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1977 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

1977 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
NotreDameFightingIrish.svg
Consensus national champion
Cotton Bowl 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
Seasons
« 1976 1978 »
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.
Rankings from AP Poll
1 2 3 4 Total
• Notre Dame 0 14 0 17 31
Purdue 10 14 0 0 24
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
1 2 3 4 Total
USC 0 7 0 12 19
• Notre Dame 7 15 13 14 49
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

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. 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.

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 . Devine returned a highly touted defense, featuring 1976 Outland Trophy winner Ross Browner, defensive end Willie Fry, and All-American linebacker Bob Golic. 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. 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. 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. The Irish rebounded to win their remaining games, including a 49–19 rout of USC in the now famous "Green Jersey Game." 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. The Irish leaped four spots in the polls after the Cotton Bowl Classic victory to claim the consensus title.


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