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1956 Notre Dame

2–⁠8, coached by Terry Brennan.

Schedule and results

Notre Dame in 1956, game by game: lost at SMU 13–19; won vs. Indiana 20–6; lost vs. Purdue 14–28; lost vs. No. 2 Michigan State 14–47; lost vs. No. 2 Oklahoma 0–40; lost at Navy 7–33; lost at No. 20 Pittsburgh 13–26; won vs. North Carolina 21–14; lost at No. 3 Iowa 8–48; lost at No. 17 USC 20–28+14−40Lost 13–19 at SMU-6SMUWon 20–6 vs. Indiana+14IndianaLost 14–28 vs. Purdue-14PurdueLost 14–47 vs. No. 2 Michigan State-33No. 2 Michigan StateLost 0–40 vs. No. 2 Oklahoma-40No. 2 OklahomaLost 7–33 at Navy-26NavyLost 13–26 at No. 20 Pittsburgh-13No. 20 PittsburghWon 21–14 vs. North Carolina+7North CarolinaLost 8–48 at No. 3 Iowa-40No. 3 IowaLost 20–28 at No. 17 USC-8No. 17 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 22atSMUL 13–⁠1956%
Oct 6vsIndianaW 20–⁠681%
Oct 13vsPurdueL 14–⁠2871%
Oct 20vs2Michigan StateL 14–⁠4740%
Oct 27vs2OklahomaL 0–⁠4030%
Nov 3atNavyL 7–⁠3329%
Nov 10at20PittsburghL 13–⁠2632%
Nov 17vsNorth CarolinaW 21–⁠1468%
Nov 24at3IowaL 8–⁠4828%
Dec 1at17USCL 20–⁠2823%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to USC 28–⁠20; unranked in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 119th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 3
  2. Wk 2: 14
  3. Wk 3: 17
  4. Wk 4: 18

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1956.

Led the nationPaul Hornung: kickoff return average (31.0); Jim Morse: yards per catch (22.1)

Heisman TrophyPaul Hornung, QB

Record
2–⁠8
Conference
—
AP final
Unranked peak No. 3
Points
130–⁠289
Coach
Terry Brennan
Elo
1489 −153 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−2.6 No. 68 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Jim Morse

Drafted in 1957

The 1957 draft
Rd 1Paul Hornung RBGreen Bay Packers