Notre Dame’s Best Non-Title Teams – 1970 Fighting Irish
Notre Dame started the season 9-0 and again, an end of season trip to Los Angeles cost Ara and the Irish a shot at the national championship. A few notes from that 1970 campaign:
- Joe Theismann (rhymes with Heisman) threw for 2429 yards and 16 touchdowns while also finding the end zone four more times on the ground.
- Tom Gatewood had a massive year, leading the Irish with 1123 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
- In the first seven games of the season Notre Dame did not have an opponent play them closer than 17 points, as Missouri “kept it close” in a 24-7 Irish win.
- In a game played in the heavy rain, Notre Dame’s eight turnovers did them in against USC, falling 38-28.
- Notre Dame upset No. 1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl in what was the first Longhorns loss since early on in the 1968 season.
1989 – Nearly Back-to-Back