1956 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
ConferenceIndependent
Record2–8
Head coach
CaptainJim Morse
Home stadiumNotre Dame Stadium
Seasons
← 1955
1957 →
1956 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Miami (FL)   –   8 – 1 – 1
No. 16 Navy   –   6 – 1 – 2
No. 8 Syracuse   –   7 – 2 – 0
Air Force   –   6 – 2 – 1
Penn State   –   6 – 2 – 1
No. 13 Pittsburgh   –   7 – 3 – 1
Pacific (CA)   –   6 – 3 – 1
Army   –   5 – 3 – 1
Holy Cross   –   5 – 3 – 1
Villanova   –   5 – 4 – 0
Boston College   –   5 – 4 – 0
Florida State   –   5 – 4 – 1
Cincinnati   –   4 – 5 – 0
Colgate   –   4 – 5 – 0
Dayton   –   4 – 6 – 0
Drake   –   3 – 6 – 0
San Jose State   –   2 – 7 – 1
Texas Tech   –   2 – 7 – 1
Notre Dame   –   2 – 8 – 0
Boston University   –   1 – 5 – 2
Marquette   –   0 – 9 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1956 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1956 NCAA University Division football season. Led by third-year head coach Terry Brennan, the Fighting Irish compiled a record of 2–8.

Paul Hornung carried the ball 94 times his senior year for 420 yards for an average of 4.5 yards per try. He completed 59 of 111 passes for a total offensive figure of 1,337 yards. He is the only Heisman Trophy winner to have played on a losing team.[1]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 22at SMUNo. 3
L 13–1961,000
October 6IndianaNo. 17
W 20–658,372[2]
October 13PurdueNo. 18
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
L 14–2858,778
October 20No. 2 Michigan State
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
L 14–4759,378
October 27No. 2 Oklahoma
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
L 0–4060,128
November 3at Navy
L 7–3357,773
November 10at No. 20 Pittsburgh
L 13–2658,697
November 17North Carolina
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 21–1456,793[3]
November 24at No. 3 Iowa
L 8–4856,632
December 1at No. 17 USC
L 20–2864,538
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Awards and honors

Paul Hornung, Heisman Trophy[4]

Team players drafted into the NFL

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

Player Position Round Pick Franchise

[5]

References

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 3, 2007. Retrieved December 22, 2007.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ Charles Bartlett (October 7, 1956). "Irish Win: Halt Indiana Surge in 3d Period, 20–6". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "Notre Dame wins, 21 to 14". The Baltimore Sun. November 18, 1956. Retrieved January 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on September 16, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2007.
  5. ^ "Reference at www.pro-football-reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 26, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2018.


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