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1973 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

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{{{year}}} [[{{{team}}} football]]
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 1
1973 NCAA Division I independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Notre Dame   –   11 – 0 – 0
No. 5 Penn State   –   12 – 0 – 0
No. 9 Houston   –   11 – 1 – 0
Temple   –   9 – 1 – 0
No. 20 Tulane   –   9 – 3 – 0
Memphis State   –   8 – 3 – 0
Tampa   –   8 – 3 – 0
Boston College   –   7 – 4 – 0
South Carolina   –   7 – 4 – 0
Utah State   –   7 – 4 – 0
Air Force   –   6 – 4 – 0
Southern Miss   –   6 – 4 – 1
Northern Illinois   –   6 – 5 – 0
Rutgers   –   6 – 5 – 0
West Virginia   –   6 – 5 – 0
Pittsburgh   –   6 – 5 – 1
Colgate   –   5 – 5 – 0
Dayton   –   5 – 5 – 1
Xavier   –   5 – 5 – 1
Georgia Tech   –   5 – 6 – 0
Holy Cross   –   5 – 6 – 0
Miami (FL)   –   5 – 6 – 0
Cincinnati   –   4 – 7 – 0
Marshall   –   4 – 7 – 0
Navy   –   4 – 7 – 0
Southern Illinois   –   3 – 7 – 1
Villanova   –   3 – 8 – 0
Syracuse   –   2 – 9 – 0
Virginia Tech   –   2 – 9 – 0
Army   –   0 – 10 – 0
Florida State   –   0 – 11 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1973 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. The Irish, coached by Ara Parseghian, ended the season undefeated with 11 wins and no losses, winning the national championship. The Fighting Irish won the title by defeating the previously unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl by a score of a 24–23.[1] The 1973 squad became the ninth Irish team to win the national title and the second under Parseghian. Although Notre Dame finished No. 1 in the AP Poll to claim the AP national title, they were not awarded the Coaches title, since Alabama was awarded the Coaches Poll title before the bowl season.

Season

Ara Parseghian's second national title team was led by its relentless rushing attack. Fullback Wayne Bullock (750 yards), halfback Art Best (700 yards), halfback Eric Penick (586 yards) and quarterback Tom Clements (360 yards) comprised one of the fastest Irish backfields, with Peneck and Best clocking in under 10 seconds in the 100-yard dash.[2] The Irish started the season strong, amassing large margins of victory over Northwestern, Rice and Army to set up a highly anticipated contest with No. 6 and unbeaten USC.[2] USC came into the contest riding a 23 game unbeaten streak, and USC's star tailback Anthony Davis ran over the Irish the previous year for 6 touchdowns in a 45-23 Trojan victory.[2] Moreover, Parseghian had not outright beaten USC since 1966.[1] The Irish defense responded to the challenge, limiting Davis to 55 yards on 19 carries. The star tailback of the day was Notre Dame's Penick, who ran for 118 yards, 50 more than the entire Trojan team. The Irish won the contest 23-14 and won its remaining games.[2] After Notre Dame accepted the Sugar Bowl bid, the stage was set to determine the national championship. Alabama was awarded the UPI title before the bowl season,[3] but it was Notre Dame that won it on the field, winning 24-23 in a thriller that had six lead changes. Notre Dame jumped to a 6-0 lead, but Alabama answered with a Randy Billingsley 6-yard touchdown run. After Al Hunter scored on a 93-yard kick off return, Alabama scored 10 straight points. In the fourth quarter, three turnovers occurred in 90 seconds, with Alabama coming out on top and capitalizing on a halfback pass from Mike Stock to quarterback Richard Todd for a 25-yard touchdown to take a slim 23-21 lead, but the Tide missed the crucial extra point. Notre Dame responded, with Tom Clements driving the Irish 79 yards in 11 plays and setting up a potential field goal on a clutch 15-yard pass to tight end Dave Casper. Irish kicker Bob Thomas kicked a field goal to give the Irish a slim 24-23 victory and the AP national title.[4]

Schedule

September 222:30 p.m.NorthwesternNo. 8

W 44–0 59,075 September 291:50 p.m.at PurdueNo. 7

ABCW 20–7 69,391 October 62:30 p.m.Michigan StateNo. 8

W 14–10 59,075 October 138:05 p.m.at RiceNo. 9

W 28–0 50,321 October 202:00 p.m.at ArmyNo. 11

W 62–3 42,503 October 271:50 p.m.No. 6 USCNo. 8

ABCW 23–14 59,075 November 31:30 p.m.NavyNo. 5

  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (Rivalry)

W 44–7 59,075 November 101:30 p.m.at No. 20 PittsburghNo. 5

W 31–10 56,593 November 221:20 p.m.Air ForceNo. 5

  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN

ABCW 48–15 57,236 December 17:30 p.m.at Miami (FL)No. 5

W 44–0 42,968 December 318:00 p.m.vs. No. 1 AlabamaNo. 3

ABCW 24–23 85,161

Template:CFB Schedule End

Roster

Roster

*Bold denotes starter.

