The team was coached by Tyrone Willingham and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

[3] Despite not scoring an offensive touchdown in their first two games,[4] the Irish won both, and in the process made Willingham the 24th Notre Dame head coach to win his opener in his first season.

Running back Ryan Grant, who had to replace Julius Jones who was out for academic reasons, also played an important role.

[8] The first Irish loss of the season came against the Boston College Eagles, mirroring the 1993 season when Notre Dame narrowly lost a chance to participate in the national championship game due to a loss to Boston College.

In 1985, the last time the Irish wore green at home, they came out after halftime against USC and won the game 37–3.