1971 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

1971 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 15
AP	No. 13
Record	8–2
Head coach	Ara Parseghian (8th season)
Captains	Tom Gatewood Walt Patulski
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium
Seasons ←  1970 1972  →

1971 NCAA University Division independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Penn State			–					11	–	1	–	0
Boston College			–					9	–	2	–	0
No. 17 Houston			–					9	–	3	–	0
No. 13 Notre Dame			–					8	–	2	–	0
Utah State			–					8	–	3	–	0
Florida State			–					8	–	4	–	0
Cincinnati			–					7	–	4	–	0
West Virginia			–					7	–	4	–	0
Temple			–					6	–	2	–	1
Air Force			–					6	–	4	–	0
Army			–					6	–	4	–	0
Colgate			–					6	–	4	–	0
Villanova			–					6	–	4	–	1
South Carolina			–					6	–	5	–	0
Southern Miss			–					6	–	5	–	0
Georgia Tech			–					6	–	6	–	0
Northern Illinois			–					5	–	5	–	1
Syracuse			–					5	–	5	–	1
Dayton			–					5	–	6	–	0
Holy Cross			–					4	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					4	–	7	–	0
Rutgers			–					4	–	7	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					4	–	7	–	0
Navy			–					3	–	8	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					3	–	8	–	0
Tulane			–					3	–	8	–	0
Marshall			–					2	–	8	–	0
Xavier			–					1	–	9	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1971 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season.

Prior to their concluding game at LSU, seventh-ranked Notre Dame (8–1) announced that they would not play in a bowl game this season. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 18	2:30 p.m.	Northwestern	No. 2	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 50–7	59,075	[4]
September 25	2:30 p.m.	at Purdue	No. 2	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)		W 8–7	69,765	[5]
October 2	1:50 p.m.	Michigan State	No. 4	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	ABC regional	W 14–2	59,075	[6]
October 9	8:15 p.m.	at Miami (FL)	No. 9	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)		W 17–0	64,357	[7]
October 16	2:30 p.m.	North Carolina	No. 7	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 16–0	59,075	[8]
October 23	2:30 p.m.	USC	No. 6	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		L 14–28	59,075	[9]
October 30	1:30 p.m.	Navy	No. 12	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 21–0	59,075	[10]
November 6	1:00 p.m.	at Pittsburgh	No. 8	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)		W 56–7	55,528	[11]
November 13	1:30 p.m.	Tulane	No. 8	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN		W 21–7	59,075	[12]
November 20	8:05 p.m.	at No. 14 LSU	No. 7	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	ABC	L 8–28	66,936	[13]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

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Game summaries

Northwestern

Northwestern at Notre Dame

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Northwestern	7	0	0	0	7
•Notre Dame	7	23	6	14	50

• Date: September 18
• Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
• Game start: 1:30 pm EST
• Game attendance: 59,075
• Game weather: Sunny, high 60s

Purdue

Notre Dame at Purdue

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
•Notre Dame	0	0	0	8	8
Purdue	0	7	0	0	7

• Date: September
• Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
• Game start: 1:30 pm EST
• Game attendance: 69,765
• Game weather: Rain/mud

Scoring summary

2		PUR	Armstrong 26 yard pass from Danielson (Renie kick)	PUR 7-0
4	2:58	ND	Swendsen recovered fumble in end zone (Steenberge to Creaney pass)	ND 8-7

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"The Genuflect Play"

Michigan State

Michigan State at Notre Dame

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan St.	2	0	0	0	2
•Notre Dame	14	0	0	0	14

• Date: October 2
• Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
• Game start: 12:50 pm EST
• Game attendance: 59,075
• Game weather: Hot, mid-80s
• Referee: Howard Wirtz (Big Ten)
• TV announcers (ABC): Chris Schenkel and Bud Wilkinson

Scoring summary

1		ND	Minnix 1-yard run (Thomas kick)	ND 7-0
1		ND	Minnix 5-yard run (Thomas kick)	ND 14-0
1		MSU	Safety (Etter recovered Parker fumble in end zone)	ND 14-2

Miami (Florida)

Notre Dame at Miami

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
•Notre Dame	0	3	7	7	17
Miami	0	0	0	0	0

• Date: October 9
• Location: Miami Orange Bowl
• Game start: 8:00 p.m. EDT
• Game attendance: 64,357
• Game weather: 84 degrees, 77% humidity
• Referee: Morris Harrison

Scoring summary

2		ND	Thomas 38-yard field goal	ND 3-0
3		ND	Huff 16-yard run (Thomas kick)	ND 10-0
4		ND	Dewan 6-yard run (Thomas kick)	ND 17-0

North Carolina

North Carolina at Notre Dame

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
N. Carolina	0	0	0	0	0
•Notre Dame	3	6	0	7	16

• Date: October 16
• Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
• Game start: 1:30 pm EST
• Game attendance: 59,075
• Game weather: Fair, mid-70s
• Referee: Howard Wirtz

Scoring summary

1		ND	Thomas 28-yard field goal	ND 3-0
2		ND	Thomas 27-yard field goal	ND 6-0
2		ND	Thomas 24-yard field goal	ND 9-0
4		ND	Gatewood 4-yard pass from Brown (Thomas kick)	ND 16-0

USC

Southern Cal at Notre Dame

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
•USC	14	14	0	0	28
Notre Dame	7	0	7	0	14

• Date: October 23
• Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
• Game start: 1:30 pm EDT
• Game attendance: 59,075
• Game weather: Damp, low 60s
• Referee: Jerry Markbreit

