Thanks to the rear end of Jeremy Lincoln, Tennessee blocked a last-second Irish field goal attempt to preserve a 35-34 win
By J. Bradley Keck
1991 Scholastic Football Review
Notre Dame has never lost at home when leading 21-0 after the first quarter. Never, that was, until the Volunteers from Tennessee pulled off one of the greatest comebacks by an opposing team in the history of Notre Dame football. By way of a blocked field goal; a key injury, and an Irish panic, the Volunteers were able to squeak out a 35-34 victory and give college football fans one of the most exciting games of the season.
The Irish came into the contest looking for a important win. A victory would raise their record to 9-1 and put them in the hunt for the National Championship. Tennessee came into South Bend hoping to grab the attention of the bowl representatives that came to watch the contest. Nine different bowls sent representatives and after two tough losses in the Southeast Conference, this was the Vols final chance to dance in the spotlight and receive a invitation to a prestigious bowl.
The delegates from the Sugar, Fiesta, and Orange bowls were jockeying for position to rope-in the impressive Irish squad. After the first fifteen minutes and 21 Notre Dame points,. the Vols were becoming old news and dreams of a top-ranked University of Miami Hurricane squad facing fourth-ranked Notre Dame had to be filling the post-season matchmakers’ heads. But sometimes even the best laid plans ….
In their first possession the Irish sputtered. After three quick plays Craig Hentrich was forced to punt. His punt was weak and it came up short for Tennessee deep returner Dale Carter. The Vols deepman had to sprint under the short ball, and under heavy pressure, he dropped the ball. Notre Dame junior Lance Johnson recovered the football. The Irish had an unexpected early second possession in good field position. On this drive, senior tailback Tony Brooks set the tone for the Irish attack for the rest of the first half. On first down, he exploded 26 yards up the middle. After pounding through the line Brooks was stuck six yards down the field by a Vol linebacker, but he punished that would-be-tackler, shot up the gridiron ten yards and was wrapped up by Floyd Miley: but Miley was in for a ride as Brooks dragged the 210-lb. defensive back ten more yards down the field.
Jerome “The End Zone Is My Home” Bettis and Rodney Culver chipped in 11 more yards for another first down before Brooks was ready to roll again. On second-and-goal from the 12-yard line, Brooks got the call, crushed another linebacker at the five and pulled another Tennessee defender into the end zone.
But the Vols didn’t quit. On-the ensuing kick off Dale Carter bumped and jumped up the field for a thrilling 62-yard return. Carter joked one player at the ten, reversed his field and ran away from the Irish charge. Notre Dame’s Jeff Burris, in a last-ditch attempt, was able to drag Carter down as he flew down the sideline.
Before the stadium stopped rocking from nervous Notre Dame heartbeats and Volunteer cheers, it was filled again with Irish exhilaration and Tennessee groans. On the Vols second play after the return, Andy Kelly, Tennessee’s quarterback, saw his ace receiver Carl Pickens open on a quick-out for an apparent 10-yard gain. As Kelly released the ball, Pickens slipped and Irish cornerback Tom Carter was the only person in the vicinity of the play. Carter made the interception, turned on the jets and coasted 79 yards for the second Notre Dame touchdown in little over 30 seconds.
In four furious minutes, the Irish had created two turnovers and turned them into 14 quick points. In just over two minutes both teams raced up and down the field amassing 187 total yards. These few wild plays, however, would not hold a candle to the craziness that was to ensue.
Notre Dame got one more crack at the ball in the first quarter. In ten rushing plays and one 20-yard pass to senior tight end Derek Brown, the Irish marched 94 yards down the field and in for yet another score. In a drive in which there was only one third down situation, the trio of Brooks, Culver and Bettis ran over and through the Volunteers, averaging almost seven yards/carry.
Tennessee was not ready to roll over and die. Time was in its favor and as soon as the visitors had the pigskin back in their hands they took their offensive show on the road. Kelly overcame his early passing miscue to usher his team down the field for a score. With excellent protection, Kelly passed for 46 yards on the drive, completing four out of five attempts. After a drive-saving run by Aaron Hayden, Kelly hit a streaking Cory Fleming for the score. By striking so quickly Tennessee was in good position to greatly cut Notre Dame’s lead by the half.
“It was a shocker, but I’ve been in shockers before,”said Tennessee’s coach Johnny Majors. “You can’t just pick up your tent and run – we knew what we had to do.”
The Irish withstood this pressure and ran right down to the Tennessee six on their next possession and kicked a 23-yard field goal. Then, just six plays later, it was Notre Dame ball once again. After making a solid catch, Fleming fumbled when sophomore free safety Willie Clark’s helmet pounded into the ball as he made the tackle. As the football floated from Clark’s helmet and into Greg Davis’ hands, the game looked to be a surprising rout.
In a quick and powerful drive, Notre Dame added another seven points to the first half tally. On another drive that highly favored the rush, the Irish covered 59 yards in eight plays. Two Volunteer penalties kept the drive alive, finally, from two yards out Bettis trucked into the end zone.
After a futile Volunteer possession, it was Notre Dame ball at the mid-field with 1:04 left in the half – 31-7 Iirsh lead. On first down, Culver ran off tackle behind a huge block from Bettis for 33 yards. On the next play, Bettis cranked out four more yards and the Irish looked ready to send the Vols to an early grave. After a two-yard loss and an incomplete pass, Holtz decided to close the half with a chip shot field goal.
