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1991 Notre Dame

10–⁠3, coached by Lou Holtz, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Notre Dame in 1991, game by game: won vs. Indiana 49–27; lost at No. 3 Michigan 14–24; won vs. Michigan State 49–10; won at Purdue 45–20; won at Stanford 42–26; won vs. No. 12 Pittsburgh 42–7; won at Air Force 28–15; won vs. USC 24–20; won vs. Navy 38–0; lost vs. No. 13 Tennessee 34–35; lost at No. 8 Penn State 13–35; won at Hawai’i 48–42; won vs. No. 3 Florida 39–28+39−22Won 49–27 vs. Indiana+22IndianaLost 14–24 at No. 3 Michigan-10No. 3 MichiganWon 49–10 vs. Michigan State+39Michigan StateWon 45–20 at Purdue+25PurdueWon 42–26 at Stanford+16StanfordWon 42–7 vs. No. 12 Pittsburgh+35No. 12 PittsburghWon 28–15 at Air Force+13Air ForceWon 24–20 vs. USC+4USCWon 38–0 vs. Navy+38NavyLost 34–35 vs. No. 13 Tennessee-1No. 13 TennesseeLost 13–35 at No. 8 Penn State-22No. 8 Penn StateWon 48–42 at Hawai’i+6Hawai’iWon 39–28 vs. No. 3 Florida+11No. 3 Florida
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7vsIndianaW 49–⁠2778%
Sep 14at3MichiganL 14–⁠2442%
Sep 21vsMichigan StateW 49–⁠1071%
Sep 28atPurdueW 45–⁠2079%
Oct 5atStanfordW 42–⁠2668%
Oct 12vs12PittsburghW 42–⁠775%
Oct 19atAir ForceW 28–⁠1562%
Oct 26vsUSCW 24–⁠2077%
Nov 2vsNavyW 38–⁠095%
Nov 9vs13TennesseeL 34–⁠3570%
Nov 16at8Penn StateL 13–⁠3548%
Nov 30atHawai’iW 48–⁠4277%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs3FloridaSugar BowlW 39–⁠2843%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Florida 39–⁠28 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 23rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 6
  2. Wk 2: 7
  3. Wk 3: 7
  4. Wk 4: 11
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 8
  7. Wk 7: 7
  8. Wk 8: 5
  9. Wk 9: 5
  10. Wk 10: 5
  11. Wk 11: 5
  12. Wk 12: 12
  13. Wk 13: 17
  14. Wk 14: 18
  15. Wk 15: 18
  16. Final: 13

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 1991.

Consensus All-AmericanMirko Jurkovic, OG

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
—
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 5
Points
465–⁠289
Coach
Lou Holtz
Elo
1760 +85 this season
SP+ rating
26.0 No. 7 of 104; offense No. 2, defense No. 38
SRS
20.2 No. 10 of 107 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Tom Beck
Defensive coordinator
Gary Darnell
Captain
Rodney Culver
Most valuable player
Jerome Bettis and Rick Mirer
Offense
Wishbone triple option
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1992

The 1992 draft
Rd 1Derek Brown TENew York Giants
Rd 2Rod Smith DBNew England Patriots
Rd 4Rodney Culver RBIndianapolis Colts
Rd 4Tony Brooks RBPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 4Gene McGuire CNew Orleans Saints
Rd 6Tony Smith WRKansas City Chiefs
Rd 6George Williams DTCleveland Browns