Battle fights injuries after season opener
By TIM CASEY
Assistant Sports Editor
Talk about a scare.
On the third play of Saturday's game against Texas A&M, Arnaz Battle rolled to his left, gained three yards and was shoved out-of-bounds by several Aggie defenders. After being pushed, Battle hurdled a bench on the Notre Dame sidelines and collided into a concrete wall.
His nearly 100 teammates were nowhere in sight.
"They parted like the Red Sea," Battle said Monday. "I thought someone would grab me. I'm going to watch that film and find out who moved."
That incident was not the only potential setback for the Irish quarterback. In the second quarter, Battle sprained his right ankle but did not leave the contest. At halftime trainer Jim Russ adhered to the slight injury, re-taping the ankle. Following the game, Battle received five stitches in his left shin.
He wore an air cast to Monday morning's press conference but handled every snap in the afternoon practice.
"He'll be fine," coach Bob Davie said after Monday's practice.
Good thing for the Irish. With top-ranked Nebraska and their allegiance of fans rolling into town this weekend an injury to the Irish starter could cause additional major concerns. Nebraska opened its season on Saturday with a resounding 49-13 win over San Jose State. Led by Dan Alexander's 208 yards, the Cornhuskers' rushing offense gained 505 yards on 60 carries. Quarterback Eric Crouch struggled, completing 4 of 10 passes and throwing two interceptions but the junior from Omaha rushed for 57 yards on the ground.
But the Nebraska defense may pose an even greater challenge for Battle and company. The unit features middle linebacker Carlos Polk, a Butkus Award candidate and cornerback Keyuo Craver, a Jim Thorpe award nominee. While their game plan is obviously set on the Cornhuskers this week, the Irish also devoted time during preseason camp analyzing the Nebraska defense.
"They give you so many crazy-looking deals with the fronts, linebackers, the blitzes," Battle said. "They do a great job of disguising a lot of things."
Battle's numbers (10 of 16 passing for 165 yards and two touchdowns and 50 yards rushing) in his first college start helped disprove the "can't pass" mentality. But, in order to shed that image, Battle needs to build on the strong opening season performance.
To counterattack Nebraska's swarming, aggressive defense and help his quarterback, Davie plans to continue spreading the passing game around among the tight ends, running backs and receivers. Against the Aggies, six different receivers caught passes, including fullback Tom Lopienski and tight ends Jabari Holloway and Dan O'Leary.
"It was kind of surprising to see Lopienski go to the flat, catch two big ones for me and turn them up field," Battle said. "It just goes to show the type of athletes we have."
In preparation for Nebraska, Battle will watch more film, take snaps against a Nebraska-style defense in practice, and, like he did last Friday, Battle will call Jarious Jackson for some encouragement.
And if Jackson had fallen out of bounds last year?
"I would have grabbed him," Battle said.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, September 5, 2000
