1977 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

1977 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

Consensus national champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 38–10 vs. Texas
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
1977 record	11–1
Head coach	Dan Devine (3rd year)
Offensive coordinator	Merv Johnson (3rd year)
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

1977 NCAA 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 State		–		–		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 State (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 by a score of a 38–0.^[2] The 1977 squad became the tenth Irish team to win the national title and were led by All-Americans Ken MacAfee, Ross Browner, Luther Bradley, and Bob Golic. Junior Joe Montana, a future Pro Football Hall of Famer, was the team's starting quarterback.

Season

Dan Devine entered his third year as head coach, coming off of a 9–3 season in 1976 that culminated in a Gator Bowl win over Penn State .^[3] Devine returned a highly touted defense, featuring 1976 Outland Trophy winner Ross Browner, defensive end Willie Fry, and All-American linebacker 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-American tight end Ken MacAfee.^[3] Montana, earned a reputation as "the comeback kid", had two come from behind victories in the fourth 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 the team success under Devine's predecessor, Ara Parseghian.^[4] The Irish rebounded to win their remaining games, including a 49–19 rout of USC in the now famous "Green Jersey Game."^[4] The Irish earned a berth in the Cotton Bowl Classic, where they defeated No. 1 and unbeaten Texas by a score of 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	3:50 p.m.	at No. 7 Pittsburgh	No. 3	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA	ABC	W 19–9	56,500
September 17	2:30 p.m.	vs. Ole Miss	No. 3	Memorial Stadium • Jackson, MS		L 13–20	48,200
September 24	2:30 p.m.	at Purdue	No. 11	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN (Shillelagh Trophy)		W 31–24	68,966
October 1	2:30 p.m.	Michigan State	No. 14	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Megaphone Trophy)		W 16–6	59,075
October 15	1:30 p.m.	vs. Army	No. 11	Giants Stadium • East Rutherford, NJ (Rivalry)		W 24–0	72,594
October 22	1:50 p.m.	No. 5 USC	No. 11	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Jeweled Shillelagh)	ABC	W 49–19	59,075
October 29	2:30 p.m.	Navy	No. 5	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Rivalry)		W 43–10	59,075
November 5	1:30 p.m.	Georgia Tech	No. 5	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN		W 69–14	59,075
November 12	1:30 p.m.	at No. 15 Clemson	No. 5	Memorial Stadium • Clemson, SC		W 21–17	54,189
November 19	1:30 p.m.	Air Force	No. 6	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN		W 49–0	59,075
December 3	8:00 p.m.	at Miami	No. 5	Miami Orange Bowl • Miami, FL		W 48–10	35,789
January 2, 1978	2:00 p.m.	vs. No. 1 Texas	No. 5	Cotton Bowl • Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	CBS	W 38–10	76,701
^#Rankings from AP Poll.

Roster

Quarterback

3 Joe Montana*
6 Rusty Lisch
14 Tim Koegel

Left Halfback

32 Vagas Ferguson
40 Terry Eurick
42 Jim Stone

Right Halfback

21 Dan Knott
26 Tom Domin
34 Dave Waymer
41 Steve Schmitz

Fullback

14 Steve Orsini
30 Jerome Heavens
44 Dave Mitchell
45 Pete Pallas

Split End

1 Ty Dickerson
82 Kris Haines
85 Speedy Hart

Tight End

81 Ken MacAfee
87 Mark Czaja
97 Kevin Hart

Center

50 Terry Murphy
56 Dave Huffman
63 Jim Hautman

Offensive Guard

59 Dave Vinson
60 Howard Meyer
65 Ernie Hughes
66 Ted Horansky
69 John Leon

Offensive Tackle

67 Bob Tull
71 Steve McDaniels
73 Tim Foley
75 Rob Martinovich
78 Tim Huffman

Defensive Tackle

74 Jeff Weston
75 Jay Case
77 Mike Calhoun
79 Ken Dike

Defensive End

70 Scott Zettek
72 Hardy Rayam
88 Tom VanDenburgh
89 Ross Browner
94 Willie Fry

Cornerback

9 Jim Morse
16 Nick DeCicco
18 Ted Burgmeier
20 Luther Bradley
23 Tom Flynn
24 Dick Boushka

Strong Safety

28 Ross Christensen
29 Phil Johnson
33 Jim Browner

Free Safety

7 Joe Restic
10 Randy Harrison
27 Tom Gibbons

Linebacker

43 Doug Becker
47 John Hankerd
51 Pete Johnson
54 Mike Whittington
55 Bob Golic
58 Steve Heimkreiter
61 Bobby Leopold

Punter

4 Kevin Muno
7 Joe Restic

Place Kicker

13 Dave Reeve
99 Joe Unis

*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 summaries

Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	0	14	0	17	31
Purdue	10	14	0	0	24

Date: September 24
Location: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
Game attendance: 68,966

