1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

American college football season August 2023 January 2026 1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football Independent 1 1 9–0–1 Ara Parseghian 3rd T formation 4–4 Jim Lynch Notre Dame Stadium Consensus national championNFF co-national champion The 1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. In their second season under head coach Ara Parseghian, the Irish compiled a 9–0–1 record, shut out six of ten opponents, outscored all opponents by a total of 362 to 38, and were ranked No. 1 in the final AP and UPI Polls. In four games against ranked opponents, they defeated No. 7 Purdue (26–14), No. 10 Oklahoma (38–0), and No. 10 USC (51–0), and tied with No. 2 Michigan State (10–10).1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/notre-dame/1966-schedule.html Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football July 21, 2026http://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 2008-12-29 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 1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football game is considered one of the great "games of the century". The Biggest Game of Them All: Notre Dame, Michigan State and the Fall of 1966 Celzic Mike 1992 Simon & Schuster 0-671-75817-9 registration https://archive.org/details/biggestgameofthe0000celi Notre Dame linebacker Jim Lynch won the Maxwell Award as the best all-around player in college football. Lynch, guard Tom Regner, halfback Nick Eddy, and defensive end Alan Page were consensus first-team selections on the 1966 All-America college football team.Football Award Winners National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 2016 October 21, 2017 10 http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2016/awards.pdf Defensive tackles Pete Duranko and Kevin Hardy also received first-team All-America honors from multiple seectors. The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Terry Hanratty (1,247 passing yards), Eddy (553 rushing yards, 60 points scored), end Jim Seymour (862 receiving yards), and Lynch (106 tackles).1966 Notre Dame Football Review https://archives.nd.edu/Football/Football-1966s.pdf 38 The Notre Dame Scholastic July 21, 2026 The team played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana. Schedule 1966 AP Eastern September 24 w 8 Purdue 7 Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN rivalry 26–14 59,075 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wichita-eagle-irish-sophomores-bomba/184173332/ The Wichita Eagle & Beacon Irish sophomores bombard Purdue September 25, 1966 November 2, 2025 Newspapers.com October 1 w y 4 Northwestern Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL rivalry 35–7 55,356 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-grand-rapids-press-irish-smash-cats/184173424/ The Grand Rapids Press Irish smash 'Cats, 35–7 October 2, 1966 November 2, 2025 Newspapers.com October 8 w 3 Army Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN rivalry 35–0 59,075 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-des-moines-register-irish-passes-cli/184172664/ The Des Moines Register Irish passes click again, 35–0 October 9, 1966 November 2, 2025 Newspapers.com October 15 w 2 North Carolina Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN rivalry 32–0 59,075 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kokomo-tribune-parseghians-irish-no/139237789/ The Kokomo Tribune Parseghian's Irish notch another win, North Carolina falls, 32–0 October 16, 1966 November 2, 2025 Newspapers.com October 22 w y 1 Oklahoma 10 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK 38–0 63,439 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-saginaw-news-notre-dame-routs-oklaho/184173523/ The Saginaw News Notre Dame routs Oklahoma October 23, 1966 November 2, 2025 Newspapers.com October 29 w y 1 Navy John F. Kennedy Stadium Philadelphia, PA rivalry 31–7 70,101 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-70101-watch-n/184166231/ The Philadelphia Inquirer 70,101 watch Notre Dame repulse Navy October 30, 1966 November 2, 2025 Newspapers.com November 5 w 1 Pittsburgh Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN rivalry 40–0 59,075 