1959 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

1959 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 18
APNo. 17
Record5–5
Head coach
CaptainKen Adamson
Home stadiumNotre Dame Stadium
1959 Midwestern major college football independents records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Detroit – 6–4–0
No. 17 Notre Dame – 5–5–0
Dayton – 3–7–0
Marquette – 3–7–0
Rankings from AP poll

The 1959 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1958 college football season. In their first year under head coach Joe Kuharich, the Irish compiled a 5–5 record, were outscored by a total of 180 to 171, and were ranked No. 17 in the final AP poll. In four games against ranked opponents, they lost to No. 2 Northwestern and No. 19 Georgia Tech and defeated No. 16 Iowa and No. 7 USC.[1]

End Monty Stickles was a consensus first-team player on the 1959 All-America college football team.[2] The team's statistical leaders included George Izo (661 passing yards), Gerry Gray (256 rushing yards), and Bob Scarpitto (297 receiving yards, 42 points scored).[3]

The team played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 26North Carolina
W 28–856,746[4]
October 3at PurdueNo. 8
L 7–2850,362[5]
October 10at California
W 28–668,500[6]
October 17at Michigan State
L 0–1973,480[7]
October 24No. 2 Northwestern
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
L 24–3059,078[8]
October 31Navy
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 25–2258,652[9]
November 7No. 19 Georgia Tech
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
L 10–1458,575[10]
November 14at Pittsburgh
L 13–2852,337[11]
November 21at No. 16 Iowa
W 20–1958,500[12]
November 28No. 7 USC
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 16–648,684[13]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[14]

References

  1. ↑ "1959 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 9. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  3. ↑ "1959 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Irish blast N. Carolina". The Des Moines Register. September 27, 1959. Retrieved January 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Purdue topples Notre Dame, 28–7". Cleveland Plain Dealer. October 4, 1959. Retrieved July 1, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Sun-soaked 68,500 see Irish crush Cal, 28–6". The Indianapolis Star. October 11, 1959. Retrieved July 1, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Notre Dame blanked, 19 to 0, by fumbling Michigan State". The Palladium-Item. October 18, 1959. Retrieved July 1, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Wildcats prowl, top Irish". Port Huron Times-Herald. October 25, 1959. Retrieved July 1, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Notre Dame edges Navy on late kick". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Chicago Tribune. November 1, 1959. p. 3, sports.
  10. ↑ "Georgia Tech beats Notre Dame 14–10". Atlantic City Press. November 8, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Cooper Rollow (November 15, 1959). "Pitt Defeats Irish, 28–13". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2. Retrieved September 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Irish upset Iowa, 20-19 on George Izo's passing". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. November 22, 1959. p. 3, sports.
  13. ↑ "Notre Dame mauls Trojans, 16-6". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Chicago Tribune. November 29, 1959. p. 1, sports.
  14. ↑ "Schedule/Results (1959 Notre Dame)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
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