The 1983 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third year under head coach Gerry Faust, the Irish compiled a 7–5 record, outscored opponents by a total of 297 to 159, and were unranked for the third consecutive year in both the final AP and UPI polls. Despite losing the last three games of the regular season, the Irish were invited to play in the Liberty Bowl where they defeated No. 13 Boston College, 19–18.
Running back Allen Pinkett led the team with 1,394 rushing yards, 28 pass receptions, and 108 points scored and received first-team honors from Football News and The Sporting News on the 1983 All-America college football team. The team's other statistical leaders included quarterback Steve Beuerlein (1,061 passing yards), wide receiver Joe Howard (464 receiving yards), and linebacker Tony Furjanic (142 tackles).Irish Eye, p. 60.
The team played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana.
Schedule
Roster
Game summaries
Purdue
Allen Pinkett 15 Rush, 115 Yds Gainesville Sun. 1983 Sept 11. Retrieved 2015-Sep-20.
Colorado
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USC
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The game came to be known as the "Green Jerseys II" game. Notre Dame snapped a five-game losing streak to USC as Allen Pinkett rushed 21 times for 122 yards, his fourth straight 100-yard game and the first Irish player to do so since Jim Stone in 1980. "We felt could have beat USC in blue. We felt we could have beat them in T-shirts," said Pinkett. The game took place six years to the day from the original "Green Jersey" game in 1977 but head coach Gerry Faust had already made the decision to wear the jerseys over the summer.
Liberty Bowl
Notre Dame was invited to the Liberty Bowl where they faced Boston College and their prized quarterback Doug Flutie. Boston College scored first on a 13-yard touchdown pass but missed the extra point. Notre Dame came back as Allen Pinkett and Chris Smith each rushed for 100-plus yards, while Pinkett scored two touchdowns as Notre Dame beat Boston College, 19–18, to win their first bowl game since the 1979 Cotton Bowl.
Statistics Team statistics Notre Dame gained 4,713 yards of total offense, an average of 5.9 yards per play and 428.5 yards per game. Of that total, 2,727 yards were gained by rushing, an average of 4.9 yards per carry and 238.8 yards per game. The Irish also tallied 2,086 passing yards, an average of 189.6 yard per game.Irish Eye, p. 60.
On defense, they gave up 3,154 yards of total offense (286.7 per game) by opponents, consisting of 1,473 rushing yards (133.9 per game) and 1,681 passing yards (152.8 per game).
Passing Steve Beuerlein - 75-of-145 (.517) for 1,061 yards, 6 interceptions, 4 touchdowns Blair Kiel - 64-of-115 (.557) for 910 yards, 7 interceptions, 7 touchdowns
Rushing Allen Pinkett - 1,394 yards, 5.5-yard average, 16 touchdowns Chris Smith - 421 yards, 5.5-yard average, 1 touchdown Hiawatha Francisco - 194 yards, 5.1-yard average, 0 touchdowns Mark Brooks - 180 yards, 5.1-yard average, 2 touchdowns Greg Bell - 169 yards, 4.6-yard average, 4 touchdowns
Receiving Allen Pinkett - 28 receptions for 288 yards, 10.3-yard average, 2 touchdowns Joe Howard - 27 receptions, 464 yards, 17.2-yard average, 2 touchdowns Milt Jackson - 23 receptions, 438 yards, 19.0-yard average, 3 touchdowns Mark Bavaro - 23 receptions, 376 yards, 16.3-yard average, 3 touchdowns Chris Smith - 13 receptions, 142 yards, 10.9-yard average, 1 touchdown Mark Favorite - 8 receptions, 123 yards, 15.4-yard average, 0 touchdowns
Scoring Allen Pinkett - 110 points on 18 touchdowns and a two-point conversion Mike Johnston - 69 points, 33 of 34 PAT and 12 of 21 field goals Greg Bell - 30 points, 5 touchdowns
Tackles Tony Furjanic - 142 tackles Rick Naylor - 71 tackles Mike Kovaleski - 62 tackles Mike Golic - 59 tackles (team-high 10 tackles for loss) Pat Ballage - 55 tackles Mike Gann - 52 tackles Joe Johnson - 50 tackles
Awards and honors Allen Pinkett received first-team honors from Football News and The Sporting News on the 1983 All-America college football team. He also received second-team All-America honors from the Associated Press and United Press International. He finished 16th in voting for the Heisman Trophy.
Offensive tackle Larry Williams received second-team All-America honors from Football News.
Former Fighting Irish players Bill Fischer and Bill Shakespeare were inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
References