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Notre Dame Football Team History

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

University of Notre Dame
South Bend, IN
Founded: 1842
Stadium: Notre Dame Stadium
Capacity: 80,225
Colors: Blue & Gold
Coach: Lou Holtz
Conference: Independent-

Select Year:

1887 <-- 1988 <- 1989 -> 1990 --> 2024

1989 Season Highlights

Lou Holtz enters his 4th season as Head Coach at Notre Dame.

1989 Season

Date	Opponent	Score
Thu., Aug. 31	@ Virginia	36	13	W	@ East Rutherford, NJ
Sat., Sep. 16	@ Michigan	24	19	W
Sat., Sep. 23	vs. Michigan State	21	13	W
Sat., Sep. 30	@ Purdue	40	7	W
Sat., Oct. 7	@ Stanford	27	17	W
Sat., Oct. 14	@ Air Force	41	27	W
Sat., Oct. 21	vs. Southern California	28	24	W
Sat., Oct. 28	vs. Pittsburgh	45	7	W
Sat., Nov. 4	vs. Navy	41	0	W
Sat., Nov. 11	vs. Southern Methodist	59	6	W
Sat., Nov. 18	@ Penn State	34	23	W
Sat., Nov. 25	@ Miami	10	27	L
Mon., Jan. 1	Colorado	21	6	W	@ Miami, FL	Orange Bowl

1989 Season Totals
Record	12-1
Points Scored	427
Scoring Average	32.8
Points Allowed	189
Defense Average	14.5
Opponents Record	94-56
Conference Record	0-0
Home Record	5-0
Away Record	6-1

1989 NCAA Final Rankings
Rank	Record	Source
2	12-1-0	AP
3	12-1-0	Coaches
3	12-1-0	UPI
2	12-1-0	USA Today/CNN

1989 Independent- Standings
	Season			Bowls	Conference
Team	W/L/T	PF	PA		W/L/T	PF	PA	Coach
Georgia Southern	15-0	584	221					Erk Russell
Notre Dame	12-1	427	189	Won 21-6				Lou Holtz
Florida State	10-2	424	199	Won 41-17				Bobby Bowden
Northern Illinois	9-2	344	269					Jerry Pettibone
Penn State	8-3-1	259	169	Won 50-39				Joe Paterno
Pittsburgh	8-3-1	333	268	Won 31-28				Mike Gottfried
Syracuse	8-4	286	242	Won 19-18				Dick MacPherson
West Virginia	8-3-1	339	221	Lost 7-27				Don Nehlen
Central Florida	7-3	256	168					Gene McDowell
Liberty	7-3	287	226					Sam Rutigliano
Louisiana	7-4	241	232					Nelson Stokley
Army	6-5	316	212					Jim Young
Louisville	6-5	312	222					Howard Schnellenberger
South Carolina	6-4-1	228	250					Sparky Woods
Tulsa	6-6	302	271	Lost 24-27				Dave Rader
Virginia Tech	6-4-1	203	180					Frank Beamer
Western Kentucky	6-5	279	238					Jack Harbaugh
Arkansas State	5-6	261	265					Larry Lacewell
East Carolina	5-5-1	301	286					Bill Lewis
James Madison	5-4-1	267	159					Joe Purzycki
Louisiana Tech	5-4-1	283	265					Joe Peace
Southern Mississippi	5-6	240	252					Curley Hallman
Buffalo	4-6	198	217					Bill Dando
Tulane	4-8	247	337					Greg Davis
Navy	3-8	145	272					Elliot Uzelac
Boston College	2-9	207	253					Jack Bicknell, Sr.
Memphis	2-9	174	338					Charles R. Chuck Stobart
Rutgers	2-7-2	245	319					Dick Anderson
Cincinnati	1-9-1	111	379					Timothy Tim Murphy
Temple	1-10	141	387					Jerry Berndt

1989 All American Awards
Player	Position	Class	Ht.	Wt.	Award	Team	Source
Coming Someday

1989 All Independent Conference Players
Player	Position	Class	Ht.	Wt.	Team	Source
Coming Someday

Some records may be incomplete.

Great Moments in College Football History

During the 1990s, Prairie View College put together an 80-game losing streak. One season, they were outscored each game by an average margin of 56 to 4.