1993 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

1993 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
1993 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
National champion (Matthews, NCF); Cotton Bowl Classic champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 24–21 vs. Texas A&M
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
Record	11–1
Head coach	Lou Holtz (8th season);
Offensive coordinator	Skip Holtz (2nd as OC, 4th overall season)
Defensive coordinator	Rick Minter (2nd season)
Captains	Jeff Burris ; Tim Ruddy ; Aaron Taylor ; Bryant Young ;
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)
	Seasons ← 1992 1994 →

Last updated January 21, 2025

1993 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 2 Notre Dame		–		11	–	1	–	0
No. 24 Louisville		–		9	–	3	–	0
Cincinnati		–		8	–	3	–	0
Army		–		6	–	5	–	0
Memphis State		–		6	–	5	–	0
Tulsa		–		4	–	6	–	1
Navy		–		4	–	7	–	0
Tulane		–		3	–	9	–	0
Southern Miss		–		2	–	8	–	1
East Carolina		–		2	–	9	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1993 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1993 college football season.^[1] The team was coached by Lou Holtz and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

On November 13, Notre Dame played Florida State in a matchup of unbeatens, with the two ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the AP Poll. The winner of this game, at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana, was certain to play No. 3 Nebraska (which would then move up to No. 2) in the Orange Bowl for the national championship.^[2]

The next week, the Fighting Irish faced No. 17 Boston College. Although the Notre Dame offense piled up 427 yards of offense, scored 5 touchdowns, including 22 points in the last 11 minutes, the game would forever be remembered by Boston College's last drive as their kicker, David Gordon, hit a 41-yard field goal as time expired to win it 41–39, ending Notre Dame's bid for an undefeated season. Despite beating No. 7 Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl Classic on New Year's Day, the national championship was awarded to Florida State.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	2:30 p.m.	Northwestern	No. 7	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	NBC	W 27–12	59,075
September 11	12:00 p.m.	at No. 3 Michigan	No. 11	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	ABC	W 27–23	106,851	^[3]
September 18	2:30 p.m.	Michigan State	No. 4	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	NBC	W 36–14	59,075
September 25	3:30 p.m.	at Purdue	No. 4	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	ABC	W 17–0	67,861
October 2	3:30 p.m.	at Stanford	No. 4	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	ABC	W 48–20	80,300
October 9	2:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh	No. 4	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	NBC	W 44–0	59,075
October 16	7:30 p.m.	at BYU	No. 3	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	ESPN	W 45–20	66,247
October 23	2:30 p.m.	USC	No. 2	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	NBC	W 31–13	59,075
October 30	12:00 p.m.	vs. Navy	No. 2	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA (rivalry)	ABC	W 58–27	61,813
November 13	2:30 p.m.	No. 1 Florida State	No. 2	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN ( College GameDay ) (rivalry)	NBC	W 31–24	59,075
November 20	1:30 p.m.	No. 17 Boston College	No. 1	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (Holy War)	NBC	L 39–41	59,075
January 1, 1994	4:30 p.m.	vs. No. 7 Texas A&M	No. 4	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	NBC	W 24–21	69,855
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:**██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	7	7	11	4	4	4	4	3	2	2	2	2	1 (62)	4 (1)	5	4 (1)	2 (12)
Coaches	6 (1)	6	10	5	4	4	4 (1)	3 (2)	2 (3)	2 (3)	2 (2)	2 (2)	1 (60)	4 (1)	4 (1)	4 (1)	2 (25)

Game summaries

Northwestern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Northwestern	0	6	6	0	12
•Notre Dame	7	0	10	10	27

Date: September 4
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
Game attendance: 59,075
TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Bob Trumpy

Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
•Notre Dame	10	14	3	0	27
Michigan	3	7	0	13	23

Date: September 11
Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Game attendance: 106,851
Television network: ABC

^[4]

Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan St	7	0	0	7	14
•Notre Dame	0	16	13	7	36

Date: September 18
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN

Source:

Purdue

Stanford

Pittsburgh

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pittsburgh	0	0	0	0	0
• Notre Dame	7	6	10	21	44

Date: October 9
Location: Notre Dame Stadium

^[5]

BYU

USC

	1	2	3	4	Total
USC	0	7	0	6	13
•Notre Dame	14	14	3	0	31

Date: October 23
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
Game attendance: 59,075
Television network: NBC

^[6]

Navy

	1	2	3	4	Total
•Notre Dame	3	14	21	20	58
Navy	10	14	3	0	27

Date: October 30
Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, PA
Game attendance: 61,813

^[7]

Florida State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida State	7	0	7	10	24
•Notre Dame	7	14	3	7	31

Date: November 13
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
Game start: Kickoff 1:47pm, NBC coverage begins at 1:30pm
Game attendance: 59,075
Game weather: pregame showers, temp near 60, wind from south 20 to 30 mph
TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones, Todd Christensen, Bob Costas (studio host), John Dockery (sideline) and O. J. Simpson (sideline)

The #2 Fighting Irish prevailed over the #1 Florida State Seminoles as ESPN's College GameDay made its first campus visit.

