2011 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

The 2011 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Brian Kelly and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. They compete as an independent. They finished the season 8–5. They were invited to the Champs Sports Bowl where they were defeated by Florida State 18–14.

2011 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
ConferenceIndependent
2011 record8–5
Head coachBrian Kelly (2nd season)
Offensive coordinatorCharley Molnar (2nd season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorBob Diaco (2nd season)
Base defense3–4
CaptainHarrison Smith
Home stadiumNotre Dame Stadium
(Capacity: 80,795)
2011 NCAA Division I FBS independents football records
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
BYU    –      10 –3  
Notre Dame    –      8 –5  
Navy    –      5 –7  
Army    –      3 –9  
Rankings from AP Poll

Pre-season

Coaching changes

Kerry Cooks took over the cornerback position after coaching the outside linebackers the previous season. Defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, who also coaches the inside linebackers, will coach the entire linebacking corps moving forward. Chuck Martin will focus solely on the safeties, while presumably assuming his role as the program’s recruiting coordinator.

Player changes

Departing players

Star tight end Kyle Rudolph chose to forgo his final year of eligibility, and enter the 2011 NFL Draft. The Irish also lost a number of important seniors, including four-year starter defensive lineman Ian Williams, linebackers Kerry Neal and Brian Smith, cornerback Darrin Walls, running backs Robert Hughes and Armando Allen, Wide Receiver Duval Kamara, and offensive lineman Matt Romine and Chris Stewart, all to graduation. Redshirt junior quarterback Nate Montana left the program in early February 2011, and transferred to the University of Montana.[1] Junior guard Alex Bullard transferred to his hometown state of Tennessee and will play for the University of Tennessee, citing the desire to be closer to home following the loss of a family member.[2]

Recruiting

With his first full recruiting class, Brian Kelly added 23 prospects to the football team, including the addition of five early-enrollees: defensive end Aaron Lynch, outside linebacker Ishaq Williams, offensive lineman Brad Carrico, quarterback Everett Golson, and kicker Kyle Brindza.

Outlook
See also: 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings § Preseason polls

Award candidates

The following players were announced to award watch lists prior to the start of the 2011 season:

Schedule

[7]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 33:30 p.m.South FloridaNo. 16
NBCL 20–2380,795
September 108:00 p.m.at Michigan
ESPNL 31–35114,804
September 173:30 p.m.No. 15 Michigan State
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • South Bend, IN (Megaphone Trophy)
NBCW 31–1380,795
September 2412:00 p.m.at Pittsburgh
ABCW 15–1265,050
October 18:00 p.m.at Purdue
ESPNW 38–1061,555
October 83:30 p.m.Air Force
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • South Bend, IN
NBCW 59–3380,795
October 227:30 p.m.USC
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • South Bend, IN (Jeweled Shillelagh)
NBCL 17–3180,795
October 293:30 p.m.Navy
NBCW 56–1480,795
November 58:00 p.m.at Wake Forest
ABCW 24–1736,307
November 127:30 p.m.vs. Maryland
NBCW 45–2170,251
November 194:00 p.m.Boston CollegeNo. 24
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • South Bend, IN (Holy War)
NBCW 16–1480,795
November 268:00 p.m.at No. 4 StanfordNo. 22
ABCL 14–2850,360[8]
December 295:30 p.m.vs. No. 25 Florida State
ESPN/ESPN 3DL 14–1868,305

Personnel

Coaching staff
NamePositionYear at Notre DameAlma mater (Year)
Brian KellyHead coach2ndAssumption (1982)
Bob DiacoDefensive coordinator/linebackers2ndIowa (1995)
Charley MolnarOffensive coordinator/quarterbacks2ndLock Haven (1984)
Chuck MartinSafeties /recruiting coordinator2ndMillikin (1990)
Mike ElstonDefensive line / special teams coordinator2ndMichigan (1998)
Ed WarinnerOffensive line2ndMount Union (1984)
Mike DenbrockTight ends2nd (second stint)Grand Valley State (1987)
Tony AlfordWide receivers3rdColorado State (1992)
Tim HintonRunning backs2ndWilmington (1982)
Kerry CooksCornerbacks2ndIowa (2000)
Paul LongoStrength and conditioning2ndWayne State University (1981)

Roster
2011 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
2011 Notre Dame Fighting Irish roster from the University of Notre Dame Athletic Site

