American college football season
1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football Conference Independent Coaches No. 1 AP No. 1 1966 record 9–0–1 Head coach Ara Parseghian (3rd season)Base defense 4–4 Captain Jim Lynch Home stadium Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)Seasons
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]
Schedule [ ]
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance September 24 No. 8 Purdue No. 6 W 26–1459,075
October 1 at Northwestern No. 4 Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry )W 35–755,356
October 8 Army No. 3 Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry ) W 35–059,075
October 15 North Carolina No. 2 Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN W 32–059,075
October 22 at No. 10 Oklahoma No. 1 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK W 38–063,439
October 29 vs. Navy No. 1 JFK Stadium Philadelphia, PA (rivalry )W 31–770,101
November 5 Pittsburgh No. 1 Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry ) W 40–059,075
November 12 Duke No. 1 Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN W 64–059,075
November 19 at No. 2 Michigan State No. 1 Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (Megaphone Trophy )T 10–10 80,011
November 26 at No. 10 USC No. 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.
#
Name
Class
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.
#
Name
Class
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.
#
Name
Class
P
90
Joe Azzaro
K
11
Jim Ryan
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Rankings [ ]
Game summaries [ ]
Purdue [ ]
en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=yeti
Purdue at Notre Dame
1
2 3 4 Total
No. 8 Boilermakers
7
0 0 7
14
• No. 6 Fighting Irish
7
7 0 12
26
Date: September 24Location: Notre Dame Stadium , South Bend, IN Game start: 1:15 pm CDT Game attendance: 59,075Game weather: Fair, 67 degreesTelevision network: ABC (national)
Scoring summary 1 PUR Leroy Keyes 94-yard fumble return (kick good)PUR 7-0
1 ND Nick Eddy 96-yard kickoff return (kick good)Tied 7-7
2 ND Jim Seymour 84-yard pass from Terry Hanratty (kick good)ND 14-7
4 ND Jim Seymour 39-yard pass from Terry Hanratty ND 20-7
4 PUR Perry Williams 1-yard run (kick good)ND 20-14
4 ND Jim Seymour 7-yard pass from Terry Hanratty ND 26-14
See also: 1966 Purdue Boilermakers football team
[3]
Northwestern [ ]
Notre Dame at Northwestern
1
2 3 4 Total
• No. 4 Fighting Irish
7
6 8 14
35
Wildcats
0
0 0 7
7
Date: October 1Location: Dyche Stadium , Evanston, IL Game start: 1:30 pm CDT Game attendance: 55,356Game weather: Partly sunny, 60 degrees
Scoring summary 1 ND Nick Eddy 56-yard run (kick good) ND 7-0
2 ND Larry Conjar 1-yard run (kick failed)ND 13-0
3 ND Rocky Bleier 12-yard run (2-pt. good)ND 21-0
4 ND Frank Criniti 2-yard run (kick good) ND 28-0
4 ND Tom Schoen 37-yard interception return (kick good)ND 35-0
4 NU Roger Murphy 22-yard pass from Bill Melzer (kick good) ND 35-7
[4]
Army [ ]
Army at Notre Dame
1
2 3 4 Total
Cadets
0
0 0 0
0
• No. 3 Fighting Irish
21
14 0 0
35
Date: October 8Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, INGame start: 1:30 pm CDT Game attendance: 59,075Game weather: Fair, 76 degrees
Scoring summary 1 ND Rocky Bleier 2-yard run (kick good) ND 7-0
1 ND Jim Seymour 33-yard pass from Terry Hanratty (kick good) ND 14-0
1 ND Terry Hanratty 7-yard run (kick good) ND 21-0
2 ND Nick Eddy 3-yard run (kick good) ND 28-0
2 ND Nick Eddy 3-yard run (kick good) ND 35-0
[5]
North Carolina [ ]
North Carolina at Notre Dame
1
2 3 4 Total
Tar Heels
0
0 0 0
0
• No. 2 Fighting Irish
7
13 6 6
32
Date: October 15Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, INGame start: 1:30 pm CDT Game attendance: 59,075Game weather: Cloudy, 50 degrees, wind 22-40 MPH
