1970 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

1970 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
1970 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
National champion (FACT, Matthews, Sagarin), Cotton Bowl champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 24–11 vs. Texas
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 2
Record	10–1
Head coach	Ara Parseghian (7th season);
Captains	Larry DiNardo; Tim Kelly;
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium
	Seasons ← 1969 1971 →

1970 NCAA University Division independents football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 2 Notre Dame		–		10	–	1	–	0
Villanova		–		9	–	2	–	0
No. 16 Air Force		–		9	–	3	–	0
No. 13 Georgia Tech		–		9	–	3	–	0
Boston College		–		8	–	2	–	0
No. 19 Houston		–		8	–	3	–	0
West Virginia		–		8	–	3	–	0
No. 17 Tulane		–		8	–	4	–	0
No. 18 Penn State		–		7	–	3	–	0
West Texas State		–		7	–	3	–	0
Cincinnati		–		7	–	4	–	0
Florida State		–		7	–	4	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse		–		6	–	4	–	0
Dayton		–		5	–	4	–	1
Pittsburgh		–		5	–	5	–	0
Rutgers		–		5	–	5	–	0
Utah State		–		5	–	5	–	0
Colgate		–		5	–	6	–	0
Southern Miss		–		5	–	6	–	0
New Mexico State		–		4	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		3	–	8	–	0
Northern Illinois		–		3	–	7	–	0
Marshall		–		3	–	6	–	0
Buffalo		–		2	–	9	–	0
Navy		–		2	–	9	–	0
Army		–		1	–	9	–	1
Xavier		–		1	–	9	–	0
Holy Cross		–		0	–	10	–	1

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1970 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 19	2:30 p.m.	at Northwestern	No. 6	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)		W 35–14	50,049
September 26	1:30 p.m.	Purdue	No. 6	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 48–0	59,075
October 3	2:30 p.m.	at Michigan State	No. 4	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)		W 29–0	76,103
October 10	1:30 p.m.	Army	No. 3	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 51–10	59,075
October 17	3:50 p.m.	at No. 18 Missouri	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Columbia, MO	ABC	W 24–7	64,200
October 31	1:30 p.m.	vs. Navy	No. 3	John F. Kennedy Stadium Philadelphia, PA (rivalry)		W 56–7	45,226
November 7	1:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh	No. 2	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 46–14	59,075
November 14	1:30 p.m.	Georgia Tech	No. 1	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 10–7	59,075	^[1]
November 21	1:30 p.m.	No. 7 LSU	No. 2	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN		W 3–0	59,075	^[2]
November 28	4:15 p.m.	at USC	No. 4	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	ABC	L 28–38	64,694
January 1, 1971	2:00 p.m.	vs. No. 1 Texas	No. 6	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	CBS	W 24–11	73,000	^[3]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[4]

Game summaries

Northwestern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	14	14	7	0	35
Northwestern	0	14	0	0	14

Purdue

Purdue Boilermakers at Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Purdue	0	0	0	0	0
Notre Dame	10	14	7	17	48

at Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, Indiana

Date: September 26
Game weather: Rainy
Game attendance: 59,075
Box Score

Game information

Purdue

Notre Dame

Joe Theismann
16/24, 274 Yds, 3 TD
Tom Gatewood
12 Rec, 192 Yds, 3 TD

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	PUR	ND
1					Notre Dame	19-yard field goal by Hempel	0	3
1			80		Notre Dame	Allan 4-yard touchdown run, Hempel kick good	0	10
2					Notre Dame	Gatewood 17-yard touchdown reception from Theismann, Hempel kick good	0	17
2	6:09				Notre Dame	Gatewood 7-yard touchdown reception from Theismann, Hempel kick good	0	24
3					Notre Dame	Gatewood 20-yard touchdown reception from Theismann, Hempel kick good	0	31
4					Notre Dame	37-yard field goal by Hempel	0	34
4					Notre Dame	Dewan 4-yard touchdown run, Hempel kick good	0	41
4					Notre Dame	Parker 63-yard touchdown run, Hempel kick good	0	48
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							0	48

Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	7	15	0	7	29
Michigan St	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 3
Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI
Game attendance: 76,103
Referee: Jerry Markbreit

Joe Theismann 12/17, 147 Yds, 13 Rush, 107 Yds
First Notre Dame game on artificial turf
First Notre Dame win in East Lansing since 1949

^[5]

Army

	1	2	3	4	Total
Army	0	3	7	0	10
Notre Dame	21	9	14	7	51

Missouri

Originally, Missouri was scheduled to host this game at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, but the St. Louis Cardinals forced the game to be moved to the University of Missouri campus because they anticipated hosting Game 6 of the World Series.^[6] As it turned out, the Cardinals finished a distant fourth place in the National League East, 13 games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates, and were below .500 from July 1 through the end of the season.^[7]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	3	0	14	7	24
Missouri	0	0	7	0	7

