Holtz Takes Blame for Pregame Incident : College Football: Notre Dame’s players are expected to write a collective letter of apology to USC for the fight that began at the end of the tunnel.

What really happened at Notre Dame?

Three days after the Fighting Irish defeated USC, 28-24, there remain more questions than answers about the fighting the Irish and Trojans did before the game. There is still little light at the end of the tunnel incident.

Who started it? Were the Notre Dame players lying in wait for the Trojans? Or did USC instigate the brawl by disrupting the Fighting Irish pregame drills?

The evidence seems to support USC.

Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz has taken full responsibility, and said he’d resign if it ever happened again. Notre Dame’s players are expected to write a collective letter of apology to the Trojans.

Richard Rosenthal, Notre Dame’s athletic director, has called Mike McGee, his USC counterpart, to apologize and assure that this will never happen again.

But details remain sketchy. This is one case where instant replay is no help. It just shows a mass of bodies pushing and shoving outside the tunnel leading to the locker rooms at Notre Dame Stadium.

It got pretty rough in there. Two off-duty policemen, working as bodyguards for the Trojans, got caught in the middle. One suffered a black eye. The other lost a tooth.

Ironically, one of those most seriously injured was a Notre Dame security guard who was attacked by his own players. His mistake was wearing a yellow rain slicker, the same style and color as those worn by the USC coaches.

Figuring there were about 120 Notre Dame players in uniform and about 60 Trojans, you could probably ask each individual and get 180 different versions of what happened.

This much seems clear: The Trojans, leaving the field after their pregame warmup, ran into the middle of Notre Dame’s punt drill.

“We were running in,” USC quarterback Todd Marinovich said, “and guys were getting picked off. That’s going to happen because we were done with our warm-ups before they were. They were right at the tunnel, punting toward us.”

The rules, clearly marked in the visiting locker room, request that the opposing team use the narrow sidelines to exit the field.

“There are no sidelines on that field,” Marinovich said. “I don’t see how 60 guys can go single file into the tunnel without going by them anyway. It was just a madhouse.

“Most of our players got into the tunnel, but then they (the Irish) blocked the tunnel from the stragglers.”

Marinovich, although he made it safely to the tunnel, didn’t escape the blows.

“I was dodging guys and I got a forearm I didn’t even see. It was a jab,” he said, pointing to his ribs.

When Marinovich looked up, he saw defensive end Scott Kowalkowski.

“I don’t get involved in those things,” Marinovich said. “All you can do is hurt your hand, and I don’t need any of that. So I just kept going.”

But not before the two exchanged words.

“I’m going to be running into you all afternoon, “ Kowalkowski reportedly said.

Nor was Marinovich totally innocent.

Later, after throwing a touchdown pass, he deliberately ran into Kowalkowski.

“I just gave him a little nudge,” Marinovich said, “to let him know I was there.”

Tit for tat.

Here were archrivals placed in a volatile pregame situation with the logical result.

But it’s not the first such incident at Notre Dame Stadium. A year ago, the Fighting Irish and players from Miami clashed in the same tunnel before another big game.

John Heisler, Notre Dame’s sports information director, said one possible solution would be for the Fighting Irish to warm up on the other side of the field.

Such a good idea, you’d think somebody might have thought of it before.

USC Coach Larry Smith has tried to avoid discussing the Notre Dame game, attempting to refocus his team’s attention on Saturday’s game against Stanford at the Coliseum.

But asked about “the Spot,” he broke his own gag rule.

The controversial spot came on USC’s first drive of the third quarter. On third and seven at the Trojan 14-yard line, Marinovich hit tight end Scott Galbraith with a pass. On the replay, it appeared that Galbraith had reached the 22-yard line before being pushed back and out of bounds.

But the ball was spotted at the 20, leaving USC a yard short. The Trojans punted, and Notre Dame, trailing at the time, 17-7, drove down and scored to get back in the game.

So what did Smith say to the official?

“I just asked him how he could sleep at night,” Smith said. “How could he look himself in the mirror?”

Smith, now in his third year at USC and his 14th year as a collegiate head coach, said this defeat went down as hard as any.

“We put so much into it,” he said, “emotionally, physically and everything, played so hard and wanted to win it so bad . . . That was probably the hardest I’ve ever seen a team take a loss.”

Smith included.

The Trojans have lost seven straight games to Notre Dame. Smith himself has coached the last three defeats, including last season’s battle for No. 1.

But going in, he was sure this was the year.

“This is a down place right now,” Smith said Tuesday of the USC campus. “We haven’t received any heat of any kind. It’s been all support.

“But when you want something so badly and don’t get it, we all have to know this is part of life.

“It’s like that kid at Christmas who has been wishing for that pony all his life. He thinks, ‘Boy, this is the year I’m going to get it. I’m old enough to ride it. Everything’s perfect. The barn’s built.’

“And he doesn’t get it. The next day, he’s not going to be a very happy camper, right?”

Trojan Notes

Trojan defensive lineman Randy Hord, who limped into practice last week on a sprained ankle, limped out of Saturday’s game with an injury to the other ankle and is listed as “very doubtful” this Saturday. . . . Running backs Aaron Emanuel (shoulder) and Scott Lockwood (dislocated thumb) will also stay on the sideline except in an emergency. . . . Kick returner Bruce Luizzi has a shoulder separation and is not expected to play either . . . The cold weather in South Bend, Ind., has left the Trojans facing a cold and flu attack, but that is not expected to keep anyone on the bench against Stanford. . . . Nose tackle Don Gibson, who has yet to play a down this season, may be just a week away. Gibson, who tore knee ligaments in preseason training, may see his first action against Oregon State Nov. 4 at the Coliseum. . . . Marc Preston has beaten out Ron Dale for the punting job.