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1981 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

1981 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
ConferenceIndependent
Record5–6
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTom Lichtenberg (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorJim Johnson
Captains
Home stadiumNotre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)
Seasons
← 1980
1982 →
1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Pittsburgh   –   –   11 – 1 – 0
No. 3 Penn State   –   –   10 – 2 – 0
No. 8 Miami (FL)   –   –   9 – 2 – 0
Southern Miss   –   –   9 – 2 – 1
No. 17 West Virginia   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
Colgate   –   –   7 – 3 – 0
Virginia Tech   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Navy   –   –   7 – 4 – 1
Cincinnati   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Florida State   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Holy Cross   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Tulane   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
UNLV   –   –   6 – 6 – 0
South Carolina   –   –   6 – 6 – 0
Temple   –   –   5 – 5 – 0
Boston College   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
East Carolina   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Northeast Louisiana   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Louisville   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Notre Dame   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Rutgers   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
William & Mary   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Syracuse   –   –   4 – 6 – 1
Richmond   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Army   –   –   3 – 7 – 1
North Texas State   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
Georgia Tech   –   –   1 – 10 – 0
Memphis State   –   –   1 – 10 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season.[1] The team played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Gerry Faust was the new Notre Dame head coach. The offense scored 232 points, while the defense allowed 160 points. It was Notre Dame's first losing season in 18 years.

Schedule

[edit]
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 122:30 p.m.LSUNo. 4
W 27–959,075[2]
September 191:50 p.m.at No. 11 MichiganNo. 1
ABCL 7–25105,888[3]
September 262:30 p.m.at PurdueNo. 13
L 14–1570,007[4]
October 32:30 p.m.Michigan State
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 20–759,075[5]
October 102:30 p.m.No. 20 Florida State
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
L 13–1959,075[6]
October 242:30 p.m.No. 5 USC
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
L 7–1459,075[7]
October 311:30 p.m.Navy
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 38–059,075[8]
November 71:30 p.m.Georgia Tech
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 35–359,075[9]
November 143:00 p.m.at Air Force
W 35–736,800[10]
November 211:00 p.m.at No. 13 Penn State
L 21–2484,175[11]
November 273:00 p.m.at No. 9 Miami (FL)
ABCL 15–3750,681[12]

[13]

Roster

[edit]
1981 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
TE 82 Mark Bavaro Fr
RB 28 Greg Bell So
RB Phil Carter (C) Jr
TE 85 Tony Hunter Jr
QB 5 Blair Kiel So
RB 39 Larry Moriarty Jr
OT 71 Phil Pozderac Sr
C 57 Mark Fischer Jr
G 75 Larry Williams Fr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 9 Chris Brown So
DT 91 Bob Clasby Jr
LB 43 Bob Crable (C) Sr
S 22 Dave Duerson Jr
DE 78 Mike Gann Fr
DT 55 Mike Golic Fr
CB 19 John Krimm Sr
CB 30 Stacey Toran So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 3 Herry Oliver Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Team players drafted into the NFL

[edit]

Awards and honors

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Notre Dame Yearly Results (1980-1984)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  2. ^ "Inspired Irish pound LSU, 27–9". The Kokomo Tribune. September 13, 1981. Retrieved November 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Michigan smashes Notre Dame 25–7". Herald and Review. September 20, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Purdue upsets Irish". The Kokomo Tribune. September 27, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Irish, Bell run past Michigan St". Chicago Tribune. October 4, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "FSU slays Irish 19–13". St. Petersburg Times. October 11, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Trojans defeat Irish in bout of heavyweights". The Muskegon Chronicle. October 25, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Notre Dame rips Midshipmen 38–0". The Times Recorder. November 1, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Notre Dame unveils 'Small Wonder'". The Vincennes Sun-Commercial. November 8, 1981. Retrieved July 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Irish Explode Late To Smash Air Force, 35–7". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 15, 1981. p. C9. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Notre Dame inches and 3 points shy at Penn State". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 22, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "UM goes out in style, 37–15". The Miami Herald. November 29, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "1981 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 31, 2024.


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