Scoring summary

1		PUR	Scott Sovereen 25-yard field goal	PUR 3-0

1		PUR	Reggie Arnold 8-yard pass from Mark Herrmann (Scott Sovereen kick)	PUR 10-0

2		ND	Terry Eurick 6-yard pass from Rusty Lisch (Dave Reeve kick)	PUR 10-7

2		ND	Terry Eurick 18-yard pass from Rusty Lisch (Dave Reeve kick)	ND 14-10

2		PUR	Raymond Smith 37-yard pass from Mark Herrmann (Scott Sovereen kick)	PUR 17-14

2		PUR	Russell Pope 43-yard pass from Mark Herrmann (Scott Sovereen kick)	PUR 24-14

4		ND	Dave Reeve 24-yard field goal	PUR 24-17

4		ND	Ken MacAfee 13-yard pass from Joe Montana (Dave Reeve kick)	Tied 24-24

4	1:39	ND	Dave Mitchell 4-yard run (Dave Reeve kick)	ND 31-24

^[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

Date: October 1
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN

Source:

Scoring summary

1	MSU	Nielsen 38-yard field goal	MSU 3-0

2	ND	Reeve 42-yard field goal	Tied 3-3

2	ND	Mitchell 9-yard run (Reeve kick)	ND 10-3

3	ND	Reeve 40-yard field goal	ND 13-3

3	ND	Reeve 51-yard field goal	ND 16-3

4	MSU	Nielsen 37-yard field goal	ND 16-6

USC

	1	2	3	4	Total
USC	0	7	0	12	19
• Notre Dame	7	15	13	14	49

Date: October 22
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
Game attendance: 59,075

Scoring summary

1	ND	Dave Mitchell 4-yard run (Dave Reeve kick)	ND 7-0

2	USC	Mario Celotto 5-yard fumble return (Frank Jordan kick)	Tied 7-7

2	ND	Joe Montana 1-yard run (Ted Burgmeier to Tom Domin pass)	ND 15-7

2	ND	Ken MacAfee 13-yard pass from Joe Montana (Dave Reeve kick)	ND 22-7

3	ND	Jay Case 30-yard blocked punt return (Dave Reeve kick)	ND 29-7

3	ND	Ken MacAfee 1-yard pass from Joe Montana (kick failed)	ND 35-7

4	ND	Joe Montana 1-yard run (Dave Reeve kick)	ND 42-7

4	USC	Calvin Sweeney 14-yard pass from Rob Hertel (Frank Jordan kick)	ND 42-14

4	ND	Kevin Hart 4-yard pass from Rusty Lisch (Dave Reeve kick)	ND 49-14

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

Scoring summary

1	ND	Heavens 49-yard run (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 7-0

2	ND	Reeve 34-yard field goal	Notre Dame 10-0

2	ND	Reeve 24-yard field goal	Notre Dame 13-0

2	ND	Reeve 32-yard field goal	Notre Dame 16-0

3	ND	Montana 1-yard run (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 23-0

3	NAVY	Tata 46-yard field goal	Notre Dame 23-3

3	ND	Mitchell 7-yard pass from Montana (Reeve kick)	Notre Dame 30-3

4	ND	Stone 58-yard run (kick failed)	Notre Dame 36-3

4	NAVY	McConkey 7-yard pass from Powers (Tata kick)	Notre Dame 36-10

4	ND	Leopold 50-yard pass interception return (Unis kick)	Notre Dame 43-10

Notre Dame wore green jerseys for the second straight week.

^[7]

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

Scoring summary

Q1	ND	Ferguson 11 yard run (Reeve kick)	ND 7–0

Q1	ND	Leopold 17 yard interception return (Reeve kick)	ND 14–0

Q2	MIA	Dennis 38 yard field goal	ND 14–3

Q2	MIA	Alvers 35 yard pass from McMillian (Dennis kick)	ND 14–10

Q2	ND	Ferguson 23 yard pass from Montana (kick failed)	ND 20–10

Q3	ND	MacAfee 4 yard pass from Montana (Reeve kick)	ND 27–10

Q3	ND	Mitchell 3 yard run (Reeve kick)	ND 34–10

Q3	ND	MacAfee 5 yard pass from Montana (Reeve kick)	ND 41–10

Q4	ND	Lisch 1 yard run (Reeve kick)	ND 48–10

^[8]

Post-season

Award winners

Heisman Trophy 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]

