1951 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

The 1951 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1951 college football season.

1951 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 13
1951 record	7–2–1
Head coach	Frank Leahy (9th season)
Captain	Jim Mutscheller
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)

1951 Midwestern college football independents records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Michigan State			–					9	–	0	–	0
Xavier			–					9	–	0	–	1
Wabash			–					7	–	0	–	1
No. 13 Notre Dame			–					7	–	2	–	1
Dayton			–					7	–	3	–	0
Toledo			–					6	–	4	–	0
Washington University			–					5	–	4	–	0
Wayne			–					5	–	4	–	0
Bowling Green			–					4	–	4	–	1
Marquette			–					4	–	6	–	1
Baldwin–Wallace			–					3	–	5	–	0
John Carroll			–					3	–	6	–	0
Rose Poly			–					2	–	5	–	0
Youngstown			–					2	–	6	–	1
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 29	Indiana	No. 14	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	W 48–6	55,790
October 5	at Detroit	No. 5	Briggs Stadium[1] Detroit, MI	W 40–6	52,331
October 13	SMU	No. 5	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	L 20–27	58,240
October 20	at Pittsburgh		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	W 33–0	60,127
October 27	Purdue	No. 15	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN (rivalry)	W 30–9	57,890
November 3	vs. Navy	No. 13	Municipal Stadium Baltimore, MD (rivalry)	W 19–0	44,237
November 10	at No. 5 Michigan State	No. 11	Macklin Stadium East Lansing, MI (Megaphone Trophy)	L 0–35	51,296
November 17	at North Carolina		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	W 12–7	44,500
November 24	Iowa		Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	T 20–20	40,685
December 1	at No. 20 USC		LA Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	W 19–12	55,783
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Team players drafted into the NFL

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Bob Toneff	Tackle	2	22	San Francisco 49ers
John Petitbon	Halfback	7	74	New York Yanks
Chet Ostrowski	Defensive End	10	115	Washington Redskins
Jim Mutscheller	Defensive End	12	134	New York Yanks
Dave Flood	Defensive Back	13	150	Pittsburgh Steelers
Paul Burns	Guard	16	191	New York Giants
Billy Barrett	Halfback	28	327	Green Bay Packers

[2]

References

1. "Notre Dame Night Games". Forever Irish: Celebrating the Heritage of Notre Dame Football. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
2. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1951.htm