2001 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

The 2001 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Bob Davie and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

2001 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Conference	Independent
2001 record	5–6
Head coach	Bob Davie (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Kevin Rogers (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Option
Defensive coordinator	Greg Mattison (5th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium (c. 80,795, grass)

2001 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
South Florida			–						8	–	3
Troy State			–						7	–	4
UCF			–						6	–	5
Notre Dame			–						5	–	6
Utah State			–						4	–	7
Connecticut			–						2	–	9
Navy			–						0	–	10
Rankings from AP Poll

Season overview

With 19 recruits signed to help replace the nine players leaving for the NFL,[1] there were high expectations for the Irish for the 2001 season. Three players were named to pre-season All-America teams while the team was ranked as highly as 12th in the nation.[2] With former starting quarterback, Arnaz Battle, moving in the off-season to wide receiver,[3] Davie faced the decision of having to play his replacement from 2000, Matt LoVecchio, or to replace LoVecchio with fellow sophomore Carlyle Holiday. Prior to their first game, Davie hinted that he might have a surprise at quarterback,[4] however, LoVecchio started at the fourth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers. Notre Dame's first play from scrimmage proved to be a harbinger when the Irish fumbled and Nebraska recovered. With LoVecchio ineffective throughout the first quarter, Holiday took over and led the Irish to a field goal. Holiday, however, was ineffective throughout the rest of the game and the only other Irish score came after Shane Walton blocked a punt and gave the Irish the ball on the 4 yard line. Unable to capitalize on Nebraska's mistakes, and having four turnovers themselves, the Irish lost the game 27–10.[5] With a small quarterback controversy, the season was interrupted by the September 11, 2001 attacks. With all Division I-A football games canceled after the attacks,[6] the September 15 game against Purdue was moved to the end of the season. With promises of heightened security,[7] prayers, and a stadium-wide fundraiser to help the victims of the attacks,[8] the Irish returned to the field the next week to face the Michigan State Spartans. With LoVecchio getting the start, he had a better game than his first, but the Irish fell short of the Spartans for the fifth straight year.[9]

After the loss, Davie named Holiday the starting quarterback for the Texas A&M game.[10] Though LoVecchio would play in later games, he would never start again for the Irish and eventually transferred from the school.[11] Playing in front of, at the time, the largest crowd ever to watch a football game in Texas, Holiday was knocked out of the game with a neck injury before halftime. The Irish were unable move the ball and lost 24–3, moving to 0–3 for the first time ever.[12] With Holiday back the next week, he led the Irish to their first victory of the season against the Pittsburgh Panthers,[13] and continued to roll with wins over West Virginia and USC to put the Irish back to a 3–3 record.[14][15] With a loss the next week to Boston College,[16] however, the Irish hopes for a bowl game were dwindling and all but gone with a loss the next week to the seventh-ranked Tennessee Volunteers.[17]

With a 3–5 record, the Irish would need to win all of their remaining games to avoid Davie's second losing season for the team. The Irish looked to turn it around with a dominating win over Navy that increased their record winning streak over them to 38 games,[18] however, fell to Stanford the next week after both Holiday and LoVecchio completed only one pass each the entire game.[19] Assured of Notre Dame's eighth losing season ever, the Irish traveled to face the Purdue Boilermakers for the game missed after the September 11 attacks. Though the Irish defense helped secure the win and the 5–6 record,[20] it wasn't enough for the Notre Dame administration who fired Davie the next day.[21]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 8	8:00 p.m.	at No. 4 Nebraska	No. 18	Memorial Stadium, Lincoln Lincoln, NE	ABC	L 10–27	78,118
September 22	2:30 p.m.	Michigan State	No. 23	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN (Megaphone Trophy)	NBC	L 10–17	80,795
September 29	3:30 p.m.	at Texas A&M		Kyle Field College Station, TX	ABC	L 3–24	87,206
October 6	2:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh		Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN (rivalry)	NBC	W 24–7	80,795
October 13	2:30 p.m.	West Virginia		Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	NBC	W 34–24	80,795
October 20	2:30 p.m.	USC		Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN (Jeweled Shillelagh)	NBC	W 27–16	80,795
October 27	7:30 p.m.	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA (Holy War)	ESPN	L 17–21	44,500
November 3	2:30 p.m.	No. 7 Tennessee		Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	NBC	L 18–28	80,795
November 17	1:00 p.m.	Navy		Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN (rivalry)	NBC	W 34–16	80,795
November 24	8:00 p.m.	at No. 13 Stanford		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (Legends Trophy)	ABC	L 13–17	51,780
December 1	3:30 p.m.	at Purdue		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (Shillelagh Trophy)	ABC	W 24–15	68,750
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster

2001 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 3 Arnaz Battle Jr T 78 Jordan Black Jr TE 48 Jerome Collins Fr T 63 Brennan Curtin Jr QB 9 Pat Dillingham Fr C 52 Jeff Faine Jr RB 12 Tony Fisher Sr WR 6 David Givens Sr QB 7 Carlyle Holiday Fr WR 21 Javin Hunter Sr RB 22 Julius Jones So FB 39 Tom Lopienski Jr G 79 Sean Mahan Jr T 70 Jim Molinaro So TE 84 John Owens Sr G 72 Ryan Scarola Sr T 75 Kurt Vollers  Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 30 Rocky Boiman Sr DT 60 Darrell Campbell So DB 5 Glenn Earl So LB 41 Mike Goolsby So LB 51 Tyreo Harrison Sr DB 5 Ron Israel Sr LB 56 Pat Ryan Jr S 20 Gerome Sapp Jr CB 42 Shane Walton Jr DE 98 Anthony Weaver Sr DT 94 Andy Wisne Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 17 Joey Hildbold Jr K 13 Nick Setta So LS 53 John Crowther Sr	Head coach Bob Davie Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2001-12-18

Team players in the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Anthony Weaver	Defensive end	2	52	Baltimore Ravens
Rocky Boiman	Linebacker	4	133	Tennessee Titans
John Owens	Tight end	5	138	Detroit Lions
Tyreo Harrison	Linebacker	6	198	Philadelphia Eagles
Javin Hunter	Wide Receiver	6	206	Baltimore Ravens
David Givens	Wide Receiver	7	252	New England Patriots

References

1. "Football Announces 2001 Signees". UND.cstv.com. February 7, 2001. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
2. "Notre Dame Football Gets Early Praise In Preseason Polls". UND.cstv.com. July 3, 2001. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
3. "Battle Talks About Making The Switch". UND.cstv.com. March 30, 2001. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
4. Connolly, Mike (September 5, 2001). "Davie hints at QB surprise". The Observer. UK. Archived from the original on 2001-09-15. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
5. Rosenblatt, Richard (September 8, 2001). "No. 17 Irish Drop Season-Opener To No. 5 Nebraska, 27–10". UND.cstv.com. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
6. "A day seared in time". Thoroughbred Times. September 15, 2001. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
7. "Football Fans Can Expect A Heightened Security Presence In And Around The Stadium This Saturday". UND.cstv.com. September 18, 2001. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
8. "Prayer, Song To Mark Football Home Opener". UND.cstv.com. September 19, 2001. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
9. "No. 23 Notre Dame Falls To Michigan State, 17–10". UND.cstv.com. September 22, 2001. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
10. "Carlyle Holiday Named Starting Quarterback". UND.cstv.com. September 24, 2001. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
11. "Notre Dame's LoVecchio to transfer". Sports Illustrated. May 22, 2002. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
12. Graczyk, Michael (September 29, 2001). "Irish Fall To Texas A&M, 24–3". UND.cstv.com. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
13. "Football Earns First Win Of The Season Over Pittsburgh, 24–7". UND.cstv.com. October 6, 2001. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
14. Coyne, Tom (October 13, 2001). "Irish Football Puts Away West Virginia, 34–24". UND.cstv.com. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
15. Coyne, Tom (October 20, 2001). "Irish Knock Off USC, 27–16". UND.cstv.com. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
16. Ulman, Howard (October 27, 2001). "Irish Fall To The Eagles, 21–17". UND.cstv.com. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
17. Coyne, Tom (November 3, 2001). "No. 7 Tennessee Tops Notre Dame, 28–18". UND.cstv.com. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
18. Coyne, Tom (November 17, 2001). "Notre Dame Knocks Off Navy, 34–16". UND.cstv.com. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
19. Beacham, Greg (November 24, 2001). "Football Falls To No. 13 Stanford, 17–13". UND.cstv.com. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
20. Gelston, Dan (December 1, 2001). "Irish Football Puts Away Purdue, 24–18". UND.cstv.com. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
21. "Davie's tenure at ND ends after five seasons". ESPN. December 2, 2001. Retrieved September 12, 2007.