1991 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

1991 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 39–28 vs. Florida
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 12
APNo. 13
Record10–3
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTom Beck (1st season)
Offensive schemeWishbone triple option
Defensive coordinatorGary Darnell (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
MVPJerome Bettis and Rick Mirer
CaptainRodney Culver
Home stadiumNotre Dame Stadium
1991 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 9 East Carolina – 11–1–0
No. 4 Florida State – 11–2–0
No. 3 Penn State – 11–2–0
No. 21 Tulsa – 10–2–0
Louisiana Tech – 8–1–2
No. 13 Notre Dame – 10–3–0
Akron – 5–6–0
Memphis State – 5–6–0
Army – 4–7–0
Cincinnati – 4–7–0
Southern Miss – 4–7–0
South Carolina – 3–6–2
Southwestern Louisiana – 2–8–1
Louisville – 2–9–0
Northern Illinois – 2–9–0
Tulane – 1–10–0
Navy – 1–10–0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1991 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their sixth year under head coach Lou Holtz, the Irish compiled a 10–3 record, outscored opponents by a total of 426 to 261, and were ranked No. 13 in the final AP poll and No. 12 in the final UPI poll. After losing to No. 3 Michigan in week two, the Irish won seven straight games before losing in consecutive weeks to No. 13 Tennessee and No. 8 Penn State. They concluded the season with a victory over No 3 Florida in the Sugar Bowl.[1][2]

Guard Mirko Jurkovic was a consensus first-team pick on the 1991 All-America college football team.[3] Tight end Derek Brown and linebacker Demetrius DuBose also received first-team All-America honors from one or more selectors. The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Rick Mirer (2,117 passing yards), fullback Jerome Bettis (972 rushing yards), Tony Smith (42 receptions for 789 yards), and DuBose (127 tackles).[4][5]

The team played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana. On September 7, NBC started televising Notre Dame's home games, as the Irish became the first NCAA Division I-A program to have all of its home games televised exclusively by one television network.[6]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 71:30 p.m.IndianaNo. 7
NBCW 49–2759,075[7]
September 143:30 p.m.at No. 3 MichiganNo. 7
ABCL 14–24106,138[8]
September 211:30 p.m.Michigan StateNo. 11
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
NBCW 49–1059,075[9]
September 2812:00 p.m.at PurdueNo. 8
ABCW 45–2067,861[10]
October 511:00 p.m.at StanfordNo. 8
ESPNW 42–2670,798[11]
October 121:30 p.m.No. 12 PittsburghNo. 7
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
NBCW 42–759,075[12]
October 198:30 p.m.at Air ForceNo. 5
ESPNW 28–1552,024[13]
October 261:30 p.m.USCNo. 5
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
NBCW 24–2059,075[14]
November 24:00 p.m.NavyNo. 5
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
NBCW 38–059,075[15]
November 91:30 p.m.No. 13 TennesseeNo. 5
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
NBCL 34–3559,075[16]
November 163:30 p.m.at No. 8 Penn StateNo. 12
ABCL 13–3596,672[17]
November 3011:00 p.m.at HawaiiNo. 18
ESPNW 48–4250,000[18]
January 1, 19928:00 p.m.vs. No. 3 FloridaNo. 18
ABCW 39–2876,447[19]

Game summaries

Indiana

Team 1 234Total
Hoosiers 3 1437 27
• Fighting Irish 7 21147 49
Scoring summary
1INDBonnell 48 yard field goalIND 3–0
1NDDuBose 49 yard interception return (Hentrich kick)ND 7–3
2INDGreen 5 yard run (Bonnell kick)IND 10–7
2NDCulver 19 yard run (Hentrich kick)ND 14–10
2INDGreen 1 yard run (Bonnell kick)IND 17–14
2NDMirer 46 yard run (Hentrich kick)ND 21–17
2NDT. Brooks 13 yard run (Hentrich kick)ND 28–17
3INDBonnell 29 yard field goalND 28–20
3NDMirer 6 yard run (Hentrich kick)ND 35–20
3NDI. Smith 58 yard pass from Mirer (Hentrich kick)ND 42–20
4INDWalker 5 yard pass from Green (Bonnell kick)ND 42–27
4NDMirer 1 yard run (Hentrich kick)ND 49–27

[21]

At Michigan

Team 1 234Total
Fighting Irish 0 770 14
• Wolverines 3 1407 24
Scoring summary
1MICHCarlson 23 yard field goalMICH 3–0
2MICHHoward 29 yard run (Carlson kick)MICH 10–0
2MICHPowers 16 yard run (Carlson kick)MICH 17–0
2NDBettis 3 yard pass from Mirer (Hentrich kick)MICH 17–7
3NDT. Smith 35 yard pass from Mirer (Hentrich kick)MICH 17–14
4MICHHoward 25 yard pass from Grbac (Carlson kick)MICH 24–14

