Heisman Trophy winner Desmond “Magic” Howard scores two touchdowns as the Wolverines defeat the Irish 24-14 in Michigan Stadium.
By J. Bradley Keck
1991 Scholastic Football Review
1991 NDFB Michigan Final Stats
Michigan Stadium is not the place to be behind going into the fourth quarter. Coach Lou Holtz and the Fighting Irish knew this and did everything possible to get as close to the Wolverines as they could before the clock wound down to zero in the third period. The only shot the Irish had to win in a frenzied, foreign stadium against a higher ranked opponent was to grind out their game plan and stay close to the talented Michigan football team.
Throughout the second and third quarters Notre Dame fought back to narrow a 17 -0 deficit. By the start of the fourth quarter Notre Dame had closed the gap to 17 -14. What had at first seemed to be a rout was now a tight contest. As the final seconds of the third quarter ticked off the clock Notre Dame stuffed a Michigan fourth-and-short and gained possession of the pigskin. The Irish, with momentum in their favor, were on the drive again.
But it was not to be, as a little receiver made a truly “Magic” catch and the Wolverines won 24-14.
The Irish took the field hoping to roll over the Wolverines as they did against a much weaker Indiana University team the previous Saturday.
Irish coach Lou Holtz was ready to continue the air-ground attack in the hopes of keeping a strong Michigan defense off-balance. Junior quarterback Rick Mirer was ready to use his experience to exploit holes in that defense and drop some passes into the hands of his array of receivers. All the weapons at Notre Dame’s command were ready to be sent in to loosen up a stingy Michigan defense. Rodney Culver and Jerome Bettis both had solid games against Indiana. Their success in moving the ball on the ground would be another key to secure a victory for Notre Dame.
But Michigan was holding a grudge. The 15 seniors on the Wolverines team had never beaten the Irish. They wanted this game badly. “I can’t ever remember a group of players so dedicated to win a football game,” said ABC television analyst Brent Musburger at the outset of the game.
Culver, the Irish captain, got the call on the first play from scrimmage. He ran hard past left guard and picked up three yards. Holtz’s trademark to establish the inside rush early was under way. On the very next play Bettis got his shot-unfortunately, the shot Bettis got to deliver was in tackling Wolverine cornerback Lance Dottin. On second-and-seven, Mirer dropped back under good protection and floated a pass over the head of flanker Lake Dawson. Dottin waited on the 20-yard pass, made the interception and raced up the right sideline. As Bettis brought Dottin down the spirits of the Wolverine fans in Michigan Stadium lifted.
“The turnover on the second play of the game really got .the crowd into the game,” said Holtz. “We needed to control the crowd but the interception really got them into it.”
A hyper, pro-Michigan crowd is not what the Irish were hoping to face. The Wolverine players were hungry for a win and had a prime chance to draw first blood. Focusing this energy, the Wolverines moved to score quickly.
In a little under three minutes Michigan drove 37 yards to the Irish 5-yard line. Due to a back-field tackle by Bryant Young and a stick by Greg Lane on consecutive plays, Michigan had to settle for a field goal. J.D. Carlson’s 27-yard kick put Michigan into the early lead, 3-0.
Notre Dame could not move the ball once again and by the start of the second quarter, Michigan was in control again. The drive that followed was trademark Wolverine football. Fullback Ricky Powers was all but unstoppable behind Michigan’s complex zone blocking. Powers was seeing the cut backs so well that the Irish began to key on him alone. The young defensive line was trying so hard to stop Powers that Michigan’s quarterback, Elvis Grbac, was able to set up some electrifying play-action passes. One was an 8-yard gain on third down to W. Smith, the other a rollout pass to the tight end Dave Diebolt.
The Irish were back on their heels. On the 29-yard line, Michigan coach Gary Moeller knew just what to do. Power took the handoff from Grbac and headed left. The entire defense stampeded toward Powers, somehow ignoring eventual Heisman Trophy winner Desmond “Magic” Howard. On the reverse, Howard burned around the right end frying defensive backs Rod Smith and Greg Davis, the only two players not sucked in by the fake. Howard crossed into the end zone and 100,000 fans were there to greet him with their cheers. The score was 10-0 in favor of Michigan.