https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-notre-dame-keeps-on/184099330/ The Ventura County Star-Free Press Notre Dame keeps on rolling, 40–0 November 6, 1966 November 2, 2025 Newspapers.com November 12 w 1 Duke Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN 64–0 59,075 https://www.newspapers.com/article/tallahassee-democrat-duke-tops-navy-97/139236690/ Tallahassee Democrat Duke tops Navy 9–7 November 6, 1966 January 21, 2024 Newspapers.com November 19 t y 1 Michigan State 2 Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI rivalry 10–10 80,011 Deadlock Fails to Settle National Title: No. ? Irish, No. ? State Tie, 10–10 Lansing State Journal Bob Hoerner November 20, 1966 G1, G2 https://www.newspapers.com/article/lansing-state-journal-deadlock-fails-to/167400833/ Newspapers.com November 26 w y 1 USC 10 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA rivalry 51–0 88,520 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star-irish-bombard-usc/184173623/ The Kansas City Star Irish bombard U.S.C., 51–0 November 27, 1966 November 2, 2025 Newspapers.com https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/notre-dame/1966-schedule.html 1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results College Football at Sports-Reference.com Schedule/Results (1966 Notre Dame) https://stats.ncaa.org/teams/296089 NCAA Statistics National Collegiate Athletic Association November 2, 2025 Roster 1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish f 2 So Bob Belden Bob Belden (American football) QB y 28 Jr Rocky Bleier RB y 32 Larry Conjar RB y 21 Frank Criniti RB 38 Ron Dushney RB 47 Nick Eddy RB y 68 Roger Fox G 20 So Bob Gladieux RB y 80 Don Gmitter TE 54 George Goeddeke C y 57 Tim Gorman G 22 Dave Haley RB 86 Curt Heneghan WR 5 So Terry Hanratty QB y 58 Gerald Kelly C 73 Rudy Konieczny T 75 So Bob Kuechenberg G y 78 Mike Kuzmicz TE 69 Joe Marsico G 31 Paul May RB 79 Tom McKinley T 55 Tim Monty C 3 Coley O’Brien QB 62 Steve Quinn G y 89 Kevin Rassas WR 76 Tom Regner G y 70 Fred Schnurr T 71 Paul Seiler T y 85 Jim Seymour Jim Seymour (American football) WR y 49 Brian Stenger WR y 59 Dick Swatland G y 96 Jim Winegardner TE 77 Harry Alexander DT 33 Mike Burgener S 64 Pete Duranko DT y 75 Kevin Hardy Kevin Hardy (Defensive tackle) DT y 34 Dan Harshman CB 51 John Horney LB 65 Ron Jeziorski LB 93 Chick Lauck DE 41 John Lavin LB 40 Tom O’Leary CB 61 Sr Jim Lynch LB y 56 Dave Martin Dave Martin (linebacker) LB y 60 Mike McGill LB y Mike McGill (American football) 72 Eric Norri DT 81 Sr Alan Page DE y 50 Jr John Pergine LB y 19 Tom Quinn CB 30 Jim Kelly DB 87 Tom Rhoads DE 88 Allen Sack DE 7 Jr Tom Schoen S y 94 Bill Skoglund DE 25 Jim Smithberger CB 89 Al VanHuffel LB 54 Ed Vuillemin LB 90 Joe Azzaro P 11 Jim Ryan K *Ara Parseghian 2015-12-20 Rankings 1966 NCAA University Division football rankings Game summaries Purdue Purdue at Notre Dame No. 8 Boilermakers 7 0 0 7 No. 6 Fighting Irish 7 7 0 12 September 24 Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN 1:15 pm CDT 59,075 Fair, 67 degrees Chris Schenkel and Bud Wilkinson ABC (national) yes 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 yes 1966 Purdue Boilermakers football team "Irish Uncover Soph Aerial Attack, Smash Purdue." Eugene Register-Guard. 1966 Sep 25. Northwestern Notre Dame at Northwestern No. 4 Fighting Irish 7 6 8 14 Wildcats 0 0 0 7 October 1 Dyche Stadium, Evanston, IL 1:30 pm CDT 55,356 Partly sunny, 60 degrees yes 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 yes 1966 Northwestern Wildcats football team South Bend Tribune, Oct. 2, 1966, p. 1 Army Army at Notre Dame Cadets 0 0 0 0 No. 3 Fighting Irish 21 14 0 0 October 8 Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN 1:30 pm CDT 59,075 Fair, 76 degrees yes 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 yes 1966 Army Cadets football team South Bend Tribune, Oct. 9, 1966, p. 1 North Carolina North Carolina at Notre Dame Tar Heels 0 0 0 0 No. 2 Fighting Irish 7 13 6 6 October 15 Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN 1:30 pm CDT 59,075 Cloudy, 50 degrees, wind 22-40 MPH yes 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 yes 1966 North Carolina Tar Heels football team South Bend Tribune, Oct. 16, 1966, p. 1 