1959 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

American college football season

1959 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 18
AP	No. 17
Record	5–5
Head coach	Joe Kuharich (1st season)
Captain	Ken Adamson
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium
Seasons ← 1958 1960 →

1959 NCAA University Division independents football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 1 Syracuse		–		11	–	0	–	0
No. 12 Penn State		–		9	–	2	–	0
Oregon		–		8	–	2	–	0
Rutgers		–		6	–	3	–	0
Detroit		–		6	–	4	–	0
Holy Cross		–		6	–	4	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		6	–	4	–	0
Oklahoma State		–		6	–	4	–	0
No. 20 Pittsburgh		–		6	–	4	–	0
Washington State		–		6	–	4	–	0
Boston College		–		5	–	4	–	0
Pacific (CA)		–		5	–	4	–	0
Air Force		–		5	–	4	–	1
Navy		–		5	–	4	–	1
Army		–		4	–	4	–	1
No. 17 Notre Dame		–		5	–	5	–	0
Boston University		–		4	–	5	–	0
Florida State		–		4	–	6	–	0
San Jose State		–		4	–	6	–	0
Texas Tech		–		4	–	6	–	0
Dayton		–		3	–	7	–	0
Marquette		–		3	–	7	–	0
Oregon State		–		3	–	7	–	0
Colgate		–		2	–	7	–	0
Idaho		–		1	–	9	–	0
Villanova		–		1	–	9	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1959 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1959 NCAA University Division football season. Led by first-year head coach Joe Kuharich, the Fighting Irish compiled a record of 5–5.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 26	North Carolina		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	W 28–8	56,746	^[1]
October 3	at Purdue	No. 8	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	L 7–28	50,362
October 10	at California		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 28–6	68,500
October 17	at Michigan State		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	L 0–19	73,480
October 24	No. 2 Northwestern		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	L 24–30	59,078
October 31	Navy		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	W 25–22	58,652	^[2]
November 7	No. 19 Georgia Tech		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	L 10–14	58,575	^[3]
November 14	at Pittsburgh		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	L 13–28	52,337
November 21	at No. 16 Iowa		Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA	W 20–19	58,500	^[4]
November 28	No. 7 USC		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	W 16–6	48,684	^[5]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

^ "Irish blast N. Carolina". The Des Moines Register. September 27, 1959. Retrieved January 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Notre Dame edges Navy on late kick". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Chicago Tribune. November 1, 1959. p. 3, sports.
^ "Georgia Tech beats Notre Dame 14–10". Atlantic City Press. November 8, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Irish upset Iowa, 20-19 on George Izo's passing". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 22, 1959. p. 3, sports.
^ "Notre Dame mauls Trojans, 16-6". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Chicago Tribune. November 29, 1959. p. 1, sports.

v t e Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Venues	Brownson Hall field (1892?–1899) Cartier Field (1899–1928) Soldier Field (1929) Notre Dame Stadium (1930–present)
Bowls and rivalries	Bowl games Emerald Isle Classic Army Boston College Michigan Michigan State Navy Northwestern Pittsburgh Purdue Stanford USC
Culture and lore	History Band of the Fighting Irish Irish Guard Notre Dame Box Notre Dame Leprechaun "Notre Dame, Our Mother" "Notre Dame Victory March" Play Like a Champion Today Subway Alumni T formation Tall Grass Game 1946 "Game of the Century" 1966 "Game of the Century" Catholics vs. Convicts 30 for 30 film 1993 "Game of the Century" Bush Push Navy ends the drought 2020 ACC Championship Game The Spirit of Notre Dame Knute Rockne, All American Notre Dame Football on NBC Rudy
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks Four Horsemen NFL draftees Statistical leaders Team captains
Seasons	1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold