Notre Dame

Football did not have an auspicious beginning at the University of Notre Dame. In their inaugural game on November 23, 1887, the Irish lost to Michigan by a score of 8–0. Their first win came in the final game of the 1888 season when the Irish defeated Harvard Prep School of Chicago by a score of 20–0. At the end of the 1888 season, they had a record of 1–3 with all three losses being at the hands of Michigan. Between 1887 and 1899, Notre Dame compiled a record of 31 wins, 15 losses, and 4 ties against a diverse variety of opponents ranging from local high school teams to other universities. In 1894, James L. Morrison was hired as Notre Dame's first head football coach. Notre Dame took a significant step toward respectability, prominence, and stability when they hired Morrison. He wrote an acquaintance after his first day on the job: "I arrived here [Notre Dame] this morning and found about as green a set of football players that ever donned a uniform... They want to smoke, and when I told them that they would have to run and get up some wind, they thought I was rubbing it in on them. "One big, strong cuss remarked that it was too much like work. Well, maybe you think I didn't give him hell! I bet you a hundred no one ever makes a remark like that again."

In 1908, the win over Franklin saw end Fay Wood catch the first touchdown pass in Notre Dame history. Notre Dame continued its success near the turn of the century and achieved their first victory over Michigan in 1909 by the score of 11–3, after which Michigan refused to play Notre Dame again for 33 years. By the end of the 1912 season they had amassed a record of 108 wins, 31 losses, and 13 ties. Jesse Harper became head coach in 1913, coaching for five years until retiring in 1917. During his tenure, the Irish began playing only intercollegiate games and posted a record of 34 wins, five losses, and one tie. This period would also mark the beginning of the rivalry with Army and the continuation of rivalry with Michigan State. In an effort to gain respect for a regionally successful but small-time Midwestern football program, Harper scheduled games in his first season with national powerhouses Texas, Penn State, and Army. That year, Notre Dame burst into the national consciousness and helped to transform the collegiate game in a single contest.

On November 1, 1913, the Notre Dame squad stunned the Black Knights of the Hudson 35–13 in a game played at West Point. Led by quarterback Gus Dorais and end Knute Rockne, the Notre Dame team attacked the Cadets with an offense that featured both the expected powerful running game but also long and accurate downfield forward passes from Dorais to Rockne. This game has been miscredited as the invention of the forward pass. Prior to this contest, receivers would come to a full stop and wait on the ball to come to them, but in this contest, Dorais threw to Rockne in stride, changing the forward pass from a seldom-used play into the dominant ball-moving strategy that it is today.

Irish assistant Knute Rockne became head coach in 1918. During his 13 years, the Irish won three national championships, had five undefeated seasons, won the Rose Bowl in 1925, and produced players such as George Gipp and the "Four Horsemen". Rockne's offenses employed the Notre Dame Box and his defenses ran a 7–2–2 scheme.

Rockne took over in the war-torn season of 1918 He made his coaching debut on September 28, 1918, against Case Tech in Cleveland, Ohio, and earned a 26–6 victory. Leonard Bahan, George Gipp, and Curly Lambeau were in the backfield. With Gipp, Rockne had an ideal handler of the forward pass. The Irish posted a 3–1–2 record for the season, losing only to the Michigan Agricultural Aggies. The 1919 team had Rockne handle the line and Gus Dorais handle the backfield. The Irish went undefeated and were one of four teams to be selected for the national championship, although Notre Dame does not claim it.

Gipp died at age 25 on December 14, 1920, just two weeks after Walter Camp elected him as Notre Dame's first All-American. Gipp likely contracted strep throat and pneumonia while giving punting lessons after his final game on November 20 against Northwestern. Since antibiotics were not available in the 1920s, treatment options for such infections were limited and they could be fatal even to young, healthy individuals. Rockne was speaking to Gipp on his hospital bed when he was purported to have delivered the famous "Win one for the Gipper" line.

John Mohardt led the 1921 Notre Dame team to a 10–1 record with 781 rushing yards, 995 passing yards, 12 rushing touchdowns, and nine passing touchdowns. Grantland Rice wrote that "Mohardt could throw the ball to within a foot or two of any given space" and noted that the 1921 Notre Dame team "was the first team we know of to build its attack around a forward passing game, rather than use a forward passing game as a mere aid to the running game." Mohardt had both Eddie Anderson and Roger Kiley at end to receive his passes.

The national champion 1924 team included the "Four Horsemen" backfield of Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller, Jim Crowley, and Elmer Layden. The line was known as the "Seven Mules". The Irish capped an undefeated, 10–0 season with a victory over Stanford in the Rose Bowl. The 1926 team beat Army and was led by Christie Flanagan, but was undone by a loss to Carnegie Tech in the penultimate game of the season. In this game, Rockne made what an Associated Press writer called "one of the greatest coaching blunders in history" by traveling to Chicago for the Army–Navy Game to "write newspaper articles about it, as well as select an All-America football team." Carnegie Tech used the coach's absence as motivation for a 19–0 win; the upset likely cost the Irish a chance for a national title.

The 1928 team lost to national champion Georgia Tech. "I sat at Grant Field and saw a magnificent Notre Dame team suddenly recoil before the furious pounding of one man–Peter Pund," said Rockne. "Nobody could stop him. I counted 20 scoring plays that this man ruined." Among the events that occurred during Rockne's tenure none may be more famous than the Rockne's "Win one for the Gipper" speech. Army came into the 1928 matchup undefeated and was the clear favorite. Notre Dame, on the other hand, was having their worst season under Rockne's leadership and entered the game with a 4–2 record. At the end of the half Army was leading and looked to be in command of the game. Rockne entered the locker room and gave his account of Gipp's final words: "I've got to go, Rock. It's all right. I'm not afraid. Some time, Rock, when the team is up against it, when things are going wrong and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go in there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper. I don't know where I'll be then, Rock. But I'll know about it, and I'll be happy." The speech inspired the team and they went on to upset Army and win the game 12–6.

