1992 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

1992 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Cotton Bowl Classic champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 28–3 vs. Texas A&M
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 4
Record10–1–1
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorSkip Holtz (1st season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorRick Minter (1st season)
Base defense4–3
MVPReggie Brooks
Captains
Home stadiumNotre Dame Stadium
1992 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 Notre Dame – 10–1–1
Southern Miss – 7–4–0
Penn State – 7–5–0
Memphis State – 6–5–0
Army – 5–6–0
East Carolina – 5–6–0
Louisiana Tech – 5–6–0
Louisville – 5–6–0
Northern Illinois – 5–6–0
Tulsa – 4–7–0
Cincinnati – 3–8–0
Arkansas State – 2–9–0
Southwestern Louisiana – 2–9–0
Tulane – 2–9–0
Navy – 1–10–0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1992 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their seventh year under head coach Lou Holtz, the Irish compiled a 10–1–1 record, outscored opponents by a total of 409 to 178, and were ranked No. 4 in the final AP and UPI polls. During the regular season, they tied with No. 6 Michigan, lost to No. 18 Stanford, and defeated No. 9 Boston College, No. 22 Penn State, and No. 19 USC. They concluded the season with a victory over No. 4 Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.[1][2]

Guard Aaron Taylor was a consensus first-team pick on the 1992 All-America college football team.[3] The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Rick Mirer (1,876 passing yards), running back Reggie Brooks (1,343 rushing yards), Lake Dawson (25 receptions for 462 yards), and linebacker Demetrius DuBose (87 tackles).[4][5]

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

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 53:30 p.m.vs. NorthwesternNo. 3
ABCW 42–764,877[6]
September 121:30 p.m.No. 6 MichiganNo. 3
NBCT 17–1759,075[7]
September 193:30 p.m.at Michigan StateNo. 7
ABCW 52–3176,188[8]
September 261:30 p.m.PurdueNo. 6
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
NBCW 48–059,075[9]
October 31:30 p.m.No. 18 StanfordNo. 6
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
NBCL 16–3359,075[10]
October 107:45 p.m.at PittsburghNo. 13
ESPNW 52–2152,155[11]
October 241:30 p.m.BYUNo. 10
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • South Bend, IN
NBCW 42–1659,075[12]
October 311:00 p.m.vs. NavyNo. 10
W 38–758,769[13]
November 71:30 p.m.No. 9 Boston CollegeNo. 8
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • South Bend, IN (Holy War)
NBCW 54–759,075[14]
November 141:30 p.m.No. 22 Penn StateNo. 8
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • South Bend, IN (rivalry)
NBCW 17–1659,075[15]
November 288:00 p.m.at No. 19 USCNo. 5
ABCW 31–2390,063[16]
January 1, 19931:00 p.m.vs. No. 4 Texas A&MNo. 5
NBCW 28–371,615[17]

Game summaries

At Northwestern

Team 1 234Total
• Fighting Irish 7 71414 42
Wildcats 7 000 7
Scoring summary
Q16:12NDMcBride 5 yard pass from Mirer (PAT)ND 7–0
Q10:47NWGissendaner 14 yard run (PAT)NW 7–7
Q21:54NDBecton 2 yard run (PAT)ND 14–7
Q35:47NDMiller 70 yard pass from Mirer (PAT)ND 21—7
Q31:48NDBettis 24 yard run (PAT)ND 28–7
Q46:47NDBrooks 72 yard run (PAT)ND 35–7
Q43:27NDMcBride 5 yard pass from McDougal (PAT)ND 42–7

[19]

Michigan

At Michigan State

Purdue

Stanford

At Pittsburgh

BYU

Notre Dame vs. Navy
Team 1 234Total
• Fighting Irish 7 2407 38
Midshipmen 0 007 7
Scoring summary
Q1NDBurns 5 yard run (Hentrich kick)ND 7–0
Q2NDHentrich 32 yard field goalND 10–0
Q2NDBrooks 24 yard pass from Mirer (Hentrich kick)ND 17–0
Q2NDBrooks 4 yard run (Hentrich kick)ND 24—0
Q2NDSmith 3 yard pass from Mirer (Hentrich kick)ND 31–0
Q4NAVYPritchard 22 yard pass from Van Matre (Rogers kick)ND 31–7
Q4NDBecton 9 yard run (Pendergast kick)ND 38–7

[20]

Boston College

Game footage from the final scene of the 1993 film Rudy was shot at halftime.

