Irish came up short on talent, but not on class
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Associate Sports Editors
TEMPE, Ariz.
Notre Dame never had a chance.
Oh, sure the Irish fooled people into believing they could win a BCS game over Oregon State with a smaller, younger, slower lineup than the Beavers.
After all, Notre Dame won its last seven regular-season games and had tradition on its side, having won three National Championships since Oregon State last appeared in a major bowl game — the 1965 Rose Bowl.
With five minutes left in the first half of the Fiesta Bowl, the Irish only trailed 6-0.
They had stopped the Beavers five yards short of the end zone with Notre Dame's best play of the game — a diving tackle by safety Ron Israel around tailback Patrick McCall's knees, throwing him for a 3-yard loss.
"We all thought we could get back into the game," Notre Dame captain and tight end Dan O'Leary said.
But Notre Dame's pretense of being as skilled as Oregon State was a farce.
Against Oregon State, Notre Dame was outmatched in every category.
"It's pretty obvious we got whipped," Irish coach Bob Davie said. "We got outcoached. We got outplayed."
The Beavers were fast enough to try out for the next Olympic track and field team, or at least to escape from the police if their on-field conduct is any indication of how they behave off the field. The Beavers had enough speed to demolish freshman quarterback Matt LoVecchio before he had time to blink, or even wink.
"We've got to get a lot faster," Irish tailback Tony Fisher said.
Notre Dame's offense sputtered, gaining just 17 yards on the ground. Oregon State's "ain't too proud to brag" tailback Ken Simonton had more carries — 18 — than the Irish did yards.
Wide receiver Chad Johnson caught two touchdown passes, although he was so arrogant he dropped the ball two yards short of the goal line on the first touchdown.
Lucky for him and lucky for the Beavers, the officials didn't notice.
After the first half, the Irish had no defense to speak of, giving up a total of 41 points.
For its part, Oregon State's defensive unit throttled the Irish, holding them to a field goal until the final minutes of regulation.
Even Notre Dame's special unit, one of the nation's best all season long, was outdone. Terrell Roberts returned a punt 45 yards for a touchdown, the first return for a touchdown against the Irish all year.
Unfortunately, one big loss overshadowed nine wins.
The team that everyone said didn't have enough talent to survive its rugged regular-season schedule managed a 9-2 record.
They won despite losing starting quarterback Arnaz Battle and senior captain Grant Irons in the second game of the season.
Yet the wins came from oversized hearts, not excessive talent, and that became obvious in the Fiesta Bowl. The Irish have ability, but their youth left them ill prepared for prime-time.
They hid the lack of future NFL stars on their roster all season by avoiding the mistakes, turnovers and penalties that cost them dearly against the Beavers.
Against Oregon State, Notre Dame lost in everything that mattered on the football field, but won in everything that's important in life.
If class, good sportsmanship and intelligence had affected the outcome, the Irish would have fared better.
Oregon State was whistled for a school-record 18 penalties, including several for unsportsmanlike conduct and personal fouls.
Irish tailback Julius Jones came away with the sportsmanship award — taunting the Irish and trash talking didn't win the Beavers' any congeniality awards.
As far as brains, Notre Dame boasts the highest graduation rate of any team ranked in the final BCS poll at 82 percent, far better than that of the junior college receptor Oregon State, and this year's team had its highest grade point average ever at 2.67.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, January 17, 2001
