Holtz Has Irish Headed in Right Direction

When he arrived at Notre Dame a year ago, Lou Holtz predicted adversity. His prediction came true.

In Holtz’s first season in what he calls his dream job, the Irish finished with a 5-6 record. In five of the losses, Notre Dame missed victory by six points or fewer. A total difference of 14 points separated the Irish from a 10-1 season -- against a schedule including eight ranked teams.

“We proved that we could compete this year,” Holtz said. “What we have to prove now is that we can actually dominate.”

A glimpse at the losses shows exactly how frustrating the season grew.

-- Against Michigan, it was the late-game pass that senior tight end Joel Williams caught out of bounds, or John Carney’s missed last-second 45-yard field goal.

-- Against Michigan State, it was the two interceptions, one run back for a touchdown, by MSU defensive back Todd Crum.

-- Against Pittsburgh, it was any one of the three field goals Carney missed.

-- Against Penn State, it was Williams getting the ball knocked loose on what would have been a winning touchdown pass.

-- And against LSU, it was Williams again being called out of bounds on the two-point conversion attempt.

“I’ll never be around any football team I have any greater respect for,” Holtz said. “You had to have been on the inside to know how difficult it was to be in that locker room. You had to be on the sideline or on the practice field with the hard work and the blood and the sweat and the tears and have very little to show for it.

“Except, we would be this close so many times.”

One play epitomized the Irish season. It came on the last play of the first half in Notre Dame’s 21-19 loss to LSU. Carney, the senior who holds practically every Notre Dame record for field goal kicking, hit a 44-yarder that was called back because of a dead-ball LSU foul. The officials walked off the penalty and Carney’s kick, from 5 yards closer, went wide left.

The season contained its good moments, too. Junior flanker Tim Brown ran back a kickoff for a touchdown against Air Force. The resultant victory touched off a three-game winning streak after Notre Dame got off to a 1-4 start, its worst season opening since 1962.

Now, with the season behind him, Holtz still faces many of the same questions he confronted at the beginning of the ’86 season.

The Irish need an improved secondary and a stronger front. They lack a true tailback and must find a quarterback among junior Terry Andrysiak, sophomore Steve Belles, or freshman Tony Rice, a highly touted prospect who ran afoul of the NCAA’s new academic requirements and sat out the season.

“We do have to get stronger, we do have to get quicker,” Holtz said. “We are going to win because a group of men down here make up their minds that we aren’t going to settle for being close.”