1977 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

The 1977 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The Irish, coached by Dan Devine, ended the season with 11 wins and one loss, winning the national championship. The Fighting Irish won the title by defeating the previously unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl Classic by a score of a 38–10.^[2] The 1977 squad became the tenth Irish team to win the national title and were led by All-Americans Ken MacAfee, Ross Browner, Luther Bradley, and Bob Golic. Junior Joe Montana, a future Pro Football Hall of Famer, was the team's starting quarterback.

1977 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Consensus national champion Cotton Bowl Classic champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 38–10 vs. Texas
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	11–1
Head coach	Dan Devine (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Merv Johnson (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Pro set
Defensive coordinator	Joe Yonto
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Terry Eurick Willie Fry Steve Orsini
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium
Seasons ← 1976 1978 →

1977 NCAA Division I independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Notre Dame		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 5 Penn State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Colgate		–		–				10	–	1	–	0
North Texas State *		–		–				10	–	1	–	0
No. 16 San Diego State		–		–				10	–	1	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				8	–	1	–	1
No. 14 Florida State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Pittsburgh		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
East Carolina		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Army		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Louisville		–		–				7	–	4	–	1
Boston College		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				5	–	4	–	2
Georgia Tech		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Northwestern State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Temple		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Hawaii		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Navy		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	7	–	0
Utah State		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Villanova		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Virginia Tech		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Miami (FL)		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Richmond		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Tulane		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Air Force		–		–				2	–	8	–	1
Holy Cross		–		–				2	–	8	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
North Texas State (originally 9–2) awarded a forfeit win after Mississippi State was found to be using an ineligible player.[1] Rankings from AP Poll

Dan Devine entered his third year as head coach, coming off of a 9–3 season in 1976 that culminated in a Gator Bowl win over Penn State.^[3] Devine returned a highly touted defense, featuring 1976 Outland Trophy winner Ross Browner, defensive end Willie Fry, and All-American linebacker Bob Golic.^[3] On offense, quarterback Joe Montana earned the starting job and led an offense that included running backs Jerome Heavens and Vagas Ferguson and All-American tight end Ken MacAfee.^[3] Montana, earned a reputation as "the comeback kid", had two come from behind victories in the fourth quarter, against Purdue and Clemson, down 17 and 10 respectively.^[3] After a surprising loss to unranked Ole Miss, patience among the fans was running thin, who considered Devine's previous 8–3 and 9–3 seasons as lackluster compared to the team success under Devine's predecessor, Ara Parseghian.^[4] The Irish rebounded to win their remaining games, including a 49–19 rout of USC in the now famous "Green Jersey Game."^[4] The Irish earned a berth in the Cotton Bowl Classic, where they defeated No. 1 and unbeaten Texas by a score of 38–10 to capture Notre Dame's tenth national title.^[3] The Irish leaped four spots in the polls after the Cotton Bowl Classic victory to claim the consensus title.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	3:50 p.m.	at No. 7 Pittsburgh	No. 3	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ABC	W 19–9	56,500	[5]
September 17	2:30 p.m.	vs. Ole Miss	No. 3	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS		L 13–20	48,200	[6]
September 24	2:30 p.m.	at Purdue	No. 11	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)		W 31–24	68,966	[7]
October 1	2:30 p.m.	Michigan State	No. 14	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 16–6	59,075	[8]
October 15	1:30 p.m.	vs. Army	No. 11	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (rivalry)		W 24–0	72,594	[9]
October 22	1:50 p.m.	No. 5 USC	No. 11	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	ABC	W 49–19	59,075	[10]
October 29	2:30 p.m.	Navy	No. 5	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 43–10	59,075	[11]
November 5	1:30 p.m.	Georgia Tech	No. 5	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 69–14	59,075	[12]
November 12	1:30 p.m.	at No. 15 Clemson	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC		W 21–17	53,467–54,189	[13][14]
November 19	1:30 p.m.	Air Force	No. 6	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 49–0	59,075	[15]
December 3	8:00 p.m.	at Miami (FL)	No. 5	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)		W 48–10	35,789	[16]
January 2, 1978	2:00 p.m.	vs. No. 1 Texas	No. 5	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	CBS	W 38–10	76,701	[17]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Pittsburgh

