1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

The 1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1966 NCAA University Division 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 their 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]

1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Consensus national champion
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
1966 record9–0–1
Head coachAra Parseghian (3rd season)
Base defense4–4
CaptainJim Lynch
Home stadiumNotre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)
1966 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 1 Notre Dame   –  –   9 –0 –1
Colgate   –  –   8 –1 –1
No. 8 Georgia Tech   –  –   9 –2 –0
Army   –  –   8 –2 –0
Dayton   –  –   8 –2 –0
Houston   –  –   8 –2 –0
Memphis State   –  –   7 –2 –0
No. 9 Miami (FL)   –  –   8 –2 –1
VPI   –  –   8 –2 –1
Syracuse   –  –   8 –3 –0
Colorado State   –  –   7 –3 –0
New Mexico State   –  –   7 –3 –0
West Texas State   –  –   7 –3 –0
Villanova   –  –   6 –3 –0
Holy Cross   –  –   6 –3 –1
Southern Miss   –  –   6 –4 –0
Texas Western   –  –   6 –4 –0
Rutgers   –  –   5 –4 –0
Tulane   –  –   5 –4 –1
Florida State   –  –   6 –5 –0
Buffalo   –  –   5 –5 –0
Penn State   –  –   5 –5 –0
Air Force   –  –   4 –6 –0
Boston College   –  –   4 –6 –0
Navy   –  –   4 –6 –0
Utah State   –  –   4 –6 –0
Xavier   –  –   4 –6 –0
Pacific   –  –   4 –7 –0
San Jose State   –  –   3 –7 –0
Pittsburgh   –  –   1 –9 –0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 24No. 8 PurdueNo. 6
W 26-1459,075
October 1at NorthwesternNo. 4
W 35-755,356
October 8ArmyNo. 3
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 35-059,075
October 15North CarolinaNo. 2
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
W 32-059,075
October 22at No. 10 OklahomaNo. 1
W 38-063,439
October 29vs. NavyNo. 1
  • JFK Stadium
  • Philadelphia, PA (rivalry)
W 31-770,101
November 5PittsburghNo. 1
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 40-059,075
November 12DukeNo. 1
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
W 64-059,075
November 19at No. 2 Michigan StateNo. 1
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (Megaphone Trophy)
T 10-1080,011
November 26at No. 10 USCNo. 1
W 51-088,520
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster
1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
RB 28 Rocky Bleier Jr
RB 32 Larry Conjar
RB 21 Frank Criniti
RB 38 Ron Dushney
RB 47 Nick Eddy
G 68 Roger Fox
RB 20 Bob Gladieux So
TE 80 Don Gmitter
C 54 George Goeddeke
G 57 Tim Gorman
RB 22 Dave Haley
WR 86 Curt Heneghan
QB 5 Terry Hanratty So
C 58 Gerald Kelly
T 73 Rudy Konieczny
G 75 Bob Kuechenberg So
TE 78 Mike Kuzmicz
G 69 Joe Marsico
RB 31 Paul May
T 79 Tom McKinley
C 55 Tim Monty
QB 3 Coley O’Brien
G 62 Steve Quinn
WR 89 Kevin Rassas
G 76 Tom Regner
T 70 Fred Schnurr
T 71 Paul Seiler
WR 85 Jim Seymour
WR 49 Brian Stenger
G 59 Dick Swatland
TE 96 Jim Winegardner
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DT 77 Harry Alexander
S 33 Mike Burgener
DT 64 Pete Duranko
DT 75 Kevin Hardy
CB 34 Dan Harshman
LB 51 John Horney
LB 65 Ron Jeziorski
DE 93 Chick Lauck
LB 41 John Lavin
CB 40 Tom O’Leary
LB 61 Jim Lynch Sr
LB 56 Dave Martin
LB 60 Mike McGill
DT 72 Eric Norri
DE 81 Alan Page Sr
LB 50 John Pergine Jr
CB 19 Tom Quinn
DE 87 Tom Rhoads
DE 88 Allen Sack
S 7 Tom Schoen Jr
DE 94 Bill Skoglund
CB 25 Jim Smithberger
LB 89 Al VanHuffel
LB 54 Ed Vuillemin
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
P 90 Joe Azzaro
K 11 Jim Ryan
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Rankings
Main article: 1966 NCAA University Division football rankings

Game summaries

Purdue
Purdue at Notre Dame
1 234Total
No. 8 Boilermakers 7 007 14
• No. 6 Fighting Irish 7 7012 26
  • Date: September 24
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 1:15 pm CDT
  • Game attendance: 59,075
  • Television network: ABC (national)
See also: 1966 Purdue Boilermakers football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
22–13–2 1965 L 21–25

[3]

Northwestern
Notre Dame at Northwestern
1 234Total
• No. 4 Fighting Irish 7 6814 35
Wildcats 0 007 7
  • Date: October 1
  • Location: Dyche Stadium, Evanston, IL
  • Game start: 1:30 pm CDT
  • Game attendance: 55,356
See also: 1966 Northwestern Wildcats football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
24-7–2 1965 W 38-7

[4]

Army
Army at Notre Dame
1 234Total
Cadets 0 000 0
• No. 3 Fighting Irish 21 1400 35
  • Date: October 8
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 1:30 pm CDT
  • Game attendance: 59,075
See also: 1966 Army Cadets football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
25-8-4 1965 W 17-0

[5]