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

↑ http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1977-standings.html
1 2 "2007 Notre Dame Media Guide: History and Records (pages 131-175)". und.cstv.com. Retrieved December 29, 2008.
1 2 3 4 5 6 "2007 Notre Dame Media Guide: 2007 Supplement (page 164)". und.cstv.com. Retrieved December 29, 2008.
1 2 Walters, John (July 21, 2004). Notre Dame Golden Moments. Rutledge Hill Press. ISBN 1-59186-042-3.
↑ "Wolves Subdue Stubborn Navy; Notre Dame Overcomes Purdue." Ocala Star-Banner. September 25, 1977.
↑ "Green Irish thump Trojans." Eugene Register-Guard. October 23, 1977.
↑ "Irish wear green and don't need it, 43-10." Eugene Register-Guard. October 30, 1977.
↑ Palm Beach Post. December 4, 1977. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
↑ "Winners & Finalists". Rotary Club of Houston. Archived from the original on 8 January 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
↑ "The Maxwell Award Collegiate Player of the Year: Past Recipients". The Maxwell Football Club. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
↑ "Walter Camp Football Foundation Awards (Page 3)". The Walter Camp Foundation. Archived from the original on February 4, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
1 2 "Heisman Voting". und.cstv.com. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
↑ "College Football Hall of Famers.". collegefootball.org. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
↑ "Notre Dame NFL Draft History". uhnd.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2008.

1977 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football—consensus national champions

Luther Bradley Ross Browner Mike Courey Vagas Ferguson Willie Fry Bob Golic Kris Haines Dave Huffman Bobby Leopold Rusty Lisch Ken MacAfee Joe Montana Dave Waymer Head coach: Dan Devine Assistant coaches: Jim Johnson Merv Johnson Hank Kuhlmann Francis Peay Ron Toman Joe Yonto

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

Venues	Cartier Field (1889–1928) Soldier Field (1929) Notre Dame Stadium (1930–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Emerald Isle Classic Army Boston College: Holy War Michigan Michigan State Navy Northwestern Pittsburgh Purdue Stanford USC

Culture & lore	All-time series results History Band of the Fighting Irish Irish Guard Notre Dame Box Notre Dame Leprechaun "Notre Dame, Our Mother" "Notre Dame Victory March" Play Like a Champion Today Subway Alumni T formation Tall Grass Game 1946 "Game of the Century" 1966 "Game of the Century" Catholics vs. Convicts 1993 "Game of the Century" Bush Push Navy ends the drought Knute Rockne, All American Notre Dame Football on NBC Rudy

People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks Four Horsemen NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

College football national champions (poll era)

1936–1949	1936: Minnesota (AP, DS) / Pittsburgh (BS, HS) 1937: Pittsburgh (AP, BS, DS, HS) / California 1938: TCU (AP) / Tennessee (BS, HS) / Notre Dame (DS) 1939: Texas A&M (AP, BS, HS) / USC (DS) 1940: Minnesota (AP, BS, DS, HS) / Stanford 1941: Minnesota (AP, BS) / Alabama (HS) 1942: Ohio State (AP, BS) / Georgia (HS) 1943: Notre Dame 1944: Army (AP, BS, HS) / Ohio State 1945: Army 1946: Notre Dame (AP) / Army (BS, HS) 1947: Notre Dame (AP) / Michigan (AP [post-bowl], BS, HS) 1948: Michigan 1949: Notre Dame

1950s	1950: Oklahoma 1951: Tennessee (AP, Coaches) / Michigan State / Maryland / Georgia Tech (BS) / Illinois (BS) 1952: Michigan State (AP, Coaches, BS) / Georgia Tech (INS) 1953: Maryland (AP, Coaches, INS) / Notre Dame (BS) 1954: Ohio State (AP, BS, INS) / UCLA (FWAA, Coaches) 1955: Oklahoma 1956: Oklahoma 1957: Auburn (AP) / Ohio State (Coaches, BS, FWAA, INS) 1958: LSU (AP, Coaches, BS, FN) / Iowa (FWAA) 1959: Syracuse

1960s	1960: Minnesota (AP, Coaches, FN, NFF) / Ole Miss (FWAA) / Iowa BS) 1961: Alabama (AP, Coaches, FN, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA) 1962: USC 1963: Texas 1964: Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (FN, NFF) 1965: Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FN, FWAA, NFF) 1966: Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FN, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF) 1967: USC 1968: Ohio State 1969: Texas

1970s	1970: Nebraska (AP, FN, FWAA) / Texas (NFF, Coaches) / Ohio State (NFF) 1971: Nebraska 1972: USC 1973: Notre Dame (AP, FN, FWAA, NFF) / Alabama (Coaches) 1974: Oklahoma (AP, FN) / USC (FWAA, NFF, Coaches) 1975: Oklahoma 1976: Pittsburgh 1977: Notre Dame 1978: Alabama (AP, FWAA, NFF) / USC (Coaches, FN) 1979: Alabama

1980–1991	1980: Georgia 1981: Clemson 1982: Penn State 1983: Miami (FL) 1984: BYU 1985: Oklahoma 1986: Penn State 1987: Miami (FL) 1988: Notre Dame 1989: Miami (FL) 1990: Colorado (AP, FN, FWAA, NFF, USAT/CNN) / Georgia Tech (Coaches) 1991: Miami (FL) (AP) / Washington (Coaches, FN, FWAA, UPI/NFF)

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