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1978 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

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American college football season

1978 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Cotton Bowl champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 35–34 vs. Houston
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 6
APNo. 7
Record9–3
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMerv Johnson (4th season)
Captains
Home stadiumNotre Dame Stadium
Seasons← 19771979 →
1978 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Penn State   –   –   11 – 1 – 0
North Texas State   –   –   9 – 2 – 0
East Carolina   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
Navy   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
No. 7 Notre Dame   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
Rutgers   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
Florida State   –   –   8 – 3 – 0
Tennessee State   –   –   8 – 3 – 0
Temple   –   –   7 – 3 – 1
Pittsburgh   –   –   8 – 4 – 0
Holy Cross   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Louisville   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
UNLV   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Southern Miss   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Northeast Louisiana   –   –   6 – 4 – 1
Georgia Tech   –   –   7 – 5 – 0
Hawaii   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Miami (FL)   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
South Carolina   –   –   5 – 5 – 1
William & Mary   –   –   5 – 5 – 1
Cincinnati   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Villanova   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Army   –   –   4 – 6 – 1
Memphis State   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Tulane   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Virginia Tech   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Air Force   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Colgate   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Richmond   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Syracuse   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Illinois State   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
West Virginia   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
Boston College   –   –   0 – 11 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1978 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Dan Devine, the Fighting Irish compiled an overall record of 9–3. Notre Dame was invited to the Cotton Bowl Classic, where the Irish beat Houston, 35–34, after quarterback Joe Montana rallied the team from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The team played home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana.

The team was expected to be one of the top teams of the season. It was said that the team could be "awesome on offense" due to having eight returning starters including, Joe Montana, however, there were concerns about the team losing players due to graduations and injuries. The September 23 game against Michigan was cited as a possible pathway for Notre Dame to earn the #1 ranking.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 91:30 p.m.MissouriNo. 5L 0–359,075
September 2311:50 a.m.No. 5 MichiganNo. 14
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
ABCL 14–2859,075
September 301:30 p.m.Purdue
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 10–659,075
October 71:30 p.m.at Michigan StateW 29–2577,087
October 1412:40 p.m.No. 9 Pittsburgh
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
ABCW 26–1759,075
October 212:30 p.m.at Air ForceNo. 20W 38–1535,425
October 281:30 p.m.Miami (FL)No. 19
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 20–059,075
November 41:50 p.m.vs. No. 11 NavyNo. 15W 27–763,780
November 111:30 p.m.TennesseeNo. 14
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
W 31–1459,075
November 181:30 p.m.at No. 20 Georgia TechNo. 10W 38–2154,526
November 254:10 p.m.at No. 3 USCNo. 8ABCL 25–2784,256
January 1, 19792:00 p.m.vs. No. 9 HoustonNo. 10CBSW 35–3432,500

Game summaries

Michigan

See also: 1978 Michigan Wolverines football team and Michigan–Notre Dame football rivalry Michigan Wolverines (1–0) at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0–1)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
#5 Michigan 0 7 71428
Notre Dame 7 7 0014

at Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana

Game information

First quarter

  • ND – Dennis Grindinger 6-yard pass from Joe Montana (Joe Unis kick), 14:07. Notre Dame 7–0. Drive:

Second quarter

  • MICH – Rick Leach 4-yard run (Gregg Willner kick). Tie 7–7. Drive: 59 yards.
  • ND – Vagas Ferguson 4-yard run (Joe Unis kick). Notre Dame 14–7. Drive:

Third quarter

  • MICH – Doug Marsh 5-yard pass from Leach (Willner kick). Tie 14–14. Drive:

Fourth quarter

  • MICH – Marsh 17-yard pass from Leach (kick failed). Michigan 20–14. Drive:
  • MICH – Ralph Clayton 40-yard pass from Leach (run failed). Michigan 26–14. Drive:
  • MICH – Safety, Montana tackled by Curtis Greer in end zone. Michigan 28–14.
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
  • MICH
  • ND

  • The Reunion Game - first meeting between the two schools in 35 years
  • Notre Dame wore green jerseys for the game

Pittsburgh

1 234Total
#9 Pittsburgh 0 1007 17
• Notre Dame 7 0019 26
Scoring summary
1NDHeavens 1-yard run (Unis kick)ND 7-0
2PITTTrocano 3-yard run (Schubert kick)Tied 7-7
2PITTSchubert 33-yard field goalPITT 10-7
4PITTTrocano 3-yard run (Schubert kick)PITT 17-7
4NDHaines 8-yard pass from Montana (pass failed)PITT 17-13
4NDMontana 1-yard run (kick failed)ND 19-17
4NDFerguson 3-yard pass from Montana (Unis kick)ND 26-17

Notre Dame handed #9 Pittsburgh its first loss of the season. Jerome Heavens, who had never seen Knute Rockne, All American, surpassed George Gipp on the school's all-time rushing list. Heavens passed Gipp on his 24th carry but lost yardage on his 25th before moving past him for good on his 26th attempt. "I think the Gipper tackled me on that," Heavens said.

