Kickoff Returns Rocket Notre Dame Past Michigan : Two in Second Half by Ismail Fuel Irish, Ranked No. 1, 24-19

In the Rocket’s red glare, Notre Dame retained its ranking Saturday as the No. 1 team in the land of the free.

Raghib (Rocket) Ismail returned two kickoffs for second-half touchdowns, propelling the Fighting Irish to a 24-19 victory over No. 2-ranked Michigan before 105,912 in Michigan Stadium.

“That may be the fastest guy I’ve ever seen,” Michigan Coach Bo Schembechler said of Ismail, who scorched the Wolverines at the start of the second half and again in the fourth quarter after they had closed to 17-12. “He’s faster than the speed of sound. We couldn’t tackle him.”

Ismail’s returns provided most of the excitement on a dark and dreary day. Rain fell throughout the morning and into the afternoon, leaving the artificial turf soggy and slippery, and Notre Dame played it safe.

The Irish were cautious offensively and aggressive defensively.

“We didn’t want to give Michigan anything it didn’t earn,” Coach Lou Holtz said of Notre Dame’s conservatism.

The Irish didn’t, giving up no turnovers despite the conditions.

And then they let the Rocket win the game for them.

After a first half that ended with Notre Dame leading, 7-6, only because an extra-point attempt by Michigan’s J.D. Carlson banged off the left upright, Ismail took the second-half kickoff, charged through a hole in the middle of the defense and sprinted down the right sideline.

“Our front line made the initial contact and created a decent-sized crease, and then the back wall in front of me surged through and picked up the guys who were left,” Ismail said of the 89-yard return. “It was nice.”

Notre Dame increased its lead to 17-6 later in the quarter on a 30-yard field goal by Craig Hentrich, but Michigan then drove 61 yards to a touchdown behind backup quarterback Elvis Grbac.

Grbac, who replaced injured starter Michael Taylor midway through the third quarter, completed 17 of 21 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns, but missed on a two-point conversion attempt with 12 minutes 58 seconds left.

Still, Michigan had rallied.

Holtz told his players to expect a squib kick, but when Michigan kicker Gulam Khan booted the ball into the air, Holtz said that a player behind him on the sideline called out, “Oh, here we go.”

“And I thought we had a chance,” Holtz said.

Ismail took the kick at the eight-yard line, broke free from the grasp of Brian Townsend at about the 25 and raced up the left sideline.

“It was a bigger hole this time,” Ismail said, “and I saw a crease off to the left. I felt somebody on my leg, but then I broke free. I saw Rodney (Culver) level somebody, and then I saw him get back up.

“As a return man, I’m supposed to find a crease, hit it as fast as I can, try to make one guy miss and take it to the house.”

Culver waved him home.

What went through Ismail’s mind when Townsend hit him?

“You try to keep your balance, but things happen so quickly,” said the sophomore flanker from Wilkes-Barre, Pa. “You don’t think, you react.”

Holtz said the Irish use several plays on kickoff returns.

And what do they call the two that broke Michigan’s back?

“Middle,” he said. “We’re not real clever.”

The name might not be clever, but the player returning the kicks is ingenious. Ismail, who returned a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns last season against Rice, has returned four for scores in a 14-game career, breaking a school record held by Tim Brown.

Nobody had returned a kickoff for a touchdown against Michigan since Oct. 26, 1957, when Ron Engel of Minnesota ran one back 95 yards.

Holtz said it’s more than speed that sets Ismail apart.

“There are a lot of track men playing football,” Holtz said. “Rocket Ismail is a football player who runs track. He runs (the ball) very well. He’s got natural instincts and natural inclinations.

“He’s got good balance and good body lean. There are a lot of guys who run fast, but they run in a straight line. They don’t have the awareness or the elusiveness or the toughness.

“We’ve all seen the guys who can run really fast, but can’t run far. They aren’t what you’d call really great football players.”

Despite Ismail’s obvious contributions, “probably the biggest reason for us getting beat was, our offensive line did not do a good job,” Schembechler said. “Their line outquicked us, outplayed us.”

Notre Dame limited Michigan to 94 yards rushing.

“Our defense really played well, particularly our rushing defense,” Holtz said. “Our secondary made an awful lot of critical tackles.”

Middle linebacker Ned Bolcar made one in particular, knocking the ball out of Taylor’s hands midway through the second quarter.

Notre Dame then drove 24 yards to its only offensive touchdown, quarterback Tony Rice completing a six-yard pass to Anthony Johnson.

It was suggested to Ismail that spectacular touchdowns helped Brown win the Heisman Trophy two years ago.

Can they do the same for Ismail?

“Not this year,” he scoffed.

Why not?

“I said from the first day he walked out (onto the practice field) in shorts that he was something special,” Holtz said.

A nation saw for itself Saturday.