9-0-1; the tie with Michigan State was the only blemish. Finished No. 1 in the final AP (41 of 56 first-place votes) and UPI polls and won the FWAA vote; did not play a bowl game (pre-1969 no-bowl policy). Co-recipient of the 1966 NFF MacArthur Bowl.
Notre Dame’s 1966 schedule1966: 2 Champions, Zero Agreement
SPLITMULTIPLENotre Dame swept AP, UPI, and FWAA after its famous 10-10 tie with Michigan State, but the National Football Foundation named both teams co-champions and shared the MacArthur Bowl.
The case for each side
9-0-1; also unbeaten aside from the Notre Dame tie, barred from a bowl by the Big Ten's no-repeat rule. Co-recipient of the 1966 NFF MacArthur Bowl alongside Notre Dame; finished No. 2 in the final AP and UPI polls.
Michigan State’s 1966 scheduleNo national title game was played after the 1966 season: before 1998 there was no mechanism to play one, which is why so many of these seasons were settled by vote instead.