Quarterbacks

  • 10 Dayne Crist – Senior
  • 5 Everett Golson – Freshman
  • 12 Andrew Hendrix – Sophomore
  • 17 Matthew Mulevy – Senior
  • 11 Tommy Rees – Sophomore

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

  • 14 Luke Massa – Sophomore
  • 16 DaVaris Daniels – Freshman
  • 41 Matthias Farley – Freshman
  • 38 Nick Fitzpatrick – Junior
  • 3 Michael Floyd – Senior
  • 81 John Goodman – Senior
  • 7 T. J. Jones – Sophomore
  • 37 Eric Lee – Freshman
  • 39 Ryan Liebscher – Sophomore
  • 6 Theo Riddick – Junior
  • 85 Ryan Sharpley – Senior
  • 87 Daniel Smith – Sophomore
  • 9 Robby Toma – Junior
  • 1 Deion Walker – Senior
  

Tight Ends

  • 80 Tyler Eifert – Junior
  • 88 Jake Golic – Junior
  • 18 Ben Koyack – Freshman
  • 86 Arturo Martinez – Sophomore
  • 83 Mike Ragone – 5th Year Senior
  • 82 Alex Welch – Sophomore

Offensive Line

  • 56 Brad Carrico – Freshman
  • 51 Bruce Heggie – Sophomore
  • 72 Nick Martin – Freshman
  • 62 Matt Tansey – Junior

Offensive Tackles

  • 73 Lane Clelland – Senior
  • 75 Taylor Dever – 5th Year Senior
  • 77 Matt Hegarty – Freshman
  • 74 Christian Lombard – Sophomore
  • 71 Dennis Mahoney – Senior
  • 70 Zack Martin – Junior
  • 64 Tate Nichols – Sophomore
  • 79 Jordan Prestwood – Freshman #

Offensive Guards

Centers

Defensive Ends

  

Defensive Tackles

  • 98 Sean Cwynar – Junior

Nose Guards

  • 99 Brandon Newman – Senior
  • 9 Louis Nix III – Sophomore
  • 92 Tyler Stockton – Junior
  • 94 Hafis Williams – Senior

Linebackers

  • 93 Connor Little – Freshman

Inside Linebackers

  • 44 Carlo Calabrese – Junior
  • 48 Dan Fox – Junior
  • 59 Jarrett Grace – Freshman
  • 54 Anthony McDonald – Senior
  • 8 Kendall Moore – Sophomore
  • 50 Sean Oxley – Senior
  • 36 David Posluszny – Senior
  • 56 Anthony Rabasa – Freshman
  • 38 Joe Schmidt – Freshman
  • 55 Prince Shembo – Sophomore
  • 5 Manti Te'o – Junior
  • 53 Justin Utupo – Sophomore

Outside Linebackers

  • 30 Ben Councell – Freshman
  • 46 Steve Filer – Senior
  • 45 Darius Fleming – Senior
  • 47 Jonathan Frantz – Senior
  • 58 Troy Niklas – Freshman
  • 13 Danny Spond – Sophomore
  • 1 Ishaq Williams – Freshman

Defensive Backs

  • 35 Joe Romano – Sophomore

Cornerbacks

  • 43 Josh Atkinson – Freshman
  • 12 Robert Blanton – Senior
  • 21 Jalen Brown – Freshman
  • 4 Gary Gray – 5th Year Senior
  • 2 Bennett Jackson – Sophomore
  • 42 Nick Lezynski – 5th Year Senior
  • 32 Andrew Plaska – Senior
  • 39 Ryan Sheehan – Senior
  • 23 Lo Wood – Sophomore
  

Safeties

  • 49 Blake Breslau – Junior
  • 40 Connor Cavalaris – Freshman
  • 28 Austin Collinsworth – Sophomore
  • 34 Eilar Hardy – Freshman
  • 15 Dan McCarthy – Senior
  • 17 Zeke Motta – Junior
  • 24 Chris Salvi – Senior
  • 26 Jamoris Slaughter – Senior
  • 22 Harrison Smith – 5th Year Senior

Kickers/Punters

  • 27 Kyle Brindza – Freshman
  • 37 Mike Greico – Senior
  • 97 David Ruffer – 5th Year Senior
  • 40 Nick Tausch – Junior
  • 35 Ben Turk – Junior

Long Snappers

  • 60 Jordan Cowart – Junior
  • 50 Ryan Kavanaugh – Senior

# Incoming Transfer, Must sit out a year

Game summaries

South Florida
See also: 2011 South Florida Bulls football team

[9]

