1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

Consensus National Champions
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	#1
AP	#1
1966 record	9–0–1
Head coach	Ara Parseghian (3rd year)
Base defense	4–4
Captain	Jim Lynch
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)

The 1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1966 college football season. The Irish, coached by Ara Parseghian, ended the season undefeated with nine wins and one tie, winning a national championship. The Fighting Irish earned a consensus title after beating No. 10 Oklahoma 38–0 in Norman, tying unbeaten and No. 2 Michigan State 10–10, and ending the season defeating No. 10 USC, 51–0, in the Coliseum^[1] The 1966 squad became the eighth Irish team to win the national title and the first under Parseghian. The Irish outscored its opponents 362–38.^[1] The 10–10 tie between The Spartans and the Irish remains one of the controversial games of college football, and is considered today to be one of the great "games of the century".^[2]

Season

Schedule

Date	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	Result	Attendance
September 24	#8 Purdue	#6	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Shillelagh Trophy)	W 26-14	59,075
October 1	at Northwestern	#4	Dyche Stadium • Evanston, IL (Rivalry)	W 35-7	55,356
October 8	Army	#3	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Rivalry)	W 35-0	59,075
October 15	North Carolina	#2	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN	W 32-0	59,075
October 22	at #10 Oklahoma	#1	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK	W 38-0	63,439
October 29	vs. Navy	#1	JFK Stadium • Philadelphia, PA (Rivalry)	W 31-7	70,101
November 5	Pittsburgh	#1	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN	W 40-0	59,075
November 12	Duke	#1	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN	W 64-0	59,075
11/19/1966	at #2 Michigan State	#1	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Megaphone Trophy)	T 10-10	80,011
November 26	at #10 USC	#1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA (Jeweled Shillelagh)	W 51-0	88,520
^#Rankings from AP. All times are in Eastern Time.

Roster

Quarterback

3 Coley O’Brien
5 Terry Hanratty

Left Halfback

20 Bob Gladieux
47 Nick Eddy

Right Halfback

21 Frank Criniti
22 Dave Haley
28 Rocky Bleier

Fullback

31 Paul May
32 Larry Conjar
38 Ron Dushney

Left End

49 Brian Stenger
85 Jim Seymour
86 Curt Heneghan
89 Kevin Rassas

Right End

78 Mike Kuzmicz
80 Don Gmitter
96 Jim Winegardner

Center

54 George Goeddeke
55 Tim Monty
58 Gerald Kelly (specialty teams)

Offensive Guard

57 Tim Gorman
59 Dick Swatland
62 Steve Quinn
68 Roger Fox
69 Joe Marsico
76 Tom Regner
79 Tom McKinley

Offensive Tackle

71 Paul Seiler
73 Rudy Konieczny
75 Bob Kuechenberg
70 Fred Schnurr

Defensive Tackle

64 Pete Duranko
72 Eric Norri
75 Kevin Hardy
77 Harry Alexander

Defensive End

81 Alan Page
87 Tom Rhoads
88 Allen Sack
93 Chick Lauck
94 Bill Skoglund

LH (Left Cornerback)

19 Tom Quinn
40 Tom O’Leary

RH (Right Cornerback)

25 Jim Smithberger
34 Dan Harshman

Safety

7 Tom Schoen
33 Mike Burgener

Inside Linebacker

50 John Pergine
51 John Horney
54 Ed Vuillemin
61 Jim Lynch
65 Ron Jeziorski

Outside Linebacker

41 John Lavin
56 Dave Martin
60 @Mike McGill
89 Al VanHuffel

Kicker

11 Jim Ryan
90 Joe Azzaro

*Bold denotes starter.
@ Starting OLB, injured in sixth game and sidelined for the year. John Pergine became starter at OLB, and John Horney took Pergine’s ILB spot.

Reserves: E – Mike Earley, Mike Heaton, Paul Snow; T – Ed Tuck, Gerald Wisne; G — Angelo Schiralli, C – John Lium; QB – Bob Belden, Hugh O’Malley; HB — Jim Kelly, Pete Lamantia, Tim Wengierski, Dave Zurowski; FB – Bob Hagerty Defense: E – Bob Zubek; LB – Leo Collins, Mike Holtzapfel

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	3rd
Tom Pagna	Offensive Backs	3rd
George Sefcik	Receivers	3rd
Jerry Wampfler	Offensive Line	1st
John Ray	Defensive Line Linebackers	3rd
Paul Shoults	Defensive Backs	3rd
Joe Yonto	Asst. Defensive Line	3rd
Wally Moore	Freshmen	3rd
John Murphy	Asst. Freshmen	5th

Game notes

Purdue

Purdue at Notre Dame

	1	2	3	4	Total
Purdue	7	0	0	7	14
• Notre Dame	7	7	0	12	26

Date: September 24
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
Game attendance: 59,075
Television network: National

