The 2016 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

in the

2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 26, 2016, and ended on De ...

. The team was coached by Brian Kelly and played its home games at

Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame Stadium is an outdoor college football, football stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana, the home field of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football, Fighting Irish football team. It was built in 1930 under the guidance of Knute Ro ...

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

. They competed as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

. They finished the season 4–8, Notre Dame's worst record since 2007. Despite the disappointing season, athletic director Jack Swarbrick found the 2016 Irish to be a remarkable bunch, citing the team's "enthusiasm" and "willingness to practice".

Before the season

2016 NFL Daft

The following former Notre Dame players were selected in the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

Transfers out / departures

Notre Dame lost FS Max Redfield and CB Devin Butler in the offseason for violating team policies.

Coaching changes

Brian VanGorder was relieved of his duties as defensive coordinator. Defensive Analyst

Greg Hudson Gregory William Hudson (born February 4, 1967) is an American college football coach and former player. He is a former defensive coordinator for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. He has also served as a defensive assistant at Minnesot ...

took over as the Irish's Defensive Coordinator. Kelly said, "I have the utmost respect for Brian as both a person and football coach, but our defense simply isn't where it should be and I believe this change is necessary for the best interest of our program and our student-athletes.

Recruiting class

Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame coaching staff accepted 23 commitments for the 2016 recruiting cycle, including two 5-stars: Daelin Hayes and

Tommy Kraemer Thomas Henry Kraemer (born April 16, 1998) is an American professional American football, football Guard (gridiron football), guard. Kraemer played college football for Notre Dame Fighting Irish football, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and was first ...

. The class included student-athletes from 11 different states, and one Canadian province.

Personnel

Coaching staff

Roster

Schedule

Game summaries

Texas

Nevada

Michigan State

Duke

Syracuse

NC State

The Notre Dame vs NC State game was played during

Hurricane Matthew Hurricane Matthew was a powerful tropical cyclone which caused catastrophic damage and a humanitarian crisis in Haiti, as well as widespread devastation in the southeastern United States. The deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Stan ...

where the two teams combined for only 311 total yards. The only touchdown of the game was scored by NC State on a blocked punt leading NC State to win it 10–3.

Stanford

Miami (FL)

Navy

Army

Virginia Tech

USC

Rankings

References

{{Notre Dame Fighting Irish football navbox Notre Dame Notre Dame Fighting Irish football seasons

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is a college football team representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana (CDP), Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend, Indiana. The team plays its home games at the ca ...