The 1991 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their sixth year under head coach Lou Holtz, the Irish compiled a 10–3 record, outscored opponents by a total of 426 to 261, and were ranked No. 13 in the final AP poll and No. 12 in the final UPI poll. After losing to No. 3 Michigan in week two, the Irish won seven straight games before losing in consecutive weeks to No. 13 Tennessee and No. 8 Penn State. They concluded the season with a victory over No 3 Florida in the Sugar Bowl.
Guard Mirko Jurkovic was a consensus first-team pick on the 1991 All-America college football team. Tight end Derek Brown and linebacker Demetrius DuBose also received first-team All-America honors from one or more selectors. The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Rick Mirer (2,117 passing yards), fullback Jerome Bettis (972 rushing yards), Tony Smith (42 receptions for 789 yards), and DuBose (127 tackles).1991 Football Review, p. 51.
The team played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana. On September 7, NBC started televising Notre Dame's home games, as the Irish became the first NCAA Division I-A program to have all of its home games televised exclusively by one television network.
Schedule
Game summaries Indiana
Jerome Bettis 11 Rush, 111 Yds Gainesville Sun. 1991 Sep 9. Retrieved 2018-Nov-03.
At Michigan
Michigan State
At Purdue
At Stanford
Pittsburgh
At Air Force
USC
Navy
Tennessee
At Penn State
At Hawaii
Vs. Florida (Sugar Bowl)
Roster
Awards and honors Senior offensive guard Mirko Jurkovic received first-team All-America honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF), College & Pro Football Newsweekly, and Football News. He also won the team award as the Lineman of the Year.
Senior tight end Derek Brown received first-team All-America honors from the WCFF and was selected to play in the Hula Bowl and the East-West Shrine game.1991 Football Review, pp. 52-53.
Junior inside linebacker received first-team All-America honors from Football News. He was also a semifinalist for the Butkus Award.
Junior quarterback Rick Mirer was selected as the team's co-most valuable player. He was also a semifinalist for the Football News Offensive Player of the Year award.
Sophomore fullback Jerome Bettis received second-team All-America honors from Football News and College & Pro Football Newsweekly. He was also the most valuable player of the Sugar Bowl and was selected as the team's co-most valuable player.
References