If you missed part one don’t forget to check out a pair of victories from Tyrone Willingham and Gerry Faust, among others. These non-legendary coaches are not done, either. There is still more bewildering wins to come! Who will fill out the remaining 6 games…

#6
7-6 Notre Dame in 1997
24-6 Win vs. #13 LSU

Bob Davie’s first year saw the Irish lose 4 out of their first 5 and 5 out of their first 7 games. That’s one way to introduce yourself as head coach. However, the team rallied in late October with a blowout win over Boston College and a victory over Navy prior to a trip down to Death Valley.

Of course, Notre Dame pulled this one out of their butt. They dominated early and pretty much the entire game jumping out to a quick 17-0 lead. The Irish defense clamped down and didn’t allow a touchdown until late in the 4th quarter while LSU quarterback Herb Tyler threw 3 picks. These teams met 6 weeks later in the Holiday Bowl and obviously the Tigers dished out payback to the tune of 27-9.

#5
7-5 Notre Dame in 1984
19-7 Win vs. #10 USC

We already covered Notre Dame’s dumb win over LSU in 1984 which took place 3 weeks prior to this regular season finale in Los Angeles. For his part, Gerry Faust did beat USC 3 out of 5 tries but this one in ’84 was the only time he did it on the road. In some ways, it makes more sense than the LSU win weeks earlier, the Irish rode that momentum to what would end up being 4 straight wins to finish the regular season.

Still, a very mediocre Irish team that started the year losing to a mediocre Purdue team would finish beating the Pac-10 and Rose Bowl champions. Even better, this was a double-digit win! And it broke an 8-game win-less streak inside the Los Angeles Coliseum!

#4
4-8 Notre Dame in 2016
30-27 Win vs. #20 Miami

The thing about games making this list is that you have to be a somewhat talented team to beat good opponents. It’s a combination of coaching, injuries, or other factors that prevented a talented team from playing a lot better throughout the whole season. Ladies and gentlemen, the 2016 team!

The Irish lost the hurricane game at NC State, squandered a home game against Stanford, and would be Middie’d to death by Navy and somehow this team beat Miami in that 4-game stretch. It’s just so weird. Miami actually lost 3 straight prior to this game which makes more sense. Although, they’d go on to win their next 15 straight games after losing at Notre Dame.

#3
6-4-1 Notre Dame in 1982
31-16 Win vs. #10 Pittsburgh

This is probably the most famous game on our list. At the time, Pitt was the #1 team in the country and 7-0 with wins against 3 ranked opponents already to this point in the season. Notre Dame, as per usual for teams on this list, were extremely up and down. They beat eventual Rose Bowl-bound Michigan in the opener then sputtered through the next 3 wins before losing at home to Arizona and tying Oregon on the road.

The unranked Irish trailed 13-10 to start the 4th quarter but a 54-yard flea-flicker touchdown pass from Blair Kiel and a 76-yard touchdown run by Allen Pinkett sparked the comeback win. Pitt would beat Army and Rutgers in the following weeks but this win was dampened by the Panthers losing to both Penn State in the regular season finale and to SMU in the Cotton Bowl.

#2
6-6 Notre Dame in 2004
17-13 Win vs. #13 Tennessee

You have to hand it to Tyrone Willingham. In his last season, one in which he loses 6 games and is blown out 3 times, he somehow lands a 3rd game on our list from 2004. The week prior to the visit to Knoxville, Notre Dame had their hearts ripped out when a 30-yard touchdown pass with 54 seconds remaining gave Boston College a 1-point win in South Bend. Yet, somehow the team dusted themselves off at 5-3 and beat the eventual SEC East and Cotton Bowl Champions.

Typical of this era, the Irish won based on defense and a heaping side of luck. Vols backup quarterback Erik Ainge left the game late in the 1st half after a Brandon Hoyte tackle and Rick Clausen (older brother to our own Jimmy Clausen) lost a fumble that would result in the game-winning touchdown after Mike Goolsby scooped it up for a 26-yard score.

The Irish won this big road game with 216 total yards and 12 completions from Brady Quinn, including just 2.7 yards rushing from the offense.

#1
5-5 Notre Dame in 1962
13-7 Win vs. #8 Oklahoma

It’ll be tough to ever match this super dumb win in the ’62 opener. Five years after snapping Oklahoma’s NCAA-record 47-game win streak, the Irish provided another unlikely upset again at Norman. This time, the Sooners weren’t quite as good (#2 finish in 1957) but Notre Dame was much worse (#9 in 1957 and a hot mess in 1962).

In a low-scoring affair that saw a combined 492 total yards, Oklahoma felt the sting of defeat even more by driving 71 yards to end the game and failing to score from 4 chances inside the Irish 5-yard line. Notre Dame would go on to lose their next 4 straight scoring just 27 combined points. The Irish would rally for 4 straight wins only to get blown out by USC to end the season. Oklahoma would lose to #2 Texas the following week but won the rest of their games before losing to Alabama in the Orange Bowl.