The 1929 and 1930 teams both went undefeated, winning national championships, and the 1930 team was led by the likes of Frank Carideo, Joe Savoldi, Marchy Schwartz and Marty Brill. It featured the first and only example of all four members of a backfield being named to an All-American team during the same season. The 1929 team played all of its games on the road while the new Notre Dame Stadium was being built. In 1930, "Jumping Joe" Savoldi scored the first Notre Dame touchdown in the new stadium on a 98-yard kickoff return. Savoldi is also known as "the first hero in the lore of Notre Dame's Stadium" based on scoring three touchdowns in the official stadium dedication game against Navy the following week. Rockne coached his last game on December 14, 1930, when he led a group of Notre Dame all-stars against the New York Giants in New York City. The game raised funds for the Mayor's Relief Committee for the unemployed and needy of the city. 50,000 fans turned out to see the reunited "Four Horsemen" along with players from Rockne's other championship teams take the field against the pros.

On March 31, 1931, Rockne died at age 43 in the crash of a Transcontinental & Western Air airliner in Kansas; he was on his way to help in the production of the film The Spirit of Notre Dame. The crash site is located in a remote expanse of Kansas known as the Flint Hills and now features a Rockne Memorial. As Notre Dame's head coach from 1918 to 1930, Rockne posted what has remained for decades the all-time highest winning percentage (.881) for a football coach in the NCAA's flagship FBS division. During his 13-year tenure as head coach of the Fighting Irish, Rockne collected 105 victories, 12 losses, 5 ties and 3 national championships. Rockne also coached Notre Dame to 5 undefeated and untied seasons.

Through game broadcasts during the Golden Age of Radio, Notre Dame football gained a nationwide following of "subway alumni", Catholics who became fans whether or not they attended the university. Former Saint Louis head coach Heartley "Hunk" Anderson was promoted from assistant coach and took the helm of the Irish after Knute Rockne's death, leading them to a record of 16 wins, nine losses, and two ties. Anderson was a former Irish player under Rockne and was serving as an assistant coach at the time of Rockne's death. Notre Dame finished 6–2–1 in 1931. The Irish lost a heartbreaker by a score of 16–14 to USC on November 21 that snapped the program's 26-game unbeaten streak. 1933 was a tough year for the Irish as they finished with a 3–5–2 record, the first losing season for the program since 1888. ND suffered a four-game losing streak, failing to score a point in all four losses to Carnegie Tech, Pittsburgh, Navy, and Purdue. Anderson resigned as Irish head coach after the 1933 season to accept the position of head football coach at NC State.

Anderson was replaced by Elmer Layden, who was one of Rockne's "Four Horsemen" in the 1920s. After graduating, Layden played professional football for one year and then began a coaching career.

Layden's 1935 squad posted one of the greatest wins in school history by rallying to defeat Ohio State by a score of 18–13 in a game billed as the "Game of the Century". His 1938 team finished 8–1, losing only to USC in the season finale. This loss cost them a possible consensus national championship, but the team was named national champion by the Dickinson System. Like Rockne before him, Layden was a goodwill ambassador for Notre Dame during his time as head coach. He was able to schedule a home-and-home series with Michigan after meeting with Fielding H. Yost, healing a rift between the two schools. The two teams had not met since 1909, when, after eight straight losses to the Wolverines, the Irish posted their first win. They were scheduled to meet again in 1910, but Michigan canceled the game and refused to play the Irish again. By the time they met again in 1943, Layden had left Notre Dame and Frank Leahy had taken his place.

The Irish posted a record of 47 wins, 13 losses, and three ties in seven years under Layden, the most successful record of a Notre Dame coach not to win a national championship. He left Notre Dame after the 1940 season to become Commissioner of the National Football League.

Boston College head coach Frank Leahy was hired by Notre Dame to take over for Layden in 1941 and was another former Irish player who played during the Rockne era. After graduating from Notre Dame, Leahy held several coaching positions, including line coach of the Seven Blocks of Granite of Fordham University that helped that team win all but two of their games between 1935 and 1937. He then coached the Boston College Eagles to a win in the 1941 Sugar Bowl and a share of the national championship. His move to Notre Dame began a new period of gridiron success for the Irish and ensured Leahy's place among the winningest coaches in the history of college football.

Leahy coached the team for 11 seasons from 1941 to 1943 and 1946 to 1953. After finishing in the AP top 10 each of his first two seasons, Leahy's 1943 team went 9–1 and captured Notre Dame's fourth national championship (and first since the advent of the AP Poll). Quarterback Angelo Bertelli became Notre Dame's first Heisman Trophy winner. From 1944 to 1945, Leahy served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was honorably discharged as a captain. Edward McKeever, Leahy's assistant coach, became interim head coach when Leahy left for the Navy. During 1944, his one year at the helm, the Irish managed 8 wins and 2 losses. McKeever left Notre Dame in 1945 to take over as head coach of Cornell. For the 1945 season, he was replaced by Hugh Devore, who led the Irish to a 7–2–1 record.