See also: 1977 Pittsburgh Panthers football team and Notre Dame–Pittsburgh football rivalry

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0–0) at Pittsburgh Panthers (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	0	6	0	13	19
Pittsburgh	7	2	0	0	9

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Date: September 10, 1977
• Game attendance: 56,500
• Referee: Paul Bertha
• TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson and Ara Parseghian
• Recap

Game information

First quarter PITT – Gordon Jones 12-yard pass from Matt Cavanaugh (Mark Schubert kick). Pitt 7–0. Drive: Second quarter PITT – Safety, Joe Restic tackled in end zone. Pitt 9–0. ND – Ken MacAfee 5-yard pass from Rusty Lisch (kick blocked). Pitt 9–6. Drive: Fourth quarter ND – Dave Reeve 35-yard field goal. Tie 9–9. Drive: ND – Dave Reeve 26-yard field goal. Notre Dame 12–9. Drive: ND - Terry Eurick 4-yard run (Dave Reeve kick). Notre Dame 19–9. Drive: Top rushers ND – Jerome Heavens – 88 yards

Ole Miss

See also: 1977 Ole Miss Rebels football team

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1–0) at Ole Miss Rebels

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	0	7	0	6	13
Ole Miss	3	7	0	10	20

at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, Jackson, Mississippi

• Date: September 17, 1977
• Game weather: Sunny, 90 °F (32 °C)
• Game attendance: 48,200
• Recap

Game information

First quarter MISS – Carl Langley 29-yard field goal. Ole Miss 3–0. Drive: 64 yards. Second quarter ND – Jerome Heavens 2-yard run (Dave Reeve kick). Notre Dame 7–3. Drive: 8 plays. MISS – James Storey 10-yard pass from Bobby Garner (Carl Langley kick). Ole Miss 10–7. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards. Fourth quarter ND – Dave Reeve 44-yard field goal. Tie 10–10. Drive: 5 plays ND – Dave Reeve 28-yard field goal, 4:53. Notre Dame 13–10. Drive: MISS – James Storey 10-yard pass from Tim Ellis (Carl Langley kick), 3:13. Ole Miss 17–13. Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards. MISS – Carl Langley 27-yard field goal, 1:44. Ole Miss 20–13. Drive: Top passers ND – Rusty Lisch – 11/25, 127 yards, 2 INT Top rushers ND – Jerome Heavens – 16 rushes, 70 yards, TD Top receivers ND – Ken MacAfee – 6 receptions, 69 yards

Ole Miss gave the eventual national champion Notre Dame its only loss of the season.

Purdue

See also: 1977 Purdue Boilermakers football team and Notre Dame–Purdue football rivalry

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	0	14	0	17	31
Purdue	10	14	0	0	24

• Date: September 24
• Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
• Game attendance: 68,966

Scoring summary

1		PUR	Scott Sovereen 25-yard field goal	PUR 3-0
1		PUR	Reggie Arnold 8-yard pass from Mark Herrmann (Scott Sovereen kick)	PUR 10-0
2		ND	Terry Eurick 6-yard pass from Rusty Lisch (Dave Reeve kick)	PUR 10-7
2		ND	Terry Eurick 18-yard pass from Rusty Lisch (Dave Reeve kick)	ND 14-10
2		PUR	Raymond Smith 37-yard pass from Mark Herrmann (Scott Sovereen kick)	PUR 17-14
2		PUR	Russell Pope 43-yard pass from Mark Herrmann (Scott Sovereen kick)	PUR 24-14
4		ND	Dave Reeve 24-yard field goal	PUR 24-17
4		ND	Ken MacAfee 13-yard pass from Joe Montana (Dave Reeve kick)	Tied 24-24
4	1:39	ND	Dave Mitchell 4-yard run (Dave Reeve kick)	ND 31-24

^[18]

Michigan State

Michigan St at #14 Notre Dame

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan St	3	0	3	0	6
• Notre Dame	0	10	6	0	16

• Date: October 1
• Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN

• Source:

