1984 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

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External videos
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1984 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
1984 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Aloha Bowl, L 20–27 vs. SMU
Conference	Independent
Record	7–5
Head coach	Gerry Faust (4th season);
Defensive coordinator	A. J. Christoff (1st season)
Captains	Mike Golic; Joe Johnson; Larry Williams;
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium
	Seasons ← 1983 1985 →

1984 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 5 Boston College		–		–		10	–	2	–	0
No. 11 South Carolina		–		–		10	–	2	–	0
Army		–		–		8	–	3	–	1
Rutgers		–		–		7	–	3	–	0
No. 17 Florida State		–		–		7	–	3	–	2
Virginia Tech		–		–		8	–	4	–	0
West Virginia		–		–		8	–	4	–	0
No. 18 Miami (FL)		–		–		8	–	5	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–		7	–	5	–	0
Temple		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
Penn State		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
Syracuse		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
Memphis State		–		–		5	–	5	–	1
Navy		–		–		4	–	6	–	1
Southern Miss		–		–		4	–	7	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		–		3	–	7	–	1
Tulane		–		–		3	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–		2	–	9	–	0
East Carolina		–		–		2	–	9	–	0
Louisville		–		–		2	–	9	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1984 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Gerry Faust, the Fighting Irish compiled a record of 7–5. Notre Dame was invited to the Aloha Bowl, where the Fighting Irish lost to SMU. The team played home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	1:30 p.m.	vs. Purdue	No. 8	Hoosier Dome Indianapolis, IN (rivalry)		L 21–23	60,672	^[1]
September 15	1:00 p.m.	at Michigan State		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)		W 20–17	76,919	^[2]
September 22	2:30 p.m.	Colorado		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN		W 55–14	59,075	^[3]
September 29	3:50 p.m.	at Missouri	No. 19	Memorial Stadium Columbia, MO	ABC	W 16–14	70,915	^[4]
October 6	7:45 p.m.	No. 14 Miami (FL)	No. 17	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	ESPN	L 13–31	59,075	^[5]
October 13	12:20 p.m.	Air Force		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	ESPN	L 7–21	59,075	^[6]
October 20	12:20 p.m.	No. 11 South Carolina		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN	ESPN	L 32–36	59,075	^[7]
October 27	3:50 p.m.	at No. 6 LSU		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	ABC	W 30–22	78,033	^[8]
November 3	12:10 p.m.	vs. Navy		Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (rivalry)	ESPN	W 18–17	61,795	^[9]
November 17	12:20 p.m.	Penn State		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	ESPN	W 44–7	59,075	^[10]
November 24	3:40 p.m.	at No. 14 USC		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	CBS	W 19–7	66,342	^[11]
December 29	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 10 SMU	No. 17	Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI (Aloha Bowl)	ESPN	L 20–27	41,777	^[12]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

vs Purdue

#8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0–0) vs. Purdue Boilermakers (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Purdue	3	10	3	7	23
Notre Dame	14	0	0	7	21

at Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana

Date: September 8, 1984
Game weather: Indoors (dome)
Game attendance: 60,672
Recap/Box Score

Game information

First quarter

PUR – Mike Rendina 31-yard field goal, 13:16. Purdue 3–0. Drive: 3 plays, -1 yard, 1:38.
ND – Allen Pinkett 11-yard run (John Carney kick), 7:55. Notre Dame 7–3. Drive: 10 plays, 77 yards, 5:21.
ND – Mark Brooks 3-yard run (John Carney kick), 1:39. Notre Dame 14–3. Drive: 10 plays, 70 yards, 4:12.

Second quarter

PUR – Jeff Price 6-yard pass from Jim Everett, 10:11. Notre Dame 14–10. Drive: 14 plays, 86 yards, 6:28.
PUR – Mike Rendina 18-yard field goal, 0:00. Notre Dame 14–13. Drive: 13 plays, 62 yards, 5:59.

Third quarter

PUR – Mike Rendina 20-yard field goal, 3:47. Purdue 16–14. Drive: 13 plays, 92 yards, 5:54.

Fourth quarter

PUR – Jeff Price 14-yard pass from Jim Everett (Mike Rendina kick), 13:57. Purdue 23–14. Drive: 6 plays, 88 yards, 2:32.
ND – Allen Pinkett 6-yard run (John Carney kick), 4:21. Purdue 23–21. Drive: 11 plays, 66 yards, 4:16.

