Buckeyes set the pace to flatten Notre Dame

Sporting News, The, Oct 7, 1996 by Ivan Maisel

As Lou Holtz paid homage to the Ohio State team that gave him his second-worst loss at Notre Dame Stadium, his counterpart stood quietly off to the side. An Ohio state trooper stood behind John Cooper, protecting him, one supposes, from the assemblage of note takers. In his right hand, Cooper held a shiny game ball. As Holtz bit off his words at the last syllable, Cooper flipped his trophy in the air and caught it.

"Our mistakes and penalties were absolutely devastating. Holtz said. (Flip! "It seems like every time we had a break the; broke our heart." (Flip) "All we wanted was ;a chance to win the game." (Flip)

Cooper had every right to be, uh, flippant. His Buckeyes had dominated the Fighting Irish, 29-16, and he got the game ball as a prize for his 150th career victory. It also was the 100th game in his stormy Buckeyes career. "I told somebody this week that's about 90 more than some people thought I'd last," Cooper said.

But he has lasted. Cooper and Holtz share similar philosophies. In a matchup of two coaches who entered the game with 360 victories and 45 seasons of experience, there aren't a lot of tricks. The game became a contest of strength on the line and speed on the flanks. In both cases, the Buckeyes got the better of the Irish.

Pick your poison: "They are very, very strong up front," Holtz said. "The speed was the difference," Notre Dame defensive coordinator Bob Davie said.

Notre Dame took a 7-6 lead, which set up the answer to the question everyone had been asking. The Buckeyes won their opening games against Rice and Pittsburgh by the combined score of 142-7, so no one knew how their inexperienced ballhandlers would react to adversity. Ohio State needed 2:28 for a decisive reply. There was no game-breaking play, just five powerful thrusts: a 16-yard pass, a 13-yard run, an 11-yard run, a 14-yard pass and a 25-yard pass. Quarterback Stanley Jackson threw a 3-yard pass to fullback Matt Calhoun for a lead Ohio State never relinquished.

But the most impressive aspect of the Buckeyes' performance was the way they built a 22-7 halftime lead.

On Ohio State's first touchdown, Pepe Pearson ran through the freeway cleared by left tackle Orlando Pace. Notre Dame linebacker Kory Minor lined up at the the Irish's 3. By the time Pearson scored, Minor was still moving backward.

"If you watch very close," Buckeyes offensive coordinator Joe Hollis says, "you see we run the ball left."

On Ohio State's third touchdown, Pearson scored around left end from a yard out. "It's kind of unusual to have the ball on the 1-yard line and run a toss sweep, Hollis said with a twinkle in his eye. "We feel like we got some domination there. We are lefthanded in a lot of ways."

Pearson finished with 173 yards and two touchdowns. Not bad for an offense that had to replace Heisman Trophy-winning tailback Eddie George, All-American wide receiver Terry Glenn, tight end Rickey Dudley--three of the first 14 players in the NFL draft--and All-Big Ten quarterback Bobby Hoying. "I was concerned about where we were after the first two games because of the youthful people at the skill positions," Hollis says.

The Irish also had trouble with the Ohio State defense. Trailing 29-10, Notre Dame answered with a 16play, 68-yard drive that took 6:09 off the clock. Unfortunately, it ended at Ohio State's 8. "That isn't quite the end zone," Holtz said, one of his few stabs at humor. Ron Powlus finished 13-of-30 for 154 yards and one touchdown, but don't blame him: He got sacked four times and hurried a lot more.

As Cooper answered the final questions, a small boy wearing a Notre Dame jersey ran up to him. "Can I have that ball?" the boy asked.

"No, son," Cooper said. "You can't have that one."

Cooper walked over and handed the ball to his wife, Helen.

With Penn State this week, no one is ready to crown the Buckeyes national champions on the strength of one victory. The key, Hollis says, could be found in a baseball analogy. Running behind Pace is like "throwing a 98 mile-per-hour fastball on a 3-and-2 count. We're going to come with our fastball." Even if the other team knows its coming.

The search for a player comparable to Pace is over. But no one guessed it would be Randy Johnson.

Deviled Ducks

Arizona State coach Bruce Snyder worried last week that his Sun Devils would celebrate the Nebraska upset well into the week when Pacific-10 Conference contender Oregon came to Tempe. On the morning after the victory, he had the managers working early to put up signs about the Ducks throughout the locker room and meeting rooms.

It was another good coaching job by Snyder.

The Sun Devils walloped the Ducks, 48-27. After a breather against Boise State this week--Arizona State's fifth consecutive home game--the Sun Devils play at UCLA, come home for USC and play at Stanford. The game against the Trojans on October 19 may be for the Pac-10 title.

Military presence

Army, Air Force and Navy are a combined 8-2, the best showing by the triumvirate since 1991 (the GulfWar) or 1966 (all three started 2-0).