Rice Doesn’t Get Steamed by Criticism of His Passing Arm

As the quarterback of the nation’s top-ranked football team, Notre Dame’s Tony Rice seemingly doesn’t get the respect he probably deserves.

The knock on him is that he’s an option-type quarterback, who passes adequately if the Irish aren’t forced to pass.

Even Lou Holtz, Rice’s coach is mindful that Notre Dame can’t depend on Rice’s arm to win in a comeback situation.

“We’re not a good football team if we’re required to throw,” Holtz said. “If we are forced into a catch-up game, that’s not the best route we want to go.”

Holtz added that Rice has improved every week, but still isn’t an accomplished passer.

Rice has heard, or read the criticism on his inability to pass and is apparently taking it in stride.

“A lot of people say that Tony Rice shouldn’t be the quarterback at Notre Dame, that he shouldn’t be in the lineup,” Rice said. “They say a lot of things. But I know deep down that a lot of us are working together and I’m not there by myself.

“They say that Tony Rice can’t pass. I know I can. I can’t let anyone get the best of me by saying that.”

On a run-oriented team, Rice’s passing statistics are modest. He has thrown 129 passes, completing 65--that’s 50.4%--for 1,085 yards and 8 touchdowns. He also has thrown 7 interceptions.

By contrast, USC quarterback Rodney Peete has thrown 165 more passes than Rice for 2,429 yards and 18 touchdowns with only 8 interceptions. His percentage, 62.9, is also considerably better.

For all of his agility, Peete is primarily a passer who happens to be an athlete. Rice is an athlete who happens to be a passer.

Rice, 6 feet 1 inch and 198 pounds, makes up for any deficiencies he might have as a passer with his running ability on option plays.

The junior from Woodruff, S.C., is Notre Dame’s second-leading ground gainer. With 614 yards rushing, a 5.7-yard average, he already has more yards in a single season than any quarterback in Notre Dame history. Moreover, he has a team-leading 8 touchdowns by rushing.

“All summer, I heard people say we could never be a great team with Tony Rice as our quarterback because he can’t throw,” Holtz said. “I’m not particularly concerned about statistics, or anything else. Just look at his record.

“As a starter, his record is 14-2 and that’s with wins against USC, Alabama, Michigan, Penn State, Pitt and Miami. That’s rather impressive, if you ask me.”

An academic casualty of Proposition 48, Rice sat out his freshman year. He became the regular quarterback last season in the fifth game against Air Force, when Terry Andrysiak suffered a broken collarbone.

The next week, in his first start, he led the Irish to a 26-15 victory over the Trojans.

Rice’s passing was dreadful. He completed 3 of 7 throws for 47 yards with 1 interception. But he gained 56 yards rushing and ran 26 yards for a touchdown when he faked a pitch and then dashed past two USC defenders.

He didn’t finish the game, though, taking a hit early in the fourth quarter that required 14 stitches in his chin.

Rice suffered a mild concussion and he said he didn’t remember much about the rest of the game.

Now he’s matched against unbeaten and second-ranked USC Saturday at the Coliseum in what is virtually a national championship game.

Rice acknowledged as much when he said, “We’re No. 1 and USC is one of the teams in our way.”

He avoided comparisons with Peete, a senior and a Heisman Trophy candidate.

“He has his style and I have my own,” Rice said. “I’m willing to take on any challenge in front of me. What we have in common is that we’re both competitors and we like to win.”

Peete and Rice have something else in common as accomplished athletes. Peete has a possible future in professional baseball, and Rice is regarded as an outstanding basketball player.

He earned all-state honors in South Carolina and won the most-valuable-player award in the all-star game of the annual Notre Dame Bookstore Basketball event on campus.

Rice sounded more like a running back than a quarterback when he was asked to comment on USC’s defense that has allowed an average of only 68.1 yards rushing, leading the nation in that category.

“They’re fast and pursue to the ball,” he said. “Our offense will just have to take the spark out of them. We’ll just have to keep pounding on them.”

As a passer, Rice has a strong enough arm, but Holtz wanted to improve on his quarterback’s accuracy. So he suggested darts.

A dart board hangs in his room and he said he plans to challenge Holtz to a dart contest once the season ends.

Rice said he’s making his first trip to California and is looking forward to it.

“I’m going to enjoy every minute of it by bringing back a victory,” he said confidently--even if he doesn’t do it with his arm.

Trojan-Irish Notes

By beating UCLA Saturday, 31-22, USC became the first team to win 8 Pacific 10 Conference games in a season. The league was expanded in 1978 to accommodate Arizona and Arizona State. Moreover, USC is the first team to go unbeaten in league play since the 1979 Trojans (7-0). . . . Notre Dame (10-0) hasn’t come into the USC game here with a perfect record since 1970. USC upset the Irish in the rain that year, 38-28. . . . Notre Dame is scheduled to arrive here tonight and will stay at the Newport Marriott.