	[11]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

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Roster

1981 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 82 Mark Bavaro Fr RB 28 Greg Bell So RB Phil Carter  (C) Jr TE 85 Tony Hunter Jr QB 5 Blair Kiel So RB 39 Larry Moriarty Jr OT 71 Phil Pozderac Sr C 57 Mark Fischer Jr G 75 Larry Williams Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 9 Chris Brown So DT 91 Bob Clasby Jr LB 43 Bob Crable  (C) Sr S 22 Dave Duerson Jr DE 78 Mike Gann Fr DT 55 Mike Golic Fr CB 19 John Krimm Sr CB 30 Stacey Toran So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 3 Herry Oliver Sr	Head coach Gerry Faust Coordinators/assistant coaches Tom Lichtenberg (OC) Jim Johnson (DC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Team players drafted into the NFL

• Bob Crable - 1982 / Round: 1 / Pick: 23 New York Jets
• John Krimm - 1982 / Round: 3 / Pick: 76 New Orleans Saints
• Phil Pozderac - 1982 / Round: 5 / Pick: 137 Dallas Cowboys

References

1. "Inspired Irish pound LSU, 27–9". The Kokomo Tribune. September 13, 1981. Retrieved November 1, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Michigan smashes Notre Dame 25–7". Herald and Review. September 20, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Purdue upsets Irish". The Kokomo Tribune. September 27, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Irish, Bell run past Michigan St". Chicago Tribune. October 4, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "FSU slays Irish 19–13". St. Petersburg Times. October 11, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Trojans defeat Irish in bout of heavyweights". The Muskegon Chronicle. October 25, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Notre Dame rips Midshipmen 38–0". The Times Recorder. November 1, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Notre Dame unveils 'Small Wonder'". The Vincennes Sun-Commercial. November 8, 1981. Retrieved July 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Irish Explode Late To Smash Air Force, 35–7". The Cincinnati Enquirer . November 15, 1981. p. C9. Retrieved October 20, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Notre Dame inches and 3 points shy at Penn State". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 22, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "UM goes out in style, 37–15". The Miami Herald. November 29, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "1981 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 31, 2024.