Scoring summary 1 ND Larry Conjar 1-yard run (kick good) ND 7-0
2 ND Larry Conjar 1-yard run (kick failed) ND 13-0
2 ND Jim Seymour 56-yard pass from Terry Hanratty (kick good) ND 20-0
3 ND Nick Eddy 52-yard run (2-pt. failed) ND 26-0
4 ND Bob Gladieux 5-yard run (2-pt. failed)ND 32-0
[6]
Oklahoma [ ]
Notre Dame at Oklahoma
1
2 3 4 Total
• No. 1 Fighting Irish
0
17 21 0
38
No. 10 Sooners
0
0 0 0
0
Date: October 22Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium , Norman, OK Game start: 2:30 pm CDT Game attendance: 63,439Game weather: Fair, 66 degrees
Scoring summary 2 ND Nick Eddy 3-yard run (Joe Azzaro kick)ND 7-0
2 ND Terry Hanratty 2-yard run (Joe Azzaro kick)ND 14-0
2 ND Joe Azzaro 32-yard field goal ND 17-0
3 ND Nick Eddy 1-yard run (Joe Azzaro kick) ND 24-0
3 3:30 ND Rocky Bleier 9-yard run (Joe Azzaro kick)ND 31-0
3 ND Coley O'Brien 5-yard run (Joe Azzaro kick)ND 38-0
[7]
Navy [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• No. 1 Fighting Irish
3
7 14 7
31
Midshipmen
0
0 0 7
7
Date: October 29Location: JFK Stadium , Philadelphia, PA Game start: 1:30 pm EDT Game attendance: 70,101Game weather: Fair, 70 degrees
Scoring summary 1 ND Azzaro 42-yard field goal ND 3-0
2 ND Conjar 7-yard run (Azzaro kick) ND 10-0
3 ND Hanratty 1-yard run (Azzaro kick) ND 17-0
3 ND Gladieux 1-yard run (Azzaro kick) ND 24-0
4 NAVY Bergner recovered blocked punt in end zone (Church kick) ND 24-7
4 ND Hanratty 6-yard run (Azzaro kick) ND 31-7
[8]
Pittsburgh [ ]
Pittsburgh at Notre Dame
1
2 3 4 Total
Panthers
0
0 0 0
0
• No. 1 Fighting Irish
0
7 14 19
40
Date: October 8Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, INGame start: 1:30 pm CST Game attendance: 59,075Game weather: Cloudy, 40 degrees
Scoring summary 2 ND Terry Hanratty 3-yard run (kick good) ND 7-0
3 ND Nick Eddy 85-yard kickoff return (kick failed) ND 13-0
3 ND Tom Schoen 63-yard punt return (2-pt. good) ND 21-0
4 ND Larry Conjar 1-yard run (2-pt. failed) ND 27-0
4 ND Bob Gladieux 19-yard pass from Terry Hanratty (2-pt. failed) ND 33-0
4 ND Bob Gladieux 5-yard run (kick good) ND 40-0
[9]
Duke [ ]
Duke at Notre Dame
1
2 3 4 Total
Blue Devils
0
0 0 0
0
• No. 1 Fighting Irish
22
21 14 7
64
Date: October 15Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, INGame start: 1:30 pm CST Game attendance: 59,075Game weather: Cloudy, 42 degrees
Scoring summary 1 ND Nick Eddy 77-yard run (2-pt. good) ND 8-0
1 ND Tom O'Leary 30-yard return on lateral from John Horney after 25-yard interception return (kick good) ND 15-0
1 ND Rocky Bleier 4-yard run (kick good) ND 22-0
2 ND Rocky Bleier 45-yard pass from Terry Hanratty (kick good) ND 29-0
2 ND Larry Conjar 2-yard run (kick good) ND 36-0
2 ND Jim Seymour 10-yard pass from Terry Hanratty (kick good) ND 43-0
3 ND Dave Haley 9-yard run (kick good) ND 50-0
3 ND Coley O'Brien 3-yard run (kick good) ND 57-0
4 ND Frank Criniti 10-yard run (kick good) ND 64-0
[10]
Michigan State [ ]
Notre Dame at Michigan State
1
2 3 4 Total
No.1 Fighting Irish
0
7 0 3
10
No. 2 Spartans
0
10 0 0
10
Date: November 19Location: Spartan Stadium , East Lansing, Michigan Game start: 1:30 pm EST Game attendance: 80,010Game weather: Cloudy, 32 degreesReferee: Howard WirtzTV announcers (ABC (regional)): Chris Schenkel and Bud Wilkinson
Scoring summary 2 MSU Cavender 4-yard run (Kenney kick) MSU 7-0
2 MSU Kenney 47-yard field goal MSU 10-0
2 ND Gladieux 34-yard pass from O'Brien (Azzaro kick) MSU 10-7
4 ND Azzaro 28-yard field goal Tied 10-10
Main article: 1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football game
[11]
[12]
Southern Cal [ ]
Notre Dame at Southern Cal
1
2 3 4 Total
• No. 1 Fighting Irish
14
17 13 7
51
No. 10 Trojans
0
0 0 0
0
Date: November 26Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum , Los Angeles Game start: 1:30 pm PST Game attendance: 88,520Game weather: Sunny, 70 degrees
