1971 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 15
APNo. 13
Record8–2
Head coach
Captains
Home stadiumNotre Dame Stadium
Seasons
← 1970
1972 →
1971 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Penn State   –   11 – 1 – 0
Boston College   –   9 – 2 – 0
No. 17 Houston   –   9 – 3 – 0
No. 13 Notre Dame   –   8 – 2 – 0
Utah State   –   8 – 3 – 0
Florida State   –   8 – 4 – 0
Cincinnati   –   7 – 4 – 0
West Virginia   –   7 – 4 – 0
Temple   –   6 – 2 – 1
Air Force   –   6 – 4 – 0
Army   –   6 – 4 – 0
Colgate   –   6 – 4 – 0
Villanova   –   6 – 4 – 1
South Carolina   –   6 – 5 – 0
Southern Miss   –   6 – 5 – 0
Georgia Tech   –   6 – 6 – 0
New Mexico State   –   5 – 5 – 1
Northern Illinois   –   5 – 5 – 1
Syracuse   –   5 – 5 – 1
Dayton   –   5 – 6 – 0
Holy Cross   –   4 – 6 – 0
Miami (FL)   –   4 – 7 – 0
Rutgers   –   4 – 7 – 0
Virginia Tech   –   4 – 7 – 0
Navy   –   3 – 8 – 0
Pittsburgh   –   3 – 8 – 0
Tulane   –   3 – 8 – 0
Marshall   –   2 – 8 – 0
Xavier   –   1 – 9 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1971 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season.

Prior to their concluding game at LSU, seventh-ranked Notre Dame (8–1) announced that they would not play in a bowl game this season.[1][2][3]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 182:30 p.m.NorthwesternNo. 2
W 50–759,075
September 252:30 p.m.at PurdueNo. 2
W 8–769,765
October 21:50 p.m.Michigan StateNo. 4
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
ABC regionalW 14–259,075
October 98:15 p.m.at Miami (FL)No. 9
W 17–066,039
October 162:30 p.m.North CarolinaNo. 7
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 16–059,075[4]
October 232:30 p.m.USCNo. 6
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
L 14–2859,075
October 302:30 p.m.NavyNo. 12
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 21–059,075
November 61:00 p.m.at PittsburghNo. 8
W 56–755,528
November 131:30 p.m.TulaneNo. 8
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
W 21–759,075
November 208:05 p.m.at No. 14 LSUNo. 7
ABCL 8–2866,936[5]

[6]

Game summaries

Northwestern

Northwestern at Notre Dame
1 234Total
Northwestern 7 000 7
• Notre Dame 7 23614 50


Purdue

Notre Dame at Purdue
1 234Total
• Notre Dame 0 008 8
Purdue 0 700 7
Scoring summary
2PURArmstrong 26 yard pass from Danielson (Renie kick)PUR 7-0
42:58NDSwendsen recovered fumble in end zone (Steenberge to Creaney pass)ND 8-7

[7]

"The Genuflect Play"

Michigan State

Michigan State at Notre Dame
1 234Total
Michigan St. 2 000 2
• Notre Dame 14 000 14
  • Date: October 2
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 12:50 pm EST
  • Game attendance: 59,075
  • Game weather: Hot, mid-80s
  • Referee: Howard Wirtz (Big Ten)
  • TV announcers (ABC): Chris Schenkel and Bud Wilkinson
Scoring summary
1NDMinnix 1-yard run (Thomas kick)ND 7-0
1NDMinnix 5-yard run (Thomas kick)ND 14-0
1MSUSafety (Etter recovered Parker fumble in end zone)ND 14-2

Miami (Florida)

Notre Dame at Miami
1 234Total
• Notre Dame 0 377 17
Miami 0 000 0
  • Date: October 9
  • Location: Miami Orange Bowl
  • Game start: 8:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game attendance: 64,357
  • Game weather: 84 degrees, 77% humidity
  • Referee: Morris Harrison
Scoring summary
2NDThomas 38-yard field goalND 3-0
3NDHuff 16-yard run (Thomas kick)ND 10-0
4NDDewan 6-yard run (Thomas kick)ND 17-0


North Carolina

North Carolina at Notre Dame
1 234Total
N. Carolina 0 000 0
• Notre Dame 3 607 16
  • Date: October 16
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 1:30 pm EST
  • Game attendance: 59,075
  • Game weather: Fair, mid-70s
  • Referee: Howard Wirtz
Scoring summary
1NDThomas 28-yard field goalND 3-0
2NDThomas 27-yard field goalND 6-0
2NDThomas 24-yard field goalND 9-0
4NDGatewood 4-yard pass from Brown (Thomas kick)ND 16-0

