1983 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

1983 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Liberty Bowl champion
Liberty Bowl, W 19–18 vs. Boston College
Conference	Independent
Record	7–5
Head coach	Gerry Faust (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Jim Johnson
Captains	Blair Kiel Stacey Toran
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium
Seasons ←  1982 1984  →

1983 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Miami (FL)		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
No. 19 Boston College		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 16 West Virginia		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 20 East Carolina		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Pittsburgh		–		–				8	–	3	–	1
Florida State		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Penn State		–		–				8	–	4	–	1
Southern Miss		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				6	–	4	–	1
Notre Dame		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Cincinnati			–					4	–	6	–	1
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–				4	–	6	–	0
Temple		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Tulane		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Louisville		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Navy		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Army		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

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.

Notre Dame was invited to the Liberty Bowl where they faced Boston College and their prized quarterback Doug Flutie. Boston College scored first on a 13-yard touchdown pass but missed the extra point. Notre Dame came back as Allen Pinkett and Chris Smith each rushed for 100-plus yards, while Pinkett scored two touchdowns as Notre Dame beat Boston College, 19–18, to win their first bowl game since the 1979 Cotton Bowl.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	2:30 p.m.	at Purdue	No. 5	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)		W 52–6	69,782	[1]
September 17	2:30 p.m.	Michigan State	No. 4	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		L 23–28	59,075	[2]
September 24	9:00 p.m.	at Miami (FL)	No. 13	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)	CBS	L 0–20	52,480	[3]
October 1	3:30 p.m.	at Colorado		Folsom Field Boulder, CO	KWGN	W 27–3	52,692	[4]
October 8	7:00 p.m.	at South Carolina		Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC		W 30–6	74,500	[5]
October 15	1:00 p.m.	vs. Army		Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (rivalry)		W 42–0	75,131	[6]
October 22	2:30 p.m.	USC		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 27–6	59,075	[7]
October 29	12:00 p.m.	Navy	No. 19	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 28–12	59,075	[8]
November 5	3:45 p.m.	Pittsburgh	No. 18	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	CBS	L 16–21	59,075	[9]
November 12	1:00 p.m.	at Penn State		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		L 30–34	85,899	[10]
November 19	12:35 p.m.	Air Force		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	ABC	L 22–23	59,075	[11]
December 29	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 13 Boston College		Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl) (rivalry)	Katz	W 19–18	47,071	[12]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster

1983 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 82 Mark Bavaro Jr RB 28 Greg Bell Sr QB 5 Blair Kiel Sr RB 20 Allen Pinkett So G 75 Larry Williams Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 9 Chris Brown Sr DT 71 Eric Dorsey So LB 43 Rick DiBernardo So LB 58 Tony Furjanic So DE 78 Mike Gann Jr DE 55 Mike Golic Jr CB 30 Stacey Toran Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Gerry Faust Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Awards and honors

• Allen Pinkett finished 16th in voting for the Heisman Trophy. ^[13]
• Former Fighting Irish players Bill Fischer and Bill Shakespeare was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame

References

1. "Notre Dame rolls over Purdue 52–6". News-Press. September 11, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Parker-led Michigan State startles Notre Dame". Asbury Park Press. September 18, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Miami of Florida shocks Irish". Evansville Courier & Press. September 25, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Frosh QB, Pinkett pace Irish". The Grand Rapids Press. October 2, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Frosh Beuerlein leads Irish past Gamecocks". Journal and Courier. October 9, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "75,131 see Beuerlein lift ND by Army, 42–0". The Star-Ledger. October 16, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Irish in green for 27–6 rout of old rivals". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 23, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Notre Dame sinks Navy". The Post-Crescent. October 30, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "McCall helps Pitt throttle Irish 21–16". Star Tribune. November 6, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Strang runs Lions past Fighting Irish, 34–30". Centre Daily Times. November 13, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Air Force blocks field goal to beat Notre Dame". The Kalamazoo Gazette. November 20, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Irish stew Eagles in B-r-r-r Bowl". The Commercial Appeal. December 30, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH - Football". Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2008.