Scoring summary

1		MSU	Nielsen 38-yard field goal	MSU 3-0
2		ND	Reeve 42-yard field goal	Tied 3-3
2		ND	Mitchell 9-yard run (Reeve kick)	ND 10-3
3		ND	Reeve 40-yard field goal	ND 13-3
3		ND	Reeve 51-yard field goal	ND 16-3
4		MSU	Nielsen 37-yard field goal	ND 16-6

Army

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Army	0	0	0	0	0
• Notre Dame	0	7	10	7	24

• Date: October 15
• Location: Giants Stadium
• Game attendance: 72,594

Scoring summary

Q2		ND	Heavens 3 yard run (Reeve kick)	ND 7–0
Q2		ND	Reeve 29 yard field goal	ND 10–0
Q3		ND	Eurick 2 yard run (Reeve kick)	ND 17–0
Q4		ND	Eurick 3 yard run (Reeve kick)	ND 24–0

• ND: Jerome Heavens 34 Rush, 200 Yds (single game school record - Sitko 1948 vs. Michigan St)^[19]

USC

See also: 1977 USC Trojans football team and Jeweled Shillelagh

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
USC	0	7	0	12	19
• Notre Dame	7	15	13	14	49

• Date: October 22
• Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
• Game attendance: 59,075
• Referee: Glenn Fortin (Big Ten)
• TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Frank Broyles

Scoring summary

1		ND	Dave Mitchell 4-yard run (Dave Reeve kick)	ND 7-0
2		USC	Mario Celotto 5-yard fumble return (Frank Jordan kick)	Tied 7-7
2		ND	Joe Montana 1-yard run (Ted Burgmeier to Tom Domin pass)	ND 15-7
2		ND	Ken MacAfee 13-yard pass from Joe Montana (Dave Reeve kick)	ND 22-7
3		ND	Jay Case 30-yard blocked punt return (Dave Reeve kick)	ND 29-7
3		ND	Ken MacAfee 1-yard pass from Joe Montana (kick failed)	ND 35-7
4		ND	Joe Montana 1-yard run (Dave Reeve kick)	ND 42-7
4		USC	Calvin Sweeney 14-yard pass from Rob Hertel (Frank Jordan kick)	ND 42-14
4		ND	Kevin Hart 4-yard pass from Rusty Lisch (Dave Reeve kick)	ND 49-14

Notre Dame wore green jerseys for the first time since their 1963 game against Syracuse.

^[20]

Navy

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Navy	0	0	3	7	10
• Notre Dame	7	9	14	13	43

• Date: October 29
• Location: Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, Indiana
• Game attendance: 59,075

Scoring summary

1		ND	Heavens 49-yard run (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 7-0
2		ND	Reeve 34-yard field goal	Notre Dame 10-0
2		ND	Reeve 24-yard field goal	Notre Dame 13-0
2		ND	Reeve 32-yard field goal	Notre Dame 16-0
3		ND	Montana 1-yard run (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 23-0
3		NAVY	Tata 46-yard field goal	Notre Dame 23-3
3		ND	Mitchell 7-yard pass from Montana (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 30-3
4		ND	Stone 58-yard run (kick failed)	Notre Dame 36-3
4		NAVY	McConkey 7-yard pass from Powers (Tata kick)	Notre Dame 36-10
4		ND	Leopold 50-yard pass interception return (Unis kick)	Notre Dame 43-10

Notre Dame wore green jerseys for the second straight week.

^[21]

Georgia Tech

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Georgia Tech	0	7	0	7	14
• Notre Dame	0	21	21	27	69

• Date: November 5
• Location: Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, Indiana
• Game start: 1:30 pm EST
• Game attendance: 59,075

Scoring summary

2		ND	Montana 1-yard run (kick failed)	Notre Dame 6-0
2		GT	Ivery 97-yard kickoff return (Smith kick)	Ga. Tech 7-6
2		ND	Eurick 8-yard pass from Montana (Montana run)	Notre Dame 14-7
2		ND	Haines 18-yard pass from Montana (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 21-7
3		ND	Waymer 68-yard pass from Montana (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 28-7
3		ND	Heavens 2-yard run (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 35-7
3		ND	Ferguson 1-yard run (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 42-7
4		ND	Ferguson 56-yard run (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 49-7
4		ND	Stone 14-yard pass from Lisch (kick failed)	Notre Dame 55-7
4		ND	Stone 21-yard run (Unis kick)	Notre Dame 62-7
4		ND	S. Hart 31-yard pass from Koegel (Unis kick)	Notre Dame 69-7
4		GT	D. Hill 18-yard pass from Hardie (Smith kick)	Notre Dame 69-14

Notre Dame wore green jerseys for the third straight week, and for every home game through the end of the 1980 season. The 69 points were the second most ever scored at Notre Dame Stadium.

