2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Hawaii Bowl champion
Hawaii Bowl, W 49–21 vs. Hawaii
ConferenceIndependent
Record7–6
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMichael Haywood (4th season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorCorwin Brown (2nd season)
Base defense3–4
Captains
Home stadiumNotre Dame Stadium
Seasons
← 2007
2009 →
2008 NCAA Division I FBS independents football records
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Navy       8 5  
Notre Dame       7 6  
Army       3 9  
WKU       2 10  
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. This was Weis's fourth season as Notre Dame's head coach, who entered the season with a 22–15 record, coming off a 3–9 season after posting back-to-back BCS seasons.

The Irish started 4–1, but completed the regular season with a 6–6 record, including a 24–23 loss to Syracuse, the first time that Notre Dame had fallen to an eight-loss team. The combined 15 losses from 2007 to 2008 marks the most losses for any two-year span. Despite speculation the university might fire Weis, it was announced shortly after the conclusion of the regular season that he would remain head coach in 2009.[1] Notre Dame ended the season on a positive note, finally ending their NCAA record nine-game bowl losing streak by beating Hawaii 49–21.[2] In the process, Notre Dame scored its highest point total of the season, its highest point total ever in a bowl game, and broke 8 other bowl records.[2] The bowl win also helped Notre Dame to a 7–6 final record, its 102nd winning season in 120 years of football.[2]

  1. ^ "Notre Dame keeps Weis, though season 'fell short'". und.cstv.com. December 3, 2008. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved December 3, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c "Clausen's 401 yards passing, 5 TDs lead way as Irish end bowl skid". ESPN. December 24, 2008. Archived from the original on December 26, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2008.