Upon Leahy's return in 1946 and due to his status as a veteran himself, the Irish heavily recruited returning veterans who were often much older than incoming freshmen. Largely thanks to this influx of talent, Notre Dame went four consecutive seasons after World War II without losing a game, winning the 1946, 1947, and 1949 national championships in the process. The 1946 game against Army, ending in a 0–0 tie, pitted two of the greatest teams of all time against each other and included three consecutive Heisman Trophy winners (Army's Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis and Notre Dame's Johnny Lujack, who quarterbacked the 1946 and 1947 Irish). The 1948 team missed out on a national championship due only to a 14–14 tie at USC in the final game of the season. In 1949, Notre Dame went unbeaten and untied for the second time in three seasons behind Heisman Trophy-winning end Leon Hart, who would later be selected first overall in the 1950 NFL Draft. A fifth national championship was lost because of a 1953 tie against Iowa, in a game that featured 1953 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Lattner that caused a minor scandal at the time, when it appeared that some Irish players had faked injuries to stop the clock, leading some to nickname those players the "Fainting Irish".

Leahy retired in 1954 reportedly due to health issues. Perhaps the best example of this occurred during the Georgia Tech game in 1953. Leahy fell ill during the game, which led to him collapsing during halftime.^[] The situation was so dire that a priest was called in to give Leahy Catholic last rites. However, Leahy recovered, and the consequent diagnosis was that he was suffering from nervous tension and pancreatitis.

Leahy has the second highest winning percentage (.864) of any college coach in history. He led the Irish to a record of 87 wins, 11 losses, and nine ties including 39 consecutive games without a loss (37–0–2), four national championships, and six undefeated seasons.

The departure of Frank Leahy ushered in a downward slope in Notre Dame's performance. 25-year old assistant coach Terry Brennan was hired as Frank Leahy's successor as the Notre Dame head coach in 1954 and would stay until 1958. Brennan was a former player under Leahy. Before joining the Irish, he had coached the Mount Carmel High School team in Chicago. His first two seasons the Irish were ranked fourth and ninth respectively in the AP poll, with a loss to Purdue the only blemish on the 1954 team's schedule. It was the 1956 season that began to darken Brennan's reputation, for it became one of the most dismal in the team's history and saw them finish the season with a mere two wins, including losses to Michigan State, Oklahoma, and Iowa. One bright spot in the 1956 season was the awarding of the Heisman Trophy to Paul Hornung, who would go on to a legendary NFL career with the Green Bay Packers. Hornung is the only Heisman winner to win the award while playing for a team that had a losing record. The Irish would recover the following season, posting a record of 7–3 and including in their wins a stunning upset of Oklahoma, in Norman, Oklahoma, that ended the Sooners' still-standing record of 47 consecutive wins. In Brennan's final season, though, the Irish finished 6–4, leading to Brennan's firing in mid-December. Brennan's tenure can only be properly framed with the understanding that in a time of zero scholarship limitations in college football, Notre Dame's administration inexplicably began a process of de-emphasizing football, severely cutting scholarships and hindering Brennan from building a roster of any meaningful depth. He departed with a total of 32 wins and 18 losses.

Former San Francisco, Chicago Cardinals and Washington Redskins head coach Joe Kuharich took the head coaching position at Notre Dame in 1959, realizing a longtime ambition to return to his alma mater. He had earlier been courted by Notre Dame after the 1956 season, after the Irish finished 2–8, but before he had a chance to accept an offer, Terry Brennan was given a reprieve. Kuharich brought a professional touch to Irish football, putting shamrocks on the players' helmets and shoulder stripes on their jerseys. However, his tenure became one of the worst stretches in program history, including a school-record eight-game losing streak in 1960, a year in which the Irish finished 2–8. The consensus opinion was that Kuharich never made the adjustment from pro football to college football, attempting to use complicated pro coaching techniques with collegiate players, and never adapted to the limited substitution rules in effect at the time, having big, immobile linemen playing both ways in an era where smaller, quicker players were preferred. He often said, "You win some and you lose some", and seemed perfectly content finishing 5–5 every year. This did not sit well with the Irish faithful, who expected Notre Dame to beat everybody. When the pressure of winning became too much to bear, Kuharich resigned in the spring of 1963 and assumed the post of supervisor of NFL officials. Because it was so late in the spring, the freshman team's coach Hugh Devore was named head coach for the 1963 season while the search for a permanent replacement was being conducted.

Kuharich compiled a 17–23 record over four non-winning seasons and remains to this day the only coach ever to have an overall losing record at Notre Dame. Despite his unsuccessful tenure, Kuharich remains the only Irish coach to post back-to-back shutouts over their greatest rival, the USC Trojans, in 1960 (17–0) and 1961 (30–0).

In 1964, Ara Parseghian left his job as the Northwestern head football coach when he was hired to take over the coaching duties at Notre Dame. He immediately brought the team back to a level of success in Irish football history that was comparable only to Rockne and Leahy. These three coaches have an 80% or greater winning percentage while at Notre Dame – Rockne at .881, Leahy at .864, and Parseghian at .836. Parseghian's teams never won fewer than seven nor lost more than three games during the ten-game regular seasons of the era.

In his first year, the Irish improved their record to 9–1 behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback John Huarte, but they lost any hope for a national championship in the last game of the season at USC when Craig Fertig connected with a touchdown pass to Rod Sherman. Parseghian earned coach of the year honors from the American Football Coaches Association, the Football Writers Association, and The Sporting News, as well as several others, and a cover story in Time magazine.

The 1966 team did finish unbeaten, finishing #1 in the AP Poll and winning the national championship in the process. The Irish had six shutout wins, each by 30 or more points. This includes a season-ending 51-0 win at #10 USC, the largest margin of victory by either side in the rivalry's history. This season is most remembered for a 10–10 tie at #2 Michigan State in the "Game of the Century" in which the injury-plagued Irish played for a tie rather than risking a loss.

