Despite a lackluster performance, the Irish eked out a win Saturday
By JOE LINDSLEY
Sports Writer
Luck was on Notre Dame's side as the Irish etched out their sixth win of the season. The 14-6 victory against Pittsburgh on Saturday came in spite of the fact that Pittsburgh controlled the ball the majority of the game and had more than double the total number of Notre Dame offensive yards.
The Panthers finished with 21 first downs and gained 402 yards of total offense, while the Irish, with 10 first downs, were limited to a season-low 185 yards.
Irish head coach Tyrone Willingham, however, would not be so quick to discount the team's performance — a performance that classifies him as only the third coach to start his Notre Dame career 6-0.
"I'm not quite sure I would [say we were outplayed]," Willingham said. "I think the true quality of being outplayed is winning the game, and I think that happened today."
The Irish did so, in part, by keeping Pittsburgh out of the end zone. The Irish defense held Pittsburgh to just two field goals.
"I don't care about the yards — we played a lot of plays, and the more plays you play the more yards you're going to give up," said Irish offensive coordinator Kent Baer. "Keeping them out of the end zone is huge. [Pitt] is an awfully good football team, and I want to emphasize that. They have a very mobile quarterback and great receivers. But we did what we had to do."
Despite the offensive struggles, the Irish were still able to get two touchdowns past Pitt's tough defense.
"[Pitt] played hard," running back Ryan Grant said. "I guess they were coached well because it seemed like they had something for us every time. I give a lot of respect to them, but I also give a lot of respect to our offense, because we stuck together. Our offense stepped up and pulled through."
Carlyle Holiday, returning as quarterback after injuring his shoulder at Michigan State, went 16-25, threw one interception, and completed his second touchdown pass of the season.
"I don't think I was rusty," Holiday said. "I knew I needed to go out there and get through my throws and establish our offense in the first half, and I think for the most part that happened."
While Willingham acknowledged the offense needed improvement, he did not express disappointment with his starting quarterback.
"I thought Carlyle did a good job for us again," he said. "What we're looking for is our quarterback to make some smart decisions during the course of the game. And I think Carlyle coming back after a week or two off did a very nice job. I expect great things from Carlyle, and I think he expects things."
Arnaz Battle, who had 11 receptions heading into the Pitt game, significantly contributed to what success the offense did have with his 10 receptions — the most in a single game for an Irish player since Bobby Brown against Pittsburgh in 1999. Battle was on the receiving end of Holiday's second quarter touchdown pass, and his leaping catch gave the Irish their permanent lead.
Defensively, the Irish once again proved formidable, especially in the clutch. The defense was able to prevent Pitt's comparatively longer drives from ending in touchdowns and allowed two field goals — both in the first half. Saturday marked the first time since a 1998 win against Baylor that Notre Dame has not allowed an opponent to score a touchdown in Notre Dame Stadium.
"[The defensive line] was probably getting more comfortable with their style of play," Willingham said.
After allowing the two scoring drives in the first half, the Irish came out noticeably stronger in the second half.
"We were just playing a little bit more aggressive," Gerome Sapp said. "We got a feel for the routes they were running. [We] basically [were] putting ourselves in better position to
make plays."
Part of the defense's success sprung from players who have not seen much time in the spotlight before. Justin Tuck's four sack contributed to Notre Dame's total of eight — the most since the Irish had nine against Rutgers in 1996. Additionally, Glenn Earl made some key players, including a fourth quarter sack and subsequent fumble recovery which initiated Notre Dame's second scoring drive.
"The front four definitely stepped it up the second half," Earl said. "It seemed like every time [Pitt quarterback Rod Rutherford] dropped back he was scrambling and running for his life back there. That definitely makes our job in the secondary a lot easier.
"The defensive line had a wonderful second half, actually they had wonderful
first half," Sapp said. "In the second half they were just running around, crawling,
scratching, anything to get to the quarterback. That's helps us out a lot."
With Pitt's defense keeping the Irish offense in check, the Notre Dame defense was dead set on not allowing the Panthers to score again.
"We'd made up our minds there were not scoring in the 4th quarter," Tuck said. "That's one of our goals — no points in the fourth quarter. Luckily we got that goal again."
While the Irish still have concerns about their offensive capabilities — especially with Air Force looming next Saturday, the team believes they did what was necessary to win against Pittsburgh.
"We need to get over this as soon as possible," Grant said. "We know we're going to. We know it's going to change. We've got a big game this week with Air Force. We got to put points up on the board. I think that we have the right mindset for what we need to do.
The unbeaten Irish are naturally excited to be winning — they are living their dream, according to Tuck — but they recognize their weaknesses.
But, for Willingham and the Irish, it may not matter how ugly a game is — as long as the end result is a "W.".
"We got what we want — a win," Shane Walton said. "We always love to score, but the win is the most important thing."
All Sports Stories for Monday, October 14, 2002
