1954 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
| 1954 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Independent |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 4 |
| AP | No. 4 |
| Record | 9–1 |
| Head coach |
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| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Notre Dame Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Omaha | – | 10 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Notre Dame | – | 9 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wabash | – | 7 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cincinnati | – | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youngstown | – | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington University | – | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Carthage | – | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dayton | – | 5 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan Tech | – | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marquette | – | 3 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wayne | – | 3 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| John Carroll | – | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rose Poly | – | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drake | – | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Xavier | – | 2 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baldwin–Wallace | – | 1 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 1954 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1954 college football season. In their first year under head coach Terry Brennan, the Fighting Irish compiled a 9–1 record, outscored opponents by a total of 261 to 115, and were ranked No. 4 in the final AP poll.[1][2]
Quarterback Ralph Guglielmi played on offense and defense and was a consensus first-team pick on the 1954 All-America college football team. Tackle Frank Varrichione received firsst-team All-America honors from the Central Press and The Sporting News and second-team honors from the United Press and International News Service. Paul Matz and Dan Shannon were the team co-captains.
The team played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana.
Schedule
[edit]| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 25 | No. 4 Texas | No. 2 | W 21–0 | 57,594 | [3][4] | |
| October 2 | No. 19 Purdue | No. 1 |
| L 14–27 | 58,250 | [5] |
| October 9 | at Pittsburgh | No. 8 | W 33–0 | 60,114 | ||
| October 16 | Michigan State | No. 8 |
| W 20–19 | 57,238 | [6] |
| October 30 | vs. No. 15 Navy | No. 6 | W 6–0 | 60,000 | [7] | |
| November 6 | at Penn | No. 5 | W 42–7 | 61,189 | [8] | |
| November 13 | North Carolina | No. 5 |
| W 42–13 | 55,410 | [9] |
| November 20 | at No. 19 Iowa | No. 4 | W 34–18 | 56,576 | [10] | |
| November 27 | No. 17 USC | No. 4 |
| W 23–17 | 56,438 | [11] |
| December 4 | at SMU | No. 4 | W 26–14 | 75,501 | [12][13] | |
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Personnel
[edit]Players
[edit]- Pat Bisceglia, guard
- Walter Cabral, end
- Tom Carey, quarterback
- Wayne Edmonds, guard
- Richard Fitzgerald, fullback
- Don George, end
- Ralph Guglielmi, quarterback
- Joe Heap, halfback
- Paul Hornung, quarterback
- Richard Keller, halfback
- Jack Lee, guard
- Ray Lemek, guard
- Paul Matz, co-captain and end
- Jim Morse, halfback
- Sam Palumbo, tackle
- Robert Ready, tackle
- Paul Reynolds, fullback
- Don Schaefer, fullback-halfback
- Dan Shannon, co-captain and end
- Dean Studer, back
- Dick Szymanski, center
- Frank Varrichione, tackle
Coaching staff
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "1954 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
- ↑ "1954 Notre Dame Scholastic Football Review" (PDF). The Notre Dame Scholastic. December 10, 1954 – via Notre Dame Archives.
- ↑ Joe Doyle (September 26, 1954). "Irish Stop Longhorns, 21-0: Brennan Era Opens with N.D. Victory". The South Bend Tribune. pp. 1 (main), 1 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Guglielmi leads Notre Dame to 21–0 win over game Texas". The Pantagraph. September 26, 1954. Retrieved April 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Joe Doyle (October 3, 1954). "Fired-Up Purdue Burns N.D.: Dawson's Arm Tosses Irish 27-14 Defeat; Boilermakers Snip Notre Dame Streak At 13 Games". The South Bend Tribune. pp. 1 (main), 1 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Joe Doyle (October 17, 1954). "Irish Skid Past Spartans in Mud, 20-19: Notre Dame Overcomes Early Lead; Missed Extra Point Costs M.S.C. Tie In Last Period". The South Bend Tribune. p. 1 (section III) – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Walter F. Herman (October 31, 1954). "60,000 See Notre Dame Beat Navy, 6-0, In Stadium: Irish Score on 46-Yard Aerial Play". The Baltimore Sun. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Trimble, Joe (November 7, 1954). "Irish Avalanche Buries Winless Quakers, 42-7". Sunday News. New York, N.Y. p. 101 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Notre Dame wins, 42–13; 6th victory". Chicago Tribune. November 14, 1954. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Bert McGrane (November 21, 1954). "Great Day for the Irish, 34-18: Guglielmi's Passes Pilot Notre Dame". The Des Moines Register. p. 1 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Joe Doyle (November 28, 1954). "Irish Topple Trojans, 23-17: Notre Dame Wins Eighth from U.S.C.; Morse Leads Mates In Late Comeback Before 56,438". The South Bend Tribune. pp. 1 (main), 1 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Gene Gregston (December 5, 1954). "Notre Dame Stops Mustangs, 26-14: Irish Penalized 175 Yards 2 Long Runs Produce TDs". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 1 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Heap runs 89 yards as Irish romp, 26–14". The Des Moines Register. December 5, 1954. Retrieved March 20, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
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