It was under Parseghian as well that Notre Dame lifted its 40-plus year-old "no bowl games" policy, beginning with the season of 1969, after which the Irish played the #1 Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl Classic, losing in the final minutes in a closely contested game. The following year, Parseghian's 9–1 squad ended Texas' Southwest Conference record 30-game winning streak in the Cotton Bowl. In 1971, Cliff Brown became the first African-American quarterback to start a game for the program. The Irish returned to glory by winning Parseghian's second national championship in 1973, sweeping through their regular-season schedule 10–0 and defeating #1 Alabama 24-23 in the Sugar Bowl by taking advantage of a fourth-quarter missed extra point by the Crimson Tide. Due to health issues, Parseghian was forced to retire from coaching after another bowl win over Alabama to conclude the 1974 season.

During Parseghian's eleven-year career, the Irish amassed a record of 95–17–4 and captured two national championships. The Irish finished in the AP Top 10 nine times and never ranked lower than #14 at the end of a season. Parseghian was also named coach of the year by several selectors in his national championship years of 1966 and 1973 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980.

Dan Devine was hired to take over as head coach upon Parseghian's retirement from Notre Dame in 1975. Devine was already a highly successful coach and had led Arizona State, Missouri, and the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Devine had been a leading candidate for the head coaching job at Notre Dame in 1964, when Ara Parseghian was hired. When approached for the job following Parseghian's resignation, Devine accepted immediately, joking that it was probably the shortest job interview in history. When he arrived at Notre Dame he already had a college coaching record of 120 wins, 40 losses, and eight ties and had led his teams to victory in four bowl games. At Notre Dame he would lead the Irish to 53 wins, 16 losses, and a tie as well as three bowl victories.

His lasting achievement came midway through this run, when the 1977 Notre Dame team won the national championship, led by junior quarterback Joe Montana. Before the game against USC, played at home on October 22, Devine changed the team's jerseys from navy blue & white to kelly green & gold, later known as the "green jersey game", resulting in a 49–19 victory over the Trojans. The Irish continued to wear green for the rest of Devine's tenure at the school. The championship season climaxed with a 38–10 win in the 1978 Cotton Bowl Classic over previously top-ranked Texas, led by Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell. The win vaulted the Irish from fifth to first in the polls.

The following season, the Irish lost their first two games including a shocking 3–0 loss to Missouri in South Bend, but would recover to finish the regular season 8–3 and earn a berth in the Cotton Bowl against Houston. The Irish used three Montana touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) to recover from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter and win 35–34, the largest fourth-quarter comeback in college football history at the time. The game became known as the "Chicken Soup Game" after Montana ate a bowl of chicken soup at halftime while battling the flu. The 1979 and 1980 Irish did not live up to the standards set by earlier Devine teams, although the former season did see Vagas Ferguson set the single-season program rushing record (1,437 yards) that still stands today.

Because he had the unenviable task of following a legend, Devine came under heavy scrutiny while at Notre Dame and it was felt that he was never fully embraced by the Notre Dame community, despite winning a national championship. After a 5–2 start in his first season, rumors of incompetence were circulated and that Devine would be dismissed and replaced by Don Shula or even Ara Parseghian (who went so far as to say he would not return to Notre Dame under any circumstances). Even on the day of the 1977 USC game, "Dump Devine" bumper stickers were being sold outside Notre Dame Stadium. On August 15, 1980, Devine announced that he would be leaving Notre Dame at the end of season, saying he wanted to be able to spend more time with his wife.

Gerry Faust was a surprise choice when hired to replace Devine in 1981. Prior to Notre Dame, Faust had been one of the more successful high school football coaches in the country. As coach of Moeller High School in Cincinnati he amassed a 174–17–2 record over 19 seasons. Many of his players had gone on to play for Notre Dame; indeed, when he arrived in South Bend, he was reunited with nine of his former players from Moeller. Despite his success in the high school ranks, Faust's success at Notre Dame was mixed. In his first season, the Irish finished 5–6. In Faust's second season, Notre Dame improved slightly to 6–4–1. The most successful years under Faust were the 1983 and 1984 campaigns where the Irish finished 7–5 and made trips to the Liberty Bowl and Aloha Bowl respectively. His final record at Notre Dame was 30–26–1. To avoid being fired, Faust resigned at the end of the 1985 season. He announced his resignation prior to the final game of the year, where Notre Dame suffered a humiliating 58–7 loss at Miami; Allen Pinkett scored the Irish TD. Faust proceeded to take over as head coach at Akron.

Lou Holtz had 17 years of head coaching experience by the time he was hired to lead the Irish. He had previously been head coach of William & Mary, North Carolina State, the NFL's New York Jets, Arkansas, and Minnesota. In contrast to Faust, Holtz was well known as a master motivator and a strict disciplinarian. The tone was set with Holtz's first meeting with his team as Irish head coach in 1986, immediately demanding his players sit up straight in their chairs and look him in the eye as he spoke. Holtz began in 1986 where his predecessor left off in 1985, finishing with an identical record of 5–6. However, unlike the 1985 squad, which was generally outcoached and outplayed, Holtz's 1986 edition was competitive in nearly every game, losing five out of those six games by a combined total of 14 points. That would be his only losing season as he posted a record of 95–24–2 over the next ten seasons adding up to a 100–30–2 record overall.

In 1987, Holtz led the Irish to an 8–4 record. Notre Dame's best player was star wide receiver Tim Brown, who would win the Heisman Trophy that season and is Notre Dame's seventh and most recent Heisman winner.