Top passers

PUR – Jim Everett – 20/28, 255 yards, 2 TD, INT
ND – Steve Beuerlein – 13/20, 233 yards, 3 INT

Top rushers

PUR – Rodney Carter – 22 rushes, 58 yards
ND – Allen Pinkett – 22 rushes, 69 yards, 2 TD

Top receivers

PUR – Steve Griffin – 5 receptions, 79 yards
ND – Joe Howard – 3 receptions, 61 yards

^[13]

At Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Fighting Irish	0	3	7	14	24
Spartans	17	0	3	0	20

Date: September 15
Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan
Game attendance: 76,919

^[14]

Colorado

At Missouri

Miami (FL)

Air Force

South Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Gamecocks	7	7	0	22	36
Fighting Irish	0	17	9	6	32

Date: October 20
Location: Notre Dame Stadium
Game attendance: 59,075

ND: Third straight home loss (first time since 1956) ^[15]

At LSU

vs Navy

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Fighting Irish	7	0	0	11	18
Midshipmen	0	7	7	3	17

Date: November 3

Source: [1]

Penn State

At USC

Aloha Bowl (vs SMU)

Team players drafted into the NFL

Personnel

1984 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`2`	Terry Andrysiak	Fr
OL		John Askin
TE	`82`	Mark Bavaro	Sr
QB	`7`	Steve Beuerlein	So
RB		Mark Brooks
WR	`81`	Tim Brown	Fr
RB		Ray Carter
WR		Pat Cusack
RB		Ian DeHueck
OL		Tom Doerger
RB		Lester Flemons
TE		Ricky Gray
QB		Scott Grooms
WR	`24`	Joe Howard	Sr
WR		Milt Jackson
RB		Alonzo Jefferson
OL		Mike Kelley
RB		Dave Matcholf
WR		Alvin Miller
RB		Tom Monohan
RB		Jeff O'Neill
OL		Mike Perrino
RB	`20`	Allen Pinkett	Jr
OT	`62`	Ron Plantz	Jr
OL		Tim Scannell
RB		Chris Smith
RB		Frank Stams
WR		Reggie Ward
TE		Joel Williams
G	`75`	Larry Williams	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
CB	`40`	Pat Ballage	Jr
LB		Robert Banks
DB	`13`	Pat Cummings	Sr
LB	`43`	Rick DiBernardo	Jr
DE	`71`	Eric Dorsey	Jr
DB		Hiwatha Francisco
LB	`58`	Tony Furjanic	Jr
DE	`78`	Mike Gann	Sr
LB	`55`	Mike Golic	Sr
DL		Mike Griffin
DB		Mike Haywood
S	`27`	Joe Johnson	Sr
DL		Wally Kleine
LB		Mike Kovaleski
LB		Mike Larkin
DB		Steve Lawrence
LB		John McCabe
LB	`48`	John Wackowski	Sr
LB		Ron Weissenhofer	So
DB		Troy Wilson	So

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`18`	John Carney	So
K		Pat Chura
P		Mike Viracola
K		Hal Von Wyl

Head coach

Gerry Faust

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Awards and honors

Former Fighting Irish player Red Sitko was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame

References

^ "Purdue shocks Irish, 23–21". The Miami Herald. September 9, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Notre Dame nips Spartans". The Kalamazoo Gazette. September 16, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Notre Dame wins a mercy killing, 55–14". The Grand Rapids Press. September 23, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Notre Dame holds off Mizzou with FGs, 16–14". Tulsa World. September 30, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Irish accosted by Kosar, Miami". The Indianapolis Star. October 7, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Air Force flattend Notre Dame 21–7". St. Petersburg Times. October 14, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Late burst lifts South Carolina by Notre Dame". St. Petersburg Times. October 21, 1984. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Upset of No. 6 LSU pulls Irish from ashes". The Indianapolis Star. October 28, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Late field goal lifts Notre Dame to disputed win". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 4, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Pinkett's motivation carries surging Irish over Penn State 44–7". The Courier-Journal. November 18, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Irish trade mud for sand". Chicago Tribune. November 25, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "SMU holds off Notre Dame". The Post-Crescent. December 30, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Gainesville Sun. 1984-Sep-09. Retrieved 2022-Nov-19.
^ Gainesville Sun. 1984 September 16.
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1984 October 21. Retrieved 2016 September 11.

[1] "Purdue shocks Irish, 23–21". The Miami Herald. September 9, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "Notre Dame nips Spartans". The Kalamazoo Gazette. September 16, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "Notre Dame wins a mercy killing, 55–14". The Grand Rapids Press. September 23, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] "Notre Dame holds off Mizzou with FGs, 16–14". Tulsa World. September 30, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] "Irish accosted by Kosar, Miami". The Indianapolis Star. October 7, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[6] "Air Force flattend Notre Dame 21–7". St. Petersburg Times. October 14, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[7] "Late burst lifts South Carolina by Notre Dame". St. Petersburg Times. October 21, 1984. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[8] "Upset of No. 6 LSU pulls Irish from ashes". The Indianapolis Star. October 28, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[9] "Late field goal lifts Notre Dame to disputed win". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 4, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[10] "Pinkett's motivation carries surging Irish over Penn State 44–7". The Courier-Journal. November 18, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[11] "Irish trade mud for sand". Chicago Tribune. November 25, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[12] "SMU holds off Notre Dame". The Post-Crescent. December 30, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[13] Gainesville Sun. 1984-Sep-09. Retrieved 2022-Nov-19.

[14] Gainesville Sun. 1984 September 16.

[15] Eugene Register-Guard. 1984 October 21. Retrieved 2016 September 11.

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