Between 1887 and 1899, Notre Dame compiled a record of 31 wins, 15 losses, and 4 ties against a diverse variety of opponents ranging from local high school teams to other universities.

[20][21] In an effort to gain respect for a regionally successful but small-time Midwestern football program, Harper scheduled games in his first season with national powerhouses Texas, Penn State, and Army.

[72] On March 31, 1931, Rockne died at age 43 in the crash of a Transcontinental & Western Air airliner in Kansas; he was on his way to help in the production of the film The Spirit of Notre Dame.

[79][80] Through game broadcasts during the Golden Age of Radio, Notre Dame football gained a nationwide following of "subway alumni", Catholics who became fans whether or not they attended the university.

[138] In his first year, the Irish improved their record to 9–1 behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback John Huarte, but they lost any hope for a national championship in the last game of the season at USC when Craig Fertig connected with a touchdown pass to Rod Sherman.

[146] The Irish returned to glory by winning Parseghian's second national championship in 1973, sweeping through their regular-season schedule 10–0 and defeating #1 Alabama 24-23 in the Sugar Bowl by taking advantage of a fourth-quarter missed extra point by the Crimson Tide.

The Irish used three Montana touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) to recover from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter and win 35–34, the largest fourth-quarter comeback in college football history at the time.

[158] After a 5–2 start in his first season, rumors of incompetence were circulated and that Devine would be dismissed and replaced by Don Shula or even Ara Parseghian (who went so far as to say he would not return to Notre Dame under any circumstances).

[167][168] He announced his resignation prior to the final game of the year, where Notre Dame suffered a humiliating 58–7 loss at Miami; Allen Pinkett scored the Irish TD.

[171][172] The tone was set with Holtz's first meeting with his team as Irish head coach in 1986, immediately demanding his players sit up straight in their chairs and look him in the eye as he spoke.

In a game which became known as Catholics vs. Convicts due to a popular T-shirt design on Notre Dame's campus, the Irish upset the Hurricanes 31–30 when Pat Terrell knocked down Steve Walsh's two-point conversion attempt with no time on the clock.

After scoring 27 points in wins over Northwestern and #2 Michigan to start the season, the Irish defeated their next six opponents to enter a matchup with undefeated #1 Florida State 8–0 and ranked just behind the Seminoles at #2.

The season notably saw Notre Dame's first participation in the Emerald Isle Classic in Ireland, a 54–27 win over Navy, and an overtime loss to USC, snapping the Irish's 13-game non-losing streak against the Trojans.

The New York Times reported "the main one involved the actions of a booster, Kimberly Dunbar, who lavished gifts on football players with money she later pleaded guilty to embezzling."

[237] Bringing a feeling of change and excitement to campus, Willingham led the 2002 squad to a 10–2 regular season record, including an 8–0 start with wins over #7 Michigan and #11 Florida State, and a #4 ranking.

[251][252][253] To kick off his inaugural season, Weis led the Irish to back-to-back road wins over ranked teams, the first time that had been done by a Notre Dame coach since Knute Rockne.

[286] Tragedy struck early in the season when Declan Sullivan, a junior working for the athletic department, died while filming a practice on a scissor lift in dangerously high winds.

[288] Kelly turned to freshman quarterback Tommy Rees, who led the Irish to victories in the last three games against #15 Utah, Army in Yankee Stadium, and breaking an eight-year losing streak to USC in the LA Coliseum.

[296] After defeating USC on November 24,[297] Notre Dame concluded its first 12–0 regular season, and the Irish were soon formally named to appear in the BCS National Championship Game for the first time.

[298] The strength of the 2012 Fighting Irish was its defense, captained by senior leader Manti Te'o, who broke the school record for interceptions by a linebacker with 7 and finished second to Johnny Manziel in Heisman Trophy voting.

Coming off the previous year's national title game appearance, the Fighting Irish were dealt a blow when 2012 starting quarterback, Everett Golson, was suspended from the University due to an academic violation.

The Irish began the season 10–1 and were in position for a College Football Playoff appearance, but lost a last-second game to Stanford to finish with a 10–2 record and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl.

[314] After benching quarterback Brandon Wimbush in favor of Ian Book, the Irish then won the remainder of their regular season games, including victories over #7 Stanford, #24 Virginia Tech, #12 Syracuse, and Northwestern.

Following a 24–13 loss to #7 Cincinnati, Kelly helped lead the Fighting Irish to a seven-game winning streak to finish the regular season 11–1 and earn a berth in the Fiesta Bowl.

[330][331] The second African American head coach in the history of the Irish football program, Freeman signed a five-year contract worth $4 million annually excluding incentives.

Safety Xavier Watts received the Bronko Nagurski Trophy for college football's best defensive player and the team earned victories over #17 Duke (and future Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard), #10 USC, and #19 Oregon State in the Sun Bowl.

The university's stated reasons for its self-imposed hiatus were that bowl games were "glorified exhibitions" that played no part in national championship selections and that they extended the season too far to the detriment of players' academic progress.

The series promotes Notre Dame's athletic and academic brand, and has brought the Fighting Irish to San Antonio, New York, Greater Washington, D.C., Chicago, Indianapolis, Boston and the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.

The Irish traditionally have not worn player names on their jerseys during regular season games, but they were included during the coaching tenures of Dan Devine (1975–80) and Gerry Faust (1981-85).

[464] Eleven former players have won multiple Super Bowls: Mark Bavaro, Rocky Bleier, Nick Buoniconti, Eric Dorsey, Dave Duerson, David Givens, Terry Hanratty, Bob Kuechenberg, Joe Montana, Steve Sylvester and Justin Tuck.