Kevin McDougal

Kevin T. McDougal (born May 29, 1972) is best known as the starting quarterback for the University of Notre Dame football team who narrowly (and somewhat controversially) missed winning the national championship in 1993. He is currently a real estate investor in South Florida.

College
McDougal was recruited out of Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach, Florida by the University of Notre Dame, where he backed up starting quarterback Rick Mirer for three years, from 1990-1992. In the fall of his senior year, head coach Lou Holtz announced that heralded incoming freshman Ron Powlus would get the nod as the new starting QB. However, when Powlus suffered a broken collarbone in one of the team's final scrimmages, McDougal was thrust into the position.

McDougal went on to become the most successful quarterback at Notre Dame to have only played one season. His second career start was an upset of the fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines, and he proceeded to engineer a ten-game win streak, culminating the improbable run with a victory over top-ranked Florida State. Unfortunately, his lone career loss came one week later with a heartbreaking 41-39 defeat at the hands of Boston College. McDougal would finish his college career with a 24-21 win over Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl Classic, and Notre Dame would finish the season ranked #2 in both major polls—behind Florida State, whom they had defeated.

McDougal still holds the school records for career completion percentage (.622) and career pass efficiency (154.4), and until the 2008 Hawai'i Bowl was the last Notre Dame quarterback to have won a bowl game.

Professional
McDougal signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Rams in 1994, but did not make the final roster. He played for the London Monarchs of the World League of American Football in 1995, then spent two seasons with the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers. In 1998, he joined the Milwaukee Mustangs of the Arena Football League, backing up Todd Hammel for two years before becoming the starter in 2000. After setting Mustangs team records for touchdowns and yardage in 2000, he played for the XFL's Chicago Enforcers in spring 2001 before returning to the Mustangs midway through the 2001 season. He played the 2002 season with the Georgia Force before retiring.