Finally, Alabama Turns Tables on Notre Dame

The sign hanging at one end of Legion Field said it all: “This one is for you, Bear.”

And with Greg Richardson scampering 66 yards on a punt return and Mike Shula passing for three touchdowns, second-ranked Alabama finally accomplished something it couldn’t do in four tries under the late Paul (Bear) Bryant--it defeated Notre Dame, 28-10, Saturday.

“If I could, I’d be more than happy to give my part of the excitement of winning this game and dedicate it to him,” said Ray Perkins, who played for Bryant in the mid-1960s and succeeded him as Alabama’s coach after the 1982 season.

Then Perkins added: “This team never did lose to the Irish. That’s in the past.”

Shula’s scoring passes of 52 and 22 yards to flanker Al Bell and 11 yards to tight end Howard Cross erased some of the disappointment of losing all of its meetings with Notre Dame.

The four losses were by a total of 13 points, two of them in bowl games that cost otherwise undefeated Alabama teams national championships in 1973 and 1974. The Crimson Tide also felt it deserved national championships that were voted to Notre Dame in 1966 and 1977.

Alabama is 5-0 this season and unbeaten in its last 11 games. Notre Dame is 1-3 in its first season under Coach Lou Holtz.

“If you’re 5-0, you’re a good football team,” Perkins said. “I’d put this team up against anybody, and I wouldn’t bet against them.”

Holtz, whose team also lost to Michigan by one point and Michigan State by five, was asked if he considered Alabama a national championship contender.

“They’ve got a shot at it,” he said. “Alabama will be very difficult to beat. They have a complete game--the kicking game is good, the offense is solid and the defense forced a lot of bad plays.”

Notre Dame, which fell behind, 14-0, scored late in the second period on an eight-yard pass from Steve Beuerlein to Tim Brown after Shula was sacked and fumbled at his 11-yard line. John Carney kicked a 22-yard field goal on the final play of the first half to make it 21-10 less than a minute after Shula’s touchdown pass to Cross.

Bell caught 5 passes for 99 yards and also carried twice on reverses for 16 and 24 yards. Shula finished with 15 completions in 23 attempts for 191 yards.