Clemson

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	7	0	0	14	21
Clemson	0	10	7	0	17

• Date: November 12
• Location: Memorial Stadium • Clemson, SC
• Game start: 1:30 pm EST
• Game attendance: 54,189

Scoring summary

1		ND	Heavens 5-yard run (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 7-0
2		Clem	Ariri 30-yard field goal	Notre Dame 7-3
2		Clem	Fuller 10-yard run (Ariri kick)	Clemson 10-7
3		Clem	Brown 1-yard run (Ariri kick)	Clemson 17-7
4		ND	Montana 2-yard run (Reeve kick)	Clemson 17-14
4		ND	Montana 1-yard run (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 21-17

This was the first-ever meeting between Notre Dame and Clemson.

Air Force

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Air Force	0	0	0	0	0
• Notre Dame	21	14	7	7	49

• Date: November 19
• Location: Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, Indiana
• Game start: 1:30 pm EST
• Game attendance: 59,075
• Game weather: cloudy, 40 degrees

Scoring summary

1		ND	Ferguson 56-yard run (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 7-0
1		ND	Ferguson 9-yard run (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 14-0
1		ND	Heavens 1-yard run (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 21-0
2		ND	Ferguson 2-yard run (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 28-0
2		ND	Haines 33-yard pass from Montana (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 35-0
3		ND	Eurick 2-yard run (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 42-0
4		ND	Schmitz 11-yard pass from Lisch (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 49-0

This was the final game for Air Force head coach Ben Martin after 20 seasons. It also remains the most lopsided game in the 30-game series between Notre Dame and Air Force (the Fighting Irish lead 24-6).

Miami (FL)

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	14	6	21	7	48
Miami (FL)	0	10	0	0	10

• Date: December 3
• Location: Miami Orange Bowl
• Game attendance: 35,789

Scoring summary

Q1		ND	Ferguson 11 yard run (Reeve kick)	ND 7–0
Q1		ND	Leopold 17 yard interception return (Reeve kick)	ND 14–0
Q2		MIA	Dennis 38 yard field goal	ND 14–3
Q2		MIA	Alvers 35 yard pass from McMillian (Dennis kick)	ND 14–10
Q2		ND	Ferguson 23 yard pass from Montana (kick failed)	ND 20–10
Q3		ND	MacAfee 4 yard pass from Montana (Reeve kick)	ND 27–10
Q3		ND	Mitchell 3 yard run (Reeve kick)	ND 34–10
Q3		ND	MacAfee 5 yard pass from Montana (Reeve kick)	ND 41–10
Q4		ND	Lisch 1 yard run (Reeve kick)	ND 48–10

^[22]

Texas (Cotton Bowl)

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	3	21	7	7	38
Texas	3	7	0	0	10

• Location: Cotton Bowl
• Game attendance: 76,701
• Game weather: Sunny; 35 °F (2 °C)

Scoring summary

Q1	11:35	ND	Reeve 47 yard field goal	ND 3–0
Q1	6:07	TEX	Erxleben 42 yard field goal	Tie 3–3
Q2	14:56	ND	Eurick 6 yard run (Reeve kick)	ND 10–3
Q2	11:37	ND	Eurick 10 yard run (Reeve kick)	ND 17–3
Q2	7:28	ND	Ferguson 17 yard pass from Montana (Reeve kick)	ND 24–3
Q2	0:00	TEX	Lockett 13 yard pass from McEachern (Erxeleben kick)	ND 24–10
Q3	6:49	ND	Ferguson 3 yard run (Reeve kick)	ND 31–10
Q4	9:41	ND	Ferguson 26 yard run (Reeve kick)	ND 38–10

