'You got to believe.'

Sporting News, The, Nov 22, 1993 by Paul Attner

Lou Holtz took a nameless Notre Dame team past Florida State to the No. 1 spot in the nation

Lou Holtz simply is the best big-game coach in college football today. Let's go even further. He also must be considered one of the top pressure-situation coaches in the sport's history. Honest now, who would you rather have guiding your team in a game that would decide the national title?

Holtz added to his already mystical reputation by directing No. 2 Notre Dame to a dramatic 31-24 victory against top-ranked Florida State last Saturday. On this day, at least, Holtz was a better coach than FSU's Bobby Bowden. Holtz's club executed more efficiently and adjusted quicker as the game unfolded. The way Holtz prepared his players for their slightly more talented opponent gave Notre Dame the necessary edge. But isn't that the essence of big-game coaching?

Holtz also is the reason Notre Dame would win again, if the two were to meet again in the Fiesta Bowl. Sorry, Gipper and Rockne and all the rest of the old Irish mystique, Holtz is where that mystique is at in South Bend these days. If you are an opponent of Notre Dame, particularly in a showdown game, you've always got to be wondering what he is cooking up. And that alone gives the Irish the advantage, even in another confrontation with the ever-cocky Seminoles.

But do we really want a rematch? As long as colleges refuse to implement a playoff system, they might as well pass around the opportunity to finish No. 1. Let undefeated Nebraska have a shot at the Irish in the Orange Bowl so the Cornhuskers' embarrassingly bad schedule can be exposed once more. Besides, after the beauty of the game that was produced in Notre Dame Stadium, why risk the chance of a flawed sequel? After all, most highly touted games usually fall far short of their potential. But not this one, not after it came down to the final seconds on the clock, and a final, futile pass from FSU quarterback Charlie Ward that was knocked down before it could reach the Irish end zone. It was over, and you finally could resume breathing normally.

"This is our house, and no team comes in here and leaves No. 1," Holtz told his players before they left the locker room against the favored Seminoles. In a bowl, at a neutral sight, he will have to come with a different angle. But he will. That is his gift, why he is so dangerous, why his hire by Notre Dame - matching his dynamics with the school's built-in football advantages - was so inspired. He has a seemingly endless supply of energy, imagination and daring, accented by a big dose of ruthlessness.

He has built his career on a foundation of demeaning his own talents: too small, bad looking, not very smart, not very athletic. The classic underdog, the prototype overachiever. In games where there is a mountain for Notre-Dame to climb, perceived or otherwise, he is in his element, all cozy and warm. It's no accident that, in five games against No. 1 teams while coaching the Irish, Holtz is a sterling 4-1.

Maybe that is Bowden's problem. He is not ruthless enough. This truly nice man finds himself in the unenviable position of being viewed as the guy who constantly falls short in the search for No. 1. He keeps fielding teams that have the ability to win the national title, yet they keep failing. Losses to Miami in other seasons have cost him at least two championships, and now this defeat, even in a season when he finally beat the Hurricanes, could run that number to three. He certainly didn't distinguish himself in this latest test. Florida State resorted to too many unnecessary gimmick plays, wasted too many second-half timeouts and reacted far too slowly to Notre Dame's game-plan thrusts. Maybe Bowden could use a dose of Holtz's blatant ambition and bravado.

But Bowden's dream of winning his first national title this season may not be over. In years past, FSU's hopes for a championship would have died with Ward's final incompletion. But the complex rules of the bowl coalition mandate a matchup of the Irish and Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl if they finish 1-2 in the coalition poll, and that's where they stand right now, with Nebraska a close third. For the Seminoles to get another chance, they first must beat North Carolina State on Saturday (a gimme) and then win November 27 at once-beaten Florida, which hardly is a sure thing. (Florida is 22-0 at home under Coach Steve Spurrier.) Notre Dame finishes this Saturday with Boston College, which is riding a seven-game winning streak, and then has to wait to find out its bowl opponent. Nebraska only needs to beat Oklahoma (8-2) November 26 to remain undefeated.

"I'd like to be Lou Holtz just one night," Bowden says of his close friend. But the irony is, in some ways Holtz should also be more like Bowden, who truly enjoys his job and its demands. In contrast, despite his triumphs, Holtz depicts himself as a man in a cauldron, overwhelmed by the requirements of being coach of the Irish, boxed in by excruciatingly long work hours and unable to find any relief.