Notre Dame’s Best Non-Title Teams – 1953 Fighting Irish
Frank Leahy won and won big at Notre Dame during his 11 years on the job. His final season of 1953 nearly ended in perfection and yet another national championship had it not been for a late-season tie against No. 20 Iowa:
- Opened season with a 28-21 win at No. 6 Oklahoma
- Johnny Lattner won the Heisman Trophy that season despite not leading Notre Dame in passing, rushing, receiving or scoring.
- Went 5-0-1 against ranked opponents, beating No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 15 Pitt, No. 4 Georgia Tech, No. 20 Navy, No. 20 USC and tying No. 20 Iowa.
- Notre Dame finished second in the final Associated Press and UPI polls to end the regular season behind unbeaten Maryland. But, after the Terps lost in the Orange Bowl, 10 other selectors chose Notre Dame the national champion.
1964 – Ara’s Instant Impact…