1951 Notre Dame

7–⁠2–⁠1, coached by Frank Leahy.

Schedule and results

Notre Dame in 1951, game by game: won vs. Indiana 48–6; won vs. Detroit Mercy 40–6; lost vs. SMU 20–27; won at Pittsburgh 33–0; won vs. Purdue 30–9; won at Navy 19–0; lost at No. 5 Michigan State 0–35; won at North Carolina 12–7; tied vs. Iowa 20–20; won at No. 20 USC 19–12+42−35Won 48–6 vs. Indiana+42IndianaWon 40–6 vs. Detroit Mercy+34Detroit MercyLost 20–27 vs. SMU-7SMUWon 33–0 at Pittsburgh+33PittsburghWon 30–9 vs. Purdue+21PurdueWon 19–0 at Navy+19NavyLost 0–35 at No. 5 Michigan State-35No. 5 Michigan StateWon 12–7 at North Carolina+5North CarolinaTied 20–20 vs. Iowa0IowaWon 19–12 at No. 20 USC+7No. 20 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat USC 19–⁠12; unranked in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 76th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 14
  2. Wk 2: 5
  3. Wk 3: 5
  4. Wk 5: 15
  5. Wk 6: 13
  6. Wk 7: 11

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1951.

Record
7–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
—
AP final
Unranked peak No. 5
Points
241–⁠122
Coach
Frank Leahy
Elo
1650 +62 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
16.2 No. 13 of 116 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Jim Mutscheller

Drafted in 1952

The 1952 draft
Rd 2Bob Toneff OTSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 7John Petitbon BNew York Yanks