The 1988 campaign began with high hopes, as former Notre Dame coaches Rockne, Leahy, Parseghian, and Devine all won their first national championship in their third season with the program. The Irish defeated their first five opponents, ascending to the #4 ranking in the lead-up to a visit from the reigning national champion Miami Hurricanes. In a game which became known as Catholics vs. Convicts due to a popular T-shirt design on Notre Dame's campus, the Irish upset the Hurricanes 31–30 when Pat Terrell knocked down Steve Walsh's two-point conversion attempt with no time on the clock. When star players Ricky Watters and Tony Brooks showed up late for dinner right before the then top-ranked Irish played second-ranked USC in the final regular season game of 1988, in a controversial move, Holtz took his 10–0 Irish squad to Los Angeles without them. His move was vindicated when the Irish defeated USC anyway. Holtz was named national coach of the year, and a win over No. 3 West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl captured the Irish's 11th-all time national championship. 1988 remains Notre Dame's most recent undefeated season and national championship.

In 1989, Holtz led the Irish to a 12–1 record. The Irish began the season in the Kickoff Classic game in East Rutherford, New Jersey, against Virginia. The Irish won by a score of 36–13 and ascended to the #1 spot in the AP Poll. Next, top-ranked Notre Dame defeated #2 Michigan by a score of 24–19. After nine more consecutive victories to begin the season 11–0, the Irish would lose to #7 Miami in the final week of the season, ending Notre Dame's 23-game winning streak. Holtz would lead the Irish to a victory in the Orange Bowl over #1 Colorado to end the season, finishing #2 in the AP poll behind Miami.

After beginning the 1990 season with a #1 ranking and a victory over #4 Michigan by a score of 28–24 and two more wins for a 3–0 start, the Irish took their first loss of the season, losing to Stanford by a score of 36–31. The Irish would ascend back to #1 on the strength of a home win over #2 Miami, a game that saw the end of the series between the two until 2010. However, late-season losses to Penn State and Colorado in the Orange Bowl would eliminate the Irish from national championship contention. The 1991 Fighting Irish began the season 8-1, but lost back-to-back games for the first time since 1987 when they again lost to Penn State. The Irish would receive a berth in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, where they defeated Florida by a score of 39–28.

In 1992, Notre Dame finished 10–1–1. After defeating Northwestern to start the season, the Fighting Irish tied #5 Michigan, their first tie of the Holtz era. This season saw the Irish's largest win in history against Purdue, a 48–0 win at Notre Dame Stadium, and a 28–3 Cotton Bowl against previously unbeaten #4 Texas A&M.

The Irish enjoyed another successful season in 1993, finishing the season at 11–1. After scoring 27 points in wins over Northwestern and #2 Michigan to start the season, the Irish defeated their next six opponents to enter a matchup with undefeated #1 Florida State 8–0 and ranked just behind the Seminoles at #2. For the first time, ESPN's College GameDay decided to make a visit to campus to host the show live on Saturday morning. In a classic, the Irish defeated the Seminoles 31–24, ascending to the #1 ranking a day later. However, a loss to #17 Boston College on a game-winning field goal as time expired by a score of 41–39 ended the Irish's national championship aspirations. The Irish would face a rematch with #6 Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl to finish the season, a game the Irish won by a score of 24–21. Controversially, Notre Dame finished #2 in the AP poll behind a team in Florida State it had beaten.

In 1994, Holtz led Notre Dame to a 6–5–1 record, the Irish's worst record since Holtz's first season in 1986. The team lost three of four games midseason to drop out of the rankings for the first time since 1986. The Irish would improve to 9–3 in 1995, but lost to #8 Florida State in the Orange Bowl. Lou Holtz's final season at Notre Dame in 1996 resulted in an 8–3 record. The season notably saw Notre Dame's first participation in the Emerald Isle Classic in Ireland, a 54–27 win over Navy, and an overtime loss to USC, snapping the Irish's 13-game non-losing streak against the Trojans.

Holtz's option offense, which helped catapult Notre Dame to many victories in the late 1980s and early 1990s, also helped rack up impressive recruiting classes. During the 1989 season, Holtz had the following future NFL players on offense: QB Rick Mirer, RB Ricky Watters, RB Anthony Johnson, RB Rodney Culver RB Dorsey Levens, and WR Raghib Ismail. In 1990, he added RB Jeff Burris (who would later move to safety), FB Jerome Bettis and TE Irv Smith. 1991 saw the additions of RB Reggie Brooks and FB Ray Zellars. 1992 saw the addition of WR Derrick Mayes. For 1993, he added FB Marc Edwards. In 1995, he added RB Autry Denson. From the 1987–1995 NFL Drafts, there were a total of 65 Notre Dame players selected. Overall, Holtz took Notre Dame to one undefeated season, nine consecutive New Year's Day bowl games, and top 10 finishes in the AP poll in five seasons, as well as overseeing the majority of the longest winning streak against USC in program history (11 games). Holtz retired from Notre Dame following the 1996 season, but would unretire in 1999 to accept the head coaching position at South Carolina where he would serve until the completion of the 2004 season.

Bob Davie, who had been Holtz's defensive coordinator from 1994 to 1996, was promoted to head coach when Holtz retired. Davie, who turned down a head coaching offer from Purdue to accept the Irish's head coaching position, was a well-respected defensive mind who had also served as defensive coordinator at Tulane and Texas A&M. Davie had also filled in as head coach for one game during the 1995 season when Lou Holtz was dealing with a health issue. One of his first major decisions was to fire long-time offensive line coach Joe Moore, who then successfully sued the university for age discrimination. On Davie's watch, the team suffered three bowl game losses (1997 Independence Bowl, 1999 Gator Bowl, and 2001 Fiesta Bowl), and it failed to qualify for a bowl game in two others (1999 and 2001). The highlight of Davie's tenure was a 36–20 upset win in 1998 over #5 Michigan, the defending national champions.

