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). The 1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football game is considered one of the great "games of the century".

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. 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).

The team played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana.

Schedule

Roster

Rankings

Game summaries Purdue

"Irish Uncover Soph Aerial Attack, Smash Purdue." Eugene Register-Guard. 1966 Sep 25.

Northwestern

South Bend Tribune, Oct. 2, 1966, p. 1

Army

South Bend Tribune, Oct. 9, 1966, p. 1

North Carolina

South Bend Tribune, Oct. 16, 1966, p. 1

Oklahoma

"ND Stomps Sooners." Palm Beach Post. 1966 Oct 23.

Navy

South Bend Tribune, Oct. 30, 1966, p.

Pittsburgh

South Bend Tribune, Nov. 6, 1966, p. 1

Duke

South Bend Tribune, Nov. 13, 1966, p. 1

Michigan State

USC

"Army Borrows 'Air Force'; Irish Rout Troy." Eugene Register-Guard. 1966 Nov 27.

Post-season

Award winners Jim Lynch - Maxwell Award

Heisman Voting: Nick Eddy, 3rd, Terry Hanratty, 6th

+ All-Americans † 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.

1967 NFL draft

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† Source:

References