Notre Dame football in the 1990s was defined by the continuation of the Lou Holtz era (1986–1996), characterized by high-level national contention, elite recruiting, and a disciplined option-based offense, followed by a transition to the Bob Davie era in 1997. While the decade did not yield a national championship, the Irish were consistently ranked in the top 10 for the first half of the decade and finished the 1990s with only one losing season (1994)