September 20, 1997

Notre Dame Michigan State Final Stats

By Danny Easley, The Scholastic 1997 Football Review

One week before, Notre Dame walked off the field at Ross-Ade Stadium dev­astated after a shocking 28-17 defeat at the hands of Purdue. Following the first Irish loss to the Boilermakers in 11 years, things couldn’t get much worse.

Or so they thought. That was before Michigan State marched into Notre Dame Stadium and dominated the Irish, racking up 222 rushing yards en route to a 23-7 victory. The loss snapped Notre Dame’s eight-game winning streak against the Spar­tans, one game short of the longest winning streak in the entire 61-game series.

Many Irish fans viewed the Purdue de­bacle as a fluke in which Purdue played extremely well and Notre Dame played very poorly. But Notre Dame’s performance against Michigan State showed that the loss to Purdue was no fluke. For the first time since 1986, Lou Holtz’s debut season, the Irish opened the season with a 1-2 record. “We’re in the middle of a hurricane,” Head Coach Bob Davie said. “We’ve got some tough games coming up. None of us wanted to be 1-2, none of us expected to be 1-2.”

Coming off home wins against Western Michi­gan and Memphis by a combined score of 93- 31, Michigan State was out to show that it could beat a tough team on the road. Notre Dame, on the other hand, wanted to forget the previous weekend and climb back into the top 25. From the opening kickoff, how­ever, it was the Spartans, not the Irish, who played like they had something to prove.

Jim Sanson’s kick was fielded by Michigan State’s Marc Renaud and returned 52 yards to the Notre Dame 44. With excellent field position, the Spartans were able to roll through the Irish defense and score only 3:32 into the game. The drive was capped off by quarterback Todd Schultz’s 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Josh Keur.

Notre Dame’s opening drive was not quite as successful. After Autry Denson started the drive with four impressive runs totaling 26 yards, the Irish went to the air. Quarter­ back Ron Powlus’ pass to Bobby Brown was broken up by Michigan State cornerback Ray Hill, and on third down he threw behind a wide-open Jabari Holloway. Punter Hunter Smith looked to pin the Spartans deep in their own territory, but his 52-yard punt was fielded on the 6 by Sedrick Irvin, who finished with 212 yards of total offense, and returned 21 yards, allowing the Michigan State offense to go back to work.

They did just that, driving 73 yards in 11 plays for a 14-0 lead. Michigan State running backs Renaud and Irvin led the Spartans’ scoring drive, combining for 53 yards on the ground. Following a 12-yard pass from Schultz to Keur, the Spartan quarterback powered into the end zone from 1 yard out. This scoring drive began an impressive day for both Renaud and Irvin, who finished the game with 112 and 106 yards rushing, respectively.

“They were both in a rhythm today,” Michigan State Head Coach Nick Saban said. “The offensive line opened holes and they were able to create yardage through the openings.”

Davie was also impressed with the rushing attack of Michigan State, which outgained the Irish 222-61. “They didn’t put themselves in a bad situation with their running game,” he said. “In the first half they got 4 or 5 yards per carry. Their backs were physical and pushed us off the line.”

The second quarter began the same way the first quarter ended, with Notre Dame unable to move the ball on offense or contain the Spartans’ rushing attack on defense. After a defensive stop by_ the Spartans, their offense marched 67 yards in 12 plays to set up a 31- yard field goal by Chris Gardner. The drive was aided by a roughing the passer call on the Irish after Schultz’s second-down pass fell incomplete. The 15-yard penalty moved the ball to the Michigan State 39. From there, Irvin and Renaud were responsible for the last 47 yards of the drive before Ivory Covington broke up a third-down pass and forced Gardner’s field goal attempt.

Notre Dame’s luck turned at the end of the second quarter. Linebacker Jimmy Friday pres­sured Schultz on third down from the Michi­gan State 31 and his pass was intercepted by Kory Minor, the linebacker’s second in as many weeks. “His interception sparked our team a lot,” Davie said. “He stepped up with the big play that led to our touchdown. I felt that play was going to turn this game around for us.”

With only 1:04 left in the first half, the Irish offense tried to enter halftime on a high note. Powlus completed three consecutive passes, the last one a 7-yard scoring toss to Brown, who made a tough catch after adjusting in midair. The touchdown was the first of Brown’s career. “I was just happy to come down with the ball,” Brown said. “[Powlus] threw it where it had to be thrown.”

Notre Dame’s momentum from their late first-half scoring drive did not last long. On the opening drive of the second half, the Irish shot themselves in the foot. A 14-yard holding penalty on second down left them with a second-and-27 from their own 17. They were unable to recover from the bad field position and were forced to punt. Smith’s kick drove Irvin all the way back to his 19, but his 12-yard return gave Michi­gan State decent field position.

In the Spartans’ first drive of the second half, it was obvious that the Irish hadn’t made the necessary halftime adjustments to contain MSU’s rushing game. The Spar­tans began their drive with three impressive rushes by Irvin for 28 yards. The Irish secondary also struggled as Schultz went three of four on the drive for 24 yards. Michigan State again had to settle for a Gardner field goal, this one 32 yards, after a holding call halted the drive.

“They weren’t as aggressive as we thought,” Spartans wide receiver Gari Scott said about the Irish defense. “They weren’t aggressive at all.”

Notre Dame’s second possession of the third quarter started on its own 10-yard line after Denson fumbled the kickoff. The Irish did not allow the bad field position to dis­ courage them, however. They converted three third downs, all on Powlus passes, enroute to the Michigan State 23-yard line. On fourth-and-12, the Irish lined up to at­ tempt a field goal. Instead, holder Hunter Smith rolled to his left and overthrew an open Joey Goodspeed.

“I am surprised that they didn’t kick the field goal,” Saban said. “The game would have gone to 20-10. They would have still needed two scores, but it did surprise me.” The two teams then exchanged punts, with Michigan State getting the better of it. When the Irish were forced to punt from their own end zone, the Spartans took over on the Notre Dame 33. On Michigan State’s first play, Schultz pitched the ball back to Irvin who lofted it 24 yards to wide receiver Gari Scott. Notre Dame’s defense kept the Spartans out of the end zone but they were able to convert a 31-yard field goal. The Irish offense gained only 35 yards –  15 courtesy of a Michigan State penalty –  on their final three possessions to close out their worst home loss since Stanford walked out of Notre Dame Stadium with a 33-16 victory in 1992.

Michigan State’s easy win, its first at Notre Dame Stadium since 1983, pushed their record to 3-0 . “We played a real good game, we came out aggressive,” Schultz said. “Sedrick [Irvin] and Mark [Renaud] played great, they ran and caught well. Our defense knocked some heads and played our game, and didn’t let things bother us.” A frustrated Davie couldn’t say the same about his troops, but he didn’t make any excuses. “We got beat by a better team today. The most disappointing thing about this loss is that we were up for Michigan State,” he said. “There are things that we still need to work on, but like I said at the beginning of the year, we are going to finish what we started.”

Fans and players alike hoped that; with nine games remaining, the Irish wouldn’t finish how they started.