USC

Southern Cal at Notre Dame
1 234Total
• USC 14 1400 28
Notre Dame 7 070 14
  • Date: October 23
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 1:30 pm EDT
  • Game attendance: 59,075
  • Game weather: Damp, low 60s
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
Scoring summary
1S. Cal.Garrison 31-yard pass from Jones (Rae Kick)S. Cal 0-7
1NDHuff 1-yard run (Thomas kick)Tied 7-7
1S. Cal.Garrison 24-yard pass from Rae (Rae kick)S. Cal. 7-14
2S. Cal.Cunningham 1-yard run (Rae kick)S. Cal. 7-21
2S. Cal.Dyer 54-yard interception return (Rae kick)S. Cal. 7-28
4NDCieszkowski 4-yard run (Thomas kick)S. Cal. 14-28

Navy

Navy at Notre Dame
1 234Total
Navy 0 000 0
• Notre Dame 7 1400 21
Scoring summary
1NDGulyas 1 yard run (Thomas kick)ND 7-0
2NDMinnix 1 yard run (Thomas kick)ND 14-0
2NDMinnix 10 yard run (Thomas kick)ND 21-0

[8]

Pittsburgh

Notre Dame at Pittsburgh
1 234Total
• Notre Dame 14 141414 56
Pittsburgh 0 700 7


Tulane

Tulane at Notre Dame
1 234Total
Tulane 0 700 7
• Notre Dame 0 0147 21
  • Date: November 13
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 1:30 pm EST
  • Game weather: Upper 40s
  • Referee: Howard Wirtz
Scoring summary
2TulaneBarrios 14-yard pass from LaChausse (Gibson Kick)Tulane 0-7
3NDBrown 1-yard run (Thomas kick)Tied 7-7
3NDCreaney 19-yard pass from Brown (Thomas kick)ND 14-7
4NDBrown 5-yard run (Thomas kick)ND 21-7

Louisiana State

Notre Dame at LSU
1 234Total
#7 Notre Dame 0 008 8
• #12 LSU 7 777 28
Scoring summary
110:47LSUHamilton 36 pass from Jones (Michaelson kick)LSU 7-0
201:14LSUHamilton 32 pass from Jones (Michaelson kick)LSU 14-0
300:10LSUJones 5 run (Michaelson kick)LSU 21-0
402:54NDGatewood 7 pass from Brown (Minnix pass from Brown)LSU 21-8
400:20LSUHamilton 13 pass from Lyons (Michaelson kick)LSU 28-8

Roster

1971 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
G 62 Tom Bolger So
QB 8 Cliff Brown So
TE 88 Dave Casper So
WR 44 Tom Gatewood Sr
RB 22 Greg Hill So
C 50 Dan Novakov Sr
WR 80 Willie Townsend Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 17 Mike Crotty Sr
DB 23 Clarence Ellis Sr
DT 72 Mike Kadish Sr
DT 75 Greg Marx Jr
LB 81 Jim O'Malley Jr
LB 45 Eric Patton So
DE 85 Walt Patulski Sr
DB Tim Rudnick
DE 93 Fred Swendson Sr
LB 61 Mike Webb Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 98 Bob Thomas So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Tom Pagna (OC)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Team players in the NFL

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Walt Patulski Defensive end 1 1 Buffalo Bills
Clarence Ellis Defensive back 1 15 Atlanta Falcons
Mike Kadish Defensive tackle 1 25 Miami Dolphins
Fred Swendson Defensive end 3 53 Buffalo Bills
Eric Patton Linebacker 4 86 Green Bay Packers
Tom Gatewood Running back 5 107 New York Giants
Ralph Stepaniak Defensive back 7 157 Buffalo Bills
Mike Zikas Defensive tackle 7 177 New York Giants

References

  1. ^ "Irish ready to spurn bids". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 18, 1971. p. 3D.
  2. ^ "Irish nix bowl bids". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 19, 1971. p. 4B.
  3. ^ Reed, William F. (November 29, 1971). "Irish Stew for LSU". Sports Illustrated. p. 26.
  4. ^ "Irish get kicks with 16–0 victory". Chicago Tribune. October 17, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "LSU wins 28–8 over the Irish". Tallahassee Democrat. November 21, 1971. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ 2011 Notre Dame football media guide.
  7. ^ "Notre Dame Edges Past Purdue." Ocala Star-Banner. 1971 September 26.
  8. ^ "Notre Dame Rips Middies, 21-0." Palm Beach Post. 1971 October 31.


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