in 24 of those 37 years ND has ended the season ranked

Posted on: May 10, 2024 at 18:57:50 CT

in the AP top 25, with an average final ranking of #11.

here's their final end of season ranking during your lifetime:

1987 - #17 - 8-4
1988 - #1 - 12-0 beat WV in the Fiesta Bowl
1989 - #2 - 12-1 beat Colorado in the Orange Bowl
1990 - #6 - 9-3 lost to (alleged) national champion Colorado in the Orange Bowl
1991 - #13 - 10-3 beat Florida in the Sugar Bowl
1992 - #4 - 10-1-1 beat aTm in the Cotton Bowl
1993 - #2 - 11-1 beat aTm in the Cotton Bowl
1994 - NR
1995 - #11 - 9-3 lost to FSU in the Orange Bowl
1996 - #19 - 8-3
1997 - NR
1998 - #22 - 9-3 lost to GA Tech in tha Gator Bowl
1999 - NR
2000 - #15 - 9-3 lost to Oregon St in the Fiesta Bowl
2001 - NR
2002 - #17 - 10-3 lost to NC St in the Gator Bowl
2003 - NR
2004 - NR
2005 - #9 - 9-3 lost to Ohio St in the Fiesta Bowl
2006 - #17 - 10-3 lost to LSU in the Sugar bowl
2007 - NR
2008 - NR
2009 - NR
2010 - NR
2011 - NR
2012 - #4 - 12-1 lost to Bama in the NC game
2013 - #20 - 9-4 beat Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl
2014 - NR
2015 - #11 - 10-3 lost to Ohio St in the Fiesta Bowl
2016 - NR
2017 - #11 - 10-3 beat LSU in the Citrus Bowl
2018 - #5 - 12-1 lost to Clemson in the Cotton Bowl
2019 - #12 - 11-2 beat Iowa St in the Camping World Bowl
2020 - #5 - 10-2 lost to Bama in the Rose Bowl
2021 - #8 - 11-2 lost to Ok St in the Fiesta Bowl
2022 - #18 - 9-4 beat South Carolina in the Gator Bowl
2023 - #14 - 10-3 beat Oregon St in the Sun Bowl


in general i'd say:
- from '87 - '93 they were elite
- from '94 - '02 they were alright but nothing special
- from '03 - '11 they were not good
- from '12 - '23 they've bounced around between good and very good, with those very good years flirting with elite. however they have a lot of blowout losses in bowls when they play blue blood teams and squeeked out wins against mid-tier teams, so that's something.