November 15, 1997
By Brian Lucas, The Scholastic 1997 Football Review
The stadium was virtually empty except for a section of about 5,000 people in the corner of the end zone. Despite the un-Baton Rouge-like chill and the steady drizzle, the group remained, cheering their triumphant team for about 20 minutes after the final gun had sounded.
The players joined the celebration, high-fiving their faithful fans and exchanging hugs. It wasn’t the national championship, but for them it may have been more important. After being declared dead five weeks into the season, Notre Dame football was back.
“When we walked off that field at Stanford, having lost four straight games, that was about as bad as it could get,” Notre Dame Head Coach Bob Davie said. “I really think this team hung in there and we’ve made improvement. This was our opportunity to show people across the country the kind of improvement we’ve made.”
This improvement was witnessed by millions around the nation and 80,566 fans in Tiger Stadium. What they saw must have shocked most of them as the Irish marched into Death Valley for the first time since 1986 and walked out with a dominating 24- 6 win over the 11th-ranked LSD Tigers. The win evened Notre Dame’s record at 5-5, reaching the .500 mark for the first time since the second week of the season.
“I felt like we got outplayed in every aspect of the game,” said LSU Head Coach Gerry DiNardo, a former All-American guard at Notre Dame. “We kind of got our butts kicked. That was what I watched.”
The Irish started the onslaught right away. After honorary captain Bert Jones, the former LSU and Baltimore Colts quarterback, led the capacity crowd in some cheers, the Tiger faithful were pumped. Amid the din, LSU kicker Wade Richey booted the ball in the directi0n of the ever-dangerous Allen Rossum. The senior tri-captain hauled in the ball at the goal line, burst up the middle and returned it 43 yards. On the first play from scrimmage, junior tailback Autry Denson took a handoff and raced around the right end for pick up of seven. LSU safety Mark Roman was flagged for a 15-yard face mask penalty, giving the Irish a first and-10 from the Tiger 35. An 8-yard pass from quarterback Ron Powlus to receiver Malcolm Johnson on third-and-nine forced Notre Dame into its first big decision of the game. Davie and his staff didn’t hesitate: they sent in the short-yardage personnel.
Seven weeks earlier, the Irish had faced a similar situation. Trailing Michigan 21- 14 in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame had a fourth-and-two from the Wolverine 23- yard line. Offensive Coordinator Jim Colletto had decided to send Denson up the middle for the third consecutive play, and the junior running back was stopped well short. At LSU, again facing a hostile crowd, Colletto surprised nearly everyone. Powlus faked a handoff to Denson running left and the quarterback rolled to his right where tight end Jabari Holloway was wide open. The freshman caught the ball and rumbled 17 yards to the LSU 9-yard line. On the next play, Denson, who would rush for 92 yards, scored on a nifty cutback. Scott Cengia tacked on the extra point and the Irish held an unexpected 7-0 lead.
The home crowd was stunned but remained confident: LSU hadn’t even touched the ball yet. The Tigers started their initial drive on their own 22. Two rushes by All-American candidate Kevin Faulk gained 14 yards and calmed the partisan crowd. But a false start on LSU backed it up 5 yards and after Faulk got back only to the original line of scrimmage with two runs, the Tigers faced a third-and-10. Quarters back Herb Tyler was forced out of the pocket and picked up only 4 yards before being dragged down by defensive lineman Corey Bennett. Chad Kessler, who entered the game leading the nation with an average of 50.7 yards per punt, managed a mere 32-yarder and gave the Irish the ball at their own 28.
After two runs by Denson, Powlus hit Holloway for a 5-yard gain on third-and- four. On first down, Notre Dame again ran play-action, this time hitting a leaping Bobby Brown across the middle for 31 yards to the LSU 29. Denson picked up 12 yards on three rushes and, after an incompletion on second down, Powlus’ scramble came up 3 yards short of a first down. Cengia came on and hit a 29-yard field goal, increasing Notre Dame’s lead to 10.
