1986 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

The 1986 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season.[1] The team was coached by Lou Holtz and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

1986 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
ConferenceIndependent
1986 record5–6
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorFoge Fazio (1st season)
CaptainMike Kovaleski
Home stadiumNotre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)
1986 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 1 Penn State        12 0 0
No. 2 Miami (FL)        11 1 0
No. 20 Virginia Tech        9 2 1
No. 19 Boston College        9 3 0
Tulsa        7 4 0
Florida State        7 4 1
Army        6 5 0
Southwestern Louisiana        6 5 0
Southern Miss        6 5 0
Temple        6 5 0
Pittsburgh        5 5 1
Rutgers        5 5 1
Cincinnati        5 6 0
Notre Dame        5 6 0
Syracuse        5 6 0
South Carolina        3 6 2
Tulane        4 7 0
West Virginia        4 7 0
Louisville        3 8 0
Navy        3 8 0
Wichita State        3 8 0
East Carolina        2 9 0
Northern Illinois        2 9 0
Memphis State        1 10 0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 133:30 p.m.No. 3 MichiganABCL 23–2459,075
September 202:30 p.m.at Michigan StateNo. 20CBSL 15–2079,895
September 273:30 p.m.Purdue
ABCW 41–959,075
October 43:30 p.m.at No. 2 AlabamaABCL 10–2875,808
October 1112:30 p.m.Pittsburgh
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
USA, WGNL 9–1059,075
October 1812:30 p.m.Air Force
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
USA, WGNW 31–359,075
November 17:00 p.m.at NavyTBSW 33–1461,335
November 81:00 p.m.SMU
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
W 61–2959,075
November 153:30 p.m.No. 3 Penn State
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
ABCL 19–2459,075
November 227:30 p.m.at No. 8 LSUESPNL 19–2178,197
November 293:30 p.m.at No. 17 USCCBSW 38–3770,614

Roster

1986 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 2 Terry Andrysiak Jr
QB 7 Steve Beuerlein Sr
WR 81 Tim Brown Jr
OT 66 Andy Heck So
  3 Alonzo Jefferson
  Anthony Johnson Fr
  Pernell Taylor
WR 83 Reggie Ward
  Joel Williams
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
LB 48 Cedric Figaro Jr
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 18 John Carney
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Game summaries

Michigan

Week 1: Michigan at Notre Dame
1 234Total
Michigan 7 3140 24
Notre Dame 7 763 23

On September 13, 1986, Notre Dame lost to No. 3 Michigan, 24–23, before a crowd of 59,075 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. The game was the first for Lou Holtz as Notre Dame's head coach.

On the game's opening possession, Michigan mounted a six-and-a-half-minute drive to the Notre Dame 25-yard line, but Pat Moons missed a 42-yard field goal. After Michigan's touchdown, Notre Dame drove 75 yards on 13 plays, capped by a three-yard touchdown run by flanker Tim Brown. On its second possession, Michigan followed with an 80-yard, eight-play drive, fueled by a 34-yard catch by John Kolesar, and capped by an eight-yard touchdown run by Jamie Morris.[2][3]

On Notre Dame's second possession, the Irish again drove downfield, but Reggie Ward fumbled at Michigan's six-yard line, and Michigan recovered the loose ball. Notre Dame's defense held, and Michigan was forced to punt from its own end zone. Monte Robbins' punt was good for only 23 yards, and Notre Dame took over at Michigan's 26-yard line. Eight plays later, Mark Green scored on a one-yard run. After Green's touchdown, Jim Harbaugh led the Wolverines on a seven-minute, 75-yard, 13-play drive, and Pat Moons kicked a 23-yard field goal. Notre Dame led, 14-10, at halftime.[2][3]

Michigan moved ahead in the third quarter. On the opening drive of the second half, Harbaugh led the Wolverines on a 78-yard, 12-play drive ending with a one-yard touchdown run by Morris. On the kickoff following the touchdown, the kick hit a Notre Dame player and bounced loose with free safety Doug Mallory recovering the ball at the Notre Dame 27-yard line. On the next play from scrimmage, Harbaugh threw a touchdown pass to Morris, and Michigan led 24-14.[2][3]

On its next possession, Steve Beuerlein led the Irish on a 66-yard, 12-play touchdown drive ending with a two-yard pass from Beuerlein to Joel Williams. John Carney's extra point kick failed, and Michigan led, 24-20, at the end of the third quarter.[2][3]

In the fourth quarter, Notre Dame drove 62 yards in 10 plays, and a 25-yard field goal by John Carney brought the Irish within one point with 4:26 remaining in the game. Then, with 1:33 remaining in the game, Michigan fullback Bob Perryman fumbled at the Notre Dame 26-yard line, and Notre Dame linebacker Wesley Pritchett recovered the loose ball. Beuerlein quickly led the Irish to Michigan's 28-yard line. With 13 seconds remaining, Carney's 45-yard field goal attempt went wide to the left.[2][3]

Notre Dame out-gained Michigan, 455 yards to 393 yards. For the Irish, Steve Beuerlein completed 21 of 33 passes for 263 yards, at touchdown, and an interception, and Tim Brown rushed for 65 yards on 12 carries. For the Wolverines, Harbaugh completed 15 of 23 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown, Kolesar caught four passes for 93 yards, and Morris rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. Michigan forced four turnovers, including two fumble recoveries by Doug Mallory and a fourth-quarter interception by David Arnold in the end zone. Andy Moeller led the Michigan defense with seven solo tackles and six assists.[2][3]

at Michigan State

Purdue

1 234Total
Purdue 0 063 9
Notre Dame 10 14314 41


[4]

at Alabama


Pittsburgh

Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Navy Midshipmen
1 2 34Total
Notre Dame 7 21 3233
Navy 0 0 7714

at Memorial StadiumBaltimore, Maryland

at LSU


at USC

1 234Total
Notre Dame 6 31118 38
USC 3 17107 37
  • Source:


Team players drafted into the NFL

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

PlayerPositionRoundPickFranchise
Wally KleineTackle248Washington Redskins
Steve BeuerleinQuarterback4110Los Angeles Raiders
Robert BanksDefensive End7176Houston Oilers
Joel D. WilliamsTight End8210Miami Dolphins

[5]

References

  1. "Notre Dame Yearly Results (1985-1989)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  2. Tommy George (September 14, 1986). "U-M plucks Irish luck: ND misses FG at end; it's 24-23". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1D, 17D via Newspapers.com.
  3. Phil Nussel (September 15, 1986). "Michigan ruins Holtz debut, 24-23: ND commits four turnovers in loss". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 11 via Bentley Historical Library.
  4. Gainesville Sun. 1986 Sept 28.
  5. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1987.htm
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