South Florida at Notre Dame
1 234Total
• Bulls 13 307 23
Fighting Irish 0 0713 20
  • Date: September 3
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium
    South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 3:30 EST
  • Elapsed time: 5:59
  • Game attendance: 80,795
  • Game weather: 93 degrees, W 6 MPH, 2 Severe Weather Delays
  • Referee: Dennis Hennigan Big East
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dan Hicks, Mike Mayock & Alex Flanagan

Michigan
See also: 2011 Michigan Wolverines football team
  • Game Captain: Zach Martin
Notre Dame at Michigan "Under The Lights"
(Michigan – Notre Dame rivalry game)
1 234Total
Fighting Irish 14 377 31
• Wolverines 0 7028 35
  • Date: September 10
  • Location: Michigan Stadium
    Ann Arbor, MI
  • Game start: 8:00 PM EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:30
  • Game attendance: 114,804
  • Game weather: High 60s, ESE 4 MPH
  • Referee: Tom Tomczyk Big East
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit & Erin Andrews

Michigan State
See also: 2011 Michigan State Spartans football team
  • Game Captain: Ethan Johnson
Michigan State at Notre Dame
(Megaphone Trophy)
1 234Total
Spartans 3 703 13
• Fighting Irish 14 773 31
  • Date: September 17
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium
    South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 3:30 PM EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:19
  • Game attendance: 80,795
  • Game weather: 68 Degrees, SE 8 MPH
  • Referee: John O'Neill Big 10
  • TV announcers (NBC): Tom Hammond, Mike Mayock & Alex Flanagan

Pittsburgh
See also: 2011 Pittsburgh Panthers football team
  • Game Captain: Taylor Dever
Notre Dame at Pittsburgh
1 234Total
• Fighting Irish 0 708 15
Panthers 3 360 12
  • Date: September 24
  • Location: Heinz Field
    Pittsburgh, PA
  • Game start: 12:00 PM EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:17
  • Game attendance: 65,050
  • Game weather: 64 Degrees, NE 2 MPH
  • Referee: John McDade Big East
  • TV announcers (ABC): Dave Pasch, Chris Spielman, Urban Meyer & Quint Kessenich

Purdue
See also: 2011 Purdue Boilermakers football team and Shillelagh Trophy (Notre Dame–Purdue)
Notre Dame at Purdue
1 234Total
• Notre Dame 14 7143 38
Purdue 0 307 10
  • Date: October 1
  • Location: Ross-Ade Stadium
    West Lafayette, IN
  • Game start: 8:00 PM EST EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:21
  • Game attendance: 61,555
  • Game weather: 50 Degrees, NNW 4 MPH
  • Referee: Jerry McGinn Big East
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge & Holly Rowe

[10]

Air Force
See also: 2011 Air Force Falcons football team
Air Force at Notre Dame
1 234Total
Falcons 3 13017 33
• Fighting Irish 21 21710 59
  • Date: October 8
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium
    South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 3:30 EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:23
  • Game attendance: 80,795
  • Game weather: 81 degrees, S 9 MPH
  • Referee: Greg Burks Mountain West Conference
  • TV announcers (NBC): Tom Hammond, Mike Mayock & Alex Flanagan

USC
See also: 2011 USC Trojans football team
USC at Notre Dame
1 234Total
• Trojans 14 377 31
Fighting Irish 0 1007 17
  • Date: October 22
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium
    South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 7:30 EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:10
  • Game attendance: 80,795
  • Game weather: 36 degrees
  • Referee: Land Clark Pac-12
  • TV announcers (NBC): Tom Hammond, Mike Mayock & Alex Flanagan
See also: 2011 Navy Midshipmen football team

Game Captain: Chris Salvi

Navy at Notre Dame
1 234Total
Midshipmen 0 707 14
• Fighting Irish 14 21714 56
  • Date: October 29
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium
    South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 3:30 EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:06
  • Game attendance: 80,795
  • Game weather: 54 Degrees
  • Referee: Ron Cherry
  • TV announcers (NBC): Tom Hammond, Mike Mayock & Alex Flanagan
  • Source:

Wake Forest
See also: 2011 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team

Game Captain: Robert Blanton

Notre Dame at Wake Forest
1 234Total
• Fighting Irish 10 0140 24
Demon Deacons 10 700 17
  • Date: November 5
  • Location: BB&T Field
    Winston-Salem, NC
  • Game start: 8:00 PM EST
  • Game attendance: 36,307
  • Referee: Dennis Hennigan Big East
  • Television network: ABC/ESPN2

