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2006 Notre Dame

10–⁠3, coached by Charlie Weis, finished No. 17 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Notre Dame in 2006, game by game: won at Georgia Tech 14–10; won vs. No. 19 Penn State 41–17; lost vs. No. 11 Michigan 21–47; won at Michigan State 40–37; won vs. Purdue 35–21; won vs. Stanford 31–10; won vs. UCLA 20–17; won at Navy 38–14; won vs. North Carolina 45–26; won at Air Force 39–17; won vs. Army 41–9; lost at No. 3 USC 24–44; lost vs. No. 5 LSU 14–41+32−27Won 14–10 at Georgia Tech+4Georgia TechWon 41–17 vs. No. 19 Penn State+24No. 19 Penn StateLost 21–47 vs. No. 11 Michigan-26No. 11 MichiganWon 40–37 at Michigan State+3Michigan StateWon 35–21 vs. Purdue+14PurdueWon 31–10 vs. Stanford+21StanfordWon 20–17 vs. UCLA+3UCLAWon 38–14 at Navy+24NavyWon 45–26 vs. North Carolina+19North CarolinaWon 39–17 at Air Force+22Air ForceWon 41–9 vs. Army+32ArmyLost 24–44 at No. 3 USC-20No. 3 USCLost 14–41 vs. No. 5 LSU-27No. 5 LSU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2atGeorgia TechW 14–⁠1053%
Sep 9vs19Penn StateW 41–⁠1756%
Sep 16vs11MichiganL 21–⁠4763%
Sep 23atMichigan StateW 40–⁠3750%
Sep 30vsPurdueW 35–⁠2165%
Oct 7vsStanfordW 31–⁠1086%
Oct 21vsUCLAW 20–⁠1766%
Oct 28atNavyW 38–⁠1454%
Nov 4vsNorth CarolinaW 45–⁠2689%
Nov 11atAir ForceW 39–⁠1772%
Nov 18vsArmyW 41–⁠994%
Nov 25at3USCL 24–⁠4429%
Jan 3Bowls & playoffvs5LSUSugar BowlL 14–⁠4144%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to LSU 41–⁠14 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 17 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The tied 64th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

Heisman voteBrady Quinn, third

Maxwell AwardBrady Quinn, QB; also the Unitas Golden Arm

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
—
AP final
No. 17 peak No. 2
Points
403–⁠310
Coach
Charlie Weis
Elo
1675 +57 this season
SP+ rating
11.5 No. 37 of 119; offense No. 18, defense No. 53, special teams No. 78
SRS
10.2 No. 21 of 119 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 5
Offensive coordinator
Michael Haywood
Defensive coordinator
Rick Minter
Captains
Brady Quinn, Travis Thomas and Tom Zbikowski
Most valuable player
Brady Quinn
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense22nd of 119
  • Defense40th of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0944%0.9322nd of 119
Defense0.0342%0.8840th of 119
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 303% allowed
Defense-0.1own 292% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2006 class

Sam Young OT★★★★★No. 8
James Aldridge RB★★★★★No. 27
Demetrius Jones DUAL★★★★No. 45
Konrad Reuland TE★★★★No. 46
Darrin Walls CB★★★★No. 62
Raeshon McNeil CB★★★★No. 64
Zach Frazer PRO★★★★No. 74
Matt Carufel OT★★★★No. 139

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2006 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks24.00.975
Running backs24.50.957
Receivers24.00.955
Offensive line64.00.925
Defensive line23.00.884
Linebackers14.00.916
Defensive backs24.00.974
Whole class173.90.938

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2007

The 2007 draft
Rd 1Brady Quinn QBCleveland Browns
Rd 2Victor Abiamiri DEPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 3Ryan Harris OTDenver Broncos
Rd 5Derek Landri DTJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 6Mike Richardson DBNew England Patriots
Rd 7Dan Santucci CCincinnati Bengals
Rd 7Chinedum Ndukwe DBCincinnati Bengals