Scoring summary 1 ND Larry Conjar 2-yard run (Joe Azzaro kick) ND 7-0
1 ND Tom Schoen 40-yard interception return (Joe Azzaro kick) ND 14-0
2 ND Joe Azzaro 38-yard field goal ND 17-0
2 ND Jim Seymour 13-yard pass from Coley O'Brien (Joe Azzaro kick)ND 24-0
2 ND Jim Seymour 39-yard pass from Coley O'Brien (Joe Azzaro kick) ND 31-0
3 ND Dan Harshman 23-yard pass from Coley O'Brien (Joe Azzaro kick) ND 38-0
3 ND Nick Eddy 9-yard run (kick failed)ND 44-0
4 ND Dave Martin 33-yard interception return (Joe Azzaro kick) ND 51-0
[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, HB
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
† Jim Lynch, LB
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
‡ Tom Regner , G
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Alan Page , DE
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
Pete Duranko , DT
3
1
1
2
Kevin Hardy , DT
2
2
3
1
1
1
Jim Seymour , E
3
2
2
3
1
Paul Seiler , T
3
2
George Goeddeke , C
3
2
3
3
Tom Schoen , DB
3
2
Larry Conjar, FB
3
3
3
1
Terry Hanratty, QB
3
3
†denotes unanimous selection ‡denotes consensus selection Source: [1]
College Football Hall of Fame Inductees :
Name
Position
Year Inducted
Jim Lynch
Linebacker
1992
Alan Page
Defensive End
1993
Ara Parseghian
Coach
1980
Notre Dame leads all universities in players inducted.[17]
1967 NFL Draft [ ]
Player
Position
Round
Pick
Franchise
Paul Seiler
Guard
1(12)
12
New York Jets
† Alan Page
Defensive End
1(15)
15
Minnesota Vikings
Thomas Regner
Guard
1(23)
23
Houston Oilers
Larry Conjar
Running Back
2(20)
46
Cleveland Browns
Jim Lynch
Linebacker
2(21)
47
Kansas City Chiefs
George Goeddeke
Center
3(6)
59
Denver Broncos
Tom Rhoads
Defensive End
3(17)
70
Buffalo Bills
Allen Sack
Linebacker
16(15)
408
Los Angeles Rams
† Pro Football Hall of Famer Source:[18]
References [ ]
^ a b c "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 .
^ Celzic, Mike (1992). The Biggest Game of Them All: Notre Dame, Michigan State and the Fall of 1966 . ISBN 0-671-75817-9 .
^ "Irish Uncover Soph Aerial Attack, Smash Purdue." Eugene Register-Guard. 1966 Sep 25.
^ South Bend Tribune, Oct. 2, 1966, p. 1
^ South Bend Tribune, Oct. 9, 1966, p. 1
^ South Bend Tribune, Oct. 16, 1966, p. 1
^ "ND Stomps Sooners." Palm Beach Post. 1966 Oct 23.
^ South Bend Tribune, Oct. 30, 1966, p.
^ South Bend Tribune, Nov. 6, 1966, p. 1
^ South Bend Tribune, Nov. 13, 1966, p. 1
^ Jenkins, Dan (November 28, 1966). "An Upside-Down Game" . Sports Illustrated . Retrieved August 17, 2019 .
^ "Ocala Star-Banner - Google News Archive Search" .
^ "Irish Trouncing of U.S.C. Worst in Trojans' History" . The New York Times . November 27, 1966. Retrieved August 17, 2019 .
^ "Army Borrows 'Air Force'; Irish Rout Troy." Eugene Register-Guard. 1966 Nov 27.
^ "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 .
^ a b "Heisman Voting" . und.cstv.com . Archived from the original on 2008-12-17. Retrieved 2008-12-30 .
^ "Hall of Fame: Select group by school" . College Football Hall of Fame . Football Foundation. Retrieved 2008-12-30 .
^ "Notre Dame NFL Draft History" . uhnd.com . Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-30 .
Head coach: Ara Parseghian
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
1970 : Nebraska (AP, FWAA) / Texas (NFF, Coaches) / Ohio State (NFF)
1971 : Nebraska
1972 : USC
1973 : Notre Dame (AP, FWAA, NFF) / Alabama (Coaches)
1974 : Oklahoma (AP) / USC (FWAA, NFF, Coaches)
1975 : Oklahoma
1976 : Pittsburgh
1977 : Notre Dame
1978 : Alabama (AP, FWAA, NFF) / USC (Coaches)
1979 : Alabama
1980–1991
1980 : Georgia
1981 : Clemson
1982 : Penn State
1983 : Miami (FL)
1984 : BYU
1985 : Oklahoma
1986 : Penn State
1987 : Miami (FL)
1988 : Notre Dame
1989 : Miami (FL)
1990 : Colorado (AP, FWAA, NFF, USAT /CNN ) / Georgia Tech (Coaches)
1991 : Miami (FL) (AP) / Washington (Coaches, FWAA, UPI /NFF)