American college football season
1953 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football Conference Independent Coaches No. 2 AP No. 2 1953 record 9–0–1 Head coach Frank Leahy (11th season)Captain Don Penza Home stadium Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)Seasons
1953 Midwestern college football independents records
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
No. 2 Notre Dame
–
9
–
0
–
1
Cincinnati
–
9
–
1
–
0
Carthage
–
8
–
1
–
0
Youngstown
–
7
–
1
–
0
John Carroll
–
7
–
2
–
0
Washington University
–
7
–
2
–
0
Rose Poly
–
6
–
2
–
0
Wabash
–
6
–
2
–
1
Marquette
–
6
–
3
–
1
Baldwin–Wallace
–
4
–
4
–
0
Drake
–
4
–
4
–
0
Wayne
–
3
–
4
–
1
Dayton
–
3
–
5
–
1
Xavier
–
2
–
7
–
1
Rankings from AP Poll
The 1953 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1953 college football season . John Lattner won the Heisman Trophy although he did not even lead the Irish in passing, rushing, receiving or scoring.[1] Lattner held the Notre Dame record for all-purpose yards until Vagas Ferguson broke it in 1979.
Schedule [ ]
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance September 26 at No. 6 Oklahoma No. 1 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman , OklahomaW 28–2159,500
October 3 at Purdue No. 1 W 37–749,135
October 17 No. 15 Pittsburgh No. 1 Notre Dame Stadium South Bend , Indiana (rivalry )W 23–1457,998
October 24 No. 4 Georgia Tech No. 1 Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, Indiana W 27–1458,254
October 31 No. 20 Navy No. 1 Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, Indiana (rivalry ) W 38–758,154
November 7 at Penn No. 1 Franklin Field Philadelphia , PennsylvaniaW 28–2074,711
November 14 at North Carolina No. 1 Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill , North CarolinaW 34–1443,000
November 21 No. 20 Iowa No. 1 Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, Indiana T 14–1456,478
November 28 at No. 20 USC No. 2 W 48–1497,952
December 5 SMU No. 2 Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, Indiana W 40–1455,522
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
Roster [ ]
QB Ralph Gugliemi
HB Johnny Lattner
OE,DE Don Penza
Game summaries [ ]
Oklahoma [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Notre Dame
7
7 14 0
28
Oklahoma
7
7 0 7
21
Date: September 26Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium , Norman , OklahomaGame attendance: 59,500Game weather: Sunny • 94°F
Don Penza blocked and recovered a kick to set up one touchdown and recovered a fumble that led to another Notre Dame score.[2]
Team players drafted into the NFL [ ]
This section needs expansion . You can help by . (April 2020 )
The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.
Player
Position
Round
Pick
Franchise
[3]
Awards and honors [ ]
John Lattner , Heisman Trophy
References [ ]
Venues
Brownson Hall field (1892?–1899)
Cartier Field (1899–1928)
Soldier Field (1929)
Notre Dame Stadium (1930–present)
Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
1936–1949 1950s 1960s
1960 : Minnesota (AP, Coaches, NFF ) / Ole Miss (FWAA)
1961 : Alabama (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA)
1962 : USC
1963 : Texas
1964 : Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (NFF)
1965 : Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FWAA, NFF)
1966 : Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF)
1967 : USC
1968 : Ohio State
1969 : Texas
1970s 1980–1991