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Notre Dame Football Team History

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

University of Notre Dame
South Bend, IN
Founded: 1842
Stadium: Notre Dame Stadium
Capacity: 80,225
Colors: Blue & Gold
Coach: Lou Holtz
Conference: Independent-

Select Year:

1887 <-- 1987 <- 1988 -> 1989 --> 2024

1988 Season Highlights

Lou Holtz enters his 3rd season as Head Coach at Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish won the National Championship.

1988 Season

Date	Opponent	Score
Sat., Sep. 10	vs. Michigan	19	17	W
Sat., Sep. 17	@ Michigan State	20	3	W
Sat., Sep. 24	vs. Purdue	52	7	W
Sat., Oct. 1	vs. Stanford	42	14	W
Sat., Oct. 8	@ Pittsburgh	30	20	W
Sat., Oct. 15	vs. Miami	31	30	W
Sat., Oct. 22	vs. Air Force	41	13	W
Sat., Oct. 29	@ Navy	22	7	W	@ Baltimore, MD
Sat., Nov. 5	vs. Rice	54	11	W
Sat., Nov. 19	vs. Penn State	21	3	W
Sat., Nov. 26	@ Southern California	27	10	W
Mon., Jan. 2	West Virginia	34	21	W	@ Tempe, AZ	Fiesta Bowl

1988 Season Totals
Record	12-0
Points Scored	393
Scoring Average	32.8
Points Allowed	156
Defense Average	13.0
Opponents Record	73-61
Conference Record	0-0
Home Record	7-0
Away Record	4-0

1988 NCAA Final Rankings
Rank	Record	Source
1	12-0-0	AP
1	12-0-0	Coaches
1	12-0-0	UPI
1	12-0-0	USA Today/CNN

1988 Independent- Standings
	Season			Bowls	Conference
Team	W/L/T	PF	PA		W/L/T	PF	PA	Coach
Georgia Southern	12-3	469	214					Erk Russell
Notre Dame	12-0	393	156	Won 34-21				Lou Holtz
Florida State	11-1	455	172	Won 13-7				Bobby Bowden
West Virginia	11-1	493	208	Lost 21-34				Don Nehlen
Southern Mississippi	10-2	353	284	Won 38-18				Curley Hallman
Syracuse	10-2	341	189	Won 23-10				Dick MacPherson
Army	9-3	336	226	Lost 28-29				Jim Young
Western Kentucky	9-4	311	220					Dave Roberts
Liberty	8-3	313	177					Morgan Hout
Louisville	8-3	261	245					Howard Schnellenberger
South Carolina	8-4	232	224	Lost 10-34				Joe Morrison
Northern Illinois	7-4	155	185					Jerry Pettibone
Central Florida	6-5	267	288					Gene McDowell
Louisiana	6-5	296	224					Nelson Stokley
Memphis	6-5	226	205					Charlie Bailey
Pittsburgh	6-5	300	183					Mike Gottfried
Arkansas State	5-6	261	245					Larry Lacewell
James Madison	5-6	201	209					Joe Purzycki
Penn State	5-6	231	201					Joe Paterno
Rutgers	5-6	273	255					Dick Anderson
Tulane	5-6	251	334					Greg Davis
Louisiana Tech	4-7	185	352					Joe Peace
Temple	4-7	207	317					Bruce Arians
Tulsa	4-7	254	318					Dave Rader
Boston College	3-8	237	326					Jack Bicknell, Sr.
Cincinnati	3-8	201	379					Dave Currey
East Carolina	3-8	281	325					Art Baker
Navy	3-8	221	274					Elliot Uzelac
Virginia Tech	3-8	176	264					Frank Beamer
Buffalo	2-8	148	237					Bill Dando

1988 All American Awards
Player	Position	Class	Ht.	Wt.	Award	Team	Source
Coming Someday

1988 All Independent Conference Players
Player	Position	Class	Ht.	Wt.	Team	Source
Coming Someday

Some records may be incomplete.

Great Moments in College Football History

College football's largest margin of victory came in 1916, when Georgia Tech defeated Cumberland by a score of 222 to 0. The game was cut short by 15 minutes.