1986 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

The 1986 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Lou Holtz, the Fighting Irish compiled a record of 5–6. The team played home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

1986 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–6
Head coach	Lou Holtz (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Foge Fazio (1st season)
Captain	Mike Kovaleski
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium
Seasons ← 1985 1987 →

1986 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		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

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 13	3:30 p.m.	No. 3 Michigan		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	ABC	L 23–24	59,075
September 20	2:30 p.m.	at Michigan State	No. 20	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	CBS	L 15–20	79,895
September 27	3:30 p.m.	Purdue		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	ABC	W 41–9	59,075
October 4	3:30 p.m.	at No. 2 Alabama		Legion Field Birmingham, AL	ABC	L 10–28	75,808
October 11	12:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	USA, WGN	L 9–10	59,075
October 18	12:30 p.m.	Air Force		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	USA, WGN	W 31–3	59,075
November 1	7:00 p.m.	at Navy		Memorial Stadium Baltimore, MD (rivalry)	TBS	W 33–14	61,335
November 8	1:00 p.m.	SMU		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN		W 61–29	59,075
November 15	3:30 p.m.	No. 3 Penn State		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	ABC	L 19–24	59,075
November 22	7:30 p.m.	at No. 8 LSU		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	ESPN	L 19–21	78,197
November 29	3:30 p.m.	at No. 17 USC		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	CBS	W 38–37	70,614
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Michigan

Week 1: Michigan at Notre Dame

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Michigan	7	3	14	0	24
Notre Dame	7	7	6	3	23

Date: September 13
Location: South Bend, IN
Game start: 3:30 p.m.
Game attendance: 59,075
TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Tim Brant, Al Trautwig

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

At Michigan State

Purdue

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Purdue	0	0	6	3	9
• Notre Dame	10	14	3	14	41

Date: Saturday, September 27
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana
Game attendance: 59,075

At Alabama

Pittsburgh

Air Force

Navy

Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Navy Midshipmen

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	7	21	3	2	33
Navy	0	0	7	7	14

at Memorial Stadium • Baltimore, Maryland

Game time: 7:05 p.m.
Game attendance: 61,335
TV: TBS
Notre Dame Football Archives

Game information

Notre Dame

Steve Beuerlein
15/22, 248 Yds, 2 TD
Anthony Johnson
14 Rush, 50 Yds
Tim Brown
7 Rec, 184 Yds, TD

Navy

Bob Misch
12/27, 130 Yds
Tony Hollinger
13 Rush, 17 Yds, TD
Mike Ray
7 Rec, 83 Yds, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	ND	NAVY
1	2:36	14	57	6:40	Notre Dame	Joel Williams 2-yard touchdown reception from Steve Beuerlein, John Carney kick good	7	0
2	14:04	5	94	1:57	Notre Dame	Tim Brown 77-yard touchdown reception from Steve Beuerlein, John Carney kick good	14	0
2	7:40	9	60	4:18	Notre Dame	Pernell Taylor 11-yard touchdown run, John Carney kick good	21	0
2	2:35	5	2	0:42	Notre Dame	Pernell Taylor 1-yard touchdown run, John Carney kick good	28	0
3	12:25	7	53	2:35	Notre Dame	19-yard field goal by John Carney	31	0
3	0:56	2	40	0:29	Navy	Tony Hollinger 1-yard touchdown run, Ted Fundoukas kick good	31	7
4	12:33				Notre Dame	Safety, intentional grounding penalty in end zone by Bob Misch	33	7
4	7:59	8	77	2:27	Navy	Mike Ray 21-yard touchdown reception from Bill Byrne, Ted Fundoukas kick good	33	14
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							33	14

SMU

Penn State

At LSU

At USC

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	6	3	11	18	38
USC	3	17	10	7	37

Date: November 29
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Television network: CBS

Source: [1]

Roster

1986 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
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.	#	Name	Class
LB	`48`	Cedric Figaro	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`18`	John Carney

Head coach

Lou Holtz

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Foge Fazio (DC)
George Stewart (LB)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Team players drafted into the NFL

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

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Wally Kleine	Tackle	2	48	Washington Redskins
Steve Beuerlein	Quarterback	4	110	Los Angeles Raiders
Robert Banks	Defensive end	7	176	Houston Oilers
Joel D. Williams	Tight end	8	210	Miami Dolphins


1	4:34	ND	Tim Brown 3-yard run (John Carney kick)	ND 7–0

1	0:33	MICH	Jamie Morris 8-yard run (Pat Moons kick)	TIE 7–7

2	8:08	ND	Mark Green 1-yard run (Carney kick)	ND 14–7

2	0:52	MICH	Moons 23-yard field goal	ND 14–10

3	8:57	MICH	Morris 1-yard run (Moons kick)	MICH 17–14

3	8:51	MICH	Morris 27-yard pass from Jim Harbaugh (Moons kick)	MICH 24–14

3	3:10	ND	Joel Williams 2-yard pass from Steve Beuerlein (kick failed)	MICH 24–20

4	4:26	ND	Carney 25-yard field goal	MICH 24–23


1	Notre Dame	Taylor 2-yard run (Carney kick)	Notre Dame 7-0

1	Notre Dame	Carney 42-yard field goal	Notre Dame 10-0

2	Notre Dame	Johnson 2-yard run (Carney kick)	Notre Dame 17-0

2	Notre Dame	Jackson 35-yard pass from Beuerlein (Carney kick)	Notre Dame 24-0

3	Notre Dame	Carney 49-yard field goal	Notre Dame 27-0

3	Purdue	Chaney 3-yard run (pass failed)	Notre Dame 27-6

4	Purdue	Briggs 22-yard field goal	Notre Dame 27-9

4	Notre Dame	Johnson 13-yard run (Carney kick)	Notre Dame 34-9

4	Notre Dame	Green 27-yard run (Carney kick )	Notre Dame 41-9


1		USC	Shafer 48-yard field goal	USC 3-0

1		Notre Dame	Heck 5-yard pass from Beuerlein (kick failed)	Notre Dame 6-3

2		USC	Brock 58-yard interception return (Shafer kick)	USC 10-6

2		USC	Holt 3-yard run (Shafer kick)	USC 17-6

2		Notre Dame	Carney 33-yard field goal	USC 17-9

2		USC	Shafer 60-yard field goal	USC 20-9

3		USC	Shafer 23-yard field goal	USC 23-9

3		Notre Dame	Carney 32-yard field goal	USC 23-12

3		USC	Steele 1-yard run (Shafer kick)	USC 30-12

3		Notre Dame	Banks 22-yard pass from Beuerlein (Beuerlein to Jackson pass)	USC 30-20

4		USC	Peete 1-yard run (Shafer kick)	USC 37-20

4		Notre Dame	Jackson 42-yard pass from Beuerlein (Carney kick)	USC 37-27

4		Notre Dame	Banks 5-yard pass from Beuerlein (Beuerlein to Heck pass)	USC 37-35

4	:00	Notre Dame	Carney 19-yard field goal	Notre Dame 38-37