Just another time Notre Dame smacked around USC on the football field

Maybe even more impressive was that the eighth carry was made by Powlus. Criticized for his inability to run the option effectively, Powlus had asked Holtz to run it more in practice. “I said, ‘Coach, I don’t mind running the option if you want to run it,'” he recalled. Practice didn’t make perfect, but it made it at the very least effective, giving the Irish another weapon. “We felt we had to run a little bit of option,” Holtz said.

Edwards, who staked his claim for player of the game honors with his 82 yards, three touchdowns and tremendous blocking, also showed his athleticism on a crazy two-point conversion attempt that put the Irish up 14-7. Edwards took a pitch right, ran and then pulled up. He looked for Mayes and back to Powlus, who he thought was covered. Doing his best Fran Tarkenton imitation, the big fullback reversed his field and danced away from the defenders. He then headed for the left corner of the end zone. The man covering Powlus had to commit to Edwards, who then calmly lofted the ball to Powlus.

“The two-point conversion was a well-executed play,” Edwards said. “I got great blocking from the line and USC took the bait. Ron was wide-open in the corner of the end zone.”

The second series in which the Irish grew up came just before halftime. Denson had just given the Irish a 21-7 lead with a 4-yard touchdown run off of a delay. But the Trojans wanted to notch another touchdown before the last 41 seconds of the first half evaporated. Good field position and two long strikes gave USC the ball at the Notre Dame 5-yard line with only 19 seconds to go. Shades of the Ohio State game, in which the Buckeyes tabbed a momentum-changing touchdown just before half, danced through the heads of Irish faithful.

Quarterback Kyle Wachholtz tried unsuccessfully to hit Johnson on corner patterns three times, but an interference penalty on the first of the three tries had given the Trojans the ball on the Notre Dame 2-yard line. On third and goal from the two, Wachholtz tried to go over the middle. Inside linebacker Lyron Cobbins batted the ball and USC running back Rodney Sermons collected it, but was swarmed short of paydirt as time expired. Momentum saved. “That was tremendous,” Edwards said of the stand. “That was a huge boost.” Powlus agreed: “The defense, they won the game.”

Notre Dame continued to slosh through the soaked Trojans in the second half of play. But tenacity and a little Fighting Irish luck kept the Trojans at arm’s length.

The defense had to step up first. Powlus, perhaps because of the wind, underthrew Mayes to start the second half, and the ball was intercepted. Backed up to their own thirty, the Irish defense allowed the Trojans to advance to the six but then slammed the door. USC settled for a field goal.

Later in the third quarter, the Trojans’ Larry Parker took a Hunter Smith punt at his own 41. He ran straight up the middle before breaking to the right sideline. Enter Irish luck. His jaunt, which ended in the end zone, would have been a game-breaking play, save for a little yellow hanky. An illegal block on USC brought the ball back.

The defense stepped up again later in the third quarter, after Kopka missed a chance to put the game away with a 29-yard field goal. This miss, however, provided one of the most striking visual images of the season. Intercepting Kopka as he made his way back to the sideline, Mayes grabbed the freshman to ensure eye contact, and spoke to him for over a minute.

In the fourth quarter, the Irish iced the game. Kory Minor crumpled Wachholtz in the end zone for a safety, Powlus threw a touchdown pass, and Edwards notched his third touchdown of the game.

The spectacular plays, however, could not overshadow what was without a doubt the best, most complete win of the Irish season. After the game, USC coach John Robinson couldn’t even point to a single play as the turning point. “There’s really not much to say,” he said. “We played bad, Notre Dame played good. It was a matter of their ability to run at us and our inability to make plays on third down. They had a good plan, they executed it, and they overwhelmed us.”

The Trojans seemed upset by the cold, rainy weather, while the Irish fed off of it. The offensive line pushed the Trojan defense out of the way, and Irish backs exploited it for 216 rushing yards. “[Edwards] was a real tough runner, and he was running behind a great offensive line,” senior linebacker Scott Fields said. “They were easily the best offensive line we have faced this year. Not only are they big, but they are athletic and they were able to execute today.”

The line also gave Powlus plenty of time to turn in a solid performance. Not flashy, with huge numbers, but effective, the way Holtz likes it. The junior completed 18 passes in 29 tries for 189 yards and a nifty 2-yard flip to tight end Pete Chryplewicz.

After Notre Dame struggled against Army’s option wizardry, questions abounded before the USC game. But starting with Tatum’s mammoth hit, the Irish forced three turnovers and put the game away with a safety. Cobbins, who in two years had no interceptions, picked off two, returning one 37 yards. “We worked on pass drops during practice all week,” he explained. “We played our best to get the big plays we needed to produce a win.” Bert Berry contributed a drive-killing tackle, and Kory Minor a safety in a fine all-around effort by Notre Dame’s standout linebacking core.

Of all those certain of a USC victory, the Trojans themselves might have been the most cocksure. Pregame comments from the “Men of Troy” incited Irish fury. “Some people can do it with their mouth, and we proved that we could do it by action,” said Mayes.

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So please accept my apology. I promise to stop talking about that Army game. I guess it was midterm week. Thanking you in advance, Doubting Schaller

P.S. Lou, loved the tight end screen, the middle screens and the whole defensive plan. The play calling was as good as it has been in the past three years—great job. Which reminds me, no offense, but you being in the press box isn’t so bad after all.