Education
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 McDougal would finish his college career with a 24-21 win over Texas Agricultural and Mechanical 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 (1544), and until the 2008 Hawai"i Bowl was the last Notre Dame quarterback to have won a bowl game.