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
1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW 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 was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach Gerry Faust, the Irish compiled a 5–6 record, outscored opponents by a total of 232 to 160, and were unranked in the final AP and UPI polls. After defeating LSU in the season opener, the Irish were ranked No. 1 in the AP poll, but they lost four of the next five games and fell out of the rankings. They lost all five games against ranked opponents: No. 11 Michigan, No. 20 Florida State, No. 5 USC, No. 13 Penn State, and No. 9 Miami (FL).[1][2] It was Notre Dame's first losing season since 1963.

Linebacker and co-captain Bob Crable was a consensus first-team pick on the 1981 All-America college football team.[3] Defensive back John Krimm also received first-team All-America honors from multiple selectors. The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Blair Kiel (936 passing yards), running back and co-captain Phil Carter (727 rushing yards), wide receiver Joe Howard (463 receiving yards, 27.2-yard average), kicker Harry Oliver (46 points scored, 28 of 30 PAT, 5 of 13 field goals), and Crable (167 tackles, 16 tackles for loss).[4][5]

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

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 122:30 p.m.LSUNo. 4
W 27–959,075[6]
September 191:50 p.m.at No. 11 MichiganNo. 1
ABCL 7–25105,888[7]
September 262:30 p.m.at PurdueNo. 13
L 14–1570,007[8]
October 32:30 p.m.Michigan State
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 20–759,075[9]
October 102:30 p.m.No. 20 Florida State
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
L 13–1959,075[10]
October 242:30 p.m.No. 5 USC
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
L 7–1459,075[11]
October 311:30 p.m.Navy
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 38–059,075[12]
November 71:30 p.m.Georgia Tech
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 35–359,075[13]
November 143:00 p.m.at Air Force
W 35–736,800[14]
November 211:00 p.m.at No. 13 Penn State
L 21–2484,175[15]
November 273:00 p.m.at No. 9 Miami (FL)
ABCL 15–3750,681[16]

[17]

Roster

1981 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
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.#NameClass
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.#NameClass
K 3 Herry Oliver Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Statistics

Passing

  1. Blair Kiel - 67 of 151 (.444 completion percentage) for 936 yards, 7 touchdowns, 10 interceptions
  2. Tim Koegel - 50 of 92 (.543 completion percentage) for 686 yards, 5 touchdowns, 4 interceptions

[5]

Rushing

  1. Phil Carter - 727 yards, 4.4-yard average, 6 touchdowns
  2. Greg Bell - 512 yards, 5.6-yard average, 4 touchdowns
  3. John Sweeney - 168 yards, 4.7-yard average, 0 touchdowns
  4. Chris Smith - 161 yards, 3.9-yard average, 1 touchdown
  5. Mark Brooks - 126 yards, 5.2-yard average, 1 touchdown

[5]

Receiving

  1. Tony Hunter - 28 receptions for 397 yards, 2 touchdowns
  2. Joe Howard - 17 receptions for 463 yards, 3 touchdowns
  3. Phil Carter - 14 receptions for 57 yards, 0 touchdowns
  4. Dean Masztak - 13 receptions for 163 yards, 1 touchdown
  5. Greg Bell - 11 receptions for 135 yards, 0 touchdowns
  6. John Sweeney, 9 receptions for 124 yards, 1 touchdown

[5]

Scoring

  1. Harry Oliver - 46 points, 28 of 30 PAT, 6 of 13 field goals
  2. Phil Carter - 36 points, 6 touchdowns
  3. Greg Bell - 30 points, 5 touchdowns
  4. Joe Howard - 24 points, 4 touchdowns

[5]

Tackles

  1. Bob Crable - 167
  2. Mark Zavagnin - 94
  3. Griffith - 63
  4. Bob Clasby - 56
  5. Dave Duerson - 55
  6. Stacey Toran - 54

[5]

1982 NFL draft

The following Notre Dame players were selected in the 1982 NFL draft:

  • Bob Crable - 1982 / Round: 1 / Pick: 23 New York Jets
  • John Krimm - 1982 / Round: 3 / Pick: 76 New Orleans Saints
  • Phil Pozderac - 1982 / Round: 5 / Pick: 137 Dallas Cowboys

References

  1. ↑ "1981 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Irish Eye, vol. 2, No. 1" (PDF). University of Notre Dame Sports Information Department. March 1, 1982 – via Notre Dame Archives.
  3. ↑ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 10. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  4. ↑ "1981 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Irish Eye, p. 48.
  6. ↑ "Inspired Irish pound LSU, 27–9". The Kokomo Tribune. September 13, 1981. Retrieved November 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Michigan smashes Notre Dame 25–7". Herald and Review. September 20, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Purdue upsets Irish". The Kokomo Tribune. September 27, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Irish, Bell run past Michigan St". Chicago Tribune. October 4, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "FSU slays Irish 19–13". St. Petersburg Times. October 11, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Trojans defeat Irish in bout of heavyweights". The Muskegon Chronicle. October 25, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Notre Dame rips Midshipmen 38–0". The Times Recorder. November 1, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Notre Dame unveils 'Small Wonder'". The Vincennes Sun-Commercial. November 8, 1981. Retrieved July 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Irish Explode Late To Smash Air Force, 35–7". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 15, 1981. p. C9. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Notre Dame inches and 3 points shy at Penn State". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 22, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "UM goes out in style, 37–15". The Miami Herald. November 29, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "1981 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
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