The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football statistical leaders are individual statistical leaders of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football program in various categories,[1] [2] including passing , rushing , receiving , total offense , defensive stats, kicking , and scoring. Within those areas, the lists identify single-game, single-season, and career leaders. The Fighting Irish represent the University of Notre Dame as an independent in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
Although Notre Dame began competing in intercollegiate football in 1887,[1] records from the early years are often incomplete and inconsistent and may not appear on this list. Notre Dame's official record book does not list a specific "modern era" beginning in a certain year, and the records listed below can go as far back as 1900, although they may not be complete.
These lists are dominated by more recent players for several reasons:
Since the 1940s, seasons have increased from 10 games to 11 and then 12 games in length.
The NCAA didn't allow freshmen to play varsity football until 1972 (with the exception of the World War II years), allowing players to have four-year careers.
Bowl games only began counting toward single-season and career statistics in 2002.[3] The Fighting Irish have played in 13 bowl games since then, allowing more recent players an extra game to accumulate statistics.
These lists are updated through Notre Dame's game against North Carolina on November 27, 2020 .
Passing [ ]
Passing yards [ ]
Career
Rank
Player
Yards
Years
1
Brady Quinn
11,762
2003 2004 2005 2006
2
Ian Book
8,948[4]
2017 2018 2019 2020
3
Jimmy Clausen
8,148
2007 2008 2009
4
Tommy Rees
7,670
2010 2011 2012 2013
5
Ron Powlus
7,602
1994 1995 1996 1997
6
Steve Beuerlein
6,527
1983 1984 1985 1986
7
Rick Mirer
5,997
1989 1990 1991 1992
8
Everett Golson
5,850
2012 2014
9
DeShone Kizer
5,809
2015 2016
10
Jarious Jackson
4,820
1996 1997 1998 1999
Single season
Rank
Player
Yards
Year
1
Brady Quinn
3,919
2005
2
Jimmy Clausen
3,722
2009
3
Everett Golson
3,445
2014
4
Brady Quinn
3,426
2006
5
Tommy Rees
3,257
2013
6
Jimmy Clausen
3,172
2008
7
Jack Coan
3,150[5]
2021
8
Ian Book
3,034[4]
2019
9
DeShone Kizer
2,925
2016
10
DeShone Kizer
2,884
2015
Single game
Rank
Player
Yards
Year
Opponent
1
Joe Theismann
526
1970
USC
2
Jack Coan
509[6]
2021
Oklahoma State
3
Brady Quinn
487
2005
Michigan State
4
DeShone Kizer
471[7]
2016
Syracuse
5
Brady Quinn
467
2005
BYU
6
Jimmy Clausen
452[8]
2009
Navy
7
Everett Golson
446[9]
2014
Arizona State
8
Brady Quinn
440
2005
Purdue
9
Brady Quinn
432
2004
Purdue
Brady Quinn
432
2005
Stanford
Passing touchdowns [ ]
Rushing [ ]
Rushing yards [ ]
Career
Rank
Player
Yards
Years
1
Autry Denson
4,318
1995 1996 1997 1998
2
Allen Pinkett
4,131
1982 1983 1984 1985
3
Vagas Ferguson
3,472
1976 1977 1978 1979
4
Darius Walker
3,249
2004 2005 2006
5
Josh Adams
3,198
2015 2016 2017
6
Julius Jones
3,018
1999 2000 2001 2003
7
Jerome Heavens
2,682
1975 1976 1977 1978
8
Cierre Wood
2,447
2009 2010 2011 2012
9
Phil Carter
2,409
1979 1980 1981 1982
10
George Gipp
2,341
1917 1918 1919 1920
Single season
Rank
Player
Yards
Year
1
Vagas Ferguson
1,437
1979
2
Josh Adams
1,430
2017
3
