INSIDER: Lightning strikes the Golden Dome
By CHRIS FEDERICO
Sports Editor
When Irish head coach Tyrone Willingham walked into Notre Dame Stadium Saturday, he had already made believers out of fans and critics alike.
People believed he could turn a 5-7 team that "didn't have enough talent or speed into a national title contender."
People believed he could take a program tarnished by NCAA sanctions, rape allegations, expulsions and transfers and return it to glory.
People even believed he could turn the fashionably non-homogenous Notre Dame Stadium into a sea of green, like he did Saturday.
But few would believe he could conjure lighting out of a cloudless, South Bend sky. Enter the electric Notre Dame defense, which forced three third-quarter Chris Lewis interceptions as the Irish scored four touchdowns in just 6:54, and Stanford watched a potential upset of its former coach float away like Lewis passes under pressure.
"We went on the field unspirited, but we knew the game wasn't over," linebacker Courtney Watson said. "It gave us a spark, that spark … totally changed everything around."
The Notre Dame offense had been largely ineffective all day against a Cardinal defense that yielded 535 yards to Arizona State a week ago. Notre Dame's first nine drives yielded five punts, two missed field goals, an interception and only three points.
When the Irish finally reached the end zone on a three-yard run by Rashon Powers-Neal with 4:22 left in the third quarter, almost nobody in Notre Dame Stadium expected the lightning storm that was about to erupt out Willingham's team.
On Stanford's ensuing possession, Irish cornerback Shane Walton picked off a Chris Lewis pass and strutted into the end zone.
Lightning struck once.
Just six plays later, Notre Dame linebacker Courtney Watson pulled a Lewis pass away from Stanford's Alex Smith and sprinted 34 yards for another touchdown.
Lightning struck twice.
On Stanford's next possession, Lewis threw his third interception of the day to Irish safety Gerome Sapp.
Lighting struck for the third time and Stanford was smoked.
On that Notre Dame drive, Irish running back Ryan Grant punched it in for his first touchdown of the day on a 1-yard run, and the rout was on.
"That's one of our goals — to go out there and take the other team's heart from them," Notre Dame defensive tackle Cedric Hilliard said. "Once you do that, they give up — game over."
But the story of the Irish defense is nothing new this season. All year it's been making up for a less-than-spectacular offense with big plays at key times.
"On defense, we really strive on scoring and creating turnovers," Irish cornerback Vontez Duff said. "But we don't want to just create turnovers, we want to score on defense. If you score on defense or special teams, it really knocks their game out."
Duff knows about landing that knockout punch on defense. His interception return for touchdown against Purdue turned the lights out on the Boilermakers in Notre Dame's second game.
Against Michigan, it was Walton's turn with a pass deflection on Michigan's two-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game. On the Wolverines' final drive, the defensive line swarmed quarterback John Navarre, who threw up a floater that was snared by Walton to end the game.
The next week, Sapp intercepted Spartan quarterback Jeff Smoker's bomb to Charlie Rogers to seal the game after the Irish comeback.
Willingham has his team — and especially his defense — doing what it hasn't been able to in a long time — make big plays at big times.
Instead of waiting, hoping or praying for the big plays, they are going out and causing them.
"I just believe that no matter the situation, in our heads, we know we're going to win," Walton said. "That's just the confidence that Coach Willingham has instilled in us."
So as the Irish pulled it out again, Willingham's list of believers got longer and longer: players, fans, opponents, critics and even meteorologists.
The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer. Contact Chris Federico at cfederic@nd.edu.
All Sports Stories for Monday, October 7, 2002
