1991 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
American college football season
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The 1991 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their sixth year under head coach Lou Holtz, the Irish compiled a 10–3 record, outscored opponents by a total of 426 to 261, and were ranked No. 13 in the final AP poll and No. 12 in the final UPI poll. After losing to No. 3 Michigan in week two, the Irish won seven straight games before losing in consecutive weeks to No. 13 Tennessee and No. 8 Penn State. They concluded the season with a victory over No 3 Florida in the Sugar Bowl.[1][2]
| 1991 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football | |
|---|---|
Sugar Bowl champion | |
| Conference | Independent |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 12 |
| AP | No. 13 |
| Record | 10–3 |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive coordinator | Tom Beck (1st season) |
| Offensive scheme | Wishbone triple option |
| Defensive coordinator | Gary Darnell (2nd season) |
| Base defense | 4–3 |
| MVP | Jerome Bettis and Rick Mirer |
| Captain | Rodney Culver |
| Home stadium | Notre Dame Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 East Carolina | – | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Florida State | – | 11 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 Penn State | – | 11 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 Tulsa | – | 10 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisiana Tech | – | 8 | – | 1 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 Notre Dame | – | 10 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Akron | – | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memphis State | – | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Army | – | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cincinnati | – | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern Miss | – | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Carolina | – | 3 | – | 6 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southwestern Louisiana | – | 2 | – | 8 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisville | – | 2 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Illinois | – | 2 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulane | – | 1 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Navy | – | 1 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Guard Mirko Jurkovic was a consensus first-team pick on the 1991 All-America college football team.[3] Tight end Derek Brown and linebacker Demetrius DuBose also received first-team All-America honors from one or more selectors. The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Rick Mirer (2,117 passing yards), fullback Jerome Bettis (972 rushing yards), Tony Smith (42 receptions for 789 yards), and DuBose (127 tackles).[4][5]
The team played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana. On September 7, NBC started televising Notre Dame's home games, as the Irish became the first NCAA Division I-A program to have all of its home games televised exclusively by one television network.[6]
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 7 | 1:30 p.m. | Indiana | No. 7 | NBC | W 49–27 | 59,075 | [7] | |
| September 14 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 3 Michigan | No. 7 | ABC | L 14–24 | 106,138 | [8] | |
| September 21 | 1:30 p.m. | Michigan State | No. 11 |
| NBC | W 49–10 | 59,075 | [9] |
| September 28 | 12:00 p.m. | at Purdue | No. 8 | ABC | W 45–20 | 67,861 | [10] | |
| October 5 | 11:00 p.m. | at Stanford | No. 8 | ESPN | W 42–26 | 70,798 | [11] | |
| October 12 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 12 Pittsburgh | No. 7 |
| NBC | W 42–7 | 59,075 | [12] |
| October 19 | 8:30 p.m. | at Air Force | No. 5 | ESPN | W 28–15 | 52,024 | [13] | |
| October 26 | 1:30 p.m. | USC | No. 5 |
| NBC | W 24–20 | 59,075 | [14] |
| November 2 | 4:00 p.m. | Navy | No. 5 |
| NBC | W 38–0 | 59,075 | [15] |
| November 9 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 13 Tennessee | No. 5 |
| NBC | L 34–35 | 59,075 | [16] |
| November 16 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 8 Penn State | No. 12 | ABC | L 13–35 | 96,672 | [17] | |
| November 30 | 11:00 p.m. | at Hawaii | No. 18 | ESPN | W 48–42 | 50,000 | [18] | |
| January 1, 1992 | 8:00 p.m. | vs. No. 3 Florida | No. 18 | ABC | W 39–28 | 76,447 | [19] | |
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Game summaries
Indiana
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoosiers | 3 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 27 |
| • Fighting Irish | 7 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 49 |
- Date: September 7
- Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
- Game attendance: 59,075
- TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg, Bill Walsh, and John Dockery
| 1 | IND | Bonnell 48 yard field goal | IND 3–0 | |
| 1 | ND | DuBose 49 yard interception return (Hentrich kick) | ND 7–3 | |
| 2 | IND | Green 5 yard run (Bonnell kick) | IND 10–7 | |
| 2 | ND | Culver 19 yard run (Hentrich kick) | ND 14–10 | |
| 2 | IND | Green 1 yard run (Bonnell kick) | IND 17–14 | |
| 2 | ND | Mirer 46 yard run (Hentrich kick) | ND 21–17 | |
| 2 | ND | T. Brooks 13 yard run (Hentrich kick) | ND 28–17 | |
| 3 | IND | Bonnell 29 yard field goal | ND 28–20 | |
| 3 | ND | Mirer 6 yard run (Hentrich kick) | ND 35–20 | |
| 3 | ND | I. Smith 58 yard pass from Mirer (Hentrich kick) | ND 42–20 | |
| 4 | IND | Walker 5 yard pass from Green (Bonnell kick) | ND 42–27 | |
| 4 | ND | Mirer 1 yard run (Hentrich kick) | ND 49–27 | |
- Jerome Bettis 11 Rush, 111 Yds
At Michigan
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fighting Irish | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • Wolverines | 3 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
- Date: September 14
- Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI
- TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger, Dick Vermeil, and Cheryl Miller
| 1 | MICH | Carlson 23 yard field goal | MICH 3–0 | |
| 2 | MICH | Howard 29 yard run (Carlson kick) | MICH 10–0 | |
| 2 | MICH | Powers 16 yard run (Carlson kick) | MICH 17–0 | |
| 2 | ND | Bettis 3 yard pass from Mirer (Hentrich kick) | MICH 17–7 | |
| 3 | ND | T. Smith 35 yard pass from Mirer (Hentrich kick) | MICH 17–14 | |
| 4 | MICH | Howard 25 yard pass from Grbac (Carlson kick) | MICH 24–14 | |
Michigan State
At Purdue
At Stanford
Pittsburgh
At Air Force
USC
Navy
Tennessee
At Penn State
At Hawaii
Vs. Florida (Sugar Bowl)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Fighting Irish | 0 | 7 | 10 | 22 | 39 |
| Gators | 10 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 28 |
- Date: September 14
- Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
- Game attendance: 76,447
- Game weather: Indoors
- TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf
Roster
| 1991 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Awards and honors
Senior offensive guard Mirko Jurkovic received first-team All-America honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF), College & Pro Football Newsweekly, and Football News. He also won the team award as the Lineman of the Year.[23]
Senior tight end Derek Brown received first-team All-America honors from the WCFF and was selected to play in the Hula Bowl and the East-West Shrine game.[23]
Junior inside linebacker received first-team All-America honors from Football News. He was also a semifinalist for the Butkus Award.[23]
Junior quarterback Rick Mirer was selected as the team's co-most valuable player. He was also a semifinalist for the Football News Offensive Player of the Year award.[23]
Sophomore fullback Jerome Bettis received second-team All-America honors from Football News and College & Pro Football Newsweekly. He was also the most valuable player of the Sugar Bowl and was selected as the team's co-most valuable player.[23]