Boston College

	1	2	3	4	Total
•Boston College	10	14	7	10	41
Notre Dame	0	14	3	22	39

Date: November 20
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
Game attendance: 59,075
TV announcers (NBC): Tom Hammond, Cris Collinsworth

Texas A&M

Roster

1993 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB	`37`	Travis Davis	Jr
WR	`87`	Lake Dawson	Sr
WR	`1`	Derrick Mayes	So
FB	`30`	Marc Edwards	Fr
TE	`80`	Oscar McBride	Sr
QB	`15`	Kevin McDougal	Sr
C	`61`	Tim Ruddy	Sr
OT	`75`	Aaron Taylor	Sr
RB	`34`	Ray Zellars	Jr
C	`77`	Dusty Zeigler	So
RB	`25`	Randy Kinder	Fr
QB	`8`	Paul Failla	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`47`	Pete Bercich	Sr
S	`9`	Jeff Burris	Sr
CB	`32`	Willie Clark	Sr
CB	`29`	John Covington	Sr
DT	`44`	Jim Flanigan	Sr
DT	`55`	Oliver Gibson	Sr
DT	`93`	Paul Grasmanis	So
LB	`49`	Tony Peterson	Sr
CB	`21`	Bobby Taylor	So
CB	`22`	Shawn Wooden	So
DE	`48`	Renaldo Wynn	So
DE	`97`	Bryant Young	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Lou Holtz

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Awards and honors

Aaron Taylor: Lombardi Award

Team players in the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Bryant Young	Defensive tackle	1	7	San Francisco 49ers
Aaron Taylor	Tackle	1	16	Green Bay Packers
Jeff Burris	Cornerback	1	27	Buffalo Bills
Tim Ruddy	Center	2	65	Miami Dolphins
Jim Flanigan	Defensive tackle	3	74	Chicago Bears
Willie Clark	Cornerback	3	82	San Diego Chargers
Lake Dawson	Wide Receiver	3	92	Kansas City Chiefs
John Covington	Safety	5	133	Indianapolis Colts
Tony Peterson	Linebacker	5	153	San Francisco 49ers
Pete Bercich	Linebacker	7	211	Minnesota Vikings

Related Research Articles

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The 1993 Florida State vs. Notre Dame Game was a regular season college football game between the unbeaten Florida State Seminoles, and the unbeaten Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The game took place at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. The game is one of the 20th-century college football games to be coined a "Game of the Century."

The 1998 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Bob Davie and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

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The 1980 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Dan Devine and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

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 1985 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1985 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 1989 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1989 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 1990 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1990 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. This would be the final season home games would air on ESPN, ABC, or CBS, as NBC took over beginning the following year. However, a home playoff game aired on ESPN and ABC in 2024.

The 1992 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1992 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 1995 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1995 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 1990 Sugar Bowl was the 56th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 1. Part of the 1989–90 bowl game season, it featured the second-ranked independent Miami Hurricanes and the #7 Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Favored Miami won 33–25.

The 1984 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University during the 1984 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by third-year head coach Leon Burtnett, the Boilermakers compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 6–3 in conference play, tying for second place in the Big Ten. Purdue was invited to the Peach Bowl, where the Boilermakers lost to Virginia. The team played home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana. The Boilermakers defeated Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Michigan in the same season for the first and only time in college football history.

The 2015 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2015 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.

References

↑ "Notre Dame Yearly Results (1990-1994)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
↑ Fighting Irish Win Game of the Century The Tech (MIT newspaper) Mike Duffy and Andrew Heitner. Volume 113, Issue 59 : Friday, November 19, 1993
↑ Angelique S. Chengelis (September 12, 1993). "U-M season under siege". The Detroit News. pp. 1E, 6E – via Newspapers.com.
↑ Blue & Gold Illustrated 1994 Notre Dame Football Preview
↑ Gainesville Sun. 1993 Oct 10. Retrieved 2018-Oct-28.
↑ Gainesville Sun. 1993 Oct 24.
↑ Gainesville Sun. 1993 Oct 31.

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[1] "Notre Dame Yearly Results (1990-1994)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.

[fsu-2] Fighting Irish Win Game of the Century The Tech (MIT newspaper) Mike Duffy and Andrew Heitner. Volume 113, Issue 59 : Friday, November 19, 1993

[3] Angelique S. Chengelis (September 12, 1993). "U-M season under siege". The Detroit News. pp. 1E, 6E – via Newspapers.com.

[4] Blue & Gold Illustrated 1994 Notre Dame Football Preview

[5] Gainesville Sun. 1993 Oct 10. Retrieved 2018-Oct-28.

[6] Gainesville Sun. 1993 Oct 24.

[7] Gainesville Sun. 1993 Oct 31.

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v t e Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
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Bowls and rivalries	Bowl games Emerald Isle Classic Army Boston College Michigan Michigan State Navy Northwestern Pittsburgh Purdue Stanford USC
Culture and lore	History Band of the Fighting Irish Irish Guard Notre Dame Box Notre Dame Leprechaun "Notre Dame, Our Mother" "Notre Dame Victory March" Play Like a Champion Today Subway Alumni T formation Tall Grass Game 1946 "Game of the Century" 1966 "Game of the Century" Catholics vs. Convicts 30 for 30 film 1993 "Game of the Century" Bush Push Navy ends the drought Death of Lizzy Seeberg 2020 ACC Championship Game The Spirit of Notre Dame Knute Rockne, All American Notre Dame Football on NBC Rudy
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National championship seasons in bold

1993 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

National champion (Matthews, NCF) Cotton Bowl Classic champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 24–21 vs. Texas A&M
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
Record	11–1
Head coach	Lou Holtz (8th season)
Offensive coordinator	Skip Holtz (2nd as OC, 4th overall season)
Defensive coordinator	Rick Minter (2nd season)
Captains	Jeff Burris Tim Ruddy Aaron Taylor Bryant Young
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)
Seasons ← 1992 1994 →