#7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were 8-3 in 1978. They emerged victorious over the Houston Cougars, 35 to 34, in the Cotton Bowl on January 1, 1979.

Scores & Schedules

See schedule

DATE		OPP	SCORE
Mon 1/1	vs	HOU	W 35-34
Sat 11/25	@	USC	L 25-27
Sat 11/18	@	GT	W 38-21
Sat 11/11	vs	TENN	W 31-14
Sat 11/4	vs	NAVY	W 27-7

Team Leaders

See roster

PASS YDS

2,010

Montana

RUSH YDS

1,192

Ferguson

REC YDS

699

Haines

Latest Notre Dame Fighting Irish News

No. 1 Miami's trip to No. 4 Notre Dame, Virginia Tech's trip to SMU headline ACC's weekly schedule

Nov 5, 2026
College football picks: Notre Dame over Miami in what should be another close top-5 matchup

Nov 4, 2026
Line matchup could be the determining factor when No. 1 Miami faces No. 4 Notre Dame

Nov 4, 2026
College football Week 10: No. 1 Miami at No. 4 Notre Dame is the biggest of 6 Top 25 matchups

Nov 4, 2026
Malachi Toney vs. Leonard Moore is the showdown within the Miami vs. Notre Dame showdown

Nov 3, 2026

1978 Stats

See stats

	GP	PTS	YDS	PLY	AVG	RUSH YDS	RUSH ATT	RUSH AVG	PASS YDS	PASS ATT	PASS AVG
Team	11	258	4,355	832	5.2	2,299	561	4.1	2,056	271	7.6
Team Rank		43rd	21st	37th	22nd	51st	70th	43rd	21st	38th	22nd
Opponent	11	163	3,572		4.4	1,537	490	3.1	2,035	317	6.4
Opponent Rank		31st	61st		54th	22nd	20th	27th	132nd	133rd	65th
Net		+95	+783	+832	+0.8	+762	+71	+1.0	+21	-46	+1.2
Net Rank		32nd	38th	37th	33rd	32nd	39th	30th	65th	97th	33rd

More CFB News

Ohio State says it's 'playoff time' now as No. 11 Buckeyes host disappointing Oregon

Nov 5, 2026

No. 3 Utah and No. 7 BYU finding success while bucking their traditional football identities

Nov 5, 2026

Once in the shadow of basketball, New Mexico football jumps into the AP Top 25 for the first time

Nov 5, 2026

No. 25 Florida to start QB Tramell Jones against Oklahoma in the Swamp, AP source says

Nov 5, 2026

SEC Week 10: Loaded weekend brings pivotal tests for playoff hopefuls

Nov 5, 2026

No. 1 Miami's trip to No. 4 Notre Dame, Virginia Tech's trip to SMU headline ACC's weekly schedule

Nov 5, 2026

CFB 2026 Leaders

Pass Yards Leaders

2,977

Atkinson

2,649

Mestemaker

2,577

Jackson

Rush Yards Leaders

1,054

White

1,049

Riley

1,005

Roberts

Rec Yards Leaders

1,110

Legree

1,067

Smith

1,027

Toney

Pass TD Leaders

25

Stokes

25

Atkinson

25

Mensah

Rush TD Leaders

17

Hellums

16

Hawkins

14

Sheppard

Rec TD Leaders

14

Legree

13

Toney

13

Smith

QB Rating Leaders

202.7

Mensah

184.5

Sayin

178.5

Stokes

Sack Leaders

10.5

Simmons

10.0

Osunsanmi

9.0

Zock

CFB 2026 Rankings

PPG Rankings

47.6

43.8

41.1

41.0

40.4

Opp PPG Rankings

11.9

12.4

12.5

13.4

Total Yards Rankings

540.5

534.9

529.6

517.4

514.0

510.0

Rush Yards Rankings

342.5

341.0

295.8

271.4

261.6

250.8

Pass Yards Rankings

383.4

348.9

338.8

332.4

329.6

324.1

Sack Leaders

35.0

34.0

32.0

31.0

28.0

CFB 2026 Standings

	Pac-12	W	L	PCT
1	Boise State	7	1	.875
2	Oregon State	5	3	.625
3	San Diego State	4	5	.444
4	Texas State	4	4	.500
5	Fresno State	5	3	.625
6	Utah State	3	5	.375
7	Colorado State	3	5	.375
8	Washington State	1	8	.111

	Big 10	W	L	PCT
1	UCLA	8	0	1.000
2	Indiana	8	1	.889
3	Ohio State	6	2	.750
4	USC	7	2	.778
5	Illinois	5	3	.625
6	Minnesota	5	3	.625
7	Iowa	6	2	.750
8	Oregon	5	3	.625
9	Northwestern	6	2	.750
10	Wisconsin	5	3	.625
11	Washington	5	3	.625
12	Michigan	5	3	.625
13	Nebraska	5	3	.625
14	Purdue	3	5	.375
15	Penn State	4	4	.500
16	Rutgers	2	6	.250
17	Maryland	2	6	.250
18	Michigan State	2	6	.250

