This is a list of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football season records. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. The team competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level.

Notre Dame has the most consensus national championships and has produced more All-Americans than any other Football Bowl Subdivision school. Additionally, seven Fighting Irish football players have won the Heisman Trophy.

Notre Dame is one of only two Catholic universities that field a team in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the other being Boston College, and one of a handful of programs independent of a football conference. The team plays its home games on Notre Dame's campus at Notre Dame Stadium, also known as the "House that Rockne Built," which has a capacity of 80,795.

Notre Dame claims national championships in an additional three seasons, for a total of 11 consensus national championships. Notre Dame, however, is often credited with 13 national championships in total. The 1938 and 1953 seasons are the reason for the discrepancy. In 1938, 8-1 Notre Dame was awarded the national championship by the Dickinson System, while Texas Christian (which finished 11-0) was awarded the championship by the Associated Press. In the 1953 season, an undefeated Notre Dame team (9-0-1) was named national champion by every major selector except the AP and UPI (Coaches) polls, where the Irish finished second in both to 10-1 Maryland. As Notre Dame has a policy of only recognizing AP and Coaches Poll national championships post-1936, the school does not officially recognize the 1938 and 1953 national championships.[1][2]

Seasons

The following is a list of Notre Dame's all-time season records.[3]

Year Coach Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP°
Independent (1887–1893)
1887 No coach 0–1
1888 No coach 1–2
1889 No coach 1–0
1892 No coach 1–0–1
1893 No coach 4–1
J.L. Morison (Independent) (1894)
1894 J.L. Morison 3–1–1
H.G. Hadden (Independent) (1895)
1895 H.G. Hadden 3–1
Frank E. Hering (Independent) (1896–1898)
1896 Frank E. Hering 4–3
1897 Frank E. Hering 4–1–1
1898 Frank E. Hering 4–2
James McWeeney (Independent) (1899)
1899 James McWeeney 6–3–1
Pat O'Dea (Independent) (1900–1901)
1900 Pat O'Dea 6–3–1
1901 Pat O'Dea 8–1–1
James Farragher (Independent) (1902–1903)
1902 James Farragher 6–2–1
1903 James Farragher 8–0–1
Louis Salmon (Independent) (1904)
1904 Louis Salmon 5–3
Henry J. McGlew (Independent) (1905)
1905 Henry J. McGlew 5–4
Thomas Barry (Independent) (1906–1907)
1906 Thomas Barry 6–1
1907 Thomas Barry 6–0–1
Victor M. Place (Independent) (1908)
1908 Victor M. Place 8–1
Frank Longman (Independent) (1909–1910)
1909 Frank Longman 7–0–1
1910 Frank Longman 4–1–1
John L. Marks (Independent) (1911–1912)
1911 John L. Marks 6–0–2
1912 John L. Marks 7–0
Jesse Harper (Independent) (1913–1917)
1913 Jesse Harper 7–0
1914 Jesse Harper 6–2
1915 Jesse Harper 7–1
1916 Jesse Harper 8–1
1917 Jesse Harper 6–1–1
Knute Rockne (Independent) (1918–1930)
1918 Knute Rockne 3–1–2
1919 Knute Rockne 9–0
1920 Knute Rockne 9–0
1921 Knute Rockne 10–1
1922 Knute Rockne 8–1–1
1923 Knute Rockne 9–1
1924 Knute Rockne 10–0 W Rose
1925 Knute Rockne 7–2–1
1926 Knute Rockne 9–1
1927 Knute Rockne 7–1–1
1928 Knute Rockne 5–4
1929 Knute Rockne 9–0
1930 Knute Rockne 10–0
Hunk Anderson (Independent) (1931–1933)
1931 Hunk Anderson 6–2–1
1932 Hunk Anderson 7–2
1933 Hunk Anderson 3–5–1
Elmer Layden (Independent) (1934–1940)
1934 Elmer Layden 6–3
1935 Elmer Layden 7–1–1
1936 Elmer Layden 6–2–1 8
1937 Elmer Layden 6–2–1 9
1938 Elmer Layden 8–1 5
1939 Elmer Layden 7–2 13
1940 Elmer Layden 7–2
Frank Leahy (Independent) (1941–1943)
1941 Frank Leahy 8–0–1 3
1942 Frank Leahy 7–2–2 6
1943 Frank Leahy 9–1 1
Edward McKeever (Independent) (1944)
1944 Edward McKeever 8–2 9
Hugh Devore (Independent) (1945)
1945 Hugh Devore 7–2–1 9
Frank Leahy (Independent) (1946–1953)
1946 Frank Leahy 8–0–1 1
1947 Frank Leahy 9–0 1
1948 Frank Leahy 9–0–1 2
1949 Frank Leahy 10–0 1
1950 Frank Leahy 4–4–1
1951 Frank Leahy 7–2–1 13
1952 Frank Leahy 7–2–1 13 3
1953 Frank Leahy 9–0–1 2 2
Terry Brennan (Independent) (1954–1958)
1954 Terry Brennan 9–1 4 4