Reserves: Offense: T—Mike McBride, Pat Pohlen, Bob Sweeney, Max Wasilevich; G—Cal Balliett, Paul Sawicz; C – Pete Hartman, Andy Rohan HB – Dan Knott, Greg Hill, Jim Weiler; FB – John Gambone; E – Kevin Doherty, Bob Washington; Defense: E – Jeff Hein; T – Ivan Brown, Lew Miskowitz, Larry Susko, Greg Szatko; LB – John Harchar, Joe Pszeracki, Marv Russell, Ed Scales, Gene Smith; DB – Mike Banks, Kevin Kineally, Tony Zappala, Jim Zloch (DNP) – Mike McBride

Source:http://www.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/nd/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/Football-Supplement-07

Coaching staff

Name Position Year at
Notre Dame
Ara Parseghian Head Coach 10th
Tom Pagna Offensive Backs 10th
Brian Boulac Offensive Line 4th
Bill Hickey Offensive Line 4th
Wally Moore Offensive Line 10th
Mike Stock Receivers 5th
Joe Yonto Defensive Coordinator
Defensive Line		 10th
George Kelly Linebackers 5th
Paul Shoults Defensive Backs 10th
Greg Blache Junior Varsity 1st
John Murphy Scouting
Defensive Coach		 15th

Game summaries

Northwestern

Purdue

1 234Total
• Notre Dame 3 773 20
Purdue 0 700 7
Scoring summary
1NDThomas 22-yard field goalNotre Dame 3-0
2PURBurton 53-yard pass from Bobrowski (Conner kick)Purdue 7-3
2NDBest 9-yard run (Thomas kick)Notre Dame 10-7
3NDBullock 1-yard run (Thomas kick)Notre Dame 17-7
4NDThomas 42-yard field goalNotre Dame 20-7

[5]

Michigan State

Rice

Army

1 234Total
• Notre Dame 0 282014 62
Army 3 000 3
Scoring summary
1ARMYBarclay 22-yard field goalArmy 3–0
2NDPenick 1-yard run (Thomas kick)Notre Dame 7–3
2NDCasper 34-yard pass from Clements (Thomas kick)Notre Dame 14–3
2NDBest 5-yard run (Thomas kick)Notre Dame 21–3
2NDCasper 3-yard pass from Brown (Thomas kick)Notre Dame 28–3
3NDPenick 6-yard run (Thomas kick)Notre Dame 35–3
3NDHunter 22-yard run (kick failed)Notre Dame 41–3
3NDHunter 1-yard run (Thomas kick)Notre Dame 48–3
4NDAllocco 9-yard run (Thomas kick)Notre Dame 55–3
4NDSimon 74-yard punt return (Thomas kick)Notre Dame 62–3

[6]

USC

1 234Total
USC 7 070 14
• Notre Dame 3 10100 23
Scoring summary
17:08NDThomas 32-yard field goalND 3-0
1USCDavis 1-yard run (Limahelu kick)USC 7-3
29:34NDThomas 33-yard field goalUSC 7-6
20:30NDClements 1-yard run (Thomas kick)ND 13-7
3NDPenick 85-yard run (Thomas kick)ND 20-7
3USCSwann 27-yard pass from Haden (Limahelu kick)ND 20-14
3NDThomas 32-yard field goalND 23-14

[7][8]

Pittsburgh

Air Force

Miami (FL)

Sugar Bowl

1 234Total
• Notre Dame 6 873 24
Alabama 0 1076 23
Scoring summary
111:41NDBullock 1-yard run (kick failed)ND 6-0
2ALABillingsley 6-yard run (Davis kick)ALA 7-6
2NDHunter 93-yard kickoff return (Clements to Demmerle pass)ND 14-7
2ALADavis 39-yard field goalND 14-10
3ALAJackson 5-yard run (Davis kick)ALA 17-14
3NDPenick 12-yard run (Thomas kick)ND 21-17
49:39ALATodd 25-yard pass from Stock (kick failed)ALA 23-21
44:26NDThomas 19-yard field goalND 24-23

[9]

Post-season

Award winners

All-Americans

Name AP UPI NEA FC SN FW T FN WCF
Dave Casper, TE 2 1 1 1 1 1
† Mike Townsend, DB 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
†denotes consensus selection       Source:[1]

College Football Hall of Fame inductees

Name Position Year Inducted
Ara Parseghian Coach 1980

[10] Notre Dame leads all universities in players inducted.

1974 NFL Draft

Player Position Round Pick Franchise
Dave Casper Tight End 2(19) 45 Oakland Raiders
Mike Townsend Defensive Back 4(8) 86 Minnesota Vikings
Brian Doherty Punter 9(18) 226 Buffalo Bills
Tim Rudnick Defensive Back 11(5) 265 Baltimore Colts
Frank Pomarico Guard 14(15) 353 Kansas City Chiefs
Robert R. Thomas Kicker 15(24) 388 Los Angeles Rams
Cliff Brown Running Back 17(11) 427 Philadelphia Eagles
Willie Townsend Wide Receiver 17(24) 440 Los Angeles Rams
Source:[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c "2007 Notre Dame Media Guide: History and Records (pages 131-175)". und.cstv.com. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
  2. ^ a b c d "2007 Notre Dame Media Guide: 2007 Supplement (page 163)". und.cstv.com. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
  3. ^ "Past Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I FBS) National Champions (formerly called Division I-A)". ncaa.org. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-31. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "2007 Notre Dame Media Guide: 2007 Supplement (page 129)". und.cstv.com. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
  5. ^ "Notre Dame Bests Purdue." Palm Beach Post. 1973 Sept 30.
  6. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1973 Oct 21.
  7. ^ Palm Beach Post. 28 Oct 1973. NO BOX SCORE.
  8. ^ "Irish end years of frustration." Eugene Register-Guard. 1973 Oct 28.
  9. ^ "Notre Dame Preserves 24-23 Victory." Palm Beach Post. 1974 Jan 1.
  10. ^ "College Football Hall of Famers". collegefootball.org. Retrieved 2008-12-31.[dead link‍]
  11. ^ "Notre Dame NFL Draft History". uhnd.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-31. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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