1946 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

American college football season August 2023 January 2026 1946 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football Independent 1 8–0–1 Frank Leahy 4th T formation Game captains Notre Dame Stadium AP Poll national champion The 1946 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1946 college football season. In their fourth year under head coach Frank Leahy, the Irish compiled an 8–0–1 and were ranked No. 1 in the final AP Poll.http://und.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/nd/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/07fbguidehistory 2007 Notre Dame Media Guide: History and Records (pages 131–175) und.cstv.com 2008-12-31 https://web.archive.org/web/20080610005741/http://und.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/nd/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/07fbguidehistory 2008-06-10 dead The season also produced the 1946 Army vs. Notre Dame football game, a scoreless tie between undefeated teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2. The 1946 Notre Dame team dominated both on defense and offense, ranking first nationally in total offense (441.3 yards per game), rushing offense (340.1 yards per game), and total defense (allowing 141.7 yards per game).The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1947 A.S. Barnes and Company W.J. Bingham 1947 73–74 Despite ranking as the nation's top rushing offense, no Notre Dame player ranked among the national rushing leaders, as multiple backs shared the rushing load, including Emil Sitko (54 carries, 346 yards), Terry Brennan (74 carries, 329 yards), Jim Mello (61 carries, 307 yards), Bill Gompers (51 carries, 279 yards), and John Panelli (58 carries, 265 yards).1946 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Stats Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football May 13, 2022 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/notre-dame/1946.html Two Notre Dame players, quarterback Johnny Lujack and tackle George Connor, were consensus first-team picks for the 1946 All-America college football team.Football Award Winners National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 2016 October 21, 2017 8 http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2016/awards.pdf Center George Strohmeyer and guard John Mastrangelo also received first-team All-America honors from multiple selectors.ESPN College Football Encyclopedia 1204 ESPN Books 2005 1401337031 From 1946 to 1949, Notre Dame compiled a 36–0–2 record and claims three national championships. Sports Illustrated rated these Notre Dame teams as the second best sports dynasty (professional or collegiate) of the 20th centuryhttp://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/centurys_best/news/1999/05/06/top_dynasties/ SI's Top 20 Dynasties of the 20th Century sportsillustrated.cnn.com 2008-12-31 1999-06-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20090129114416/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/centurys_best/news/1999/05/06/top_dynasties/ 29 January 2009 dead and second greatest college football dynasty. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/2005/12/25/gallery.dynasty/content.11.html https://web.archive.org/web/20051227053905/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/2005/12/25/gallery.dynasty/content.11.html dead December 27, 2005 College Football's 12 Greatest Dynasties sportsillustrated.cnn.com 2008-12-31 Schedule 1946 AP Eastern September 28 w y Illinois Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL 26–6 75,119 Notre Dame Halts Young, Overpowers Illinois, 26–6: Record 75,119 Watches Irish Dominate Battle Decatur Sunday Herald and Review Bert Bertine September 29, 1946 29, 30 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100858574/notre-dame-halts-young-overpowers/ Newspapers.com October 5 w Pittsburgh Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN rivalry 33–0 50,368 N.D. Is Unimpressive in Trampling Pitt 33–0: Running Game Is Throttled by Young Rivals; Irish Forced to Take to Air to Win in Home Opener The South Bend Tribune Jim Costin October 6, 1946 III-1 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101817997/nd-is-unimpressive-in-trampling-pitt/ Newspapers.com October 12 w 3 Purdue Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN rivalry 49–6 55,452 Notre Dame Raps Purdue: Irish Use 4 Elevens For 49–6 Verdict; Lacing Worst Of 18-Game Series Between