On December 17, 1999, Notre Dame was placed on probation by the NCAA. The association's Committee on Infractions found two series of violations. The New York Times reported "the main one involved the actions of a booster, Kimberly Dunbar, who lavished gifts on football players with money she later pleaded guilty to embezzling." In the second series of events, a football player was accused of trying to sell several complimentary game tickets and of using others as repayment of a loan. The player was also said "to have been romantically involved with a woman (not Dunbar), a part-time tutor at the university, who wrote a term paper for another player for a small fee and provided players with meals, lodging and gifts." The Dunbar violation began while Lou Holtz was head coach: "According to the NCAA committee report, Dunbar, the woman at the center of the more serious violations, had become romantically involved with several Notre Dame football players from June 1995 to January 1998 and had a child with one, Jarvis Edison." Notre Dame was placed on probation for two years and lost one of its 85 football scholarships each year in what the Times termed "minor" penalties.

Davie nearly defeated top-ranked Nebraska in 2000, with the Irish comeback bid falling short in overtime 27–24. The aforementioned 2001 Fiesta Bowl was Notre Dame's first invitation to the Bowl Championship Series. The Irish lost by 32 points to Oregon State, but would finish No. 15 in the AP Poll, Davie's highest ranking as head coach. Despite Davie's rocky tenure, new athletic director Kevin White gave the coach a contract extension following the 2000 season, then saw the team start 0–3 in 2001 – the first such start in school history. Disappointed by the on-field results, coupled with the Joe Moore and Kim Dunbar scandals, the administration decided to dismiss Davie after the 2001 season. His final record at Notre Dame was 35–25.

On December 9, 2001, Notre Dame hired George O'Leary, the head coach at Georgia Tech, to replace Davie. However, while researching a story on O'Leary, New Hampshire Union Leader reporter Jim Fennell uncovered misrepresentations in O'Leary's resume that had influenced the administration's decision to hire him. The resulting media scandal embarrassed Notre Dame officials and tainted O'Leary; he resigned five days later, before coaching a single practice, recruiting a single player, or hiring a single assistant coach. O'Leary's tenure is the shortest of any head coach in FBS history. O'Leary would go on to become the head football coach at the University of Central Florida.

Once again in need of a new head coach, the school turned to Tyrone Willingham, the head coach at Stanford. Willingham's hiring made him the first African American head coach in Notre Dame football history. Bringing a feeling of change and excitement to campus, Willingham led the 2002 squad to a 10–2 regular season record, including an 8–0 start with wins over #7 Michigan and #11 Florida State, and a #4 ranking. This great early start, however, would be the lone highlight of Willingham's tenure, as Notre Dame finished the year with a loss to Boston College, then lopsided losses to USC and North Carolina State in the Gator Bowl. The program faltered over the next two seasons under Willingham, compiling an 11–12 record. During this time, Notre Dame lost a game by at least 30 points on five occasions. Furthermore, Willingham's 2004 recruiting class was judged by analysts to be the worst at Notre Dame in more than two decades. Citing Notre Dame's third consecutive four-touchdown loss to arch-rival USC compounded by another year of subpar recruiting efforts, the Willingham era ended on November 30, 2004 (after the conclusion of the 2004 season) when the university chose to terminate him and pay out the remainder of Willingham's six-year contract.

After Willingham's firing, Notre Dame initially pursued Utah head coach Urban Meyer, who had been an Irish assistant from 1996 to 2000 and had a clause in his Utah contract that stated he could take the Notre Dame head coaching job without paying a buyout. After Meyer accepted the Florida head coaching position and turned down the Irish, Charlie Weis left the NFL's New England Patriots, where he won three Super Bowls as offensive coordinator, to become head football coach for the Irish beginning with the 2005 season. A first-time head coach when he was hired by Notre Dame, Weis was officially introduced on December 12, 2004. Weis' hiring as the Irish's 30th head football coach made him the first Notre Dame graduate to hold the football head coaching position on a full-fledged basis since Joe Kuharich. Weis signed a six-year contract worth about $2 million annually excluding incentives.

To kick off his inaugural season, Weis led the Irish to back-to-back road wins over ranked teams, the first time that had been done by a Notre Dame coach since Knute Rockne. On September 25, Weis and the Irish traveled to Seattle to face Washington and former head coach Tyrone Willingham, who was hired by the Huskies to be their head coach two weeks after getting fired at Notre Dame. The Irish won by a score of 36–17. Entering the rivalry game with USC, defending national champions and owners of a 27-game winning streak, the Irish had risen to #9 in the AP Poll. In one of the most famous games in the rivalry's history, USC defeated Notre Dame 34–31. The game is most remembered for Trojan running back and eventual Heisman winner Reggie Bush, who had already scored three touchdowns that day, illegally pushing quarterback Matt Leinart into the end zone on the final play of the game, in a play now known as the "Bush Push". The Irish won their remaining five games to earn an appearance in the Fiesta Bowl. There, they were defeated by the Ohio State Buckeyes 34–20 to finish the season 9–3 and #9 in the AP poll, their highest final ranking since 1993. Quarterback Brady Quinn broke numerous team passing records that season and became a top Heisman Trophy contender. Wide receiver Jeff Samardzija was the team's leading receiver and also broke Notre Dame's single-season records for receiving yards and touchdowns. During the 2005 season, Notre Dame signed Weis to a big raise and ten-year contract extension that was set to keep the coach in South Bend through the 2015 season.

