PENICK
In light of the recent passing of former Notre Dame running back Eric Penick, I wanted to share a look back at one of the games where his impact helped set the tone for a Fighting Irish victory. While Penick is most often remembered for his electrifying 85-yard touchdown run against USC in 1973 (you can read my story on the 1973 ND/USC game here), his steady and determined play throughout that season was critical to Notre Dame’s undefeated march to the national championship.
One such example came against Navy on November 3, 1973, when Penick’s early touchdown helped ignite a 44–7 rout. The excerpt below, from the February 1, 1974 issue of Scholastic Magazine and the 1973 Irish Football Review, captures that afternoon — a reminder of the toughness, talent, and spirit Penick brought to the Irish backfield.
Navy
There was at least one apprehensive Irish fan thinking about the outcome of the 47th consecutive Notre Dame-Navy meeting, the longest continuous intersectional rivalry in college football. That individual was Ara Parseghian, the man who was in the position to know best.
”The entire campus, student body and team were caught up in the week-long buildup for the game with Southern Cal and the emotion surrounding this game was feverish,” reported Ara. “Consequently, it is natural to expect some letdown, but we can’t afford that luxury at this point in the season. We’ll probably work twice as hard as we did last week so we can concentrate on what our scouts say is a dangerous Navy offense.”
Navy, under the direction of former Middie great George Welsh, surprised Air Force previous to the ND meeting 42-6 and put up a stubborn fight against Michigan before bowing 14-0. “In Cleveland Cooper, quarterback Al Glenny and receivers Larry Van Loan, Bert Calland and Bill Smyth, Navy has as fine a set of offensive tools as we have seen in any Navy team since I’ve been at Notre Dame,” Ara warned. “This is the type of team that could shock us early in the game if we aren’t mentally alert.”
Mentally alert meant continuing the devastating offensive show of force which was amassing over 450 yards per game, and which had scored 113 points in the last three contests. Navy knew exactly whom they had to face, though, as they had voted Clements, Penick and Pomarico to their All-Opponent team in 1972.
The Irish didn’t disappoint the Middies, nor the 48th consecutive full house that seemed to lift up the thunder just a little bit better. After a slow, two touchdown first half, the Fighting Irish exploded into a driving offensive machine which blasted away four second-half touchdowns and one safety, sealing a resounding victory, 44-7.
The Irish couldn’t find scoring momentum until late in the first quarter, as solid play on the part of the Middies left the Irish no easy advantages. Finally, Bob Zanot began things right by returning a Stufflebeem punt 25 yards to the ND 39. Clements took over and directed a very solid ground attack until he was faced with a third and six from the Navy 31. Clements couldn’t find Demmerle for the crowd and his pass went wide, falling incomplete around the ten. With fourth and six, the word was go; faking a pass, Clements zipped inside to the Navy 20 for eleven yards and a first down.
With the pressure of fourth down passed, Penick took a pitchout from Clements and dashed the remaining twenty yards for the touchdown and the first points of the game. This first drive represented a 61-yard march of nine plays; ending with just 1:25 remaining in the first quarter.
The next time the Irish had the ball, they repeated their consistent, ground-consuming drive. A Clements aerial good for 30 yards to Demmerle helped to offset an offensive holding penalty which had the Irish on their own 12 with a first and 20. The backfield continued the regular gains until Clements bootlegged a nifty gain of 22. Al Hunter came in to circle right for another 14, and the Irish found themselves knocking at the touchdown gates from the three. It took three plays to cover those last three yards; though, as Best lost one, regained by Diminick, before Hunter again got the nod and this time, the tally, to make it 14-0, Notre Dame. The Irish ground out 78 yards in 12 plays, running almost ten minutes on the clock.
Navy found some initiative after an aborted Irish drive, and by virtue of a few key Glenny passes, one for 20, put together a promising drive. The ND defense had other ideas, though, and after shutting off the Navy passing attack, they forced Navy to punt from the ND 43. Thus the half ended, Notre Dame in command, 14-0.
The second half began with a bit more excitement as the Irish managed to double the score within five minutes. First, Greg Collins flew out of the blue to gild a Glenny pass on the Navy 32, returning it 13 yards for an Irish first down on the 19. Demmerle made a brilliant diving catch of a Clements toss on the one (“How he held onto that ball when he hit the ground I’ll never know,” said Parseghian, “It was a fantastic catch.”); and Clements dove over for the score.
Reggie Barnett recovered a Potempa-inspired fumble on the first play of the following Navy series, giving the Irish another first and ten, this time from the Navy 30. After Best pounded out eleven yards straight ahead, Hunter sprinted thirteen yards for the score, but the play was called back to the Navy 23 for offensive clipping. Clements single-handedly regained a good deal of the setback as he kept for 16 yards to the Navy seven. The tally took but one more play as the Navy defense went one way and Al Samuel went the other for seven and paydirt. And there were still more than eleven minutes left on the clock.
Southern Cal seemed like any other memory as the Irish began to play aggressively again. Drew Mahalic cut off another Glenny aerial drive by stealing a short shot on the Irish 34, thus halting Navy’s deepest penetration of the afternoon. The second string seemed to be celebrating a little early, though, as they gave away the first of six fumbles in twenty minutes; A significant number of fumbles came on wide pitches and though Clements had been quite successful in completing some hair-raising laterals in the first forty minutes, the reserves couldn’t seem to find the handle.
The offensive goofs kept defensive hands full, but the dynamite defense showed it knew just what to do. After Samuels fumbled on the ND 37, the defense limited Jackson to four by foot, forced a wide, out of bounds reception, and another wide Glenny incompletion. Faced with fourth and six from the ND 33, Navy must have had visions of duplicating the Irish’s similar situation. Mahalic and Browner brutally crushed these dreams and Glenny for a 12-yard loss as he attempted to pass.
But another Irish fumble kept the defense on the field, this time calling on Jim Stock for the honors and a Glenny sack worth nine.
The final two touchdowns came in the fourth quarter as Cliff Brown passed to Willie Townsend for nine yards and the first tally, and Frank Allocco handed off to Tom Parise for the second. Finally, defensive end Jim Stock reminded Glenny that he was still on the other side of the ball by sacking the Navy quarterback for twelve yards and a touchback.
Unfortunately, on the following free kick, Freshman Tim Simon fumbled the ball, allowing Navy to recover on the ND 25, their deepest penetration of the afternoon. Glenny whipped a pinpoint pass to receiver Larry Van Loan in the next play for a touchdown and the only Navy points of the day.
Glenny’s penchant for the pass became evident in the final statistics, as the Middies outflew the Irish 119 yards to 93. The Irish more than made up the difference on the ground, however, where they rolled for 447 yards compared to 77 for Navy. The Irish accomplished this impressive total with all of twelve runners, who rather evenly shared the burden. Both Clements and Best carried for 66 yards, while Samuel and Penick were not far behind with 52 and 46, respectively.
Though Eric Penick’s name often flashes brightest when recalling Notre Dame’s biggest moments, it’s games like this one against Navy that reflect the true depth of his contributions. With 46 rushing yards, a touchdown, and a fierce presence on the field, Penick helped fuel a dominant win that kept Notre Dame’s perfect season alive. His legacy endures not just in highlight reels, but in the heart and hustle he showed every time he wore the blue and gold.
Rest in peace, Eric — and thank you for the memories.