Scoring summary

1		S. Cal.	Garrison 31-yard pass from Jones (Rae Kick)	S. Cal 0-7
1		ND	Huff 1-yard run (Thomas kick)	Tied 7-7
1		S. Cal.	Garrison 24-yard pass from Rae (Rae kick)	S. Cal. 7-14
2		S. Cal.	Cunningham 1-yard run (Rae kick)	S. Cal. 7-21
2		S. Cal.	Dyer 54-yard interception return (Rae kick)	S. Cal. 7-28
4		ND	Cieszkowski 4-yard run (Thomas kick)	S. Cal. 14-28

Navy

Navy at Notre Dame

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Navy	0	0	0	0	0
•Notre Dame	7	14	0	0	21

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

Scoring summary

1		ND	Gulyas 1 yard run (Thomas kick)	ND 7-0
2		ND	Minnix 1 yard run (Thomas kick)	ND 14-0
2		ND	Minnix 10 yard run (Thomas kick)	ND 21-0

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Pittsburgh

Notre Dame at Pittsburgh

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
•Notre Dame	14	14	14	14	56
Pittsburgh	0	7	0	0	7

• Date: November 6
• Location: Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA
• Game start: 1:30 p.m. EST

Tulane

Tulane at Notre Dame

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Tulane	0	7	0	0	7
•Notre Dame	0	0	14	7	21

• Date: November 13
• Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
• Game start: 1:30 pm EST
• Game weather: Upper 40s
• Referee: Howard Wirtz

Scoring summary

2		Tulane	Barrios 14-yard pass from LaChausse (Gibson Kick)	Tulane 0-7
3		ND	Brown 1-yard run (Thomas kick)	Tied 7-7
3		ND	Creaney 19-yard pass from Brown (Thomas kick)	ND 14-7
4		ND	Brown 5-yard run (Thomas kick)	ND 21-7

LSU

Notre Dame at LSU

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
#7 Notre Dame	0	0	0	8	8
•#12 LSU	7	7	7	7	28

• Date: November 20
• Location: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Game start: 7:05 p.m. CST
• Game attendance: 66,936
• Referee: James M. Artley (SEC)
• TV announcers (ABC): Chris Schenkel and Bud Wilkinson

Scoring summary

1	10:47	LSU	Hamilton 36 pass from Jones (Michaelson kick)	LSU 7-0
2	01:14	LSU	Hamilton 32 pass from Jones (Michaelson kick)	LSU 14-0
3	00:10	LSU	Jones 5 run (Michaelson kick)	LSU 21-0
4	02:54	ND	Gatewood 7 pass from Brown (Minnix pass from Brown)	LSU 21-8
4	00:20	LSU	Hamilton 13 pass from Lyons (Michaelson kick)	LSU 28-8

Roster

1971 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class G 62 Tom Bolger So QB 8 Cliff Brown So TE 88 Dave Casper So WR 44 Tom Gatewood Sr RB 22 Greg Hill So C 50 Dan Novakov Sr WR 80 Willie Townsend Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 17 Mike Crotty Sr DB 23 Clarence Ellis Sr DT 72 Mike Kadish Sr DT 75 Greg Marx Jr LB 81 Jim O'Malley Jr LB 45 Eric Patton So DE 85 Walt Patulski Sr DB Tim Rudnick DE 93 Fred Swendson Sr LB 61 Mike Webb Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 98 Bob Thomas So	Head coach Ara Parseghian Coordinators/assistant coaches Tom Pagna (OC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Team players in the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Walt Patulski	Defensive end	1	1	Buffalo Bills
Clarence Ellis	Defensive back	1	15	Atlanta Falcons
Mike Kadish	Defensive tackle	1	25	Miami Dolphins
Fred Swendson	Defensive end	3	53	Buffalo Bills
Eric Patton	Linebacker	4	86	Green Bay Packers
Tom Gatewood	Running back	5	107	New York Giants
Ralph Stepaniak	Defensive back	7	157	Buffalo Bills
Mike Zikas	Defensive tackle	7	177	New York Giants

References

1. "Irish ready to spurn bids". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 18, 1971. p. 3D.
2. "Irish nix bowl bids". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 19, 1971. p. 4B.
3. Reed, William F. (November 29, 1971). "Irish Stew for LSU". Sports Illustrated. p. 26.
4. "Irish intercept seven passes, smash 'Cats". The Los Angeles Times. September 19, 1971. Retrieved September 29, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Irish 'luck' fells Purdue". The Kokomo Tribune. September 26, 1971. Retrieved September 29, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Notre Dame squeaks past MSU, 14–2". The Blade. October 3, 1971. Retrieved September 29, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Irish handle Hurricanes in an easy 17–0 fashion". Tallahassee Democrat. October 10, 1971. Retrieved September 29, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Irish get kicks with 16–0 victory". Chicago Tribune. October 17, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "ISU, Notre Dame suffer losses". The Terre Haute Tribune. October 24, 1971. Retrieved September 29, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Irish unimpressive in win". The Kalamazoo Gazette. October 31, 1971. Retrieved September 29, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Notre Dame buries Pitt, 56–7". The Pittsburgh Press. November 7, 1971. Retrieved September 29, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Irish rally to defeat Tulane". Chicago Tribune. November 14, 1971. Retrieved September 29, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "LSU wins 28–8 over the Irish". Tallahassee Democrat. November 21, 1971. Retrieved October 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Schedule/Results (1971 Notre Dame)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved September 29, 2025.
15. "Notre Dame Edges Past Purdue." Ocala Star-Banner. 1971 September 26.
16. "Notre Dame Rips Middies, 21-0." Palm Beach Post. 1971 October 31.