The 1970 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. In their seventh year under head coach Ara Parseghian, the Irish compiled a 10–1 record, outscored opponents by a total of 330 to 97, and were ranked No. 2 in the final AP poll and No. 5 in the final UPI poll. They defeated No. 7 LSU and lost to unranked USC during the regular season and concluded the season with a 24–11 victory over No. 1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
End Tom Gatewood and offensive guard Larry DiNardo were consensus first-team picks on the 1970 All-America college football team. Quarterback Joe Theisman received fist-team All-America honors from the Associated Press, and Clarence Ellis received first-team honors from the Newspaper Enterprise Association and United Press International.. The team's statistical leaders during the regular season included Theisman (2,429 passing yards, 16 touchdown passes), Gatewood (77 catches for 1,123 receiving yards), Ed Gulyas (534 rushing yards), and Denny Allan and Scott Hempel (48 points scored each).The Football Review, p. 37.
The team played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana.
Schedule
Game summaries Northwestern
Purdue
Michigan State
Joe Theismann 12/17, 147 Yds, 13 Rush, 107 Yds First Notre Dame game on artificial turf First Notre Dame win in East Lansing since 1949 "Irish Rout Michigan State." Palm Beach Post. 1970 Oct 4. Retrieved 2014-Dec-01.
Army
Missouri Originally, Missouri was scheduled to host this game at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, but the St. Louis Cardinals forced the game to be moved to the University of Missouri campus because they anticipated hosting Game 6 of the World Series.South Bend Tribune, Oct. 16, 1970, p. 37. As it turned out, the Cardinals finished a distant fourth place in the National League East, 13 games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates, and were below .500 from July 1 through the end of the season.
Navy
Ocala Star-Banner. 1970 November 1.
Pittsburgh
Georgia Tech
LSU
USC Notre Dame quarterback Joe Theismann completed 33 of 58 passes for a school-record 526 yards, and the Irish outgained the Trojans 557–359, but committed eight turnovers to zero for Southern Cal.South Bend Tribune, Nov. 29, 1970, pp. 1, 48.
1971 Cotton Bowl vs. Texas
Roster
References