Penn State

Team 1 234Total
Penn State 6 0010 16
• Notre Dame 3 338 17
  • Source:
Scoring summary
1NDHentrich 26 yard field goalND 3-0
1PSUAnderson 1 yard run (kick failed)PSU 6-3
2NDHentrich 31 yard field goalTied 6-6
3NDHentrich 37 yard field goalND 9-6
4PSUMuscillo 22 yard field goalTied 9-9
4PSUO'Neal 13 yard run (Muscillo kick)PSU 16-9
4NDBettis 3 yard pass from Mirer (Mirer to Brooks pass)ND 17-16

With snowfall starting early in the game, heavy during the first half, this game has been nicknamed the "Snow Bowl".[21][22][23]

At USC

Cotton Bowl

Team 1 234Total
• Fighting Irish 0 7147 28
Aggies 0 003 3

Roster

1992 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
FB 6 Jerome Bettis Jr
RB 40 Reggie Brooks Sr
TE 98 Pete Chryplewicz Fr
RB 37 Travis Davis So
WR 87 Lake Dawson Jr
OT 65 Lindsay Knapp Sr
TE 80 Oscar McBride Jr
QB 15 Kevin McDougal Jr
WR 1 Derrick Mayes Fr
QB 3 Rick Mirer Sr
C 61 Tim Ruddy Jr
TE 84 Irv Smith Sr. Sr
OT 75 Aaron Taylor Jr
RB 34 Ray Zellars So
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
LB 47 Pete Bercich Jr
S 9 Jeff Burris Jr
CB 13 Tom Carter Jr
CB 32 Willie Clark Jr
CB 29 John Covington Jr
LB 31 Demetrius DuBose Sr
DT 44 Jim Flanigan Jr
DT 55 Oliver Gibson Jr
FS 25 Mike Lalli Sr
LB 89 Karmeeleyah McGill Sr
CB 21 Bobby Taylor Fr
DE 48 Renaldo Wynn So
DE 97 Bryant Young Jr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
P 28 Craig Hentrich Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Awards and honors

Tailback Reggie Brooks, who led the team with 1,343 rushing yards, an average of 8.0 yards per carry, and 84 points scored,[4] was selected as the team's most valuable player.[24] He also finished fifth in voting for the Heisman Trophy.[25] He was also one of three finalists for the Doak Walker Award and received second-team honors on the 1992 All-America college football team.[24]

Linebacker Demetrius DuBose won the Nick Pietrosante Award by vote of his teammates.[24]

Quarterback Rick Mirer was selected as a second-team All-American by Football News. He was also a finalist for both the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the Davey O'Brien Award.[24]

Former Fighting Irish player Jim Lynch was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame 84 points scored,

1993 NFL draft

The following Notre Dame players were selected in the 1993 NFL draft.

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Rick MirerQuarterback12Seattle Seahawks
Jerome BettisRunning back110Los Angeles Rams
Tom CarterCornerback117Washington Redskins
Irv SmithTight end120New Orleans Saints
Demetrius DuBoseLinebacker234Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Reggie BrooksRunning Back245Washington Redskins
Devon McDonaldLinebacker4107Indianapolis Colts
Lindsay KnappGuard5130Kansas City Chiefs
Craig HentrichKicker8200New York Jets

References

  1. ↑ "1992 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
  2. ↑ "1992 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. 1 2 "1992 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
  5. ↑ 1992 Football Review, p. 47.
  6. ↑ "Notre Dame declaws Wildcats". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. September 6, 1992. Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Irish rally for tie with Michigan". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. September 13, 1992. Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Notre Dame turns back Spartans". The Salisbury Post. September 20, 1992. Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Brooks' 205 yards help Irish mash Purdue". The Courier-Journal. September 27, 1992. Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Stanford stuns Notre Dame". The Advocate. October 4, 1992. Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "No. 13 Notre Dame rebounds from loss to rout Pitt, 52–21". The Times and Democrat. October 11, 1992. Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Running game helps Notre Dame finish off BYU". The Kalamazoo Gazette. October 25, 1992. Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "ND win doesn't impress Holtz". The Record. November 1, 1992. Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Notre Dame welcomes Boston College to a new world". The Herald-Times. November 8, 1992. Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Irish rally to thwart Penn State". The State. November 15, 1992. Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Irish stop USC, 31–23". The Ann Arbor News. November 29, 1992. Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Notre Dame manhandles Texas A&M 28–3". Anchorage Daily News. January 2, 1993. Retrieved July 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "1992 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
  19. ↑ "1992 Football Review" (PDF). Notre Dame University. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  20. ↑ Gainesville Sun. 1992 Nov 1. Retrieved 2018-Dec-15.
  21. ↑ "This Day in History: The Snow Bowl". ND.edu. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  22. ↑ Lowe, Steve (September 3, 2006). "'A really weird game' — Memories swirl of '92 'Snow Bowl'". South Bend Tribune. South Bend, Indiana. p. SS18. Retrieved October 24, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ "The Snow Bowl: Penn State vs. Notre Dame - 1992". July 23, 2007. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2020 – via YouTube.
  24. 1 2 3 4 1992 Football Review, p. 48.
  25. ↑ "1992 Heisman Trophy Voting". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
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