Maryland
See also: 2011 Maryland Terrapins football team

Game Captain: Darius Fleming

Notre Dame vs Maryland
(Shamrock Series)
1 234Total
Terrapins 0 7014 21
• Fighting Irish 10 14147 45
  • Date: November 12
  • Location: Fed Ex Field
    Landover, MD
  • Game start: 7:30 PM EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:03
  • Game attendance: 70,251
  • Game weather: 51 Degrees
  • Referee: Tom Tomczyk Big East
  • TV announcers (NBC): Tom Hammond, Mike Mayock & Alex Flanagan

Despite the game being played only 12 miles from the Maryland campus, both end zones read "Notre Dame" and the majority of the fans in attendance were supporting the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame wore their green jerseys along with large green shamrocks on their side of their gold helmets.[11]

Boston College
See also: 2011 Boston College Eagles football team
Notre Dame vs Boston College
1 234Total
Eagles 0 707 14
• Fighting Irish 10 303 16
  • Date: November 19
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium
    South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 4:00 PM EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:22
  • Game attendance: 80,795
  • Game weather: 51
  • Referee: Brad Allen ACC
  • TV announcers (NBC): Tom Hammond, Mike Mayock & Alex Flanagan

Stanford
See also: 2011 Stanford Cardinal football team

Game Captain: Taylor Dever

Notre Dame vs Stanford
1 234Total
Fighting Irish 0 077 14
• Cardinal 7 1407 28
  • Date: November 26
  • Location: Stanford Stadium
    Stanford, CA
  • Game start: 8:00 PM EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:23
  • Game attendance: 50,360
  • Game weather: 58 Degrees
  • Referee: John Mcdaid Big East
  • TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit

Florida State
Main article: 2011 Champs Sports Bowl
See also: 2011 Florida State Seminoles football team

Game Captain: Michael Floyd

Notre Dame vs Florida State
1 234Total
• Seminoles 0 0315 18
Fighting Irish 7 070 14
  • Date: December 29
  • Location: Citrus Bowl
    Orlando, FL
  • Game start: 5:30 EST
  • Referee: Reggie Smith Big 12 Conference
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Joe Tessitore (Play-by-Play)
    Rod Gilmore (Color Analyst)
    Holly Rowe (Sideline)

Rankings
See also: 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final 
AP 16 NR NR RV RV RV RV RV RV NR RV RV 24 22 RV  
Coaches 18 NR NR RV NR RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 24 RV  
Harris Not released RV RV RV NR RV RV RV 23 RV Not released 
BCS Not released NR NR NR NR NR NR 22 NR Not released

Awards

National awards

  • Biletnikoff Award
Michael Floyd (semifinalist)[12]
Tyler Eifert (finalist)[13]

All-Americans

Name AP AFCA FWAA SN WCFF Athlon[14] CBS CFN ESPN PFW Rivals Scout SI Yahoo
George Atkinson III, KRHon. Mention
Tyler Eifert, TE22Hon. Mention31Hon. Mention3
Michael Floyd, WRHon. MentionHon. Mention
Manti Te'o, LB222222
†denotes consensus selection. NCAA recognizes AP, AFCA, FWAA, SN and WCFF 1st teams for consensus selections      Source:

References
  1. "Nate Montana to transfer from Notre Dame to Montana". usatoday.com. 2011-02-15. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  2. "Notre Dame lineman Alex Bullard transferring to Tennessee after death of father". govolsextra.com. 2011-01-07. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  3. "More Notre Dame Football Players Selected To Preseason Watch Lists". UND.cstv.com. 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  4. "Trio Of Irish Players Make Maxwell, Bednarik Watch Lists". UND.cstv.com. 2011-07-05. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  5. "Tyler Eifert Named To John Mackey Award Watch List". UND.cstv.com. 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  6. "Notre Dame Players Littered On Preseason Watch Lists". UND.cstv.com. 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2011-04-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Stanford Cardinal Box Score". ESPN.com. November 26, 2011.
  9. "No. 16 Irish Drop Season Opener To USF, 23–20." UND.com. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  12. "Floyd named Biletnikoff semifinalist". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
  13. "Tyler Eifert Named Finalist For John Mackey Award". und.com. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
  14. "Athlon's 2011 College Football All-America Team". athlonsports.com. Retrieved 2012-12-11.

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