Cotton Bowl

The Cotton Bowl win over Houston on New Year's Day was Notre Dame's 600th victory.

Personnel

1978 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
HB 2 Tyrone Barber Fr
FB Tony Belden
FL Mike Boushka
FB 35 Pete Buchanan
C Bob Burger
SE 80 Dave Condeni Fr
FL 2 Mike Courey So
C 53 Jeff Crippin Jr
TE Marty Detmer
RB Steve Dover
HB 32 Vagas Ferguson Jr
OT 73 Tim Foley Jr
TE Dennis Grindinger
SE 83 Kris Haines
TE Kevin Hart
G Jim Hautman
FB Jerome Heavens (C)
FL 31 Pete Holohan So
G Ted Horansky Injured
G Larry Hufford
C 56 Dave Huffman Sr
G 78 Tim Huffman So
QB 13 Greg Knaflec So
QB Tim Koegel
G John Leon
OT Rob Martinovich Jr
TE 86 Dean Masztak Fr
OT Keith McCormick
G Howard Meyer
G Ron Mishler
FB Dave Mitchell
QB 3 Joe Montana (C) Sr
E Lou Pagley
FB Pete Pallas
OT 71 Phil Pozderac Jr
OT 57 John Scully So
HB 42 Jim Stone So
E Tim Tripp
TE 95 Nick Vehr So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DT 94 Tom Bock Fr
CB Dick Boushka
S 33 Jim Browner Sr
CB Rick Buehner
DT 77 Mike Calhoun Sr
DE Jay Case
S 40 Steve Cichy Fr
LB 43 Bob Crable Fr
DB 20 Angelo Fasano So
CB 25 Tom Flynn Sr
CB 27 Tom Gibbons So
LB 55 Bob Golic (C) Sr
DE 92 Joe Gramke Fr
DE John Hankred
S 10 Randy Harrison
LB Steve Hartwig
LB 58 Steve Heimkreiter
LB Pete Johnson
S Phil Johnson
CB 19 John Krimm Fr
LB 61 Bobby Leopold Jr
DE 98 Pat Kramer Fr
LB Brendan Moynihan
DE Hardy Rayam
S, P Joe Restic
DT John Thomas
CB 34 Dave Waymer Jr
DT 74 Jeff Weston
OLB 54 Mike Whittington Jr
DT Tom Wroblewski
DE 70 Scott Zettek So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
PK Chuck Male
PK Joe Unis
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2015-12-20

References

  1. Michigan, Notre Dame Test Crucial, web: The Sacramento Bee, 1978, retrieved March 13, 2023
  2. "Tigers too hot for Notre Dame". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 10, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Tom Henderson (September 24, 1978). "Leach tosses 3 TDs in second half as U-M hammers Notre Dame, 28–14". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 4E. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Irish need rally to stop Purdue". Quad-City Times. October 1, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Irish hold off Spartans, 29–25". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 8, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Irish overcome Pittsburgh". The Montana Standard. October 15, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Notre Dame stops Air Force, 38–15". Dayton Daily News. October 22, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Notre Dame, and magic, eat up Miami". St. Petersburg Times. October 29, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Notre Dame sinks Navy, 27–7". The Plain Dealer. November 5, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Irish display Sole". The Indianapolis Star. November 12, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "'Terrific' Irish sock Tech". Quad-City Times. November 19, 1978. Retrieved July 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Jordan provides punch for Irish wake". Ventura County Star & Free Press. November 26, 1978. Retrieved July 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Joe says it's so, so, it's Joe, 35–34". The Indianapolis Star. January 2, 1979. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "1978 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  15. Axelrod, Phil (October 16, 1978). "Hot Montana outduels Tracano". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 16.
  16. "Irish stir the echoes with 26-7 win over Pitt." Eugene Register-Guard. p. 18. 1978 Oct 15.
  17. "2010 Notre Dame football media guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
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