Septemer 16, 1995
Notre Dame Vanderbilt Final Stats
By Mike McAllister, The Scholastic 1995 Football Review
First the Northwestern loss, and now this? The Irish faithful were beginning to think the season was scripted by Boston College fans.
After the opening day disaster and the near flop against Purdue, Notre Dame was shaken by the news that their tenth-year coach, the man to whom part of an overture and an entire cheer is devoted, was undergoing surgery and would miss three to four weeks. In 33 years as a college coach, Lou Holtz had never missed a practice, let alone a game. But now, he would have to undergo emergency surgery to remove a disc that was bulging against his spinal cord.
The team that had just given Holtz his 200th career win now lay in the hands of defensive coordinator Bob Davie. While many speculated that Holtz’s absence would thoroughly decimate an already shaken team, Davie used it as a rallying point on which to turn the season.
“It is a big challenge to win a game without Lou Holtz,” Davie said at theFriday night pep rally. “But we’re not going to win without Lou Holtz, we’re going to win for Lou Holtz.” And with those words and a letter from Holtz that was read to the team before the game, the Irish took the field and acted out a modem day “Win one for the Gipper” scenario.
But while the media and fans entered the game thinking of Holtz as the story, the Irish turned in their best performance of the season to date to make themselves the story. Behind a potent offense, a defense that held the commodores to less than 100 yards, and a big-play special teams unit, Notre Dame cruised to a 41-0 victory and began a new season.
The Irish offense began the game with a statement, rushing Randy Kinder five times for 29 yards on the game’s first five plays. Ron Powlus then silenced critics of his “tunnel vision” by throwing to tight end Pete Chryplewicz for 19 yards. Kinder ended the drive with a 6-yard score.
After giving up a combined 45 points in the previous two games, theIrish defense played with an attitude and intensity not seen under the Dome in quite some time. They shut down the Vanderbilt attack which just a week earlier had scored 25 points on Alabama. Led by Shawn Wooden, the secondary looked much improved; holding Commodore quarterbacks to only three completions for 38 yards.
Meanwhile, the defensive line simply outmuscled Vandy. “They were just too physical on defense,” Vanderbilt Head Coach Rod Dowhower said. With the exception of some missed sacks, they played the best they had all season.
The second quarter provided the fireworks that Irish fans had been waiting for. An inspired Notre Dame squad notched a pair of touchdowns and a pair of field goals while keeping the Commodore offense from advancing inside the Irish 31-yard line.
Then a long-awaited special teams spark helped put the game away early. After a five-yard Autry Denson touchdown scamper, the Irish kicked off to Vandy’s sophomore returner Corey Chavous. At the 20- yard line, Irish linebacker Kurt Belisle jarred the ball loose, and sophomore Jarvis Edison scooped it up at the 8-yard line and sped in for the score. Another field goal by Kopka put the Irish up 27-0 at the half.
More of the same awaited the Commodores in the second half. The Irish defense repeatedly turned Vandy away. When they eventually reached the Irish 27-yard line, Paul Grasmanis recovered a Damian Allen fumble. Marc Edwards bowled his way to a touchdown to push the Irish lead to 34-0, but theIrish execution did not seem as sharp. “We got a little sloppy in the second half,” Davie said later.
The fourth quarter was a mere formality. Senior safety Brian Magee intercepted a pass and re turned it to the Vandy 18-yard line, setting up another Edwards touchdown to cap the scoring. “In Marc’s two touchdowns, he showed tremendous effort,” Powlus said. “He’s a fighter.”
The game left Irish fans to ponder which Irish team would show up the next week. But for now, they were happy. Kevin Kopka hit all five of his extra points and was 2 for 3 on field goals. Powlus not only completed 13 of 18 for 200 yards and no interceptions, but he also spread the ball around, hitting six different receivers. And although the rushing attack received a blow with Robert Farmer’s knee injury, they showed their depth, with Kinder racing for 110 yards and a touchdown.
And then there was Davie, who received rave reviews for his first head coaching job. The interim coach had successfully converted three fourth down attempts as well as opting for a field goal to get points on the board early in the game. After he received the now traditional Gatorade dousing and was carried off the field, it was certain that he had filled the unfillable shoes of Holtz. “This has been an amazing week and day,” Davie said. ”To say I’m humbled by this is to make an understatement” The interim head coach tried to keep the victory in perspective. “Hopefully this football team is on track,” he said. “But I’m still very realistic about where we are. We are just so young and so thin, particularly on defense.”
The emotion of the game underscored a truly different Irish team. Overcoming the loss of their head coach, the Irish turned in their best performance of the season to date and were finally back on the right track.