Main article: 1978 Cotton Bowl Classic

See also: 1977 Texas Longhorns football team

^[23]

Roster

1977 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 87 Mark Czaja So WR 1 Ty Dickerson Fr RB 26 Tom Domin RB 5 Steve Dover QB 8 Gary Forystek RB 40 Terry Eurick RB 32 Vagas Ferguson So OT 73 Tim Foley So WR 82 Kris Haines Jr TE 97 Kevin Hart WR 85 Speedy Hart Jr C 63 Jim Hautman RB 30 Jerome Heavens G 66 Ted Horansky C 56 Dave Huffman Jr OT 78 Tim Huffman Fr G 65 Ernie Hughes Sr QB 1 Greg Knafelc Fr RB 21 Dan Knott Sr QB 14 Tim Koegel Fr G 69 John Leon QB 6 Rusty Lisch  So TE 81 Ken MacAfee Sr OT 75 Rob Martinovich So OT 71 Steve McDaniels Sr G 60 Howard Meyer Jr RB 44 Dave Mitchell QB 3 Joe Montana Jr C 50 Terry Murphy RB 14 Steve Orsini RB 45 Pete Pallas Jr RB 19 Steve Schmitz Sr RB 42 Jim Stone OT 67 Bob Tull Sr G 59 Dave Vinson RB 34 Dave Waymer So	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 43 Doug Becker Sr CB 24 Dick Boushka CB 20 Luther Bradley Sr SS 33 Jim Browner Jr DE 89 Ross Browner Sr CB 18 Ted Burgmeier DT 77 Mike Calhoun Jr DT 75 Jay Case Jr SS 28 Ross Christensen Sr CB 16 Nick DeCicco DT 79 Ken Dike Sr CB 23 Tom Flynn Jr DE 94 Willie Fry FS 27 Tom Gibbons Fr LB 55 Bob Golic Jr LB 47 John Hankerd FS 10 Randy Harrison Jr LB 58 Steve Heimkreiter Jr SS, QB 31 Pete Holohan Fr LB 51 Pete Johnson SS 29 Phil Johnson Jr LB 61 Bobby Leopold So CB 9 Jim Morse DE 72 Hardy Rayam FS 7 Joe Restic Jr DE 88 Tom VanDenburgh So DT 74 Jeff Weston Jr LB 54 Mike Whittington So DT 68 Tom Wroblewski So DE 70 Scott Zettek So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 4 Kevin Muno So K 13 Dave Reeve Sr P 7 Joe Restic Jr K 99 Joe Unis	Head coach Dan Devine Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Award winners

• Ross Browner, Lombardi Award,^[24] Maxwell Award^[25]
• Ken MacAfee, Walter Camp Award^[26]

Heisman Trophy voting

Ken MacAfee, 3rd^[27]

Ross Browner, 5th^[27]

All-Americans

Name	AP	UPI	NEA	FC	SN	FW	FN	WCF	CW
† Ross Browner, DE	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
† Ken MacAfee, TE	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
‡ Luther Bradley, DB	2	1	2	1			1	1
Ernie Hughes, G	2	2
Bob Golic, MG (MLB)	2	2				2
Willie Fry, DE		2
Ted Burgmeier, DB						2
†denotes unanimous selection ‡denotes consensus selection Source:[2]

College Football Hall of Fame inductees

Name	Position	Year Inducted
Ross Browner	Defensive end	1999
Dan Devine	Coach	1985
Ken MacAfee	Tight end	1997

^[28]

1978 NFL draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Ken MacAfee	Tight end	1(7)	7	San Francisco 49ers
Ross Browner	Defensive end	1(8)	8	Cincinnati Bengals
Luther Bradley	Defensive back	1(11)	11	Detroit Lions
Willie Fry	Defensive end	2(23)	49	Pittsburgh Steelers
Ernie Hughes	Guard	3(23)	79	San Francisco 49ers
Ted Burgmeier	Defensive back	5(1)	111	Miami Dolphins
Steve McDaniels	Tackle	9(27)	249	San Francisco 49ers
Doug Becker	Linebacker	10(18)	268	Pittsburgh Steelers
Source:[29]