1969 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Cotton Bowl Classic, L 17–21 vs. Texas
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
AP	No. 5
Record	8–2–1
Head coach	Ara Parseghian (6th season)
Captains	Bob Olson Mike Oriard
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium
Seasons ← 1968 1970 →

1969 NCAA University Division independents football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 2 Penn State		–		11	–	0	–	0
No. 17 West Virginia		–		10	–	1	–	0
No. 12 Houston		–		9	–	2	–	0
No. 5 Notre Dame		–		8	–	2	–	1
Buffalo		–		6	–	3	–	0
Rutgers		–		6	–	3	–	0
Villanova		–		6	–	3	–	0
Florida State		–		6	–	3	–	1
Colgate		–		5	–	3	–	1
Air Force		–		6	–	4	–	0
West Texas State		–		6	–	4	–	0
Boston College		–		5	–	4	–	0
New Mexico State		–		5	–	5	–	0
Southern Miss		–		5	–	5	–	0
Syracuse		–		5	–	5	–	0
Army		–		4	–	5	–	1
VPI		–		4	–	5	–	1
Georgia Tech		–		4	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		4	–	6	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		4	–	6	–	0
Dayton		–		3	–	7	–	0
Marshall		–		3	–	7	–	0
Northern Illinois		–		3	–	7	–	0
Tulane		–		3	–	7	–	0
Utah State		–		3	–	7	–	0
Idaho		–		2	–	8	–	0
Navy		–		1	–	9	–	0
Xavier		–		1	–	9	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1969 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Ara Parseghian, the Fighting Irish compiled a record of 8–2–1.

After 44 seasons without postseason play (1925–1968), the school ended its self-imposed bowl hiatus.^[1] With an 8–1–1 regular season record, the Irish were led on the field by junior quarterback Joe Theismann.^[2] They met top-ranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on New Year's Day,^[3] but lost 21–17 when the Longhorns scored a late touchdown.^[4]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 20	1:30 pm	Northwestern	No. 11	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 35–10	59,075
September 27	1:30 pm	at No. 16 Purdue	No. 9	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)		L 14–28	68,179	^[5]
October 4	1:30 pm	No. 14 Michigan State		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 42–28	59,075
October 11	2:00 pm	vs. Army	No. 15	Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY (rivalry)		W 45–0	63,786
October 18	1:30 pm	No. 3 USC	No. 11	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		T 14–14	59,075	^[6]
October 25	8:30 pm	at Tulane	No. 12	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA		W 37–0	40,250
November 1	1:30 pm	Navy	No. 10	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 47–0	59,075
November 8	1:30 pm	at Pittsburgh	No. 8	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)		W 49–7	44,084
November 15	9:30 pm	at Georgia Tech	No. 9	Grant Field Atlanta, GA (rivalry)	ABC	W 38–20	41,104	^[7]^[8]
November 22	1:30 pm	Air Force	No. 8	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 13–6	59,075	^[9]
January 1, 1970	2:00 pm	vs. No. 1 Texas	No. 9	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl)	CBS	L 17–21	71,938	^[4]^[10]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[11]

Game summaries

Northwestern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Northwestern	10	0	0	0	10
• Notre Dame	14	0	0	21	35

Date: September 20
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
Game start: 1:30 pm EDT
Game attendance: 59,075

Scoring summary
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}

Purdue

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

Date: September 27
Location: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
Game start: 1:30 p.m. EDT

Scoring summary
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}

Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan St.	0	14	7	7	28
• Notre Dame	7	14	14	7	42

Date: October 4
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
Game start: 1:30 pm EDT
Game attendance: 59,075

Scoring summary
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}

Army

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	10	14	14	7	45
Army	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 11
Location: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Game start: 2:00 p.m. EDT

Scoring summary
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}

USC

	1	2	3	4	Total
USC	0	0	7	7	14
Notre Dame	0	0	7	7	14

Date: October 18
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
Game start: 1:30 pm EDT
Game attendance: 59,075

Scoring summary
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}

Tulane

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	7	17	7	6	37
Tulane	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 25
Location: Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, LA
Game start: 7:30 p.m. CDT

Scoring summary
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}

Navy

	1	2	3	4	Total
Navy	0	0	0	0	0
• Notre Dame	7	26	14	0	47

Date: November 1
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
Game start: 1:30 pm EST
Game attendance: 59,075

Scoring summary
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}

Pittsburgh

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	14	21	14	0	49
Pittsburgh	7	0	0	0	7

Date: November 8
Location: Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA
Game start: 1:30 p.m. EST

Scoring summary
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}

Georgia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	21	10	7	0	38
Georgia Tech	0	6	0	14	20

Date: November 15
Location: Grant Field, Atlanta, GA
Game start: 9:30 p.m. EST
Television network: ABC

Scoring summary
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}
(({Time))}	(({Team))}	(({Event))}	(({Score))}

Air Force

	1	2	3	4	Total
Air Force	0	3	0	3	6
• Notre Dame	7	6	0	0	13

Date: November 22
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
Game attendance: 59,075

Scoring summary

1	ND	Allan 39-yard run (Hempel kick)	ND 7-0

2	ND	Hempel 22-yard field goal	ND 10-0

2	ND	Hempel 25-yard field goal	ND 13-0

2	AF	Leuthauser 28-yard field goal	ND 13-3

4	AF	Leuthauser 37-yard field goal	ND 13-6

^[12]

Vs. Texas (Cotton Bowl)

#9 Notre Dame vs. #1 Texas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Irish	3	7	0	7	17
• Longhorns	0	7	0	14	21

Date: January 1
Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
Game attendance: 71,938
Referee: Cliff Domingue
Television network: CBS

Main article: 1970 Cotton Bowl Classic

Roster

1969 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
OT	`64`	Terry Brennan	Sr
G	`56`	Larry DiNardo	Jr
WR	`44`	Tom Gatewood	So
QB	`7`	Joe Theismann	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`17`	Mike Crotty	So
DT	`77`	Mike McCoy	Sr
DE	`85`	Walt Patulski	So

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Scott Hempel

Head coach

Ara Parseghian

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

1970 NFL Draft

Main article: 1970 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Mike McCoy	Guard	1	2	Green Bay Packers
Jim Reilly	Guard	3	57	Buffalo Bills
Bob Olson	Linebacker	5	107	Boston Patriots
Mike Oriard	Center	5	130	Kansas City Chiefs
Terry Brennan	Tackle	7	158	Philadelphia Eagles

References

^ "Notre Dame accepts Cotton's bid". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 18, 1969. p. 12.
^ "Irish test Texas rank". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1970. p. 13.
^ Fite, Ed (January 1, 1970). "Irish test Longhorns in Dallas". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). UPI. p. 44.
^ ^a ^b "Texans edge Irish on big 4th downs". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 2, 1970. p. 30.
^ "Phipps paces Purdue past Notre Dame". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. October 19, 1969. p. 57.
^ Liska, Jerry (October 19, 1969). "Notre Dame, Southern Cal in 14-14 draw". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. p. 61.
^ Bryson, Mike (November 15, 1969). "Georgia Tech shouldn't Irish plans". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. p. 6.
^ "Irish build early lead, swamp Tech". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 16, 1969. p. 1, sports.
^ Bryson, Mike (November 23, 1969). "Irish shake 'shakes' and beat Air Force". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. p. 69.
^ "Texas rallies to beat Irish, 21 to 17". Chicago Tribune. January 2, 1970. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1969 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results".
^ "Irish Shaky, Nip Falcons." Palm Beach Post. 1969 Nov 23.

v t e Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
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