Irish, Buffaloes May Never Agree on Ref’s Clipping Call

Notre Dame’s mercurial Raghib (Rocket) Ismail has 4.28 speed and elusive moves, but he was held in check for most of the Orange Bowl by a Colorado team fully cognizant of his potent presence. Then, with less than a minute to go, it was as if Colorado turned cocky and offered Ismail a challenge: Beat us if you can.

He almost did. Ismail returned a punt 91 yards for a touchdown with 35 seconds left. But the play was nullified by a clipping penalty against Notre Dame’s Greg Davis, and Colorado held on to a 10-9 victory Tuesday night.

“I still don’t think it was a clip,” Davis contended. “I thought it was borderline. I thought I had my head in the guy’s front.”

“I had him (Ismail),” said Colorado safety Tim James. “He was in my grasp and he (Davis) clipped me.”

“There’ll be other times,” a resigned Ismail said.

Colorado center Jay Leeuwenburg said he saw his life pass before him when Ismail broke into the clear.

Ismail took the 44-yard punt at his 9, went straight upfield and broke three tackles while putting his hand on the turf twice to maintain his balance. He cut to the right and had an open field once he reached the corner.

Desperate Colorado players began looking to each other for help, but no one would catch Ismail.

It was Colorado Coach Bill McCartney who ordered punter Tom Rouen to kick to Ismail rather than aim out of bounds after a late drive had stalled out near midfield.

“I had confidence in our coverage team,” McCartney said. “We had done a good job all night. Over the last five years, we have the best record of any punt coverage team in the country.”

“The return by Rocket was one of the greatest individual efforts I’ve seen,” said Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz.