Ismail Shifts Into High Gear in Fourth Quarter : Notre Dame: He runs for 109 yards in the final period to help No. 3 Irish hold off Pittsburgh, 31-22.

Raghib (Rocket) Ismail was contained for three quarters Saturday, but only minutes later he had both Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz and Pittsburgh Coach Paul Hackett talking in Heisman terms.

Ismail rushed for a personal-best 116 yards and a touchdown as the No. 3 Fighting Irish withstood a fourth-quarter rally to beat Pittsburgh, 31-22, Saturday night.

Ismail, held to seven yards rushing in five carries through three quarters, ran for 109 fourth-quarter yards and a game-breaking 76-yard touchdown. His long run, after two touchdown runs by Tony Brooks following Pitt turnovers, made it 24-7.

“The guy is magical,” Hackett said. “We did a great job of containing him--at least until the end. There’s no question he’s the best player in the country . . . and they’re the best team in the country.”

Said Holtz: “He is the best player in the country. No question.” Ismail’s previous rushing high was 108 yards against Colorado in the Orange Bowl last January.

Ismail had 214 all-purpose yards, giving him 482 in his last two games, as the Irish beat Pitt for the third consecutive year. Ismail, Brooks (who ran 18 times for 88 yards) and Rodney Culver, who ran for 71 yards in 13 carries, helped Notre Dame outrush Pitt, 296 yards to 84.

“I thought we were playing all right, at least until they gave the ball to the Rocket man,” Hackett said.

Alex Van Pelt completed 37 of 51 passes, including 14 in a row in the fourth quarter, for 384 yards and two last-quarter touchdowns but was unable to rally Pitt from the 24-7 deficit.

The Fighting Irish (6-1) shut down Pitt (3-4-1) on three important fourth-down plays to withstand an off night by quarterback Rick Mirer.

Mirer, who didn’t complete a pass until early in the second quarter, completed one of 49 yards to Ismail to set up Craig Hentrich’s 39-yard field goal and a 17-7 lead in the third quarter.

The Irish defense took it from there. Linebacker Donn Grimm intercepted Van Pelt’s third-down pass at the Irish 31 late in the third period. Later, Bob Dahl sacked Van Pelt on third and five at the Irish 25, and Van Pelt’s fourth-down pass to Eric Seaman fell short of the first down.

Ismail then broke off-tackle for the 76-yard scoring run--the longest of his career--to make it 24-7.