Date: October 17
Location: Memorial Stadium, Columbia, MO
Game start: 2:50 p.m. CDT
TV announcers (ABC): Chris Schenkel, Bud Wilkinson

Navy

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	7	28	7	14	56
Navy	7	0	0	0	7

Date: October 31
Location: JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

^[8]

Pittsburgh

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pittsburgh	0	14	0	0	14
Notre Dame	7	18	6	15	46

Georgia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Georgia Tech	0	0	7	0	7
Notre Dame	0	0	3	7	10

LSU

	1	2	3	4	Total
LSU	0	0	0	0	0
• Notre Dame	0	0	0	3	3

Date: November 21
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana
Game start: 1:30 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 59,075
Game weather: mostly cloudy, 47 degrees, wind S 15-18 MPH
Referee: Jerry Markbreit

USC

Notre Dame quarterback Joe Theismann completed 33 of 58 passes for a school-record 526 yards, and the Irish outgained the Trojans 557–359, but committed eight turnovers to zero for Southern Cal.^[9]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	7	7	7	7	28
• So. Cal.	21	3	14	0	38

Date: November 28
Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Game start: 1:30 p.m. PST
Game weather: High 50s, heavy rain
TV announcers (ABC): Chris Schenkel, Bud Wilkinson

1971 Cotton Bowl vs. Texas

^[10]

#6 Notre Dame vs. #1 Texas

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	14	10	0	0	24
Texas	3	8	0	0	11

Date: January 1, 1971
Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
Game start: 1:00 CST
Game attendance: 72,000
Referee: Gene Calhoun (Big Ten)
TV announcers (CBS): Lindsey Nelson, Tom Brookshier

Roster

1970 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB	`22`	Denny Allan
FB	`33`	Bill Barz	Jr
WR		John Cieszkowski
TE		Mike Creaney
G	`67`	John Dampeer
RB		Daryll Dewan
G	`56`	Larry DiNardo
RB		Bill Gallagher
OT	`70`	Tom Gasseling
WR	`44`	Tom Gatewood	Jr
RB	`12`	Ed Gulyas
RB		Denny Gutkowski
RB		Ron Johnson
OL		Gary Kos
OT	`73`	Mike Martin
RB		Bob Minnix
RB		Chuck Nightingale
C	`50`	Dan Novakov	Jr
RB		Larry Parker
QB		Pat Steenberge
WR		John Tereschuk
QB	`7`	Joe Theismann	Sr
WR	`80`	Willie Townsend	So
WR		Bill Trapp

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`17`	Mike Crotty	Jr
DB	`23`	Clarence Ellis	Jr
DB	`5`	Terry Garner	So
DT	`72`	Mike Kadish	Sr
LB	`42`	Tim Kelly
DT	`75`	Greg Marx	Jr
LB	`43`	Tom McHale
DB	`1`	Tom Menie
DL		Bob Neidert
LB	`81`	Jim O'Malley	So
LB		Eric Patton
DE	`85`	Walt Patulski	Jr
DB		Tim Rudnick
DB		Ralph Stepaniak
LB		Rick Thomann
LB	`61`	Mike Webb	So
LB		Jim Wright
DL		Mike Zikas

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Scott Hempel
P		Jim Yoder

Head coach

Ara Parseghian

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

References

^ "Georgia Tech gives ND scare, Irish win 10–7". The Clarion-Ledger. November 15, 1970. Retrieved July 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Irish fight past LSU 3–0". Star Tribune. November 22, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Irish stun Texas in Cotton Bowl, 24–11". Chicago Tribune. January 2, 1971. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1970 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results".
^ "Irish Rout Michigan State." Palm Beach Post. 1970 Oct 4. Retrieved 2014-Dec-01.
^ South Bend Tribune, Oct. 16, 1970, p. 37.
^ "1970 St. Louis Cardinals Schedule".
^ Ocala Star-Banner. 1970 November 1.
^ South Bend Tribune, Nov. 29, 1970, pp. 1, 48.
^ Jenkins, Dan (November 30, 1970). "NOTRE DAME GOES KICKING INTO THE COTTON". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 25, 2019.

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[1] "Georgia Tech gives ND scare, Irish win 10–7". The Clarion-Ledger. November 15, 1970. Retrieved July 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "Irish fight past LSU 3–0". Star Tribune. November 22, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "Irish stun Texas in Cotton Bowl, 24–11". Chicago Tribune. January 2, 1971. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] "1970 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results".

[5] "Irish Rout Michigan State." Palm Beach Post. 1970 Oct 4. Retrieved 2014-Dec-01.

[6] South Bend Tribune, Oct. 16, 1970, p. 37.

[7] "1970 St. Louis Cardinals Schedule".

[8] Ocala Star-Banner. 1970 November 1.

[9] South Bend Tribune, Nov. 29, 1970, pp. 1, 48.

[10] Jenkins, Dan (November 30, 1970). "NOTRE DAME GOES KICKING INTO THE COTTON". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 25, 2019.

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v t e Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
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