Allen Pinkett
1,394
1983
4
Reggie Brooks
1,343
1992
5
Julius Jones
1,268
2003
6
Autry Denson
1,268
1997
7
Darius Walker
1,267
2006
8
Darius Walker
1,196
2005
9
Vagas Ferguson
1,192
1978
10
Autry Denson
1,179
1996
Rushing touchdowns [ ]
Receiving [ ]
Receptions [ ]
Receiving yards [ ]
Career
Rank
Player
Yards
Years
1
Michael Floyd
3,686
2008 2009 2010 2011
2
Golden Tate
2,707
2007 2008 2009
3
Jeff Samardzija
2,593
2003 2004 2005 2006
4
Derrick Mayes
2,512
1992 1993 1994 1995
Will Fuller
2,512
2013 2014 2015
6
Tim Brown
2,493
1984 1985 1986 1987
7
T. J. Jones
2,429
2010 2011 2012 2013
8
Tom Gatewood
2,283
1969 1970 1971
9
Rhema McKnight
2,277
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
10
Maurice Stovall
2,195
2002 2003 2004 2005
Single season
Rank
Player
Yards
Year
1
Golden Tate
1,496
2009
2
Will Fuller
1,258
2015
3
Jeff Samardzija
1,249
2005
4
Maurice Stovall
1,149
2005
5
Michael Floyd
1,147
2011
6
Tom Gatewood
1,123
1970
7
Jack Snow
1,114
1964
8
T. J. Jones
1,108
2013
9
Will Fuller
1,094
2014
10
Golden Tate
1,080
2008
Receiving touchdowns [ ]
Total offense [ ]
Total offense is the sum of passing and rushing statistics. It does not include receiving or returns.[30]
Total offense yards [ ]
Career
Rank
Player
Yards
Years
1
Brady Quinn
11,944
2003 2004 2005 2006
2
Ian Book
10,466 [4]
2017 2018 2019 2020
3
Jimmy Clausen
7,793
2007 2008 2009
4
Tommy Rees
7,543
2010 2011 2012 2013
5
Ron Powlus
7,479
1994 1995 1996 1997
6
DeShone Kizer
6,801
2015 2016 1991 1992
7
Rick Mirer
6,691
1989 1990 1991 1992
8
Steve Beuerlein
6,459
1983 1984 1985 1986
9
Everett Golson
6,431
2012 2014
10
Jarious Jackson
5,777
1996 1997 1998 1999
Single season
Rank
Player
Yards
Year
1
Brady Quinn
4,009
2005
2
Everett Golson
3,728
2014
3
Jimmy Clausen
3,627
2009
4
Ian Book
3,580 [4]
2019
5
Brady Quinn
3,497
2006
6
DeShone Kizer
3,404
2015
7
DeShone Kizer
3,397
2016
8
Ian Book
3,315 [4]
2020
9
Jarious Jackson
3,217
1999
10
Tommy Rees
3,201
2013
Single game
Rank
Player
Yards
Year
Opponent
1
Joe Theismann
512
1970
USC
2
Jack Coan
505 [6]
2021
Oklahoma State
3
Brady Quinn
479
2005
Michigan State
4
DeShone Kizer
472 [7]
2016
Syracuse
5
Brady Quinn
463
2005
Purdue
6
Brady Quinn
457
2005
BYU
7
Brady Quinn
453
2005
Stanford
8
Jimmy Clausen
447 [8]
2009
Navy
9
DeShone Kizer
442 [31]
2015
Temple
10
DeShone Kizer
441 [32]
2016
Duke
Touchdowns responsible for [ ]
"Touchdowns responsible for" is the official NCAA term for combined passing and rushing touchdowns.[33]
Single game
Rank
Player
TDs
Year
Opponent
1
Art Smith
7
1911
Loyola (Chicago)
2
Ian Book
6 [10]
2019
New Mexico
Bill Downs
6
1905
DePauw
Brady Quinn
6
2005
BYU
Everett Golson
6 [34]
2014
Navy
DeShone Kizer
6 [35]
2015
Pittsburgh
DeShone Kizer
6 [16]
2016
Texas
Defense [ ]
Interceptions [ ]
Tackles [ ]
Sacks [ ]
Kicking [ ]
Field goals made [ ]
Field goal percentage [ ]
Scoring [ ]
Points [ ]
Single game
Rank
Player
Points
Year
Opponent
1
Art Smith
37
1911
Loyola (Chicago)
2
Bill Downs
30
1903
DePauw
Alvin Berger
30
1912
St. Viator
Willie Maher
30
1923
Kalamazoo
Bill Wolski
30
1965
Pittsburgh
DeShone Kizer
30
2015
Pittsburgh
Touchdowns [ ]
These lists reflect touchdowns scored . Accordingly, they include rushing, receiving, and return touchdowns, but not passing touchdowns.
