1969 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

The 1969 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. The Fighting Irish were led by sixth-year head coach Ara Parseghian and played their home games on campus at Notre Dame Stadium.

1969 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Cotton Bowl Classic, L 17–21 vs. Texas
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
AP	No. 5
1969 record	8–2–1
Head coach	Ara Parseghian (6th season)
Captains	Bob Olson Mike Oriard
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)

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
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

After 44 seasons without postseason play (1925–1968), 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

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 20	1:30 pm	Northwestern	No. 11	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN (rivalry)		W 35–10	59,075
September 27	1:30 pm	at No. 16 Purdue	No. 9	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN [5] (rivalry)		L 14–28	68,179
October 4	1:30 pm	No. 14 Michigan State		Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN (rivalry)		W 42–28	59,075
October 11	2:00 pm	vs. Army	No. 15	Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY (rivalry)		W 45–0	63,786
October 18	1:30 pm	No. 3 USC	No. 11	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN [6] (rivalry)		T 14–14	59,075
October 25	8:30 pm	at Tulane	No. 12	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA		W 37–0	40,250
November 1	1:30 pm	Navy	No. 10	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN (rivalry)		W 47–0	59,075
November 8	1:30 pm	at Pittsburgh	No. 8	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)		W 49–7	44,084
November 15	9:30 pm	at Georgia Tech	No. 9	Grant Field Atlanta, GA [7][8]	ABC	W 38–20	41,104
November 22	1:30 pm	Air Force	No. 8	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN [9]		W 13–6	59,075
January 1, 1970	2:00 pm	vs. No. 1 Texas	No. 9	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX [4] (Cotton Bowl)	CBS	L 17–21	73,000
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

[10]

Roster

1969 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class T 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 Ara Parseghian Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Northwestern

1 2 3 4 Total Northwestern 10 0 0 0 10 • Notre Dame 14 0 0 21 35 Date: September 20 Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN Game start: 1:30 pm EDT Game attendance: 59,075

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Purdue

1 2 3 4 Total Notre Dame 0 7 0 7 14 • Purdue 7 7 7 7 28 Date: September 27 Location: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN Game start: 1:30 p.m. EDT

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Michigan State

1 2 3 4 Total Michigan St. 0 14 7 7 28 • Notre Dame 7 14 14 7 42 Date: October 4 Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN Game start: 1:30 pm EDT Game attendance: 59,075

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Army

1 2 3 4 Total • Notre Dame 10 14 14 7 45 Army 0 0 0 0 0 Date: October 11 Location: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY Game start: 2:00 p.m. EDT

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Southern Cal

1 2 3 4 Total So. Cal. 0 0 7 7 14 Notre Dame 0 0 7 7 14 Date: October 18 Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN Game start: 1:30 pm EDT Game attendance: 59,075

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Tulane

1 2 3 4 Total • Notre Dame 7 17 7 6 37 Tulane 0 0 0 0 0 Date: October 25 Location: Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, LA Game start: 7:30 p.m. CDT

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Navy

1 2 3 4 Total Navy 0 0 0 0 0 • Notre Dame 7 26 14 0 47 Date: November 1 Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN Game start: 1:30 pm EST Game attendance: 59,075

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Pittsburgh

1 2 3 4 Total • Notre Dame 14 21 14 0 49 Pittsburgh 7 0 0 0 7 Date: November 8 Location: Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA Game start: 1:30 p.m. EST

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Georgia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total • Notre Dame 21 10 7 0 38 Georgia Tech 0 6 0 14 20 Date: November 15 Location: Grant Field, Atlanta, GA Game start: 9:30 p.m. EST Television network: ABC

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Air Force

1 2 3 4 Total Air Force 0 3 0 3 6 • Notre Dame 7 6 0 0 13 Date: November 22 Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN Game attendance: 59,075

Scoring summary 1 ND Allan 39-yard run (Hempel kick) ND 7-0 2 ND Hempel 22-yard field goal ND 10-0 2 ND Hempel 25-yard field goal ND 13-0 2 AF Leuthauser 28-yard field goal ND 13-3 4 AF Leuthauser 37-yard field goal ND 13-6

[11]

vs. Texas (Cotton Bowl)

#9 Notre Dame vs. #1 Texas

1 2 3 4 Total Fighting Irish 3 7 0 7 17 • Longhorns 0 7 0 14 21 Date: January 1 Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas Game attendance: 71,938 Referee: MacDuff Simpson Television network: CBS

1970 NFL Draft

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

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. "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.
11. "Irish Shaky, Nip Falcons." Palm Beach Post. 1969 Nov 23.

External links

• College Football Data Warehouse - Notre Dame (1965–1969)
• Sports Reference - 1969 Notre Dame football season