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1952 Notre Dame

7–⁠2–⁠1, coached by Frank Leahy, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Notre Dame in 1952, game by game: tied at No. 12 Pennsylvania 7–7; won at No. 5 Texas 14–3; lost vs. Pittsburgh 19–22; won at No. 9 Purdue 26–14; won vs. North Carolina 34–14; won vs. Navy 17–6; won vs. No. 4 Oklahoma 27–21; lost at No. 1 Michigan State 3–21; won at Iowa 27–0; won vs. No. 2 USC 9–0+27−18Tied 7–7 at No. 12 Pennsylvania0No. 12 PennsylvaniaWon 14–3 at No. 5 Texas+11No. 5 TexasLost 19–22 vs. Pittsburgh-3PittsburghWon 26–14 at No. 9 Purdue+12No. 9 PurdueWon 34–14 vs. North Carolina+20North CarolinaWon 17–6 vs. Navy+11NavyWon 27–21 vs. No. 4 Oklahoma+6No. 4 OklahomaLost 3–21 at No. 1 Michigan State-18No. 1 Michigan StateWon 27–0 at Iowa+27IowaWon 9–0 vs. No. 2 USC+9No. 2 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 27at12PennsylvaniaT 7–⁠750%
Oct 4at5TexasW 14–⁠333%
Oct 11vsPittsburghL 19–⁠2277%
Oct 18at9PurdueW 26–⁠1448%
Oct 25vsNorth CarolinaW 34–⁠1482%
Nov 1vsNavyW 17–⁠661%
Nov 8vs4OklahomaW 27–⁠2146%
Nov 15at1Michigan StateL 3–⁠2131%
Nov 22atIowaW 27–⁠075%
Nov 29vs2USCW 9–⁠051%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat USC 9–⁠0; No. 3 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 40th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 10
  2. Wk 2: 19
  3. Wk 3: 8
  4. Wk 5: 16
  5. Wk 6: 13
  6. Wk 7: 10
  7. Wk 8: 6
  8. Wk 9: 9
  9. Wk 10: 7
  10. Final: 3

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 1952.

Heisman voteJohnny Lattner, fifth

Maxwell AwardJohnny Lattner, RB

Consensus All-AmericanJohnny Lattner, RB

Record
7–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
—
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 3
Points
183–⁠108
Coach
Frank Leahy
Elo
1709 +109 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
21.7 No. 9 of 113 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Jack Alessandrini