The 1998 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...
in the
1998 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-A level, began in late summer 1998 and culminated with the major bowl games in e ...
. The team was coached by
Bob Davie and played its home games at
Notre Dame Stadium
Notre Dame Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana, the home field of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team.
It was built in 1930 under the guidance of Knute Rockne, regarded as one of the greatest co ...
in
South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...
.
Schedule
Rankings
Roster
Season summary
With wins in their final five regular season games of 1997, the Irish started Davie's
second season with confidence. Despite losing record-setting quarterback
Ron Powlus Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
, the Irish returned 14
starters, including tailback
Autry Denson and three senior
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
s that were placed on the preliminary list for the
Dick Butkus Award
The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...
. Powlus was replaced by
Jarious Jackson
Jarious K. Jackson (born May 3, 1977) is a professional Canadian football pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He has also been a coach for the Toronto Argonauts, Saskatchewan R ...
who had played sparingly in 1997 but had amassed almost 200 passing yards in the time. In Jackson's first start, against
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, he threw two touchdowns to lead the Irish, ranked 22nd, over the 5th ranked Wolverines. Denson added 162 yards and two touchdowns to give the Irish a 36–20 win. The Irish moved to tenth in the rankings, however didn't stay long, as
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
, who led by 39 points at halftime, beat the Irish for the second year in a row. Dropping back to 23rd in the nation, the Irish returned home to face
Purdue
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
. The Boilermakers handed the Irish their first loss in 1997 which dropped the Irish from the rankings, and the Irish looked for retribution in this game. With the Irish down two with less than two minutes remaining, Tony Driver, who was switched to cornerback in the offseason, intercepted a
Drew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees is the NFL leader in ...
pass to set up the go-ahead
field goal
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
for the Irish. With the Boilermakers once again moving the ball, Driver had his second interception with less than a minute remaining to preserve the win for the Irish.
The Irish won all four of their October games, including a win over
Stanford
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...
, a dominating win at
Arizona State
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
, a last minute win over
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
, and a win over
Baylor led by Denson's career high of 189 yards, to move back into the top-15 in the rankings. In the next game, the
Boston College Eagles
The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisio ...
were poised for the upset of the Irish. Down 30–26, the Eagles had the ball on the Irish four-yard line with less than a minute remaining. The Irish defense, however, held the Eagles for four downs to preserve the win. The next week, led by Denson, who became the all-time leader in rushing yards at Notre Dame, the Irish shut-out
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
to increase their
NCAA record winning streak over the Midshipmen to 35 games. Once again ranked tenth, the Irish faced
LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
in their final home game. Avenging their loss in the , the Irish beat the Tigers on a late touchdown run. With a potential
BCS berth on the line, and without Jackson, who was injured in the final play against LSU, the Irish traveled to face rivals
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
in their final regular season game. Playing two backups at quarterback, including true freshman
Arnaz Battle
Arnaz Jerome Battle (born February 22, 1980) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame. Battle also played for the ...
, the Irish were dominated by the tough Trojan defense that caused five turnovers. Though the Trojans, led by freshman quarterback
Carson Palmer
Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at ...
, couldn't produce much offense themselves, they only needed two scores to defeat the Irish 10–0. Missing out on a BCS bowl game, the Irish, who signed a deal early in the year that gave them a tie-in with the
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...
bowl games, accepted a bid to play
Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
in the . Wearing their alternate green jerseys for the first time since the
1995 Fiesta Bowl
The 1995 IBM OS/2 Fiesta Bowl, played on January 2, 1995, was the 24th edition of the Fiesta Bowl. The game featured the Colorado Buffaloes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
1st half
Colorado kicker, Neil Voskeritchian, started the scoring with a 33 ...
, the Irish got behind early to the Yellow Jackets with two long touchdowns. Though closing the gap to a touchdown in the fourth quarter, the Irish couldn't move the ball on their last two drives and lost their fourth straight bowl game. They finished the season with a 9–3 record and dropped to 22nd in the national rankings.
After the season, seven players were taken in the
1999 National Football League (NFL) Draft. Among them were Denson, who left with multiple Notre Dame rushing records, Malcolm Johnson, who left with a Notre Dame record of six consecutive games with a touchdown catch, and most of the offensive line starters. Also, offensive coordinator, Jim Colletto, was lured away to the NFL by
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
.
Michigan
at Michigan State
Purdue
Stanford
at Arizona State
Army
Baylor
at Boston College
vs Navy
LSU
at USC
Gator Bowl (vs Georgia Tech)
References
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Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football seasons
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the intercollegiate football team representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend, Indiana. The team plays its home games at the campus' Notre Dame ...