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1985 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

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1985 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
ConferenceIndependent
Record5–6
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorA. J. Christoff (2nd season)
MVPAllen Pinkett
Captains
Home stadiumNotre Dame Stadium
Seasons
← 1984
1986 →
1985 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 3 Penn State – – 11–1–0
No. 9 Miami (FL) – – 10–2–0
Army – – 9–3–0
No. 15 Florida State – – 9–3–0
West Virginia – – 7–3–1
Southern Miss – – 7–4–0
Syracuse – – 7–5–0
Virginia Tech – – 6–5–0
Pittsburgh – – 5–5–1
Cincinnati – – 5–6–0
Notre Dame – – 5–6–0
South Carolina – – 5–6–0
Southwestern Louisiana – – 4–7–0
Navy – – 4–7–0
Temple – – 4–7–0
Boston College – – 4–8–0
Memphis State – – 2–7–2
Rutgers – – 2–8–1
East Carolina – – 2–9–0
Louisville – – 2–9–0
Tulane – – 1–10–0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth and final year under head coach Gerry Faust, the Irish compiled a 5–6 record, were outscored by a total of 234 to 230, and were unranked for the fifth consecutive year in the final AP and UPI polls.[1][2]

Guard Tim Scannell received first-team honors from Scripps-Howard on the 1985 All-America college football team. The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Steve Beuerlein (1,335 passing yards), running back Allen Pinkett (1,100 rushing yards, 66 points scored), Tim Brown (25 receptions, 397 receiving yards), and linebacker Tony Furjanic (147 tackles).[3][4][5]

The team played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana.

Schedule

[edit]
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 142:30 p.m.at MichiganNo. 13
CBSL 12–20105,523[6]
September 217:30 p.m.Michigan State
ESPNW 27–1059,075[7]
September 2812:00 p.m.at Purdue
TBSL 17–3569,338[8]
October 53:30 p.m.at No. 17 Air Force
ABCL 15–2152,153[9]
October 1912:00 p.m.No. 19 Army
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
USA, WGNW 24–1059,075[10]
October 262:00 p.m.USC
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 37–359,075[11]
November 23:30 p.m.Navy
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
ABCW 41–1759,075[12]
November 912:00 p.m.Ole Miss
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
USA, WGNW 37–1459,075[13]
November 163:30 p.m.at No. 1 Penn State
ABCL 6–3684,000[14]
November 2312:00 p.m.No. 17 LSU
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
USA, WGNL 7–1059,075[15]
November 303:30 p.m.at No. 4 Miami (FL)
CBSL 7–5849,236[16]

[17]

Game summaries

[edit]

at Michigan

[edit]
Notre Dame at Michigan
Team 1 234Total
No. 13 Fighting Irish 3 630 12
• Wolverines 0 3143 20
    
Scoring summary
1NDJohn Carney 34-yard field goalND 3–0
2NDJohn Carney 37-yard field goalND 6–0
MichMike Gillette 21-yard field goalND 6–3
NDJohn Carney 47-yard field goalND 9–3
3MichJim Harbaugh 10-yard run (Gillette kick)Michigan 10–9
NDJohn Carney 25-yard field goalND 12–10
MichGerald White 3-yard run (Gillette kick)Mich 17–12
45:12MichMike Gillette 22-yard field goalMich 20–12

Michigan State

[edit]

At Purdue

[edit]

at No. 17 Air Force

[edit]

[18]

Army

[edit]
Team 1 234Total
Cadets 0 730 10
• Notre Dame 14 073 24
Scoring summary
1NDPernell Taylor 1-yard run (John Carney kick)ND 7-0
1NDTim Brown 19-yard pass from Steve Beuerlein (John Carney kick)ND 14-0
2ARMYBill Lampley 4-yard run (Craig Stopa kick)ND 14-7
3ARMYCraig Stopa 22-yard field goalND 14-10
3NDAllen Pinkett 1-yard run (John Carney kick)ND 21-10
46:23NDJohn Carney 21-yard field goalND 24-10

[19]

USC

[edit]

Notre Dame played the first half in navy blue jerseys and changed into green jerseys for the second half.

USC at Notre Dame
Team 1 234Total
Trojans 0 030 3
• Fighting Irish 14 1337 37
  • Source:
Scoring summary
1NDPinkett 2-yard run (Carney kick)ND 7-0
1NDBeuerlein 6-yard run (Carney kick)ND 14-0
2NDCarney 26-yard field goalND 17-0
2NDStams 5-yard run (Carney kick)ND 24-0
2NDCarney 33-yard field goalND 27-0
3USCShafer 39-yard field goalND 27-3
3NDCarney 43-yard field goalND 30-3
4NDWilliams 8-yard pass from Andrysiak (Carney kick)ND 37-3
[edit]

Ole Miss

[edit]

Notre Dame finally had the opportunity to exact revenge on the Rebels for a 20–13 loss at Jackson eight years earlier.

