# 1996 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

The 1996 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Lou Holtz and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.
Notre Dame participated in the Emerald Isle Classic (Billed as the Shamrock Classic that year). The game was played in Dublin on November 2 at Croke Park, where Notre Dame beat Navy by a score of 54–27.
Despite finishing the regular season 8–3, Notre Dame did not play in a bowl game. The Fighting Irish turned down an invitation to play the Auburn Tigers in the Independence Bowl.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 5 | 8:00 p.m. | at Vanderbilt | No. 6 | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN | ESPN | W 14–7 | 41,523 |
| September 14 | 2:30 p.m. | Purdue | No. 9 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | NBC | W 35–0 | 59,075 |
| September 21 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 6 Texas | No. 9 | Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX | ABC | W 27–24 | 83,312 |
| September 28 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 4 Ohio State | No. 5 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN | NBC | L 16–29 | 59,075 |
| October 12 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 16 Washington | No. 11 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN | NBC | W 54–20 | 59,075 |
| October 19 | 2:30 p.m. | Air Force | No. 8 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | NBC | L 17–20 $^{OT}$ | 59,075 |
| November 2 | 8:00 a.m. | at Navy | No. 19 | Croke ParkDublin, Ireland (Emerald Isle Classic, rivalry) | CBS | W 54–27 | 38,651 |
| November 9 | 3:30 p.m. | at Boston College | No. 17 | Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA (Holy War) | CBS | W 48–21 | 44,500 |
| November 16 | 1:30 p.m. | Pittsburgh | No. 14 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | NBC | W 60–6 | 59,075 |
| November 23 | 1:30 p.m. | Rutgers | No. 10 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN | NBC | W 62–0 | 59,075 |
| November 30 | 8:00 p.m. | at USC | No. 10 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA (rivalry) | ABC | L 20–27 $^{OT}$ | 90,296 |
| Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Game summaries
### USC

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Notre Dame | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 20 |
| USC | 6 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 27 |
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, California
* Date: November 30
* Game attendance: 90,296
* TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger and Dick Vermeil
* USA Today
Game information :
Notre Dame
Ron Powlus 8/19, 108 Yds, TD
Autry Denson 33 Rush, 160 Yds, TD
Emmett Mosley 3 Rec, 29 Yds
USC
Brad Otton 13/25, 183 Yds, 2 TD
Delon Washington 15 Rush, 67 Yds, TD
Chris Miller 4 Rec, 69 Yds, TD :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | ND | USC |
| 1 | | | | | USC | 30-yard field goal by Abrams | 0 | 3 |
| 1 | | | | | USC | 38-yard field goal by Abrams | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | 14:23 | | | | Notre Dame | Spencer 1-yard touchdown run, Sanson kick good | 7 | 6 |
| 3 | 0:23 | | | | Notre Dame | Champion 25-yard touchdown reception from Powlus, Sanson kick good | 14 | 6 |
| 4 | | | | | USC | C. Miller 5-yard touchdown reception from Otton, 2-point pass failed | 14 | 12 |
| 4 | 4:52 | | | | Notre Dame | Denson 9-yard touchdown run, Sanson kick no good | 20 | 12 |
| 4 | 1:50 | | | | USC | Washington 15-yard touchdown run, 2-point run good | 20 | 20 |
| OT | | | | | USC | Sermons 5-yard touchdown reception from Otton, Abrams kick good | 20 | 27 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 20 | 27 |