2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team information
American college football season
2018Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Cotton Bowl Classic (CFP Semifinal), L 3–30 vs. Clemson
Conference
Independent
Ranking
Coaches
No. 5
AP
No. 5
Record
12–1
Head coach
Brian Kelly (9th season)
Offensive coordinator
Chip Long (2nd season)
Offensive scheme
Spread
Defensive coordinator
Clark Lea (1st season)
Base defense
4–2–5
Captain
Alex Bars Sam Mustipher Tyler Newsome Drue Tranquill
Home stadium
Notre Dame Stadium
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 NCAA Division I FBS independents football records
v
t
e
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
W
L
No. 5 Notre Dame ^
–
12
–
1
No. 19 Army
–
11
–
2
BYU
–
7
–
6
Liberty
–
6
–
6
UMass
–
4
–
8
New Mexico State
–
3
–
9
^ – College Football Playoff participant
Rankings from AP Poll
The 2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by head coach Brian Kelly, who was in his ninth season at Notre Dame, and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana. The Fighting Irish competed as an independent.
Notre Dame, coming off a 10–3, Citrus Bowl-winning season in 2017, began the year ranked 12th in the AP Poll. In the first game of the year, they hosted rival No. 14 Michigan, in the first game played in the series since 2014. Notre Dame won by a score of 24–17. The Irish continued to impress fans, winning against ranked opponents Stanford and Virginia Tech, causing them to rise to third in the polls. Notre Dame finished the regular season with a perfect 12–0 record, and were ranked third in the final College Football Playoff rankings, earning them a spot in the national semifinal to be played at the Cotton Bowl against second-ranked Clemson. The Irish lost to the eventual national champion Tigers by a score of 30–3. Their final record of 12–1 and final ranking of 5th in the nation represented the program's best season since 2012.
Quarterback Brandon Wimbush led the offense for the first three games, after which he was benched in favor of Ian Book. Book ended the year with 2,628 passing yards and 19 touchdowns. The running attack was led by Dexter Williams, finishing with 995 yards and 12 touchdowns. On defense, cornerback Julian Love was named a consensus first-team All-American, and defensive tackle Jerry Tillery also received All-America honors by several selectors. Head coach Brian Kelly was named AP Coach of the Year.
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