1977 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

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1977 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish logo.svg
National Champions
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 38–10 vs. Texas
Conference Independent
Ranking
Coaches #1
AP #1
1977 record 11–1
Head coach Dan Devine (3rd year)
Offensive coordinator Merv Johnson
Offensive scheme Pro set
Defensive coordinator Joe Yonto
Base defense 4–3
Captain Terry Eurick
Captain Willie Fry
Captain Steve Orsini
Home stadium Notre Dame Stadium
Seasons
« 1976 1978 »
1977 Division I Independents football records
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#1 Notre Dame   –   –       11 – 1 – 0
#5 Penn State   –   –       11 – 1 – 0
Colgate   –   –       10 – 1 – 0
#16 San Diego State   –   –       10 – 1 – 0
Tennessee State   –   –       8 – 1 – 1
#14 Florida State   –   –       10 – 2 – 0
North Texas   –   –       10 – 1 – 0*
#8 Pittsburgh   –   –       9 – 2 – 1
East Carolina   –   –       8 – 3 – 0
Rutgers   –   –       8 – 3 – 0
Army   –   –       7 – 4 – 0
Louisville   –   –       7 – 4 – 1
Boston College   –   –       6 – 5 – 0
Cincinnati   –   –       5 – 4 – 2
Georgia Tech   –   –       6 – 5 – 0
Memphis   –   –       6 – 5 – 0
Northwestern State   –   –       6 – 5 – 0
Syracuse   –   –       6 – 5 – 0
William & Mary   –   –       6 – 5 – 0
Southern Miss   –   –       6 – 5 – 0
Temple   –   –       5 – 5 – 1
Hawaii   –   –       5 – 6 – 0
Navy   –   –       5 – 6 – 0
West Virginia   –   –       5 – 6 – 0
South Carolina   –   –       5 – 7 – 0
Utah State   –   –       4 – 7 – 0
Villanova   –   –       4 – 7 – 0
Illinois State   –   –       3 – 7 – 1
Virginia Tech   –   –       3 – 7 – 1
Indiana State   –   –       3 – 7 – 0
Miami (FL)   –   –       3 – 8 – 0
Richmond   –   –       3 – 8 – 0
Tulane   –   –       3 – 8 – 0
Air Force   –   –       2 – 8 – 1
Holy Cross   –   –       2 – 8 – 0
Northeast Louisiana   –   –       2 – 9 – 0
  • North Texas (originally 9-2-0) awarded a forfeit win after UCLA was found to be using an ineligible player.[1]
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The Irish, coached by Dan Devine, ended the season with 11 wins and one loss, winning the national championship. The Fighting Irish won the title by defeating the previously unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas, Texas by a score of a 38-10.[2] The 1977 squad became the tenth Irish team to win the national title and were led by All-Americans Ken McAfee, Ross Browner, Luther Bradley, and Bob Golic. Junior Joe Montana, a future Pro Football Hall of Fame member, was the quarterback on this team.

Season

Dan Devine entered his third year as head coach, coming off of a 9-3 season and 20-9 Gator Bowl win over Penn State the previous year.[3] Devine returned a highly touted defense, featuring 1976 Outland Trophy winner Ross Browner, defensive end Willie Fry, and a linebacking corps featuring All-American Bob Golic.[3] On offense, quarterback Joe Montana earned the starting job and led an offense that included running backs Jerome Heavens and Vagas Ferguson and All-America tight end Ken MacAfee.[3] Montana, who would earn a reputation as "the comeback kid", had two come from behind victories in the 4th quarter against Purdue and Clemson, down 17 and 10 respectively.[3] After a surprising loss to unranked Ole Miss, patience among the fans was running thin, who considered Devine’s previous 8-3 and 9-3 seasons as lackluster compared to what they were accustomed to with coach Ara Parseghian.[4] The Irish rebounded to win their remaining games, including a 49-19 rout of Southern Cal in the now famous "Green Jersey Game."[4] The Irish earned a Cotton Bowl Classic berth, where they defeated No. 1 and unbeaten Texas by 38-10 to capture Notre Dame's tenth national title.[3] The Irish leaped four spots in the polls after the Cotton Bowl Classic victory to claim the consensus title.[3]

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 10 3:50pm at #7 Pittsburgh #3 Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA ABC W 19–9   56,500
September 17 2:30pm vs. Ole Miss #3 Memorial Stadium • Jackson, MS L 13–20   48,200
September 24 2:30pm at Purdue #11 Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN (Shillelagh Trophy) W 31–24   68,966
October 1 2:30pm Michigan State #14 Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Megaphone Trophy) W 16–6   59,075
October 15 1:30pm at Army #11 Giants Stadium • East Rutherford, NJ (Rivalry) W 24–0   72,594
October 22 1:50pm #5 USC #11 Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Jeweled Shillelagh) ABC W 49–19   59,075
October 29 2:30pm Navy #5 Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Rivalry) W 43–10   59,075
November 5 1:30pm Georgia Tech #5 Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN W 69–14   59,075
November 12 1:30pm at #15 Clemson #5 Memorial Stadium • Clemson, SC CBS W 21–17   54,189
November 19 1:30pm Air Force #6 Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN W 49–0   59,075
December 3 8:00pm at Miami #5 Miami Orange Bowl • Miami, FL W 48–10   35,789
January 2 2:00pm vs. #1 Texas #5 Cotton Bowl • Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic) CBS W 38–10   76,701
#Rankings from AP Poll.

