After Notre Dame’s 1995 season began with an unexpected loss to Northwestern, the program hoped to avoid a similar upset to begin 1996. That involved visiting a putrid Vanderbilt team that the Irish easily should have disposed of. However, the 14-7 win really had to be earned, and it involved some of the ugliest football in recent program history. Here are the “SportsCenter” highlights to provide a small taste of that ugliness:
#6 Notre Dame vs Vanderbilt (1996) pic.twitter.com/DeLqw8bY7O
— College Football Classics (@ClassicsCFB) August 10, 2023
The Irish lost four fumbles, and it took a 3-yard touchdown run by [autotag]Marc Edwards[/autotag] in the fourth quarter to put them up for good. Despite the victory, it was an embarrassing performance for a team just coming off an Orange Bowl appearance. Having been ranked sixth in the preseason, the Irish fell to ninth in the next poll.
This statement from the game story on the Notre Dame athletic website says it all:
“Leaving Vanderbilt Stadium, many Irish fans were shocked and dismayed. How did Notre Dame win despite losing four fumbles? Was this merely first-game jitters or a sign of things to come?”
In 1996, the final season with [autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag] at the helm, the Irish finished 8-3 and never dropped from the rankings, ultimately finishing 19th. They declined a couple of bowl invitations because they didn’t like the quality of the opponents they would have played. Boy, how things have changed.
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