Schools The Indianapolis Star Harold Harrison October 13, 1946 41, 42 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100688280/notre-dame-raps-purdue-irish-use-4/ Newspapers.com April 29, 2022 October 26 w y 2 Iowa 17 Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA 41–6 52,311 Notre Dame Punishes Iowa, 41–6: Lujack Fires Irish Blasts With Passes; Fumbles Foil Few Hawk Chances The Des Moines Register Bert McGrane October 27, 1946 1S, 2S https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101591753/notre-dame-punishes-iowa-41-6-lujack/ Newspapers.com May 10, 2022 November 2 w y 2 Navy Municipal Stadium Baltimore, MD rivalry 28–0 65,000 Notre Dame Eleven Tops Navy by 28–0: 65,000 See Irish Team's Strength Overwhelm Middies in Stadium The Baltimore Sun Craig E. Taylor November 3, 1946 Main 1, Sports 2 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101818339/notre-dame-eleven-tops-navy-by-28-0/ Newspapers.com November 9 t y 2 Army 1 Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY rivalry 0–0 74,121 Army, Irish Battle To Scoreless Tie New York Daily News Gene Ward November 10, 1946 96 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99006332/army-irish-battle-to-scoreless-tie/ Newspapers.com November 16 w 2 Northwestern Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN rivalry 27–0 58,000 Notre Dame Whips N. U., 27 to 0: Irish Power Drives Crush Wildcat Hopes; 58,000 Defy Rain at South Bend Chicago Tribune Wilfrid Smith November 17, 1946 II-1, II-3 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101649533/notre-dame-whips-n-u-27-to-0-irish/ Newspapers.com November 23 w y 2 Tulane Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA 41–0 65,841 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99565631/fighting-irish-overwhelms-green-wave-41/ Evansville Press Fighting Irish overwhelms Green Wave, 41–0, before 70,000 November 24, 1946 April 11, 2022 Newspapers.com November 30 w 2 USC 16 Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN rivalry 26–6 56,000 Notre Dame Eleven Wins National Title: Defeats USC, 26–6, To Remain Unbeaten The South Bend Tribune Jim Costin December 1, 1946 III-1, III-8 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101819131/notre-dame-eleven-wins-national-title/ Newspapers.com Rankings 1946 college football rankings AP 1 9 3 (15⅓) 2 (31) 2 (21¼) 2 (61) 2 (51) 2 (49) 2 (16) 2 (38) 1 (104½) Post-season Award winners George Connor – Outland Trophyhttp://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/awards/outland/winners.html ALL-TIME OUTLAND TROPHY WINNERS Football Writers Association of America 2009-01-01 https://web.archive.org/web/20090102064106/http://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/awards/outland/winners.html 2 January 2009 live + All-AmericansNotre Dame Fighting Irish #000033 Name #000033 AP #000033 UP #000033 NEA #000033 INS #000033 COL #000033 AA #000033 SN #000033 L #000033 FC † John Lujack, QB 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ‡ George Connor, T 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 John Monstrangelo, G 2 2 1 1 1 George Strohmeyer, C 2 1 1 1 3 † denotes unanimous selection‡denotes consensus selectionSource: + College Football Hall of Fame InducteesNamePositionYear Inducted George Connor Tackle 1963 Zygmont "Ziggy" Czarobski Tackle 1977 Bill Fischer Tackle/Guard 1983 Leon Hart End 1973 Frank Leahy Coach 1970 Johnny Lujack Quarterback 1960 Jim Martin End/Tackle 1995 Emil "Red" Sitko Halfback/Fullback 1984 Notre Dame leads all universities in players inducted.https://footballfoundation.org/hof_search.aspx Hall of Fame: Select group by school College Football Hall of Fame Football Foundation 2008-12-30 1947 NFL draft 1947 NFL draft The 1947 NFL Draft was held on December 16, 1946. The following Fighting Irish were selected.https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1947/draft.htm 1947 NFL Draft Listing Pro-Football-Reference.com November 29, 2020 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 2 Round Pick Player Position NFL Club 3 16 John Mastrangelo Tackle Pittsburgh Steelers 6 37 George Sullivan End Boston Yanks 13 111 Bob Skoglund Defensive end Green Bay Packers 15 134 John Fallon Tackle New York Giants 27 250 Bob Palladino Back Green Bay Packers References Notre Dame Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish football seasons Category:College football national champions Category:College football undefeated seasons Notre Dame Fighting Irish football