Ole Miss at Notre Dame
Team 1 234Total
Rebels 0 0014 14
• Fighting Irish 3 14147 38
  • Date: November 9
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, Indiana
Scoring summary
1NDCarney 41-yard field goalNotre Dame 3-0
2NDPinkett 1-yard run (Carney kick)Notre Dame 10-0
2NDBrown 14-yard pass from Beuerlein (Carney kick)Notre Dame 17-0
3NDPinkett 2-yard run (Carney kick)Notre Dame 24-0
3NDRedher 22-yard pass from Beuerlein (Carney kick)Notre Dame 31-0
4MISSMeyers 10-yard pass from Osgood (Owen kick)Notre Dame 31-7
4MISSCleveland 1-yard run (Owen kick)Notre Dame 31-14
4NDSouthall 7-yard run (Carney kick)Notre Dame 38-14

[20]

at No. 1 Penn State

[edit]
Notre Dame at Penn State
Team 1 234Total
Fighting Irish 0 006 6
• No. 1 Nittany Lions 7 13106 36

[21]

No. 17 LSU

[edit]

Ironically, Gerry Faust's last game in Notre Dame Stadium was against the same school he faced in his first game as Irish coach four years earlier.

LSU at Notre Dame
Team 1 234Total
• No. 17 Tigers 0 307 10
Fighting Irish 7 000 7
Scoring summary
19:26NDTim Brown 18-yard run (John Carney kick)ND 7–0
20:00LSUMatt DeFrank 27-yard field goalND 7–3
43:26Garry James 2-yard run (Ron Lewis kick)LSU 10–7

[22]

at No. 4 Miami (FL)

[edit]
Notre Dame at Miami (FL)
Team 1 234Total
Fighting Irish 0 700 7
• No. 4 Hurricanes 13 141021 58
Scoring summary
1MIAGreg Cox 39-yard field goalMIA 3-0
1MIAW. Williams 6-yard run (Greg Cox kick)MIA 10-0
1MIAGreg Cox 47-yard field goalMIA 13-0
2MIABennie Blades 61-yard interception return (Cox kick)MIA 20-0
2NDAllen Pinkett 3-yard run (John Carney kick)MIA 20-7
2MIAMelvin Bratton 7-yard pass from Vinny Testaverde (Cox kick)MIA 27-7
3MIAGreg Cox 48-yard field goalMIA 30-7
3MIAMichael Irvin 15-yard pass from Vinny Testaverde (Greg Cox kick)MIA 37-7
4MIAVinny Testaverde 1-yard run (Greg Cox kick)MIA 44-7
4MIAAndre Brown 17-yard pass from Geoff Torretta (Seelig kick)MIA 51-7
44:44MIABill Hawkins recovered blocked punt in end zone (Greg Cox kick)MIA 58-7

[23]

Roster

[edit]
1985 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 2 Terry Andrysiak So
QB 7 Steve Beuerlein Jr
WR 81 Tim Brown So
RB 20 Allen Pinkett Sr
FB 30 Frank Stams Fr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
SS 40 Pat Ballage Sr
LB 43 Rick DiBernardo Sr
DE 71 Eric Dorsey Sr
LB 48 Cedric Figaro So
LB 58 Tony Furjanic Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 18 John Carney Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Awards and honors

[edit]

1986 NFL draft

[edit]

The following Notre Dame players were selected in the 1986 NFL draft:

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Eric DorseyDefensive end119NY Giants
Allen PinkettRunning back361Houston Oilers
Tony FurjanicLinebacker8202Buffalo Bills
Mike PerrinoTackle8209San Diego Chargers

[26]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "1985 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Irish Eye, vol. 6, No. 1" (PDF). University of Notre Dame Sports Information Department. May 1, 1986 – via Notre Dame Archives.
  3. ↑ "1985 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  4. ↑ Irish Eye, p. 64.
  5. ↑ Irish Eye, p. 64.
  6. ↑ Tommy George (September 15, 1985). "U-M defense bogs down Irish, 20–12". Detroit Free Press. p. D1.
  7. ↑ "Notre Dame easily overcomes handicapped MSU". The Saginaw News. September 22, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Purdue's Everett puts frown on Notre Dame fans". The Kalamazoo Gazette. September 29, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Air Force uses blocked field goal to keep Notre Dame in tailspin". The Grand Rapids Press. October 6, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Notre Dame puts end to Army's win streak". The Spokesman-Review. October 20, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Irish whip USC, 37–3". The Billings Gazette. October 27, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Andrysiak answers call, leads Irish rout of Navy". The Courier-Journal. November 3, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Notre Dame crushes Ole Miss". The Courier-Journal. November 10, 1985. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "No. 1 Oenn St. blasts Notre Dame, 36–6". Democrat and Chronicle. November 17, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Tigers attack Irish". The Indianapolis Star. November 24, 1985. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Hurricanes finally put it all together". Florida Today. December 1, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ Irish Eye, p. 64 (attendance figures).
  18. ↑ "NOTRE DAME KICKS ONE AWAY TO AIR FORCE". Chicago Tribune. October 6, 1985. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Irish upset No. 19 Army to answer critics." Gainesville Sun. 1985 Oct 20.
  20. ↑ Gainesville Sun. 1985 Nov 10.
  21. ↑ "PENN STATE TROUNCES NOTRE DAME TO STAY UNBEATEN". The New York Times. November 17, 1985. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Wickersham Passes LSU to 10-7 Victory Over Irish". Los Angeles Times. November 24, 1985. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  23. ↑ "FAUST ERA AT NOTRE DAME ENDS IN 58-7 HUMILIATION". The New York Times. December 10, 1985. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  24. ↑ "NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH - Football". Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
  25. ↑ "Scripps Howard All-America Team". The Pittsburgh Press. November 29, 1985. p. D4.
  26. ↑ "1986 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
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1985 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
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