Irish Find Pot of Gold at End of Trojan Bid : College football: No. 5 Notre Dame is given ball on controversial onside kick and USC’s rally fails, 24-20.

Eight wasn’t enough for Notre Dame.

The Irish, parlaying a big-play offense, controversial rulings by the officials and other strange twists of fate, made it nine consecutive victories over USC Saturday, 24-20.

Another sellout crowd of 59,075, on a dark, dreary day at Notre Dame Stadium, saw the unranked Trojans rally after halftime and play the fifth-ranked Irish almost even statistically, only to have their upset bid fall short when nearly every break went against them.

“You hear all this talk about the luck of the Irish,” USC cornerback Marvin Pollard said. “It makes you wonder.”

Pollard was involved in one of the most controversial plays of the game, an onside kick by the Trojans that was recovered by Notre Dame with 1:45 remaining, ending USC’s chance at victory.

After fullback Raoul Spears scored on a four-yard run to pull USC to within the final margin with 1:50 to play, Trojan freshman Cole Ford bounced the kickoff over the heads of Notre Dame’s front line of receivers.

A scramble ensued in front of the Notre Dame bench, with Pollard eventually emerging from a pile with the ball in his hands.

“Everything worked,” Pollard said. “We just didn’t come up with the ball--in the referee’s eyes.”

The ball was awarded to the Irish, who ran out the clock to improve to 7-1, extending their winning streak to six games.

USC, which hasn’t beaten Notre Dame since 1982, is 3-4.

“I had the ball initially,” Pollard said. “And then they jumped on. From what my teammates told me, the first ref said, ‘Trojans’ ball.’ I was on the ground saying, ‘I have the ball, I have the ball.’ The ref was trying to get all the players off the pile. But I was saying, ‘I have it.’ ”

In the officials’ eyes, Irv Smith of the Irish had it.

“I just dived into the middle of the pile and was able to squirm my way through and get a hold of it and pull it closer to me,” Smith said. “And the ref gave me the ball. I wasn’t trying to (pry) it loose.

“I had a fair shot at it.”

So ended another chapter in a 65-year-old series that has produced more than its share of bizarre plays and controversial rulings.

This one had a few:

--Notre Dame’s second touchdown, giving the Irish a 14-0 lead at halftime, was scored on a 15-yard pass from quarterback Rick Mirer to tailback Tony Brooks, who appeared to be a foot or two short of the goal line when he lost control of the ball, fumbling it into the end zone.

Linebacker Gidion Murrell recovered for the Trojans, but the officials, apparently believing that Brooks had crossed the goal line before he lost the ball, signaled a touchdown for the Irish.

“He didn’t cross, for sure,” USC safety Mike Salmon said.

Replays seemed to support Salmon’s view.

--In the third quarter, with the Trojans trailing, 14-0, USC quarterback Reggie Perry faked a handoff into the line and rolled to his left on a fourth-and-two play at Notre Dame’s six-yard line.

Spears, also running to his left, was alone in the flat, waving his arms and waiting for a pass that would surely produce a touchdown.

But Perry kept the ball and was stopped for no gain.

Later, Perry and his coach, Larry Smith, explained that on the previous play, Perry suffered a torn tendon in his right pinky. As he rolled out to pass, his pinky bent and he was unable to get a firm grip on the ball. Rather than risk a three-fingered pass, he kept the ball and took his chances.

“I saw Raoul wide open, waving at me,” Perry said. “The play worked perfectly . . . but I didn’t make the decision to throw.”

Smith called it bad luck.

Still, led by Perry, the Trojans kept the pressure on the Irish, finishing with 462 total yards, only three fewer than Notre Dame. USC had 25 first downs, 17 in the second half. Notre Dame had 20, nine in the second half.

Notre Dame ran for 299 yards, getting 178 yards and two touchdowns in 24 carries from sophomore fullback Jerome Bettis--”He’s the best I’ve ever seen,” Smith said--and 83 yards in 10 carries from Brooks.

USC ran for 240 yards, 83 by tailback Deon Strother.

Mirer passed for 166 yards, Perry for a season-high 222.

“We just never could take control of the game,” Irish Coach Lou Holtz said. “That’s a compliment to Southern Cal. They wouldn’t let us.”

The Irish, though, never relinquished the lead after Bettis scored on a 53-yard run in Notre Dame’s third possession.

Each time USC got close, the Irish came up with big plays.

The Trojans, dominant in the third quarter, pulled to 14-7 midway through the quarter on a 29-yard touchdown run by Strother, which was preceded by a 47-yard pass from Perry to Larry Wallace.

They then recovered a fumble by Bettis and took off down the field again, only to lose the ball on a fumble at the Irish 15--Strother losing control of the ball on a first-down running play.

“A guy just reached out and cupped it pretty good,” said Strother, who also had trouble with his footing on a field dampened by morning rain.

“The ball being a little slippery, it just popped out. It was my fault for not having two hands on the ball.”

Mirer took advantage, completing a 49-yard pass play to flanker Lake Dawson. Dawson made a diving catch to set up a one-yard touchdown run by Bettis that gave the Irish a 21-7 lead with 13:08 remaining.

Later, after linebacker Kurt Barber forced a fumble by Mirer to set up a 14-yard touchdown run by Mazio Royster that cut Notre Dame’s lead to 21-14, the Irish came up with another key play.

A 40-yard run by Brooks led to a 34-yard field goal by Craig Hentrich, increasing the Irish lead to 24-14 with 4:50 left.

It seemed like too much for the Trojans to overcome. But back they came again.

Perry, who completed 20 of 35 passes, completed four of his last five for 37 yards. Royster added 23 yards in three carries, including four on a fourth-and-one play, and USC drove 73 yards in three minutes.

“They really kept us off balance in the second half,” Holtz said of the Trojans. “Their game plan was excellent.”

But after Spears scored to pull the Trojans within 24-20, nothing went right for USC. On a two-point conversion attempt, Perry’s pass sailed over the hands of wide-open split end Johnnie Morton.

Then, on the onside kick, the ball went to Notre Dame.

Smith came way across the field to protest, drawing a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

USC’s frustrations continued.

What will it take for the Trojans to beat the Irish?

“Refs on our side,” cornerback Calvin Holmes said.

* COMMENTARY: Another loss to rival Notre Dame signals hard times for USC and Coach Larry Smith. C6