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Notre Dame Football Team History

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

University of Notre Dame
South Bend, IN
Founded: 1842
Stadium: Notre Dame Stadium
Capacity: 80,225
Colors: Blue & Gold
Coach: Frank W. Leahy
Conference: Independent-

Select Year:

1887 <-- 1952 <- 1953 -> 1954 --> 2024

1953 Season Highlights

Frank W. Leahy enters his 11th season as Head Coach at Notre Dame.

1953 Season

Date	Opponent	Score
Sat., Sep. 26	@ Oklahoma	28	21	W
Sat., Oct. 3	@ Purdue	37	7	W
Sat., Oct. 17	vs. Pittsburgh	23	14	W
Sat., Oct. 24	vs. Georgia Tech	27	14	W
Sat., Oct. 31	vs. Navy	38	7	W
Sat., Nov. 7	@ Pennsylvania	28	20	W
Sat., Nov. 14	@ North Carolina	34	14	W
Sat., Nov. 21	vs. Iowa	14	14	T
Sat., Nov. 28	@ Southern California	48	14	W
Sat., Dec. 5	vs. Southern Methodist	40	14	W

1953 Season Totals
Record	9-0 -1
Points Scored	317
Scoring Average	31.7
Points Allowed	139
Defense Average	13.9
Opponents Record	47-35
Conference Record	0-0
Home Record	4-0 -1
Away Record	5-0

1953 NCAA Final Rankings
Rank	Record	Source
2	8-0-1	AP
2	8-0-1	Coaches
2	8-0-1	INS
2	8-0-1	UP

1953 Independent- Standings
	Season			Bowls	Conference
Team	W/L/T	PF	PA		W/L/T	PF	PA	Coach
Cincinnati	9-1	354	58					Sid Gillman
Notre Dame	9-0-1	317	139					Frank W. Leahy
Southern Mississippi	9-2	273	111	Lost 7-26				Thad Pie Vann
Arkansas State	8-0-2	239	65					Forrest W. England
Army	7-1-1	210	81					Earl H. Red Blaik
Akron	6-3	198	210					Ken Red Cochrane
Memphis	6-4	135	140					Ralph Hatley
Penn State	6-3	207	148					Charles A. Rip Engle
Boston College	5-3-1	137	139					Michael J. Mike Holovak
Florida State	5-5	183	146	Won 59-0				Thomas N. Tom Nugent
Syracuse	5-3-1	197	99					Floyd B. Ben Schwartzwalder
Miami	4-5	155	137					Andy Gustafson
Navy	4-3-2	186	99					Edward J. Eddie Erdelatz
San Jose State	4-4-1	156	220					Robert T. Bob Bronzan
Temple	4-4-1	134	157					Albert P. Kawal
Jacksonville State	3-5-1	115	157		0-3	14	57	Ray Wedgeworth
Pittsburgh	3-5-1	143	138					Lowell P. Red Dawson
Marshall	2-5-2	109	180					Herb Royer
Nevada	2-3	87	116					Jake Lawlor
Buffalo	1-5-1	44	181					Fritz Febel
Louisville	1-7	70	276					Frank Camp
Virginia	1-8	75	242					Ned L. McDonald

1953 All American Awards
Player	Position	Class	Ht.	Wt.	Award	Team	Source
Coming Someday

1953 All Independent Conference Players
Player	Position	Class	Ht.	Wt.	Team	Source
Coming Someday

Some records may be incomplete.

Great Moments in College Football History

During the 1990s, Prairie View College put together an 80-game losing streak. One season, they were outscored each game by an average margin of 56 to 4.