October 11, 1997

Notre Dame at Pittsburgh Final Stats

By Brian Christ, The Scholastic 1997 Football Review

Notre Dame fans and players had almost forgotten what it felt like.

Something that once was taken for granted had become an infrequent luxury. “It’s nice to see some of those white teeth,” Notre Dame Head Coach Bob Davie said as smiles abounded following the 45-21 win over Pittsburgh. “It’s been such a long time.”

It certainly had been a long time. Prior to the win against the Panthers, the Irish had lost four straight games, their longest losing streak since 1963. With a loss to Pittsburgh, it would have been the first 1-5 start for the team since 1960. The team and the fans badly needed a victory.   

And the Irish delivered resoundingly with the first convincing win since Davie took over as head coach. “Today was a good Saturday,” Offensive Coordinator Jim Colletto said.

Quarterback Ron Powlus agreed. “It’s a nice feeling going to the plane happy.”

When the Irish met Pittsburgh in South Bend the previous year, the Panthers’ flight home couldn’t have been pleasant after they were routed 60-6. At the beginning of this season, most fans expected another easy victory for Notre Dame when they visited the Steel City, but as the season wore on the sure win over Pittsburgh became doubtful.

Allen Rossum quickly assuaged some of those uneasy feelings. He returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, evoking memories of last year’s game in which he returned two punts for touchdowns in the second quar­ter.

Memories of the previous year continued throughout the game as Notre Dame returned to its old running style. The team ran 52 times for a total of 317 yards attempting only 20 passes. For the first time this season, two Irish backs rushed for more than 100 yards. “It felt great,” said Autry Denson, who finished the day with 128 yards and two touchdowns. “I hadn’t shaken loose in so long.”

Denson was quick to credit his teammates on the offensive line for his success. “I don’t think it was anything special I did,” he said. “It was great blocking.”

That great blocking began early. On Notre Dame’s first possession, already leading 7- 0, the running game went to work. Three rushes by Denson and a completion to Bobby Brown gave the Irish a first-and-10 at midfield. Denson then took the ensuing handoff and, courtesy of a Mike Doughty block, raced 50 yards virtually untouched, giving Notre Dame their second touchdown only 6:48 into the game.

That’s how the half ended. The Panthers had missed a first chance to score after Hank Poteat intercepted Powlus near midfield and returned the ball all the way to the Notre Dame 9-yard line. Pittsburgh couldn’t punch it into the end zone, though, and had to settle for a 32-yard field-goal attempt by Chris Ferencik that went wide left.

Though Notre Dame dominated the first half on the stat sheet, outgaining Pittsburgh 245-97, they had only 14 points to show for it. “I was concerned [because we hadn’t scored more in the first half],” Davie admit­ted.

After stopping the Panthers on their ini­tial drive of the second half, the Irish tried to reverse a streak: through five games they hadn’t scored a point in the third quarter. That ended when Jim Sanson booted a 22- yard field goal 4:58 into the half, increasing Notre Dame’s lead to 17.

Pittsburgh ‘s offense showed signs of life on their next drive as they drove 80 yards, 67 through the air, on six plays for their first touchdown of the day. The key play of the drive was a 34-yard flea-flicker from quar­terback Pete Gonzalez to Terry Murphy.

With their lead cut to 10, the Irish offense responded. Powlus hit Malcolm Johnson for 19 yards on a third-and-13. Four plays later, Raki Nelson bullied his way for a first down on a third and-11 play. After a five­ yard rush by Denson put the Irish on Pittsburgh’s 23, fullback Jamie Spencer fol­lowed a block by Luke Pettigout and took the ball downfield for the touchdown.

The Panthers weren’t about to roll over, though, as they again cut the lead to 10, thanks in part to a 41-yard kickoff return by Poteat. Starting with excellent field posi­tion, it took Pittsburgh only 3:04 to cover 59 yards and score their second touchdown of the game off a 9-yard run by freshman Kevin Barlow.

As the fourth quarter began, the Irish had the ball at midfield and were clinging to their 10-point lead. Two minutes later, they had expanded their lead to 17. Their eight­ play, 78-yard drive was aided by two 15- yard personal foul penalties on the Pan­thers. Denson ended the drive with his sec­ond touchdown of the game, a 2-yard plunge. “The encouraging thing was that every time Pitt scored, we were able to answer it,” Davie said.

Pittsburgh threatened once more but the Irish defense stepped up and crushed the Panthers’ last hopes. With a first-and-10 at the Notre Dame 12, Barlow fumbled an easy pitch that was scooped up by Irish defensive end Shelton Jordan. “I think the defense really came through for us in the fourth quarter,” Powlus said. “It enabled us to keep the ball and score some points and eventually put the game away.”

The game was essentially put away on Notre Dame’s next drive. The Irish ate up 7:13 with a 13-play, 83-yard drive. Jarious Jackson scored from three yards out to make the score 38-14. Clement Stokes carried the ball seven times for 51 yards on his way to a career-high 109-yard day. Though he came in with only two carries in the previous five games, the senior downplayed his numbers. “I figured that if I kept working, it would pay off eventually,” Stokes said. “Today was a good opportunity for me to play, and I’m just glad that it went positive.” The final score of the game was 45-21.

Despite the team’s success on the field, perhaps the biggest news about the squad came from the media coverage of the game. CBS carried the game and Lou Holtz, now a CBS analyst, broke his silence regarding the team’s disappointing start. “It’s not tal­ent,” Holtz said. “It’s also not coaching, I don’t think. It goes back to confidence.”

Holtz’s simple solution for how to get Notre Dame football back on track was addressed to Notre Dame fans: “Get behind those people; they’re good coaches. Bob Davie is an outstanding coach and he’s very, very smart.”

And with fans finally behind them, Davie and his team hoped to turn victory into a tradition.