Scoring summary

1	PUR	Leroy Keyes 94-yard fumble return (kick good)	PUR 7-0

1	ND	Nick Eddy 96-yard kickoff return (kick good)	Tied 7-7

2	ND	Jim Seymour 84-yard pass from Terry Hanratty (kick good)	ND 14-7

4	ND	Jim Seymour 39-yard pass from Terry Hanratty	ND 20-7

4	PUR	Percy Williams 1-yard run (kick good)	ND 20-14

4	ND	Jim Seymour 7-yard pass from Terry Hanratty	ND 26-14

^[3]

Oklahoma

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	0	17	21	0	38
Oklahoma	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 22
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, OK
Game attendance: 63,439

Scoring summary

2		ND	Nick Eddy 3-yard run (Joe Azzaro kick)	ND 7-0

2		ND	Terry Hanratty 2-yard run (Joe Azzaro kick)	ND 14-0

2		ND	Joe Azzaro 32-yard field goal	ND 17-0

3		ND	Nick Eddy 1-yard run (Joe Azzaro kick)	ND 24-0

3	3:30	ND	Rocky Bleier 9-yard run (Joe Azzaro kick)	ND 31-0

3		ND	Coley O'Brien 5-yard run (Joe Azzaro kick)	ND 38-0

^[4]

Navy

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	3	7	14	7	31
Navy	0	0	0	7	7

Date: October 29
Location: JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, PA

Scoring summary

1	ND	Azzaro 42-yard field goal	ND 3-0

2	ND	Conjar 7-yard run (Azzaro kick)	ND 10-0

3	ND	Hanratty 1-yard run (Azzaro kick)	ND 17-0

3	ND	Gladieux 1-yard run (Azzaro kick)	ND 24-0

4	NAVY	Bergner recovered blocked punt in end zone (Church kick)	ND 24-7

4	ND	Hanratty 6-yard run (Azzaro kick)	ND 31-7

^[5]

Michigan State

Notre Dame at Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	0	7	0	3	10
Michigan St	0	10	0	0	10

Date: November 19
Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan

Scoring summary

2	MSU	Cavender 4-yard run (Kennedy kick)	MSU 7-0

2	MSU	Kennedy 47-yard field goal	MSU 10-0

2	ND	Gladieux 34-yard pass from O'Brien (Azzaro kick)	MSU 10-7

4	ND	Azzaro 28-yard field goal	Tied 10-10

^[6]

USC

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	14	17	13	7	51
USC	0	0	0	0	0

Date: November 26
Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA
Game attendance: 88,520

Scoring summary

1	ND	Larry Conjar 2-yard run (Joe Azzaro kick)	ND 7-0

1	ND	Tom Schoen 40-yard interception return (Joe Azzaro kick)	ND 14-0

2	ND	Joe Azzaro 38-yard field goal	ND 17-0

2	ND	Jim Seymour 13-yard pass from Coley O'Brien (Joe Azzaro kick)	ND 24-0

2	ND	Jim Seymour 39-yard pass from Coley O'Brien (Joe Azzaro kick)	ND 31-0

3	ND	Dan Harshman 23-yard pass from Coley O'Brien (Joe Azzaro kick)	ND 38-0

3	ND	Nick Eddy 9-yard run (kick failed)	ND 44-0

4	ND	Dave Martin 33-yard interception return (Joe Azzaro kick)	ND 51-0

^[7]

Post-season

Award winners

Jim Lynch - Maxwell Award^[8]

Heisman Voting:

Nick Eddy, 3rd,^[9]

Terry Hanratty, 6th^[9]

All-Americans:

Name	AP	UPI	NEA	FC	SN	L	T	CP	FN
† Nick Eddy, HB	1	1	1	1	2	1		1	1
† Jim Lynch, LB	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
‡ Tom Regner, G	1	1	1	1	1	1		1	1
Alan Page, DE	2	2	1		1	1	1	1	1
Pete Duranko, DT	3	1		1	2
Kevin Hardy, DT	2	2	3		1		1		1
Jim Seymour, E	3	2	2		3				1
Paul Seiler, T		3			2
George Goeddeke, C	3	2	3		3
Tom Schoen, DB	3	2
Larry Conjar, FB	3	3			3				1
Terry Hanratty, QB	3		3
†denotes unanimous selection ‡denotes consensus selection Source:^[1]

College Football Hall of Fame Inductees:

Name	Position	Year Inducted
Jim Lynch	Linebacker	1992
Alan Page	Defensive End	1993
Ara Parseghian	Coach	1980

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

1967 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Paul Seiler	Guard	1(12)	12	New York Jets
† Alan Page	Defensive End	1(15)	15	Minnesota Vikings
Thomas Regner	Guard	1(23)	23	Houston Oilers
Larry Conjar	Running Back	2(20)	46	Cleveland Browns
† Jim Lynch	Linebacker	2(21)	47	Kansas City Chiefs
George Goeddeke	Center	3(6)	59	Denver Broncos
Tom Rhoads	Defensive End	3(17)	70	Buffalo Bills
Allen Sack	Linebacker	16(15)	408	Los Angeles Rams
† Pro Football Hall of Famer Source:^[11]

References

1 2 3 "2007 Notre Dame Media Guide: History and Records (pages 131-175)". und.cstv.com. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
↑ Mike Celzic. The Biggest Game of Them All: Notre Dame, Michigan State and the Fall of 1966. ISBN 0-671-75817-9.
↑ "Irish Uncover Soph Aerial Attack, Smash Purdue." Eugene Register-Guard. 1966 Sep 25.
↑ "ND Stomps Sooners." Palm Beach Post. 1966 Oct 23.
↑ Palm Beach Post. 1966 Oct 30.
↑
↑ "Army Borrows 'Air Force'; Irish Rout Troy." Eugene Register-Guard. 1966 Nov 27.
↑ "The Maxwell Award Collegiate Player of the Year: Past Recipients". The Maxwell Football Club. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
1 2 "Heisman Voting". und.cstv.com. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
↑ "College Football Hall of Famers.". collegefootball.org. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
↑ "Notre Dame NFL Draft History". uhnd.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-30.