The LSU faithful could hardly believe what was happening. The Tigers got the ball back on their own 20 and after an incompletion and a 2-yard run by Faulk, LSU faced a third-and-eight. Tyler dropped back and looked over the middle but badly overthrew his intended receiver. The ball was picked off by free safety A’Jani Sanders and returned 26 yards. With a first down on the 15, the Irish needed only three plays to punch the ball into the end zone. A 6-yard run by senior Clement Stokes, who matched Denson’s 92-yard effort, gave Notre Dame an astonishing 17-0 lead only 13:23 into the game. “I thought it was important that we got off to a quick start,” Davie said. “It was critical that we get out to an early lead [to take the crowd out of the game]. The opening kickoff by Rossum set the tone and we just built on that.”
As the second quarter began, LSU was in the midst of its third possession. The Tigers drove down to the Notre Dame 30-yard line but the Irish defense stiffened, forcing Tyler into an incompletion on fourth-and-nine. When Notre Dame took over junior Jarious Jackson came out to lead the Irish offense. Five rushes and one pass moved the Irish down to the LSU 32 where they faced a fourth-and-seven. Jackson found Denson wide open in the flat but the running back dropped the pass, preventing Notre Dame from padding its lead.
Given new life, the Tigers attempted to put some points on the board. After driving from its own 32, LSU had a third-and-seven from the Notre Dame 41. The Irish secondary stepped to the fore once again, intercepting Tyler for the second time in six attempts. For the half, Tyler completed only four of 12 passes and had two interceptions. This time it was strong safety Benny Guilbeaux, a native of nearby Opelousas, La., who stepped in front of the intended receiver and returned the ball 44 yards to the Tigers’ 24- yard line.
With an opportunity to bury the Tigers, the Irish stopped themselves again by dropping a pass. Johnson was the culprit this time, dropping a wide receiver screen with blockers in front of him. Cengia then trotted on the field and missed the 37-yard field goal attempt wide left.
LSU threatened on its next drive, but linebacker Bobbie Howard sacked Tyler on third down, setting up a fourth-and-16 from the Irish 29. For the second time in the half, the Tigers went for it and came up empty as Tyler’s pass fell incomplete. Notre Dame took over and ran out the clock, entering the locker room up 17-0 but not totally satisfied.
“Actually, at halftime I was nervous be cause it was 17-0 and I knew we should have had more points,” Davie said. “We dropped a couple balls and we missed a field goal.”
Davie also realized that, since LSU got the ball to open the half, their fans would come out ready to cheer on a second-half comeback. On the first drive, it looked as if the Tigers were on their way. They drove to midfield and, on fourth-and-one, Tyler sneaked behind his center for 2 yards and a first down. On the next play, wide receiver Larry Foster made a diving catch along the right sideline at the Notre Dame 28. The Irish defense halted the drive after Faulk gained only 7 yards on three carries and LSU sent Richey onto the field for his first field goal attempt of the game. DiNardo probably wished that he had stuck with his pattern of going for it on fourth down as the sophomore hit the left upright, missing the 38-yard attempt.
Escaping unscathed, the Irish looked to put the Tigers in a deeper hole. They did just that, as Stokes capped off a nine-play, 79-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. The key play on the drive was a 34-yard run by Denson that moved the Irish down to the LSU 3-yard line. That made the score 24-0 and effectively silenced the crowd for the rest of the game.
But a botched fake punt attempt, resulting from a miscommunication between the coaches and players, gave LSU an opportunity to avoid the shutout. Taking advantage of the miscue, the Tigers finally got on the board courtesy of a 2-yard run by Faulk. Freshman Abram Booty caught a 26-yard pass from Tyler, putting the LSU on the Notre Dame 13. Faulk did the rest, gaining the 13 yards on three carries, including the touchdown.
By the time the Tigers scored, more than half of the crowd had left and the Notre Dame contingent was the loudest group remaining. Much to their enjoyment, Sanders ended the final Tiger drive with his second interception of the game, picking off a Tyler bomb on the Notre Dame 14. The Irish simply ran out the clock and the celebration began.
Davie was certainly glad to clinch the win. “The reason you’re in [coaching] is so guys get rewarded for their hard work,” he said.”You look forward to winning because it affects other people. You’re glad to see those Notre Dame people still in those stands when nobody else is left out there. You ‘re glad to see those kids go over there and hold those gold helmets up.”
After the 1,000 mile trip to Baton Rouge, the fans couldn’t have enjoyed anything else quite as much. And it sure m de the return trip to South Bend a lot easier.