Roster

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Roster

*Bold denotes starter.

Reserves: Offense: T – John Scully; G – Tom Wroblewski; C – Mark Quinn; QB – Gary Forystek, Greg Knafelc;Barthholomew Connolly; HB – Mike Courey, Steve Dover; KS – Kevin Muno; SE – Leo Driscoll, Dennis Grindinger; Defense: E – Rob Bush, John Thomas; LB – Pat Boggs, Bob Duncan; DB – Frank Bleyer, Rick Buehner, Mike Geers; (DNP) – John Driscoll

Sources:http://www.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/nd/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/Football-Supplement-07

Coaching staff

Name Position Year at
Notre Dame
Dan Devine Head Coach 3rd
Merv Johnson Offensive Coordinator
Offensive Line		 3rd
Brian Boulac Recruiting Coordinator
Offensive Line		 8th
Hank Kuhlmann Offensive Backs
Special Teams		 3rd
Ron Toman Quarterbacks
Receivers		 3rd
Tony Yelovich Guards and Centers 3rd
Joe Yonto Defensive Coordinator
Defensive Line		 14th
Jim Johnson Defensive Backs 2nd
George Kelly Linebackers 9th
Francis Peay Junior Varsity 1st
Ross Stephenson Scouting
Volunteer Assistant		 3rd

Game notes

Pittsburgh

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Ole Miss

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Purdue

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See also: 1977 Purdue Boilermakers football team and Shillelagh Trophy (Notre Dame–Purdue)
1 2 3 4 Total
• Notre Dame 0 14 0 17 31
Purdue 10 14 0 0 24

[5]

Michigan State

Michigan St at #14 Notre Dame
1 2 3 4 Total
Michigan St 3 0 3 0 6
• Notre Dame 0 10 6 0 16

Army

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USC

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See also: 1977 USC Trojans football team and Jeweled Shillelagh
1 2 3 4 Total
USC 0 7 0 12 19
• Notre Dame 7 15 13 14 49

Notre Dame wore green jerseys for the first time since their 1963 game against Syracuse.

[6]

Navy

1 2 3 4 Total
Navy 0 0 3 7 10
• Notre Dame 7 9 14 13 43
  • Date: October 29
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, Indiana
  • Game attendance: 59,075

Notre Dame wore green jerseys for the second straight week.

[7]

Georgia Tech

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Clemson

Air Force

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Miami (FL)

1 2 3 4 Total
• Notre Dame 14 6 21 7 48
Miami (FL) 0 10 0 0 10
  • Date: December 3
  • Location: Orange Bowl
  • Game attendance: 35,789

[8]

Cotton Bowl

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Post-season

Award winners

Heisman Voting

Ken MacAfee, 3rd[12]
Ross Browner, 5th[12]

All-Americans

Name AP UPI NEA FC SN FW FN WCF CW
† Ross Browner, DE 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
† Ken MacAfee, TE 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
‡ Luther Bradley, DB 2 1 2 1 1 1
Ernie Hughes, G 2 2
Bob Golic, MG(MLB) 2 2 2
Willie Fry, DE 2
Ted Bergmeier, DB 2
†denotes unanimous selection
‡denotes consensus selection Source:[2]

College Football Hall of Fame Inductees

Name Position Year Inducted
Ross Browner Defensive End 1999
Dan Devine Coach 1985
Ken MacAfee Tight End 1997

[13] Notre Dame leads all universities in players inducted.

1978 NFL Draft

Player Position Round Pick Franchise
Ken MacAfee Tight End 1(7) 7 San Francisco 49ers
Ross Browner Defensive End 1(8) 8 Cincinnati Bengals
Luther Bradley Defensive Back 1(11) 11 Detroit Lions
Willie Fry Defensive End 2(23) 49 Pittsburgh Steelers
Ernie Hughes Guard 3(23) 79 San Francisco 49ers
Ted Burgmeier Defensive Back 5(1) 111 Miami Dolphins
Steve McDaniels Tackle 9(27) 249 San Francisco 49ers
Doug Becker Linebacker 10(18) 268 Pittsburgh Steelers
Source:[14]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1977-standings.html
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ "Wolves Subdue Stubborn Navy; Notre Dame Overcomes Purdue." Ocala Star-Banner. 1977 Sept 25.
  6. ↑ "Green Irish thump Trojans." Eugene Register-Guard. 1977 Oct 23.
  7. ↑ "Irish wear green and don't need it, 43-10." Eugene Register-Guard. 1977 Oct 30.
  8. ↑ Palm Beach Post. 1977 Dec 4. Retrieved 2015-May-10.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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