1969 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

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1969 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Cotton Bowl Classic, L 17–21 vs. Texas
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 5
Record8–2–1
Head coach
Captains
Home stadiumNotre Dame Stadium
Seasons
← 1968
1970 →
1969 NCAA University Division independents football records
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 (19251968), 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[edit]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 201:30 pmNorthwesternNo. 11W 35–1059,075
September 271:30 pmat No. 16 PurdueNo. 9L 14–2868,179[5]
October 41:30 pmNo. 14 Michigan State
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 42–2859,075
October 112:00 pmvs. ArmyNo. 15W 45–063,786
October 181:30 pmNo. 3 USCNo. 11
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
T 14–1459,075[6]
October 258:30 pmat TulaneNo. 12W 37–040,250
November 11:30 pmNavyNo. 10
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 47–059,075
November 81:30 pmat PittsburghNo. 8W 49–744,084
November 159:30 pmat Georgia TechNo. 9ABCW 38–2041,104[7][8]
November 221:30 pmAir ForceNo. 8
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 13–659,075[9]
January 1, 19702:00 pmvs. No. 1 TexasNo. 9CBSL 17–2171,938[4][10]

[11]

Game summaries[edit]

Northwestern[edit]

1 234Total
Northwestern 10 000 10
Notre Dame 14 0021 35
  

Purdue[edit]

1 234Total
Notre Dame 0 707 14
Purdue 7 777 28
  

Michigan State[edit]

1 234Total
Michigan St. 0 1477 28
Notre Dame 7 14147 42
  • Date: October 4
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 1:30 pm EDT
  • Game attendance: 59,075
  

Army[edit]

1 234Total
Notre Dame 10 14147 45
Army 0 000 0
  

USC[edit]

1 234Total
USC 0 077 14
Notre Dame 0 077 14
  • Date: October 18
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 1:30 pm EDT
  • Game attendance: 59,075
  

Tulane[edit]

1 234Total
Notre Dame 7 1776 37
Tulane 0 000 0
  

Navy[edit]

1 234Total
Navy 0 000 0
Notre Dame 7 26140 47
  • Date: November 1
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 1:30 pm EST
  • Game attendance: 59,075
  

Pittsburgh[edit]

1 234Total
Notre Dame 14 21140 49
Pittsburgh 7 000 7
  

Georgia Tech[edit]

1 234Total
Notre Dame 21 1070 38
Georgia Tech 0 6014 20
  

Air Force[edit]

1 234Total
Air Force 0 303 6
Notre Dame 7 600 13

[12]

Vs. Texas (Cotton Bowl)[edit]

#9 Notre Dame vs. #1 Texas
1 234Total
Fighting Irish 3 707 17
Longhorns 0 7014 21

Roster[edit]

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
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

1970 NFL Draft[edit]

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[edit]

  1. ^ "Notre Dame accepts Cotton's bid". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 18, 1969. p. 12.
  2. ^ "Irish test Texas rank". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1970. p. 13.
  3. ^ Fite, Ed (January 1, 1970). "Irish test Longhorns in Dallas". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). UPI. p. 44.
  4. ^ a b "Texans edge Irish on big 4th downs". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 2, 1970. p. 30.
  5. ^ "Phipps paces Purdue past Notre Dame". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. October 19, 1969. p. 57.
  6. ^ Liska, Jerry (October 19, 1969). "Notre Dame, Southern Cal in 14-14 draw". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. p. 61.
  7. ^ Bryson, Mike (November 15, 1969). "Georgia Tech shouldn't Irish plans". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. p. 6.
  8. ^ "Irish build early lead, swamp Tech". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 16, 1969. p. 1, sports.
  9. ^ Bryson, Mike (November 23, 1969). "Irish shake 'shakes' and beat Air Force". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. p. 69.
  10. ^ "Texas rallies to beat Irish, 21 to 17". Chicago Tribune. January 2, 1970. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "1969 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results".
  12. ^ "Irish Shaky, Nip Falcons." Palm Beach Post. 1969 Nov 23.