Over And Out

Tommy Vardell’s one-yard vault topples Notre Dame and sends the Irish tumbling from No.1

By Jim Kuser
1990 Scholastic Football Review

“I knew the way he was looking the ball was coming. I had a horrible feeling in my gut when I saw that ball,” exclaimed Stanford safety Jimmy Klein, wiping tears of joy from his cheeks, after the game. Jimmy Klein was the man who was burned on the final play of the game.

“I threw the ball a little bit behind him. It rolled off of my fingertips, just barely getting 16 away from me. It would have been an unbelievable catch. He is a great receiver with great hands. I thought he had it,” sighed quarterback Rick Mirer, wringing his hands out of frustration after the game. He was the man who set up the final play.

Two different players. Two different reactions. The jubilation of winning. The frustration of losing.

“It was like a dream come true. I saw victory snatched from the hands of defeat I really, really thought he caught the ball,” exclaimed visiting head football coach Dennis Green, fidgeting in his chair like an anxious child.

“It seemed to be the right call at the right time,” said Notre Dame Head Coach Lou Holtz. “It is unfortunate that the play was a bust. He is a fine football player, and he has no reason to hang his head. This is life. Things do not· always go as they are planned.”

Two different head football coaches. Two different reactions. Again, the jubilation of winning. Again, the frustration of losing.

The central figure in all of this was Notre Dame tight end Derek Brown. The game was Notre Dame versus Stanford, played on the storied grounds of Notre Dame Stadium. The play was a tight end isolation pattern that left Brown wide open in the northwest comer of the end zone. But it was not to be, as the pass and Notre Dame’s number one ranking rolled off his fingertips. The broken play shocked the 59,075 Fighting Irish fans who thought for an instant that he had it.

After last minute wins against Michigan and Michigan State, it seemed impossible that the Irish would lose. Fate seemed to be on their side. But reality slapped the Irish sharply in the face. F

inal score: Stanford Cardinal, 36, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 31.

A Notre Dame player had said on Friday night, “We know that we are going to win. It is only a question of if we win by two or by twenty.” On Saturday night he sang to a different tune. “We never ever considered the possibility that we would lose by five. It is hard to believe.” He was right.

Said Brown of the final play of the game, “I gave it my all. I was stretched out and had the ball in my hands, then my hands hit the ground and I lost it. I should have had it.”

The loss was an indication of the parity that would come to characterize college football in the 1990 season. The loss was also an indication that the Stanford Cardinal had risen to respectability. Both coaches voiced these sentiments.

“I think that our victory today shows that there are a lot of good teams with a lot of good talent,” said Green.

“Notre Dame is certainly one of them.” Holtz concurred. “I think that this game has proven that the Stanford football program is on the rise. It is a force to be reckoned with. I take my hat off to that team. It played its heart out and deserved to win.”

The Irish had not lost a home game since 1987, a streak of 19 games. The Cardinal had not won a road game in as long a time. Holtz voiced his frustration in a post game interview by saying,

“In all of my years of coaching, this is the most difficult loss I have suffered. It will be hard to come back from a loss this devastating. It might be harder for me than for the team.”

The game featured this incredible role-reversal: unranked but unrelenting Stanford (2-3) had dethroned number-one ranked Notre Dame (3-1). But do not talk to Stanford about role reversals.

“We have seen this before,” said quarterback Jason Palumbis whose 256 passing yards, including 15 of 17 for 160 yards in the second half, made minced meat of a Notre Dame secondary that was not aided by a Notre Dame pass rush that was checked all day long by a solid Stanford offensive line.

“However, this time it came on our side of the ball. Down the stretch we were holding hands and praying that we would not lose. Thank goodness we won. After all, we were playing Notre Dame. You know, the team that has God on its side.”

What was Palumbis talking about?

“We played hard for 59 minutes in our last second loss to Colorado,” explained Green, “and we played hard for 58 minutes in our last second loss to UCLA. This time we sucked it up and played hard for 60 minutes.”

Notre Dame’s frustration stemmed from the nature of the loss. Notre Dame mistakes led to Stanford momentum. Three fumbled punts, two by team co-captain Ricky Watters and one by Adrian Jarrell, led to two Cardinal touchdowns. Ironically, Jarrell had been Mr. Clutch with his last minute receptions against Michigan and Michigan State. However, there was no magic on this day.

In the case of Jarrell’s fumble, the problem started on the sidelines. “Jarrell should not have been in there,” said Holtz. “Now I know that when you feel you cannot control a ball you leave it alone,” said Jarrell. “The team cashed in on our mistakes.” That was an understatement.

Beyond the two scores Stanford put up after fumbles, they killed the clock after the third. Chris Zorich was whistled for a personal foul penalty late. The absence of game-breaker Raghib “the Rocket” Ismail didn’t help the Irish cause, either. The biggest question that loomed in the minds of many after the game was where Ismail had been. Holtz knew the question was coming, and he had a well-prepared answer.

“Rocket came up to me before the game and said that he could not handle punts. He probably could have played in the game, but he was banged up and it would not have been in his best interests. His thigh bruise was very, very deep.”

Green didn’t take any chances, though. “We kicked the opening kickoff out of the end zone anyway, in case he snuck onto the field,” he laughed. “Man, that kid can run.” No laughs were heard from Holtz, who watched his team relinquish a 24-7 halftime lead through its lack-luster defense and ineffective offense. The 36-31 loss was a sharp slap in the face. When “Touchdown” Tommy Vardell scored on a five-yard run with 36 seconds remaining, no one was worried. After all, the Irish had come back before and would come back again. But again, as Holtz said, things to not always go the way they are planned.