Weis and the Irish went into the 2006 season with a No. 2 preseason ranking in the ESPN/Coaches Poll. They finished the regular season with a 10–2 record, losing only to Michigan and USC. Notre Dame accepted a bid to the 2007 Sugar Bowl, losing to LSU 41–14. This marked their ninth consecutive postseason loss, the longest drought in NCAA history. As a result, Notre Dame dropped to #17 in the final rankings. In the wake of a graduating class that sent eleven players to the NFL, the 2007 season included various negative milestones: the most losses in a single year (9); two of the ten worst losses in program history (38–0 losses to both Michigan and USC); and the first 6-game losing streak for home games. The Naval Academy recorded their first win over the Irish since 1963, breaking Notre Dame's NCAA-record 43-game win streak.

In 2008, the Irish started 4–1, but completed the regular season with a 6–6 record, including a 24–23 home loss to Syracuse, the first time that Notre Dame had fallen to an eight-loss team. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen was the team's star player, completing over 60% of his passes. Despite speculation the university might fire Weis, it was announced he would remain head coach. Weis's Notre Dame squad ended the season breaking the Irish's NCAA bowl losing streak by beating Hawaii, 49–21, in the Hawaii Bowl. Weis entered the 2009 season with the expectation from the Notre Dame administration that his team would be in position to compete for a BCS Bowl berth. Notre Dame started the first part of the season 4–2, with close losses to Michigan and USC. Sitting at 6–2, however, Notre Dame lost to Navy for the second time in three years, which became the first loss in a four-game losing streak to finish the season. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen and wide receiver Golden Tate would forgo their senior seasons and enter the NFL Draft. Weis was fired on November 30, 2009. According to Weis' buyout, he was to be paid $6 million then $2.05 million annually until the contract ran out in December 2015 for a total of about $19 million. During that time, Weis made more money annually not to coach the Irish than his successor, Brian Kelly, made to coach the team.

On December 10, 2009, Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly became the 31st head coach of the Fighting Irish after leading the Bearcats to a 12–0 record and BCS bowl-game berth, but he left the team before the bowl game. Kelly's hiring surprised very few as he was a northern Irish Catholic who was considered one of college football's rising stars. In his first season, Kelly led the Fighting Irish to an 8–5 record. Tragedy struck early in the season when Declan Sullivan, a junior working for the athletic department, died while filming a practice on a scissor lift in dangerously high winds. Dayne Crist started the season at quarterback but was injured for a second consecutive year, this time in the Tulsa game, which the Irish lost. Kelly turned to freshman quarterback Tommy Rees, who led the Irish to victories in the last three games against #15 Utah, Army in Yankee Stadium, and breaking an eight-year losing streak to USC in the LA Coliseum. Kelly guided the Irish to a 33–17 win over Miami (FL) in the 2010 Sun Bowl to finish 2010 with an 8–5 record. With senior wideout Michael Floyd returning for his senior season and an outstanding recruiting class that included several highly touted defensive linemen, Kelly and the Irish looked to improve on their 8–5 record from the prior year. However, an early season upset to a Skip Holtz-led South Florida team and a last-second loss to Michigan in Ann Arbor, games in which the Irish committed 10 total turnovers, left the Irish at 0–2 to start the season. The Irish bounced back to beat #15 Michigan State and had two 4-game winning streaks, with the only loss during that stretch coming at the hands of USC. The Irish also broke Navy's 2-game winning streak over Notre Dame. Notre Dame lost 18–14 to Florida State in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl, concluding the 2011 campaign with an 8–5 record overall, identical to the 2010 season. In the team's losses, multiple turnovers from the quarterback position were often the culprit, and as a whole turnovers at critical times in the game often derailed potential Irish comebacks.

On September 12, 2012, during the football program's 125th season, Notre Dame announced that it would leave the Big East Conference for the Atlantic Coast Conference, excluding the football and hockey programs. This move became official on July 1, 2013. While the Fighting Irish football team remained an FBS independent, it agreed to play five games per season against ACC teams starting with the 2014 football season. In return, Notre Dame became eligible to participate in the ACC's sub-BCS level bowl arrangements.

The 2012 season was another entry in historic third seasons for Notre Dame head coaches. The Irish began the season 7–0, including wins over ranked rivals in Michigan State, Michigan, and Stanford. The game against the Cardinal required a goal-line stand against running back Stepfan Taylor in overtime to preserve the win for the Irish. The season's signature win came at #8 Oklahoma with ESPN's College GameDay in town. On November 18, after a loss by #1 Oregon, Notre Dame became ranked #1 in the nation in both the AP and Coaches' polls after reaching 11–0 during the regular season for the first time since 1993, also ranking #1 in the BCS standings for the first time in the 14-year history of the selection system. After defeating USC on November 24, Notre Dame concluded its first 12–0 regular season, and the Irish were soon formally named to appear in the BCS National Championship Game for the first time. In that game, on January 7, 2013, the Irish lost to Alabama 42–14. The strength of the 2012 Fighting Irish was its defense, captained by senior leader Manti Te'o, who broke the school record for interceptions by a linebacker with 7 and finished second to Johnny Manziel in Heisman Trophy voting.

Coming off the previous year's national title game appearance, the Fighting Irish were dealt a blow when 2012 starting quarterback, Everett Golson, was suspended from the University due to an academic violation. Senior Tommy Rees then took over. Notre Dame's 2013 season ended with a record of 9–4, a victory over Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl, and a #20 AP poll ranking. The 2014 season started off with 6 straight victories and a #5 national ranking heading into a showdown with #2 Florida State in Tallahassee, Florida. FSU won that game 31–27, on a controversial offensive pass interference call that brought back a last-second Notre Dame touchdown. The Fighting Irish bounced back with a win against Navy before dropping their final 4 games of the season. They did win the Music City Bowl by defeating the LSU Tigers and finished the season at an 8–5 record.

The 2015 Fighting Irish began its season with another new offensive coordinator, Mike Sanford Jr. Led for most of the year by sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer, the Irish had fourteen plays of over 50 yards during the season, which was a school record, including two touchdowns of over 90 yards (a 91-yard touchdown run by C. J. Prosise and a 98-yard touchdown run by Josh Adams). The Irish only had two in the previous 126 years of Notre Dame football. They finished the regular season averaging 34 points per game, including a 62-point effort against UMass, the most points in a game since 1996. The Irish began the season 10–1 and were in position for a College Football Playoff appearance, but lost a last-second game to Stanford to finish with a 10–2 record and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl. Star linebacker Jaylon Smith was injured early in the game which became a loss to Ohio State. The 2016 season ended with a 4–8 record, Brian Kelly's worst win–loss record at Notre Dame. The tone for the season was set early, with a heartbreaking double overtime loss to Texas in the season opener. Just 4 games into the season, Brian Kelly fired defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder. At the end of the season, starting quarterback DeShone Kizer declared for the NFL Draft and backup quarterback Malik Zaire announced he would be transferring in the winter after graduation. Amidst speculation that Kelly's job was in jeopardy and that Kelly was looking to leave Notre Dame, athletics director Jack Swarbrick announced that Kelly would return for the 2017 season.

The 2017 season was one of Kelly's strongest seasons at ND. An early one-point loss to #2 Georgia was the only blemish on an 8-1 start, keyed by a 49-14 blowout over rival USC. The tough running of running back Josh Adams behind an experienced and talented offensive line, which included future top-10 picks Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey and won the Joe Moore Award as the best offensive line in that nation, allowed Notre Dame to string together 6 consecutive 20+ point victories. However, when #3 Notre Dame visited #7 Miami in South Florida on November 7, an embarrassing 41-8 loss effectively ended the Irish hopes of a playoff run. They ended the season with a win over LSU in the Music City Bowl. The Irish opened the 2018 season at home against Michigan and won, 24–17. After benching quarterback Brandon Wimbush in favor of Ian Book, the Irish then won the remainder of their regular season games, including victories over #7 Stanford, #24 Virginia Tech, #12 Syracuse, and Northwestern. This led to Notre Dame's first undefeated regular season since 2012. They were ranked #3 in the nation by the College Football Playoff committee and selected to play in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl against Clemson. Notre Dame's undefeated streak came to an end after losing to the eventual national champions 30–3 to finish the season at 12–1. Kelly was named AP Coach of the Year and Home Depot Coach of the Year for the 2018 season.

Kelly and the Fighting Irish started off the 2019 season with a #9 ranking in the AP Poll. Notre Dame won their first two games before dropping a 23–17 result to #3 Georgia. Notre Dame won their next three games before dropping a 45–14 game to #19 Michigan. Notre Dame closed out the regular season with victories in their last five games, followed by a win in the Camping World Bowl 33–9 over Iowa State.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of regular season scheduled games, Notre Dame joined the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in football for a single season in 2020 and played a full slate of conference matches. The Irish won all ten of their games, including a mid-season contest against perennial conference power and top-ranked Clemson. The Fighting Irish defeated the Tigers 47–40 in double overtime. However, Clemson defeated the Irish in a rematch in the ACC Championship Game 34–10. Notre Dame qualified for the College Football Playoff as the #4 seed. In the College Football Playoff Semifinals against Alabama at the Rose Bowl, Notre Dame lost 31–14 to finish with a 10–2 record. In what would become Kelly's final season as head coach in 2021, the Fighting Irish were ranked #9 to begin the season, but struggled in their first two games, beating Florida State 41–38 and Toledo 32–29. Following a 24–13 loss to #7 Cincinnati, Kelly helped lead the Fighting Irish to a seven-game winning streak to finish the regular season 11–1 and earn a berth in the Fiesta Bowl.

On November 29, 2021, Kelly resigned as Notre Dame head coach to accept a ten-year, $95 million contract offer to become head coach at LSU. In so doing, Kelly became the first Irish head coach since Thomas A. Barry in 1907 to leave Notre Dame for another coaching job. Kelly left the Irish as the program's all-time winningest head coach.

On December 3, 2021, Notre Dame's defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman was promoted to the head coaching position to replace Brian Kelly, becoming the 32nd head coach in program history. The second African American head coach in the history of the Irish football program, Freeman signed a five-year contract worth $4 million annually excluding incentives. Freeman took control immediately, coaching the Irish in their Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma State.

Freeman opened the 2022 season with losses to Ohio State (his alma mater) and Marshall, thus becoming first head coach in Notre Dame history to start his tenure with three losses. He gained his first win the following week against the California. Freeman's Irish would go on to finish the regular season ranked 19th with a record of 8-4, including an upset win over No. 5 Clemson. They were awarded a berth in the Gator Bowl where they defeated South Carolina 45–38.

For the 2023 season, Freeman guided the Notre Dame program to a 10-win season. Safety Xavier Watts received the Bronko Nagurski Trophy for college football's best defensive player and the team earned victories over #17 Duke, #10 USC and #19 Oregon State in the Sun Bowl. Notre Dame finished the year ranked #14 in the final AP Top 25.

Freeman and the Fighting Irish held their first home game of the 2024 season against the Northern Illinois Huskies as the #5 ranked team in the AP Top 25 and as a 28.5-point favorite to win. They fell to the Huskies 16-14, throwing two interceptions and giving up two blocked field goals. It was the second early-season home loss for the Irish against a heavy underdog in three years (following the 2022 loss to Marshall), was the first-ever win by a Mid-American Conference football program against a top 5 team, the first-ever Huskie win against a top 10 team, and one of the largest point-spread upsets in modern college football.