The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the intercollegiate football team representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend, Indiana. The team plays its home games at the campus' Notre Dame Stadium, which has a capacity of 77,622. Notre Dame is one of four schools that competes as an Independent at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level; however, they play five games a year against opponents from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), of which Notre Dame is a member in all other sports except ice hockey.
Notre Dame Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana, the home field of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football rivalries refers to rivalries of the University of Notre Dame in the sport of college football. Because the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are independent of a football conference, they play a national schedule, which annually includes historic rivals University of Southern California and Navy, more recent rival Stanford, and five games with ACC teams.
Cartier Field was a stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana, first dedicated on May 11, 1900, as an arena for football, baseball, track and field, and bicycling. It hosted the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team from 1900 to 1928 and held nearly 30,000 people at its peak. The stands were torn down after the 1928 season to make room for Notre Dame Stadium, which opened in 1930. Notre Dame played its entire 1929 schedule away from campus, went undefeated (9–0) and won the National Championship. At Coach Knute Rockne's insistence, Cartier Field's grass was transplanted into Notre Dame Stadium.
The 1977 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The Irish, coached by Dan Devine, ended the season with 11 wins and one loss, winning the national championship. The Fighting Irish won the title by defeating the previously unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl Classic by a score of a 38–10. The 1977 squad became the tenth Irish team to win the national title and were led by All-Americans Ken MacAfee, Ross Browner, Luther Bradley, and Bob Golic. Junior Joe Montana, a future Pro Football Hall of Famer, was the team's starting quarterback.
The 1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. The Irish, coached by Ara Parseghian, ended the season undefeated with a record of 9–0–1, and won a national championship. The Fighting Irish earned a consensus title after beating No. 10 Oklahoma, 38–0, in Norman, tying unbeaten and No. 2 Michigan State, 10–10, and ending the season defeating No. 10 USC, 51–0, in the Coliseum The 1966 squad became the eighth Irish team to win the national title and the first under Parseghian. The Irish outscored their opponents 362–38. The 10–10 tie between The Spartans and the Irish remains one of the controversial games of college football, and is considered today to be one of the great "games of the century".
The 1980 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Dan Devine and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.
The 1982 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season.
The 1985 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Gerry Faust and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.
The 1987 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. Tony Rice became the starting quarterback for Notre Dame following an injury to Terry Andrysiak. The Irish would finish the season 8–4 and earn a berth to the Cotton Bowl Classic.
The 1993 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1993 college football season. The team was coached by Lou Holtz and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.
The 1969 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Ara Parseghian, the Fighting Irish compiled a record of 8–2–1.
The 1970 Cotton Bowl Classic was a postseason college football bowl game in the 1969 season, held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday, January 1, 1970. The game matched the top-ranked Texas Longhorns (10–0) and the #9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8–1–1).
The 1929 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1929 college football season. In their 12th year under head coach Knute Rockne, the Irish compiled a perfect 9–0 record and outscored opponents by a total of 145 to 38, with four shutouts.
The 1930 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1930 college football season. In their 13th and final season under head coach Knute Rockne, the Fighting Irish compiled a perfect 10–0 record and outscored their opponents by a total of 256 to 74 with three shutouts.
The 1978 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Dan Devine, the Fighting Irish compiled an overall record of 9–3. Notre Dame was invited to the Cotton Bowl Classic, where the Irish beat Houston, 35–34, after quarterback Joe Montana rallied the team from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The team played home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana.
The 1976 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season.
The 1932 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1932 college football season. In its second season under head coach Hunk Anderson, the team compiled a 7–2 record and outscored opponents by a total of 255 to 31. Paul Host was the team captain. The team played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.
The 1901 Notre Dame football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1901 college football season. In its second season with Pat O'Dea as coach, the team compiled an 8–1–1 record, shut out six opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 145 to 19. Al Fortin was the team captain.
The 1929 Drake Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented Drake University in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1929 college football season. In its ninth season under head coach Ossie Solem, the team compiled a 5–3–1 record, won the MVC championship, and outscored all opponents by a total of 145 to 79.