The Irish had to strike back or the game could easily get out of hand. But the Wolverine mob was sedated for only a moment. Senior tailback Tony Brooks had trouble closing on a handoff and fumbled the ball away to Michigan’s Butkus Award-winning linebacker Erick Anderson.
Michigan could do no wrong. They marched back down to the Irish 37-yard line. Grbac hit Rickey Ellison, his money-receiverHoward, and Bumier Legette to bring up a first-and-ten from the 12. Devon McDonald stopped Michigan’s first attempt to score. But on the next play, Moeller made another great call. After passing so many times on this drive and running up the middle with Powers the Irish were concentrating on these two options. Banking on this, Michigan went with a delay. Showing pass, Irish eyes moved from Powers. After a slight pause Powers did indeed get the ball, breezed through a gaping hole and in for the score.
This drive crunched 6:45 off the clock so Notre Dame went right to the air hoping to score before the half expired. Under intense pressure, Mirer delivered. In one of the finest Irish drives of the season the offense covered 65 yards in a minute-and-a-half. Willie Clark started the drive with a 20-yard gain on the draw and Notre Dame scored the touchdown on a three yard pass to Bettis. Along the way tight end Derek Brown, Lake Dawson and Smith all had big catches.
“I was happy with the drive at the end of the half,” said Mirer. “Everyone did a really nice job of getting the touchdown.”
Just as important as the points for the Irish was the momentum they gained coming out for the second half. They kept that momentum going as they stuffed the Wolverine rushing attack early in the third quarter. After Demetrius DuBose stuck Powers on third down it was Irish ball again.
Ready to cut the lead further, Notre Dame came out rushing. But two huge passes to Tony Smith took the Irish to the end zone. Moving behind coverage, Smith made a great catch for 34 yards. Soon, just inside mid-field, Holtz elected to go for a fourth down conversion. Mirer stepped under center and barked out his cadence. Michigan’s line jumped and made contact. First down for the Irish on an encroachment penalty. Two plays later Mirer found Smith again, good for 35 yards and six points.
Notre Dame would hang tough for the rest of the quarter. Using the huge Wolverine line, Michigan tried to tire the Irish out. The first six plays of the drive Powers got the call. He slammed his way up the middle for two first downs and 30 yards. Due to a muffed handoff and a good stop by linebacker Jim Flanigan, Michigan was forced to fourth down. Powers slammed into the line over the left tackle. Hitting the line hard, the Irish defense slammed Powers to the ground, short of the first down marker.
Opportunity knocks, but the offense faltered. It was one, two, three, punt for Notre Dame. Michigan had the weary Irish defense back on the field.
“We played a lot better on defense and a lot worse on offense than it looked,” said Holtz. “We managed to come back. I was very proud of our football team.”
Michigan moved down the field slowly going to Powers on the ground and Yale Van Dyne in the air. Grbac found Van Dyne open twice for back-to-back first downs. The Wolverines then failed to keep the ball moving on the next set of downs. On fourth-and-short, Moeller rolled the dice again. The payoff could be victory.
Moeller, surprising everyone, had called a deep pass. Howard was open, sprinting to the end zone. The ball was overthrown deep into the comer. Diving away from one defender toward the ball, Howard made the catch inches from the ground. Touchdown. Michigan.
“It was a play Elvis [Grbac] and I work on every day,” said Howard. “If the ball was going to be close I knew I would catch it.”
With that catch, Howard entered the Heisman race and the wind was knocked from Notre Dame’s sails. They could not come back. Michigan was not going to fool around. No big scores were needed, no big plays. With 6:30 left their only enemy was the clock and they ran that out perfectly. Powers ran the ball eight more times in this game ending drive, picking up first downs as he went.
In a dull ending to an exciting game Notre Dame called their final timeouts as the clock kept moving. Helpless, the Irish sighed as Grbac knelt down to end the contest. “Michigan played a perfect football game right down to the end,” groaned Holtz. “No mistakes. They fell forward every time. You can’t play any better.”
In a Clash between two of college football’s greatest titans, the day was all Michigan’s. Wolverine seniors got the victory they wanted so badly, Michigan was back as a national contender and a little receiver, Desmond “Magic” Howard, starred on national television and became a true Heisman hopeful.