Defensive stand keeps Green from being goat
By KERRY SMITH
Sports Writer
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass.
Had William Green's fourth quarter fumble Saturday turned into an Irish game-winning score, the irony would have left a bitter taste for the junior running back.
After accounting for 195 of 199 Boston College rushing yards, scoring two touchdowns and breaking the 1,000-yard rushing barrier for the season, the muddled hand-off from Brian St. Pierre could have been disastrous.
And Green placed all the blame on himself.
"The hand-off isn't an excuse. It was my fault. I fumbled," he said.
In an instant, the momentum swung to Notre Dame's favor. With the Irish trailing by four, Green's fumble handed Notre Dame a gift: the ball deep in Eagle territory with the clock ticking away and the winning touchdown just 35 yards away.
And as the Irish pushed the ball to the 20-yard line in five plays, the scene was too much for Green to bear — so much that he couldn't even watch.
"I was on the verge of tears," Green said. "Brian [St. Pierre] told me to turn around and we took a walk up to the other end zone."
But lucky for Green, he wasn't the victim of bitter irony.
"Then I heard the crowd," Green said.
A sold-out Alumni Stadium crowd of 44,500 exploded after Eagle defensive end Sean Guthrie sacked Irish backup quarterback Matt LoVecchio on fourth-and-seven to secure the 21-17 Eagle win.
But after shouldering the burden of creating most of the Eagle's offense, Green's one misstep could have cost his team the game and he knew it.
"I can't say enough about the defense," Green said. "They kept me out of the crazy house."
Instead, Green handed the Notre Dame coaching staff and the Irish seniors the burden of another missed opportunity.
The scene Saturday at Alumni Stadium was reminiscent of a scene three years before. The same teams suited up, there were similar circumstances near the end of the game, but the outcome was the opposite.
Just the Irish defense put on a stellar show by making a goal-line stand three years ago to stop the Eagles from scoring the game-winning touchdown with just seconds on the clock, it was Boston College's turn for a defensive show of its own.
"It's every defense's dream to win a game on a fourth-down stop with no time on the clock," Guthrie said.
What was Notre Dame's dream in 1998 became its nightmare in 2001.
And while Guthrie was too busy sacking LoVecchio to realize the similarities of the situation to his freshman year, the 1998 game was on his mind before the game even started.
"That fourth-and-one play ran through my mind before the game," Guthrie said. "It has been on our minds. It propelled us through that next season."
The 1998 Irish win put another nail into Boston College's coffin, as the Eagles record plummeted to a dismal 3-6, while the Irish improved to 7-1 and eventually ended up in the Gator Bowl.
But this year, the tables were turned. This time around, it was Boston College which improved to 6-2 and became bowl-eligible for the third time since the 1998 season, while Notre Dame, with three of its last four games against ranked opponents, is in danger of finishing the season under .500. And it's a bitter taste for the Irish.
"It's tough and that's what I talked to our players about," Irish head coach Bob Davie said. "Nobody's going to feel sorry for us."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, October 30, 2001