North Carolina
North Carolina at Notre Dame
1 234Total
Tar Heels 0 000 0
• No. 2 Fighting Irish 7 1366 32
  • Date: October 15
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 1:30 pm CDT
  • Game attendance: 59,075
  • Game weather: 50 degrees, wind 22-40 MPH
See also: 1966 North Carolina Tar Heels football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
12-1 1965 W 17-0

[6]

Oklahoma
Notre Dame at Oklahoma
1 234Total
• No. 1 Fighting Irish 0 17210 38
No. 10 Sooners 0 000 0
  • Date: October 22
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, OK
  • Game start: 2:30 pm CDT
  • Game attendance: 63,439
See also: 1966 Oklahoma Sooners football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
5–1 1962 W 13–7

[7]

1 234Total
• No. 1 Fighting Irish 3 7147 31
Midshipmen 0 007 7
  • Date: October 29
  • Location: JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, PA
  • Game start: 1:30 pm EDT
  • Game attendance: 70,101
See also: 1966 Navy Midshipmen football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
29-9-1 1965 W 29-3

[8]

Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh at Notre Dame
1 234Total
Panthers 0 000 0
• No. 1 Fighting Irish 0 71419 40
  • Date: October 8
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 1:30 pm CST
  • Game attendance: 59,075
  • Game weather: 40 degrees
See also: 1966 Pittsburgh Panthers football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
20-11-1 1965 W 69-13

[9]

Duke
Duke at Notre Dame
1 234Total
Blue Devils 0 000 0
• No. 1 Fighting Irish 22 21147 64
  • Date: October 15
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
  • Game start: 1:30 pm CST
  • Game attendance: 59,075
See also: 1966 Duke Blue Devils football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
1-1 1961 L 13-37

[10]

Michigan State
Notre Dame at Michigan State
1 234Total
No.1 Fighting Irish 0 703 10
No. 2 Spartans 0 1000 10
  • Date: November 19
  • Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan
  • Game start: 1:30 pm EST
  • Television network: ABC (regional)
Main article: 1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football game
See also: 1966 Michigan State Spartans football team and Megaphone Trophy
Overall record Last meeting Result
17–14 1965 L 3–12

[11]

[12]

Southern Cal
Notre Dame at Southern Cal
1 234Total
• No. 1 Fighting Irish 14 17137 51
No. 10 Trojans 0 000 0
See also: 1966 USC Trojans football team and Notre Dame–USC football rivalry
Overall record Last meeting Result
24–11–2 1965 W 28–7

[13][14]

Post-season

Award winners

Heisman Voting:

Nick Eddy, 3rd,[16]
Terry Hanratty, 6th[16]

All-Americans:

Name AP UPI NEA FC SN L T CP FN
† Nick Eddy, HB11112111
† Jim Lynch, LB111111111
‡ Tom Regner, G11111111
Alan Page, DE22111111
Pete Duranko, DT3112
Kevin Hardy, DT223111
Jim Seymour, E32231
Paul Seiler, T32
George Goeddeke, C3233
Tom Schoen, DB32
Larry Conjar, FB3331
Terry Hanratty, QB33
†denotes unanimous selection
‡denotes consensus selection      Source:[1]

College Football Hall of Fame Inductees:

Name Position Year Inducted
Jim LynchLinebacker1992
Alan PageDefensive End1993
Ara ParseghianCoach1980

Notre Dame leads all universities in players inducted.[17]

1967 NFL Draft
PlayerPositionRoundPickFranchise
Paul SeilerGuard1(12)12New York Jets
† Alan PageDefensive End1(15)15Minnesota Vikings
Thomas RegnerGuard1(23)23Houston Oilers
Larry ConjarRunning Back2(20)46Cleveland Browns
Jim LynchLinebacker2(21)47Kansas City Chiefs
George GoeddekeCenter3(6)59Denver Broncos
Tom RhoadsDefensive End3(17)70Buffalo Bills
Allen SackLinebacker16(15)408Los Angeles Rams
† Pro Football Hall of Famer      Source:[18]

References
  1. "2007 Notre Dame Media Guide: History and Records (pages 131-175)". und.cstv.com. Archived from the original on 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
  2. Celzic, Mike. The Biggest Game of Them All: Notre Dame, Michigan State and the Fall of 1966. ISBN 0-671-75817-9.
  3. "Irish Uncover Soph Aerial Attack, Smash Purdue." Eugene Register-Guard. 1966 Sep 25.
  4. South Bend Tribune, Oct. 2, 1966, p. 1
  5. South Bend Tribune, Oct. 9, 1966, p. 1
  6. South Bend Tribune, Oct. 16, 1966, p. 1
  7. "ND Stomps Sooners." Palm Beach Post. 1966 Oct 23.
  8. South Bend Tribune, Oct. 30, 1966, p.
  9. South Bend Tribune, Nov. 6, 1966, p. 1
  10. South Bend Tribune, Nov. 13, 1966, p. 1
  11. Jenkins, Dan (November 28, 1966). "An Upside-Down Game". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  13. "Irish Trouncing of U.S.C. Worst in Trojans' History". The New York Times. November 27, 1966. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  14. "Army Borrows 'Air Force'; Irish Rout Troy." Eugene Register-Guard. 1966 Nov 27.
  15. "The Maxwell Award Collegiate Player of the Year: Past Recipients". The Maxwell Football Club. Archived from the original on 2009-02-14. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
  16. "Heisman Voting". und.cstv.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-17. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
  17. "Hall of Fame: Select group by school". College Football Hall of Fame. Football Foundation. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
  18. "Notre Dame NFL Draft History". uhnd.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
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