College Football : Tim Brown Returns to Haunt Spartans, 31-8 : Notre Dame Flanker’s 275 All-Purpose Yards Overwhelm Michigan State

Speedy flanker Tim Brown harbored high ambitions against Michigan State and did even better than he hoped.

“We didn’t expect to get two punt returns; we were only looking to get one,” said Brown, who returned two punts for touchdowns for No. 9-ranked Notre Dame in a 31-8 victory over No. 17 Michigan State Saturday night.

Brown’s first-quarter returns and 275 all-purpose yards overwhelmed Spartan defenders.

“We knew that (punter Greg) Montgomery had a great average, over 52 yards, and figured he would overkick his coverage, and he did,” Brown said.

Still, Irish quarterback Terry Andrysiak wasn’t happy. “We didn’t make big mistakes which would kill us, but we didn’t move the ball too well, either,” he said.

The Irish (2-0) ran up a 24-0 halftime lead on Brown’s touchdowns, two field goals by Ted Gradel, and a pair of safeties.

Quarterback Bobby McAllister, who led the Spartans (1-1), was sacked eight times, including one for a safety and another that forced a fumble and led to a Notre Dame touchdown.

“We made some big mistakes, and they took their toll,” he said.

The Spartans finally scored with 1:06 left on McAllister’s 57-yard pass play to Andre Rison and a two-point conversion pass to Bernard Wilson.

An earlier Spartan scoring threat failed late in the third quarter when McAllister fumbled to the Irish at the Notre Dame four-yard line.

Michigan State tailback Lorenzo White carried 19 times for 51 yards. “They adjusted very well to every move we made,” he said.

The Irish took a 5-0 first-quarter lead on a bizarre safety and a field goal before Brown returned a Montgomery punt 71 yards for a touchdown, aided by a key final block from linebacker Rod West. Two minutes later, after the third sack of McAllister, Brown again charged past Spartan defenders to return a second punt for 66 yards.

Brown tied a collegiate record held by many players with his two punt-return touchdowns.

The Irish scored a safety on the opening kickoff when Spartan tailback Blake Ezor took Gradel’s kick at the two-yard line, then stepped into the end zone and downed the ball, mistakenly calling a touchback.