Oklahoma Notre Dame at Oklahoma No. 1 Fighting Irish 0 17 21 0 No. 10 Sooners 0 0 0 0 October 22 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, OK 2:30 pm CDT 63,439 Fair, 66 degrees yes 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 yes 1966 Oklahoma Sooners football team "ND Stomps Sooners." Palm Beach Post. 1966 Oct 23. Navy No. 1 Fighting Irish 3 7 14 7 Midshipmen 0 0 0 7 October 29 JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, PA 1:30 pm EDT 70,101 Fair, 70 degrees yes 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 yes 1966 Navy Midshipmen football team South Bend Tribune, Oct. 30, 1966, p. Pittsburgh Pittsburgh at Notre Dame Panthers 0 0 0 0 No. 1 Fighting Irish 0 7 14 19 October 8 Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN 1:30 pm CST 59,075 Cloudy, 40 degrees yes 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 yes 1966 Pittsburgh Panthers football team South Bend Tribune, Nov. 6, 1966, p. 1 Duke Duke at Notre Dame Blue Devils 0 0 0 0 No. 1 Fighting Irish 22 21 14 7 October 15 Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN 1:30 pm CST 59,075 Cloudy, 42 degrees yes 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 yes 1966 Duke Blue Devils football team South Bend Tribune, Nov. 13, 1966, p. 1 Michigan State Notre Dame at Michigan State No.1 Fighting Irish 0 7 0 3 No. 2 Spartans 0 10 0 0 November 19 Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan 1:30 pm EST 80,010 Cloudy, 32 degrees Howard Wirtz Chris Schenkel and Bud Wilkinson ABC (regional) yes 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 yes 1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football game 1966 Michigan State Spartans football team Michigan State–Notre Dame football rivalry Sports Illustrated An Upside-Down Game https://www.si.com/vault/1966/11/28/613405/an-upsidedown-game Jenkins Dan November 28, 1966 August 17, 2019 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=hXZnTIgIr50C&dat=19661120&printsec=frontpage&hl=en Ocala Star-Banner - Google News Archive Search USC Notre Dame at USC No. 1 Fighting Irish 14 17 13 7 No. 10 Trojans 0 0 0 0 November 26 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles 1:30 pm PST 88,520 Sunny, 70 degrees yes 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 yes 1966 USC Trojans football team Notre Dame–USC football rivalry The New York Times Irish Trouncing of U.S.C. Worst in Trojans' History https://www.nytimes.com/1966/11/27/archives/irish-trouncing-of-usc-worst-in-trojans-history-notre-dame-routs.html November 27, 1966 August 17, 2019"Army Borrows 'Air Force'; Irish Rout Troy." Eugene Register-Guard. 1966 Nov 27. Post-season Award winners Jim Lynch - Maxwell Awardhttp://www.maxwellfootballclub.org/content/awards/maxwell/past_maxwell.htm The Maxwell Award Collegiate Player of the Year: Past Recipients The Maxwell Football Club 2008-12-30 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090214100520/http://www.maxwellfootballclub.org/content/awards/maxwell/past_maxwell.htm 2009-02-14 Heisman Voting: Nick Eddy, 3rd, Terry Hanratty, 6thhttp://und.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/nd-m-footbl-archive.html/ Heisman Voting und.cstv.com 2008-12-30 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20081217101247/http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/nd-m-footbl-archive.html 2008-12-17 + All-Americans Notre Dame Fighting Irish #000033 Name #000033 AP #000033 UPI #000033 NEA #000033 FC #000033 SN #000033 L #000033 T #000033 CP #000033 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 selectionSource: + College Football Hall of Fame InducteesNamePositionYear Inducted Jim Lynch Linebacker 1992 Alan Page Defensive End 1993 Ara Parseghian Coach 1980 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 1967 NFL draft 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 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† #003 Pro Football Hall of Famer Source:http://www.uhnd.com/history/notre-dame-nfl-draft-history/ Notre Dame NFL Draft History uhnd.com 2008-12-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20090106064031/http://uhnd.com/history/notre-dame-nfl-draft-history/ 6 January 2009 live 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