1969 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

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.

1969 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Cotton Bowl Classic, L 17–21 vs. Texas
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
AP	No. 5
Record	8–2–1
Head coach	Ara Parseghian (6th season)
Captains	Bob Olson Mike Oriard
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium
Seasons ← 1968 1970 →

1969 NCAA University Division independents football records

v t e	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
Virginia Tech			–					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	Source
September 20	1:30 pm	Northwestern	No. 11	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 35–10	59,075
September 27	1:30 pm	at No. 16 Purdue	No. 9	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)		L 14–28	68,179	[5]
October 4	1:30 pm	No. 14 Michigan State		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, 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 Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		T 14–14	59,075	[6]
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 Notre Dame, 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 (rivalry)	ABC	W 38–20	41,104	[7][8][9]
November 22	1:30 pm	Air Force	No. 8	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 13–6	59,075	[10]
January 1, 1970	2:00 pm	vs. No. 1 Texas	No. 9	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl)	CBS	L 17–21	71,938	[4][11]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[12]

Game summaries

Northwestern

Team	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

  

Scoring summary

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Purdue

Team	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

  

Scoring summary

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Michigan State

Team	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

  

Scoring summary

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Army

Team	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

  

Scoring summary

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USC

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
USC	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

  

Scoring summary

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{{{Time}}}	{{{Team}}}	{{{Event}}}	{{{Score}}}

Tulane

Team	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

  

Scoring summary

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Navy

Team	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

  

Scoring summary

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{{{Time}}}	{{{Team}}}	{{{Event}}}	{{{Score}}}

Pittsburgh

Team	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

  

Scoring summary

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Georgia Tech

Team	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

  

Scoring summary

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Air Force

Team	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

^[13]

Vs. Texas (Cotton Bowl)

#9 Notre Dame vs. #1 Texas

Team	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: Cliff Domingue
• Television network: CBS

Main article: 1970 Cotton Bowl Classic

See also: 1969 Texas Longhorns football team

Roster

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 Ara Parseghian Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

1970 NFL draft

Main article: 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