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1996 Notre Dame

8–⁠3, coached by Lou Holtz, finished No. 19 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Notre Dame in 1996, game by game: won at Vanderbilt 14–7; won vs. Purdue 35–0; won at No. 6 Texas 27–24; lost vs. No. 4 Ohio State 16–29; won vs. No. 16 Washington 54–20; lost vs. Air Force 17–20; won vs. Navy 54–27; won at Boston College 48–21; won vs. Pittsburgh 60–6; won vs. Rutgers 62–0; lost at USC 20–27+62−13Won 14–7 at Vanderbilt+7VanderbiltWon 35–0 vs. Purdue+35PurdueWon 27–24 at No. 6 Texas+3No. 6 TexasLost 16–29 vs. No. 4 Ohio State-13No. 4 Ohio StateWon 54–20 vs. No. 16 Washington+34No. 16 WashingtonLost 17–20 vs. Air Force-3Air ForceWon 54–27 vs. Navy+27NavyWon 48–21 at Boston College+27Boston CollegeWon 60–6 vs. Pittsburgh+54PittsburghWon 62–0 vs. Rutgers+62RutgersLost 20–27 at USC-7USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atVanderbiltW 14–⁠772%
Sep 14vsPurdueW 35–⁠079%
Sep 21at6TexasW 27–⁠2446%
Sep 28vs4Ohio StateL 16–⁠2957%
Oct 12vs16WashingtonW 54–⁠2061%
Oct 19vsAir ForceL 17–⁠2073%
Nov 2vsNavyW 54–⁠2769%
Nov 9atBoston CollegeW 48–⁠2172%
Nov 16vsPittsburghW 60–⁠690%
Nov 23vsRutgersW 62–⁠090%
Nov 30atUSCL 20–⁠2762%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to USC 27–⁠20; No. 19 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 63rd-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: 6
  3. Wk 3: 6
  4. Wk 4: 9
  5. Wk 5: 9
  6. Wk 6: 5
  7. Wk 7: 11
  8. Wk 8: 11
  9. Wk 9: 8
  10. Wk 10: 19
  11. Wk 11: 19
  12. Wk 12: 17
  13. Wk 13: 14
  14. Wk 14: 10
  15. Wk 15: 10
  16. Wk 16: 18
  17. Wk 17: 18
  18. Final: 19

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 1996.

Led the nationAllen Rossum: punt return average (22.9); Robert Farmer: yards per carry (8.5)

Record
8–⁠3
Conference
—
AP final
No. 19 peak No. 5
Points
407–⁠181
Coach
Lou Holtz
Elo
1676 +38 this season
SP+ rating
23.5 No. 9 of 111; offense No. 12, defense No. 21
SRS
21.2 No. 7 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Dave Roberts
Defensive coordinator
Bob Davie
Captains
Lyron Cobbins, Marc Edwards and Ron Powlus
Most valuable player
Renaldo Wynn
Offense
Multiple I formation
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1997

The 1997 draft
Rd 1Renaldo Wynn DEJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 2Marc Edwards RBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 3Bert Berry LBIndianapolis Colts
Rd 3Kinnon Tatum LBCarolina Panthers
Rd 5Pete Chryplewicz TEDetroit Lions