Michigan State

At Purdue

At Stanford

Pittsburgh

At Air Force

USC

At Penn State

At Hawaii

Vs. Florida (Sugar Bowl)

Team 1 234Total
• Fighting Irish 0 71022 39
Gators 10 6012 28

[22]

Roster

1991 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
FB 6 Jerome Bettis So
RB 40 Tony Brooks Jr
TE 86 Derek Brown Sr
RB 5 Rodney Culver Sr
WR 87 Lake Dawson So
WR 10 Adrian Jarrell Jr
OT 65 Lindsay Knapp Jr
TE 80 Oscar McBride So
C 76 Gene McGuire Sr
QB 3 Rick Mirer Jr
FB 15 Mike O'Neill Sr
G 61 Tim Ruddy So
TE 84 Irv Smith Sr. Jr
G 75 Aaron Taylor So
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
LB 47 Pete Bercich So
S 9 Jeff Burris So
CB 13 Tom Carter So
FS 32 Willie Clark So
CB 29 John Covington So
LB 31 Demetrius DuBose Jr
LB 44 Jim Flanigan So
DT 55 Oliver Gibson So
FS 25 Mike Lalli Jr
LB 89 Karmeeleyah McGill Jr
LB 46 Brian Ratigan Jr
CB 21 Rod Smith Sr
DT 97 Bryant Young So
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
P 28 Craig Hentrich Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Awards and honors

Senior offensive guard Mirko Jurkovic received first-team All-America honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF), College & Pro Football Newsweekly, and Football News. He also won the team award as the Lineman of the Year.[23]

Senior tight end Derek Brown received first-team All-America honors from the WCFF and was selected to play in the Hula Bowl and the East-West Shrine game.[23]

Junior inside linebacker received first-team All-America honors from Football News. He was also a semifinalist for the Butkus Award.[23]

Junior quarterback Rick Mirer was selected as the team's co-most valuable player. He was also a semifinalist for the Football News Offensive Player of the Year award.[23]

Sophomore fullback Jerome Bettis received second-team All-America honors from Football News and College & Pro Football Newsweekly. He was also the most valuable player of the Sugar Bowl and was selected as the team's co-most valuable player.[23]

References

  1. ↑ "1991 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
  2. ↑ "1991 Football Review" (PDF). The Notre Dame Scholastic – via Notre Dame Archives.
  3. ↑ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. pp. 3, 14. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  4. ↑ "1991 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
  5. ↑ 1991 Football Review, p. 51.
  6. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (August 25, 1991). "College Football; Notre Dame Scored a $38 Million Touchdown on Its TV Deal". The New York Times. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Like Irv, Notre Dame is too big a load for Hoosiers". The Courier-Journal. September 8, 1991. Retrieved July 11, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Michigan finally tops Notre Dame, 24–14". Democrat and Chronicle. September 15, 1991. Retrieved July 11, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Notre Dame rips Spartans 49–10". The Salisbury Post. September 22, 1991. Retrieved July 11, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Boilers fumble away chances". Palladium-Item. September 29, 1991. Retrieved July 11, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Stanford trampled". Santa Cruz Sentinel. October 6, 1991. Retrieved July 11, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Notre Dame hands Pittsburgh first loss, 42–7". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 13, 1991. Retrieved July 11, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Air Force proves pesky but Notre Dame prevails". The Indianapolis Star. October 20, 1991. Retrieved July 11, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Notre Dame's Bettis batters USC". Chicago Tribune. October 27, 1991. Retrieved July 11, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Notre Dame again sinks Navy on football field, 38–0". The Kalamazoo Gazette. November 3, 1991. Retrieved July 11, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Vols dance an Irisg jig 35–34". Bristol Herald Courier. November 10, 1991. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Penn State blasts Notre Dame, 35–13". The Star-Ledger. November 17, 1991. Retrieved July 11, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Notre Dame holds off Hawaii, 48–42". The Press Democrat. December 1, 1991. Retrieved July 11, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "Irish thwart Florida". Wisconsin State Journal. January 2, 1992. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "1991 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
  21. ↑ Gainesville Sun. 1991 Sep 9. Retrieved 2018-Nov-03.
  22. ↑ "Notre Dame Beats Florida, 39-28, Proves It Belongs". Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1992. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 1991 Football Review, pp. 52-53.
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