	Southeastern	W	L	PCT
1	Georgia	7	1	.875
2	Kentucky	7	1	.875
3	Alabama	6	2	.750
4	Ole Miss	6	2	.750
5	Texas	6	2	.750
6	LSU	6	2	.750
7	Missouri	6	2	.750
8	Tennessee	6	2	.750
9	South Carolina	5	3	.625
10	Florida	5	3	.625
11	Oklahoma	4	4	.500
12	Auburn	4	4	.500
13	Mississippi State	4	4	.500
14	Texas A&M	4	4	.500
15	Arkansas	3	5	.375
16	Vanderbilt	3	5	.375

	Conference USA	W	L	PCT
1	Liberty	7	1	.875
2	Jacksonville State	6	2	.750
3	Delaware	4	4	.500
4	New Mexico State	3	5	.375
5	Middle Tennessee	4	4	.500
6	Western Kentucky	3	5	.375
7	Missouri State	3	5	.375
8	Florida International	3	5	.375
9	Kennesaw State	2	6	.250
10	Sam Houston	1	7	.125

	Sun Belt	W	L	PCT
1	Louisiana Tech	6	2	.750
2	Appalachian State	5	3	.625
3	South Alabama	4	4	.500
4	James Madison	7	2	.778
5	Louisiana	5	3	.625
6	Georgia Southern	4	4	.500
7	Arkansas State	4	4	.500
8	Coastal Carolina	3	5	.375
9	Troy	4	4	.500
10	Georgia State	4	4	.500
11	Southern Miss	3	5	.375
12	Marshall	5	3	.625
13	Louisiana-Monroe	1	7	.125
14	Old Dominion	2	7	.222

	Atlantic Coast	W	L	PCT
1	Miami	8	0	1.000
2	Wake Forest	7	1	.875
3	Louisville	5	3	.625
4	SMU	6	2	.750
5	Virginia Tech	6	2	.750
6	Duke	6	2	.750
7	Clemson	5	3	.625
8	Pittsburgh	6	3	.667
9	Boston College	4	4	.500
10	NC State	4	4	.500
11	North Carolina	4	4	.500
12	Virginia	4	5	.444
13	California	3	6	.333
14	Syracuse	4	4	.500
15	Stanford	4	5	.444
16	Florida State	3	5	.375
17	Georgia Tech	2	6	.250

	Mountain West	W	L	PCT
1	New Mexico	7	1	.875
2	Wyoming	5	3	.625
3	UNLV	5	3	.625
4	North Dakota State	7	2	.778
5	Air Force	6	2	.750
6	Nevada	3	5	.375
7	San Jose State	4	5	.444
8	Hawai'i	2	6	.250
9	UTEP	1	7	.125
10	Northern Illinois	0	8	.000

	Independent	W	L	PCT
1	Notre Dame	7	1	.875
2	UConn	4	4	.500

	Mid-American	W	L	PCT
1	Ohio	7	2	.778
2	Toledo	7	2	.778
3	Western Michigan	6	3	.667
4	Buffalo	6	3	.667
5	Miami (OH)	5	4	.556
6	Eastern Michigan	4	6	.400
7	UMass	5	4	.556
8	Kent State	3	6	.333
9	Ball State	3	6	.333
10	Central Michigan	4	5	.444
11	Bowling Green	2	7	.222
12	Sacramento State	2	8	.200
13	Akron	1	8	.111

	American Athletic	W	L	PCT
1	UTSA	7	1	.875
2	North Texas	6	2	.750
3	Memphis	7	2	.778
4	Army	5	3	.625
5	South Florida	6	2	.750
6	UAB	4	4	.500
7	Florida Atlantic	5	3	.625
8	East Carolina	4	4	.500
9	Tulane	4	4	.500
10	Charlotte	1	7	.125
11	Tulsa	4	4	.500
12	Temple	2	6	.250
13	Navy	2	6	.250
14	Rice	1	7	.125

	Big 12	W	L	PCT
1	Utah	8	0	1.000
2	BYU	7	1	.875
3	Texas Tech	7	1	.875
4	Houston	6	2	.750
5	Arizona	6	2	.750
6	Baylor	5	3	.625
7	Oklahoma State	5	3	.625
8	West Virginia	5	3	.625
9	Iowa State	4	4	.500
10	UCF	4	4	.500
11	Cincinnati	5	3	.625
12	Arizona State	4	4	.500
13	TCU	4	4	.500
14	Colorado	3	5	.375
15	Kansas State	4	4	.500
16	Kansas	3	5	.375