The events that followed changed not only the course of the game, but of the Irish season. The short kick by Hentrich was blocked. In the melee that followed, Tennessee came up not only with the ball but renewed hope. From a swarm of players around the football, the Vols defensive back Miley stumbled out with the ball. In a quick move he pivoted away from the pile with only open turf ahead. Untouched and altogether unnoticed, Miley began his 85-yard jaunt to the end zone for a shocking half-ending touchdown. Coach Majors had only this to say of the magnitude of this one play; “One of the great plays that any football team has ever had. It gave us a great lift.”
For Notre Dame this play was much more deadly than just the missed field goal and the seven points. Hentrich had injured his leg and the Irish had suffered a scare. Going into the locker room at the half; the Irish were reminded of the reality of football – with a key injury and the loss of momentum, a 31-7 lead can be erased as quickly as it was created.
Hentrich came out limping for the second half kick off – an apt symbol for his Notre Dame team that also came out lame for the final 30 minutes.
After quickly exchanging punts Tennessee came out for their second possession of the half on a mission to score and score a lot. Tennessee charged down the field swiftly behind the strength of Kelly’s arm. The Irish defense held the charging Vols to a fourth down but on a gutsy call, Majors went for all or nothing. On fourth-and~four from the Irish 30, Kelly looked down the field for not only an open receiver but a way to take back some control of the game. He found J.J. McClesky, moving across the field for a 14 yard gain. The Vols could cut the lead to 10 and did so three plays later when Kelly found his tight end Von Reeves standing alone in the end zone.
Tested, their Irish came back once again aiming to squash any Volunteer hopes. Junior quarterback Rick Mirer gathered the troops and led the Irish to yet another score. On three great passes, Mirer found Bettis, Lake Dawson and Will Pollard down the field for a total of 52 yards. Another Hentrich field goal increased the Irish lead to 34-21.
As the quarter wound down, it seemed that the Irish had the gained firmly in hand. It was Irish ball to start the fourth quarter and the home team had a 13-point lead. But in a whirlwind 15 minutes, the unthinkable occurred – the Irish panicked as Tennessee came alive on both sides of the ball.
Notre Dame was shut down quickly and forced to punt three times during the quarter by a fired up Volunteer defense. Hentrich finally had to give up his kicking duties as his knee stiffened up. Senior punter Jim Sexton had to kick from deep within his own territory twice. One punt went for 27 yards and the other for only 30. Tennessee fielded the 27-yard punt with only 9:40 left in the game at the Notre Dame 45-yard line. From this point on, Notre Dame lost control. On the Volunteer’s ensuing drive, the Irish committed a personal foul and pass interference. This was all the excuse that Tennessee’s tough running back Hayden needed as he danced into the end zone, cutting Notre Dame’s lead to six.
Forcing the Irish to punt again, Tennessee took over the ball in great field position. After moving to the Irish 25, Coach Majors called his final timeout with 6:47 remaining. He decided on fourth-and-nine to go for the win. As Kelly faded back into the pocket he threw for Pickens at the goal line. Irish faithful let out a sigh of relief as Notre Dame’s Burris batted the ball away.
The Irish took over deep in their own territory. Because of a sack and a short run by Brooks, the Irish had to go to the air again. On third-and-12, Mirer looked downfield and threw a strike – right to Tennessee’s Dale Carter standing on the 45-yard line.
“We couldn’t get any momentum,” said Holtz. “We tried to throw it and couldn’t convert. They gambled and we failed to convert.”
A team of nine lives, Tennessee got just one more. That was all they needed. Three plays after the turnover, Hayden was coasting into the end zone again on a well-timed screen pass from Kelly.
“It was the first screen we called all day,” said a joyous Majors after the game. “We didn’t know to call it but we did and it worked. We caught the Irish blitzing and as soon as the ball was snapped the offensive coordinators were yelling, ‘It’s a touchdown!”‘
The Irish had panicked while up 34-21 and now had to score again in order to win. The strange had became the unbelievable and an unthinkable scenario was now the reality.
“It was just a crazy game,” said Holtz. But all was not lost. Composure regained, the Irish had another chance to win. Starting from their own 25-yard line with almost four minutes to play, the Irish marched down the field. But time was fleeting. On fourth-and-three from the Vol nine-yard line, Holtz called his final timeout to set up for a game-saving 27-yard field goal.
It was bound to happen someday – Notre Dame was eventually going to miss a chance for a miracle. A chance to enter another chapter into the storybooks in this, the 300th game played in the ‘The House That Rockne Built.’ With Hentrich out, walk-on Rob Leonard came on to kick the potential winning field goal. Making this field goal would be a perfect ending to this wild game. Drama is what has made for great Notre Dame Football history – drama, however, could not put the ball through the uprights today.
The snap to the holder Sexton was low and Tennessee pressed hard. As the low kick cleared the line, it grazed Tennessee player Jeremy Lincoln’s ample rear end and wobbled right of the goal post.
University of Tennessee Volunteers 35, Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34.
Coach Holtz spoke for thousands of Irish fans after the game when he said, “This is the most disappointed I’ve ever been in my life.”