Irish are singing a different tune: It's called confidence

Sporting News, The, Sept 11, 2000 by Tom Dienhart

You could hear the singing coming from behind the door of the Notre Dame locker room. Big, deep, booming voices. All out of tune. But it didn't matter. It was beautiful music to Golden Domers. Notre Dame's players were belting out the school fight song. It was a signal of victory. The Irish had won, 24-10, over Texas A&M. Notre Dame was 1-0, undefeated. Until the next newspaper was printed or radio talk show aired, life was good in South Bend.

"I wasn't sure our players would remember how to sing it," Irish coach Bob Davie says.

For the record, the last time the Notre Dame football choir performed was October 30, 1999. It seemed like a millennium ago. On that momentous day, the Irish beat Navy for the 1,000th time (OK, 36th) in a row.

But the 1999 season ended in a 5-7 heap with four consecutive defeats. Many thought the losing streak would reach nine with Texas A&M, Nebraska, Purdue, Michigan State and Stanford on the schedule to kick off the 2000 season. But the Irish trashed that notion in what was the biggest game in Notre Dame history since the last one.

Well, maybe this one was a little bigger because Davie supposedly is coaching for his life. This was a promising start to what will be a satisfying season. That's right. Notre Dame will have a successful season.

How successful? Eight- or nine-win successful. Maybe even BCS successful.

Before you say that's B.S., check out quarterback Arnaz Battle. It took him awhile to get started Saturday, but he was hard to stop once ignited. In the first quarter, Battle was 1-for-2 passing for 5 yards. At the half, he was 6-for-11 for 54 yards.

But that sluggish beginning was forgotten in a 10-for-16 final line that included 133 yards and two touchdown passes. Best of all, there were no interceptions. Last season, Notre Dame committed 32 turnovers.

Comparing the development of Arnaz with former Irish QB Jarious Jackson, Davie says, "This game showed that Battle is explosive and a great player. If you look at Jarious' first game against Michigan two years ago, Arnaz is further along than Jarious was at that time. He's more in control and confident."

The most impressive thing about Battle on this day was his composure. Many expected him to melt down at the first sign of trouble. But time, and again, the junior avoided pressure, righted himself, analyzed the situation and made something positive happen. In our last extended look al Battle, he hit 7-of-19 passes in a wretched 10-0 loss at USC in the 1998 season-ender that likely cost the Irish a BCS bid.

The best snapshot of Battle's skills against the Aggies was when he rolled right, looked, looked and looked some more and tossed a tight spiral to Javin Hunter for a 46-yard touchdown that gave Notre Dame a 14-10 lead late in the third quarter. It was the first time the Irish led, and they never trailed again.

"This wasn't a masterpiece," Davie says. "But we played with heart. And good teams are built on that. This was more positive for the intangible things than the tangible."

Davie is correct. This was one for the ego. This was a big injection of daily affirmation from Stuart Smalley. Maybe the Irish aren't so bad. Maybe their defense is OK. Game management was flawless. Mum was the word on the kicking. Battle can pass, after all.

Perhaps Notre Dame can beat Nebraska on Saturday.

Nah. Still, there's a lot to like about the 2000 model of Notre Dame.

Let's kick the tires.

It begins with Battle, who's at his best on the move. "I talked with Jarious Friday night," says Battle, who ran 12 times for 50 yards. "He said it was my opportunity to bring Notre Dame back to where it's supposed to be.... Just get out there and be ready to play. And as the game went on, I felt more comfortable."

Battle's cause is helped by wideouts who are among the most underrated in the nation. Why good receivers want to play at button-downed Notre Dame, where the pass is as chic as tie-dyed shirts, is a mystery. Nonetheless, talent is on hand. It begins with Hunter and David Givens, both juniors. Freshmen Ronnie Rodamer and Jovan Witherspoon may be even better.

Still, this is Notre Dame, where option football is close to a sacrament. Offensive coordinator Kevin Rogers, in his second season in South Bend after running the Syracuse offense, wants to awaken the echoes of Tony Rice. Rogers is on course. Battle is better at running the option than Jackson, who tended to bow out when running down the line instead of maintaining a parallel path.

The option wasn't at its best against Texas A&M because running back Julius Jones was slowed by a hamstring injury. When he's 100 percent, Notre Dame has a cache of good tailbacks. Coaches can feel good about inserting Tony Fisher, who provides power at 225 pounds, or Terrance Howard, a shifty option at 195. That's more than enough to wear down a good defense, which was the case Saturday when the Irish finished with 327 yards.

Much of the credit for the win over the Aggies goes to the offensive line. Amid all the preseason scrutiny, little attention was paid to the group. But it deserved some criticism. The unit was a disappointment last season, when it was wracked by injuries and allowed 33 sacks after yielding only nine in 1998.