1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football—AP, NFF & UPI national champions

Rocky Bleier Mike Burgener Larry Conjar Pete Duranko Nick Eddy George Goeddeke Terry Hanratty Kevin Hardy Bob Kuechenberg George Kunz Jim Lynch Alan Page John Pergine Tom Regner Steve Quinn Tom Schoen Paul Seiler Jim Seymour Head coach: Ara Parseghian Assistant coaches: John Ray Jerry Wampfler Joe Yonto

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

Venues	Cartier Field (1889–1928) Soldier Field (1929) Notre Dame Stadium (1930–present)

Bowls and rivalries	Bowl games Emerald Isle Classic Army Boston College: Holy War (Frank Leahy Memorial Bowl; Ireland Trophy) Michigan Michigan State (Megaphone Trophy) Navy (Rip Miller Trophy) Northwestern (Shillelagh Trophy 1930–c. 1973) Purdue (Shillelagh Trophy) Stanford (Legends Trophy) USC (Jeweled Shillelagh)

Culture and lore	All-time series results History Band of the Fighting Irish Irish Guard Notre Dame Box Notre Dame Leprechaun "Notre Dame, Our Mother" "Notre Dame Victory March" Play Like a Champion Today Subway Alumni T formation Tall Grass Game 1946 "Game of the Century" 1966 "Game of the Century" Catholics vs. Convicts 1993 "Game of the Century" Bush Push Navy ends the drought Knute Rockne, All American Notre Dame Football on NBC Rudy

People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks Four Horsemen NFL draftees

Seasons	1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

College football national champions (poll era)

1936–1949	1936: Minnesota (AP, DS) / Pittsburgh (BS, HS) 1937: Pittsburgh (AP, BS, DS, HS) / California 1938: TCU (AP) / Tennessee (BS, HS) / Notre Dame (DS) 1939: Texas A&M (AP, BS, HS) / USC (DS) 1940: Minnesota (AP, BS, DS, HS) / Stanford 1941: Minnesota (AP, BS) / Alabama (HS) 1942: Ohio State (AP, BS) / Georgia (HS) 1943: Notre Dame 1944: Army (AP, BS, HS) / Ohio State 1945: Army 1946: Notre Dame (AP) / Army (BS, HS) 1947: Notre Dame (AP) / Michigan (AP [post-bowl], BS, HS) 1948: Michigan 1949: Notre Dame

1950s	1950: Oklahoma 1951: Tennessee (AP, Coaches) / Michigan State / Maryland / Georgia Tech (BS) / Illinois (BS) 1952: Michigan State (AP, Coaches, BS) / Georgia Tech (INS) 1953: Maryland (AP, Coaches, INS) / Notre Dame (BS) 1954: Ohio State (AP, BS, INS) / UCLA (FWAA, Coaches) 1955: Oklahoma 1956: Oklahoma 1957: Auburn (AP) / Ohio State (Coaches, BS, FWAA, INS) 1958: LSU (AP, Coaches, BS, FN) / Iowa (FWAA) 1959: Syracuse / Ole Miss

1960s	1960: Minnesota (AP, Coaches, FN, NFF) / Ole Miss (FWAA) / Iowa BS) 1961: Alabama (AP, Coaches, FN, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA) 1962: USC 1963: Texas 1964: Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (FN, NFF) 1965: Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FN, FWAA, NFF) 1966: Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FN, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF) 1967: USC 1968: Ohio State 1969: Texas

1970s	1970: Nebraska (AP, FN, FWAA) / Texas (NFF, Coaches) / Ohio State (NFF) 1971: Nebraska 1972: USC 1973: Notre Dame (AP, FN, FWAA, NFF) / Alabama (Coaches) 1974: Oklahoma (AP, FN) / USC (FWAA, NFF, Coaches) 1975: Oklahoma 1976: Pittsburgh 1977: Notre Dame 1978: Alabama (AP, FWAA, NFF) / USC (Coaches, FN) 1979: Alabama

1980–1991	1980: Georgia 1981: Clemson 1982: Penn State 1983: Miami 1984: BYU 1985: Oklahoma 1986: Penn State 1987: Miami 1988: Notre Dame 1989: Miami 1990: Colorado (AP, FN, FWAA, NFF, USAT/CNN) / Georgia Tech (Coaches) 1991: Miami (AP) / Washington (Coaches, FN, FWAA, UPI/NFF)

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