1920 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

The 1920 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1920 college football season. In their third year under head coach Knute Rockne, the team compiled a perfect 9–0 record and outscored opponents by a total of 251 to 44.[1][2]

1920 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
National champion (Billingsley)
Co-national champion (Davis)
ConferenceIndependent
Record9–0
Head coach
Offensive schemeSingle-wing
Base defense7–2–2
CaptainFrank Coughlin
Home stadiumCartier Field
Uniform
1920 Midwestern college football independents records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Notre Dame   –  9 –0 –0
Butler   –  7 –1 –0
St. Xavier   –  7 –1 –0
Detroit   –  8 –2 –0
Marquette   –  7 –2 –0
Haskell   –  7 –2 –1
St. Ignatius (OH)   –  4 –2 –0
Iowa State Teachers   –  4 –2 –1
Indiana State   –  3 –2 –0
Valparaiso   –  5 –3 –0
Nebraska   –  5 –3 –1
Central Michigan   –  4 –3 –1
Akron   –  4 –4 –0
Wabash   –  3 –4 –0
Western State Normal (MI)   –  3 –4 –0
North Dakota Agricultural   –  2 –3 –1
Michigan Agricultural   –  4 –6 –0
Earlham   –  2 –3 –0
Northern Illinois State   –  3 –5 –0
Dayton   –  2 –4 –0
Kent State   –  1 –2 –0
Saint Louis   –  3 –6 –0
Bowling Green   –  1 –4 –0
Toledo   –  0 –3 –0

There was no contemporaneous system in 1919 for determining a national champion. However, Notre Dame was retroactively named as the national champion by the Billingsley Report and as a co-national champion by Parke H. Davis.[3]

Senior halfback George Gipp was a consensus pick on the 1920 All-America college football team.[4] He died on December 14, 1920, due to a streptococcal throat infection and pneumonia.[5] Other Notre Dame players who received 1920 All-America honors included: ends Eddie Anderson (first-team from United Press) and Roger Kiley (first-team from International News Service); and tackle Frank Coughlin (second-team from International News Service and Walter Eckersall).

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
October 2Kalamazoo
W 39–05,000[2][6]
October 9Western State Normal
  • Cartier Field
  • South Bend, IN
W 42–03,500[2][7][8]
October 16at Nebraska
W 16–78,000–10,000[2][9]
October 23Valparaiso
  • Cartier Field
  • South Bend, IN
W 28–38,000–10,000[2][10][11]
October 30at Army
W 27–1710,000[2][12]
November 6Purdue
  • Cartier Field
  • South Bend, IN (rivalry)
W 28–012,210[2]
November 13vs. Indiana
W 13–1014,000[2][13][14]
November 20at Northwestern
W 33–720,000[2][15]
November 25at Michigan Agricultural
W 25–08,000[2][16]

Personnel

Players

[2]

Coaching staff

References
  1. "1920 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  2. "The Season's Review 1920" (PDF). University of Notre Dame. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  3. 2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2020. pp. 112–114. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  4. "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 6. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  5. "Gipp will be buried Thursday". Milwaukee Sentinel. December 15, 1920. p. 10.
  6. M.F. Scully (October 3, 1920). "Notre Dame Buries Kalamazoo Under 39 to 0 Score in Football: Gipp and Barry Pave Path With Big Early Score". The South Bend News-Times. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Notre Dame Smothers Western Normal Under 41 to 0 Score at Cartier Field". The South Bend News-Times. October 10, 1920. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Archie Ward (October 10, 1920). "Subs Get Chance When Catholics Win, 42 to 0". The Indianapolis Star. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Huskers Lose To Notre Dame 16-7: Hoosier Speed Demons Too Fast For Nebraska". The Nebraska State Journal. October 17, 1920. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. M.F. Scully (October 24, 1920). "Record Crowd Sees Notre Dame Smother Valparaiso Under Score of 28 to 3". The South Bend News-Times. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Irish Play Reserves in Half of Contest". South Bend News-Times. October 24, 1920. p. 7. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  12. W. O. McGeehan (October 31, 1920). "Notre Dame Triumphs Over Army by 27 to 17: Soldiers Fail to Hold Lead Against Invaders; Gipp Stars". New York Tribune. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Notre Dame Favorite as Big Teams Line Up". Indianapolis News. November 13, 1920. p. 10. Retrieved November 14, 2020 – via Hoosier State Chronicles.
  14. "Irish Come From Behind to Down Battling Crimson, 13-10". Indianapolis Sunday Star. November 14, 1920. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Purple Bows To Notre Dam by 33 to 7 Count". Chicago Tribune. November 21, 1920. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Notre Dame Triumphs Over Aggies in Stubborn Fight". The Lansing State Journal. November 26, 1920. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.


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