1955 Terry Brennan 8–2 10 9
1956 Terry Brennan 2–8
1957 Terry Brennan 7–3 9 10
1958 Terry Brennan 6–4 14 17
Joe Kuharich (Independent) (1959–1962)
1959 Joe Kuharich 5–5 18 17
1960 Joe Kuharich 2–8
1961 Joe Kuharich 5–5
1962 Joe Kuharich 5–5
Hugh Devore (Independent) (1963)
1963 Hugh Devore 2–7
Ara Parseghian (Independent) (1964–1974)
1964 Ara Parseghian 9–1 3 3
1965 Ara Parseghian 7–2–1 8 9
1966 Ara Parseghian 9–0–1 1 1
1967 Ara Parseghian 8–2 4 5
1968 Ara Parseghian 7–2–1 8 5
1969 Ara Parseghian 8–2–1 L Cotton 9 5
1970 Ara Parseghian 10–1 W Cotton 5 2
1971 Ara Parseghian 8–2 15 13
1972 Ara Parseghian 8–3 L Orange 12 14
1973 Ara Parseghian 11–0 W Sugar 4 1
1974 Ara Parseghian 10–2 W Orange 4 6
Dan Devine (Independent) (1975–1980)
1975 Dan Devine 8–3 17
1976 Dan Devine 9–3 W Gator 12 12
1977 Dan Devine 11–1 W Cotton 1 1
1978 Dan Devine 9–3 W Cotton 6 7
1979 Dan Devine 7–4
1980 Dan Devine 9–2–1 L Sugar 10 9
Gerry Faust (Independent) (1981–1985)
1981 Gerry Faust 5–6
1982 Gerry Faust 6–4–1
1983 Gerry Faust 7–5 W Liberty
1984 Gerry Faust 7–5 L Aloha
1985 Gerry Faust 5–6
Lou Holtz (Independent) (1986–1996)
1986 Lou Holtz 5–6
1987 Lou Holtz 8–4 L Cotton 17
1988 Lou Holtz 12–0 W Fiesta 1 1
1989 Lou Holtz 12–1 W Orange 3 2
1990 Lou Holtz 9–3 L Orange 6 6
1991 Lou Holtz 10–3 W Sugar 12 13
1992 Lou Holtz 10–1–1 W Cotton† 4 4
1993 Lou Holtz 11–1 W Cotton† 2 2
1994 Lou Holtz 6–5–1 L Fiesta†
1995 Lou Holtz 9–3 L Orange† 13 11
1996 Lou Holtz 8–3 21 19
Bob Davie (Independent) (1997–2001)
1997 Bob Davie 7–6 L Independence
1998 Bob Davie 9–3 L Gator 22 22
1999 Bob Davie 5–7
2000 Bob Davie 9–3 L Fiesta† 16 15
2001 Bob Davie 5–6
Tyrone Willingham (Independent) (2002–2004)
2002 Tyrone Willingham 10–3 L Gator 17 17
2003 Tyrone Willingham 5–7
2004 Tyrone Willingham[n 1] 6–6[n 1] L Insight
Charlie Weis (Independent) (2005–2009)
2005 Charlie Weis 9–3 L Fiesta† 11 9
2006 Charlie Weis 10–3 L Sugar† 19 17
2007 Charlie Weis 3–9
2008 Charlie Weis 7–6 W Hawaii
2009 Charlie Weis 6–6
Brian Kelly (Independent) (2010–2019)
2010 Brian Kelly 8–5 W Sun
2011 Brian Kelly 8–5 L Champs Sports
2012 Brian Kelly 12–1[n 2] L BCS NCG† 3 4
2013 Brian Kelly 9–4[n 2] W Pinstripe 24 20
2014 Brian Kelly 8–5 W Music City
2015 Brian Kelly 10–3 L Fiesta† 12 11
2016 Brian Kelly 4–8
2017 Brian Kelly 10–3 W Citrus 11 11
2018 Brian Kelly 12–1 L Cotton† 5 5
2019 Brian Kelly 11–2 W Camping World 11 12
Brian Kelly (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2020)
2020 Brian Kelly 10–2 9–0 1st L Rose† 5 5
Brian Kelly (Independent) (2021)
2021 Brian Kelly[n 3] 11–2[n 3] L Fiesta† 8 8
Marcus Freeman (Independent) (2022–present)
2022 Marcus Freeman 9–4 W Gator 18 18
2023 Marcus Freeman 10–3 W Sun 16 14
Total: 957–341–42
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

Notes

  1. ^ a b On December 1, 2004, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Kent Baer was named interim head coach after head coach Willingham was fired following the regular season. Baer coached the bowl game in Willingham's stead, a 38–21 loss to Oregon State.
  2. ^ a b On November 22, 2016, Notre Dame was forced to vacate all 12 wins and their appearance in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game from the 2012 season, and all 9 wins from the 2013 season, including their victory in the Pinstripe Bowl. The NCAA rejected their appeal on February 13, 2018.
  3. ^ a b On November 29, Kelly resigned to become the head coach at LSU. He finished at Notre Dame with a 12-year record of 113–40 on the field, and an official record of 92–40 due to games vacated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Marcus Freeman was named the program's new head coach and led the Irish in the Fiesta bowl.

References

  1. ^ "Notre Dame Records" (PDF). graphics.fansonly.com. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  2. ^ "CFB Data Warehouse Notre Dame Recognized National Champions". cfbdatawarehouse.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2003. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  3. ^ "Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football Record By Year". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
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