Single game
Rank
Player
TDs
Year
Opponent
1
Art Smith
7
1911
Loyola (Chicago)
2
Bill Downs
5
1903
DePauw
3
8 times by 6 players
4
Most recent: Brandon Wimbush , 2017 vs. Boston College
References [ ]
^ a b "2019 Notre Dame Football Media Guide" (PDF) . Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Retrieved September 14, 2019 .
^ "2015 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Media Guide" (PDF) . und.com . Retrieved 2015-11-07 .
^ "NCAA changes policy on football stats" . ESPN.com . AP. 2002-08-28. Retrieved 2014-09-11 .
^ a b c d e f g h i "Ian Book" . ESPN.com . Retrieved November 29, 2020 .
^ a b c "Jack Coan" . ESPN.com .
^ a b c "Oklahoma State vs. Notre Dame Box Score" . ESPN.com . January 1, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2022 .
^ a b "Kizer covers for shaky D as Notre Dame beats Syracuse 50-33" . ESPN.com . 2016-10-01.
^ a b "Navy scores second straight victory in South Bend" . ESPN.com . 2009-11-07.
^ "No. 9 Arizona State holds off late rally, defeats No. 10 Notre Dame" . ESPN.com . 2014-11-08.
^ a b "New Mexico vs. Notre Dame Box Score" . ESPN.com . September 14, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2019 .
^ "A season saved? ND comes back from 17 down to topple MSU" . ESPN.com . 2006-09-23.
^ "Clausen's 401 yards passing, 5 TDs lead way as Irish end bowl skid" . ESPN.com . 2008-12-24.
^ Hawaii Bowl
^ a b "Weis' future hangs in limbo after Irish lose to Stanford" . ESPN.com . 2009-11-28.
^ "Rees leads Notre Dame to 45-10 win over Air Force" . ESPN.com . 2013-10-26.
^ a b "Texas edges No. 10 Notre Dame in 2OT thriller" . ESPN.com . 2016-09-04.
^ a b c "Kyren Williams" . ESPN.com . Retrieved November 29, 2020 .
^ a b c "Chase Claypool" . ESPN.com .
^ "Michael Mayer" . ESPN.com .
^ "Michigan scores with 2 seconds left, stuns Irish" . ESPN.com . 2011-09-10.
^ "Michael Floyd powers Notre Dame past Purdue" . ESPN.com . 2011-10-01.
^ "South Florida upsets Notre Dame after long weather delays" . ESPN.com . 2011-09-03.
^ "Notre Dame ends 6-game skid to Boston College" . ESPN.com . 2009-10-24.
^ "Robert Hughes' TD run sends ND past USC for first time since '01" . ESPN.com . 2010-11-27.
^ "Tulsa stuns Notre Dame; Irish QB Dayne Crist injures knee" . ESPN.com . 2010-10-30.
^ "Notre Dame Stanford Box Score" . ESPN.com . 2018-09-29.
^ a b "Notre Dame ends OT curse, improves record vs. Washington to 8-0" . ESPN.com . 2009-10-03.
^ "Clausen tosses four TDs as Notre Dame overwhelms Nevada" . ESPN.com . 2009-09-05.
^ "Syracuse vs. Notre Dame Box Score" . ESPN.com . December 5, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020 .
^ "2021 Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF) . NCAA. p. 9. Retrieved December 4, 2021 .
^ "DeShone Kizer's late TD pass helps Notre Dame escape No. 21 Temple" . ESPN.com . 2015-10-31.
^ "Reed kicks game-winning field goal as Duke beats Notre Dame" . ESPN.com . 2016-09-24.
^ "2021 Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF) . NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved December 4, 2021 .
^ "Everett Golson's six TDs guide No. 10 Notre Dame past Navy" . ESPN.com . 2014-11-01.
^ "Kizer throws for 5 TDs, No. 5 Notre Dame tops Pitt" . ESPN.com . 2015-11-07.
^ "Isaiah Foskey" . ESPN.com .
^ a b c d e f g "Jonathan Doerer" . ESPN.com .
^ "Notre Dame beats USC to secure spot in BCS title game" . ESPN.com . 2012-11-24.
^ "Notre Dame controls 2nd half to beat Rutgers in Pinstripe Bowl" . ESPN.com . 2013-12-28.
Venues
Brownson Hall field (1892?–1899)
Cartier Field (1899–1928)
Soldier Field (1929)
Notre Dame Stadium (1930–present)
Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold