Wikipedia

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
ConferenceIndependent
Record5–6
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorKevin Rogers (3rd season)
Offensive schemeOption
Defensive coordinatorGreg Mattison (5th season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumNotre Dame Stadium (c. 80,795, grass)
Seasons
← 2000
2002 →
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

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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

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 88:00 p.m.at No. 4 NebraskaNo. 18
ABCL 10–2778,118
September 222:30 p.m.Michigan StateNo. 23
NBCL 10–1780,795
September 293:30 p.m.at Texas A&M
ABCL 3–2487,206
October 62:30 p.m.Pittsburgh
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
NBCW 24–780,795
October 132:30 p.m.West Virginia
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
NBCW 34–2480,795
October 202:30 p.m.USC
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
NBCW 27–1680,795
October 277:30 p.m.at Boston College
ESPNL 17–2144,500
November 32:30 p.m.No. 7 Tennessee
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
NBCL 18–2880,795
November 171:00 p.m.Navy
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
NBCW 34–1680,795
November 248:00 p.m.at No. 13 Stanford
ABCL 13–1751,780
December 13:30 p.m.at Purdue
ABCW 24–1568,750

Roster

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2001 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 1 Jared Clark So
QB 2 Dan Novakov Jr
WR 3 Arnaz Battle Sr
WR 6 David Givens Sr
QB 7 Carlyle Holiday So
WR 8 Lorenzo Crawford So
QB 8 Matt Krueger So
QB 9 Pat Dillingham Fr
QB 10 Ryan Krueger Sr
QB 10 Matt LoVecchio So
RB 11 Marcus Wilson Fr
RB 12 Tony Fisher Sr
TE 14 Gary Godsey Jr
WR 18 Ronnie Rodamer So
WR 21 Javin Hunter Sr
RB 22 Julius Jones Jr
RB 23 Chris Yura Jr
RB 24 Cory Jones Fr
RB 25 Ryan Grant Fr
RB 27 Mike Profeta Fr
RB 28 Cole Laux So
RB 32 Terrance Howard Sr
RB 35 Tim O'Neill Sr
FB 36 Tom Lopienski Sr
RB 37 Albert Gembara So
FB 38 Eric Nelson Sr
FB 40 Jason Murray Sr
FB 47 Mike McNair Sr
WR 48 Jonathan Gentine Jr
C 52 Jeff Faine Jr
C 55 Zachary Giles Fr
G 62 Casey Robin Sr
OT 63 Brennan Curtin Jr
G 64 Casey Dunn Fr
G 65 Sean Milligan Jr
C 66 JW Jordan Sr
G 67 Ryan Gillis Jr
G 69 Darin Mitchell Fr
OT 70 Jim Molinaro Jr
OL 71 David Kowalski So
G 72 Ryan Scarola Sr
OT 73 Mark LeVoir Fr
OT 74 Dan Stevenson Fr
OT 75 Kurt Vollers Sr
OT 76 John Teasdale Sr
OT 78 Jordan Black Sr
G 79 Sean Mahan Sr
WR 80 Omar Jenkins So
WR 82 Bernard Akatu Sr
WR 82 Matt Shelton Fr
TE 83 Matt Root Fr
TE 84 John Owens Sr
TE 85 Billy Palmer So
TE 86 Brendan Hart So
TE 87 Patrick Nally Fr
WR 87 Jonathan Smith So
WR 88 Carlos Campbell Fr
OL 97 Chris Mahoney Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 2 Carlos Pierre-Antoine Sr
FS 4 Justin Smith Sr
SS 5 Ron Israel Sr
CB 9 Jason Beckstrom Jr
DB 14 Mike Klockner Jr
CB 15 Clifford Jefferson Sr
SS 16 Abram Elam So
FS 19 Glenn Earl Jr
SS 20 Gerome Sapp Jr
LB 24 Chad DeBolt Sr
CB 26 Garron Bible So
SS 26 Billy Small So
CB 27 Lionel Bolen Fr
FS 28 Donald Dykes Sr
CB 29 Quentin Burrell Fr
OLB 30 Rocky Boiman Sr
FS 31 Dwayne Francis Sr
LB 33 Courtney Watson Jr
CB 34 Vontez Duff So
CB 37 Dwight Ellick Fr
CB 38 Preston Jackson So
SS 39 David Bemenderfer So
LB 39 Brandon Hoyte Fr
LB 41 Mike Goolsby So
CB 42 Shane Walton Sr
OLB 43 Rashon Powers-Neal Fr
DE 44 Grant Irons Sr
SS 45 Matt Sarb Sr
LB 46 Corey Mays Fr
OLB 48 Justin Tuck Fr
LB 49 Derek Curry So
NG 50 Cedric Hilliard Jr
LB 51 Tyreo Harrison Sr
OLB 52 Mark Mitchell Sr
DL 53 Jason Halvorson Jr
LB 56 Pat Ryan Jr
OLB 57 Justin Thomas Jr
LB 59 Brian Dierckman Sr
DT 60 Darrell Campbell Jr
LB 61 Jesse DeSplinter So
DE 64 Jeffrey Campbell Sr
LB 68 Ed O'Connell So
DT 77 Greg Pauly So
OLB 81 Jerome Collins So
DL 90 Brian Beidatsch Fr
DL 91 Jeff Thompson Fr
DE 92 Kyle Budinscak So
NG 94 Andy Wisne Sr
DE 95 Ryan Roberts Sr
DE 98 Anthony Weaver Sr
DE 99 Jason Sapp So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 13 Nick Setta Jr
P 17 Joey Hildbold Jr
P 19 D. J. Fitzpatrick Fr
K 31 Evan Driedger So
K 35 David Miller Sr
LS 56 John Crowther Sr
K 80 Adam Tibble Sr
P 83 Josh Gentine Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2001-12-18

Team players in the NFL

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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

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  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 September 15, 2001. 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. Archived from the original on March 24, 2006. 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.
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