INSIDER: Irish rushing game returns to glory
By KATIE McVOY
Associate Sports Editor
Rashon Powers-Neal and Ryan Grant didn't need the words emblazoned on their chests to point out what their goal was. The green "Return to Glory" shirts that the running backs donned Saturday evening served only as a gentle reminder of the power-packed punch they had delivered to Stanford that afternoon.
"I came here, to this university, wanting to get back to where it used to be," Powers-Neal said. "… Return to glory is what we thought about all year … that's what it's all about."
With the offensive line opening the way, Powers-Neal and Grant both rushed for over 100 yards as the Irish offense tallied 249 running yards, its best numbers of the season.
A return to glory indeed.
After a first half that had most fans struggling to keep their eyes open, the Irish run game was looking anything but glorious. Notre Dame had only tallied 59 rushing yards. The Irish were averaging four yards a carry, but no Irish back had found his way into the end zone.
"Obviously, the first half, we didn't put a lot of runs together," said tackle Jordan Black. "The second half, we knew the run would work, so we just did run after run after run."
In the final two quarters, Notre Dame recorded 190 rushing yards, eight rushing first downs and two touchdowns.
"I think Stanford was getting tired and we saw that and started attacking them," Grant said. "Getting bodies on bodies and just driving them into the ground. We were moving chains and moving chains and moving chains."
The Stanford defense, fabled for stopping the run, could not contain Powers-Neal or Grant in the second half of football. Both running backs attributed that to the offensive line.
"[The offensive line] did an excellent job," Powers-Neal said. "I didn't really have to do anything, just run hard. The holes were so big anybody could have run through them. All they ask of us is run hard and all we ask of them is good blocking."
By then end of the game, holes were opening up all over the place. The Stanford defense was thin inside and Powers-Neal, Grant and sophomore Marcus Wilson made use of those holes. Powers-Neal averaged nearly 8.3 yards a carry, while Grant picked up nearly six yards a carry.
The running game pushed through.
"When you're working with a quarterback who is just getting his feet on the ground, it's important to have the rest of your team step up," Irish coach Tyrone Willingham said. "And our running game did just that today."
With quarterback Pat Dillingham starting his first game since high school, the rush game was key for the Irish. Dillingham only grabbed five first downs passing and the Irish receivers failed to find the end zone. After the game, he said just exactly how important the run game was.
"A quarterback's best friend is the run game," Dillingham said.
Powers-Neal and Grant both found the end zone, giving Notre Dame 14 of its 17 offensive points. Both touchdowns came in the second half when Stanford's defense was starting to suffer at the hands of the Irish running game.
"[We] just pounded at them," Grant said.
In the end, Stanford just couldn't take it.
"We like to call it road rage," Black said. "Just beat on them and beat on them until they fold."
All Sports Stories for Monday, October 7, 2002
