# 1971 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

The 1971 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season.
Prior to their concluding game at LSU, seventh-ranked Notre Dame (8–1) announced that they would not play in a bowl game this season.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 18 | 2:30 p.m. | Northwestern | No. 2 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | | W 50–7 | 59,075 |
| September 25 | 2:30 p.m. | at Purdue | No. 2 | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN (rivalry) | | W 8–7 | 69,765 |
| October 2 | 1:50 p.m. | Michigan State | No. 4 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | ABC regional | W 14–2 | 59,075 |
| October 9 | 8:15 p.m. | at Miami (FL) | No. 9 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL (rivalry) | | W 17–0 | 66,039 |
| October 16 | 2:30 p.m. | North Carolina | No. 7 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | | W 16–0 | 59,075 |
| October 23 | 2:30 p.m. | USC | No. 6 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | | L 14–28 | 59,075 |
| October 30 | 2:30 p.m. | Navy | No. 12 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | | W 21–0 | 59,075 |
| November 6 | 1:00 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | No. 8 | Pitt StadiumPittsburgh, PA (rivalry) | | W 56–7 | 55,528 |
| November 13 | 1:30 p.m. | Tulane | No. 8 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN | | W 21–7 | 59,075 |
| November 20 | 8:05 p.m. | at No. 14 LSU | No. 7 | Tiger StadiumBaton Rouge, LA | ABC | L 8–28 | 66,936 |
| Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Game summaries
### Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Northwestern | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Notre Dame | 7 | 23 | 6 | 14 | 50 |

### Purdue

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Notre Dame | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| Purdue | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
"The Genuflect Play"

### Michigan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan St. | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| • Notre Dame | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### Miami (Florida)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Notre Dame | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| Miami | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### North Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| N. Carolina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Notre Dame | 3 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 16 |

### USC

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • USC | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| Notre Dame | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |

### Navy

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Navy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Notre Dame | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |

### Pittsburgh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Notre Dame | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 56 |
| Pittsburgh | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### Tulane

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tulane | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Notre Dame | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 21 |

### LSU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #7 Notre Dame | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| • #12 LSU | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |

## Team players in the NFL

| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Walt Patulski | Defensive end | 1 | 1 | Buffalo Bills |
| Clarence Ellis | Defensive back | 1 | 15 | Atlanta Falcons |
| Mike Kadish | Defensive tackle | 1 | 25 | Miami Dolphins |
| Fred Swendson | Defensive end | 3 | 53 | Buffalo Bills |
| Eric Patton | Linebacker | 4 | 86 | Green Bay Packers |
| Tom Gatewood | Running back | 5 | 107 | New York Giants |
| Ralph Stepaniak | Defensive back | 7 | 157 | Buffalo Bills |
| Mike Zikas | Defensive tackle | 7 | 177 | New York Giants |