Tennessee Gets Behind, Wins : Notre Dame: The No. 13 Volunteers rally from a 31-7 deficit and upset the No. 5 Irish, 35-34, on a freak blocked kick.

His moment of glory reserved, his place among Rockne and the Gipper available for the taking, Rob Leonard stepped onto the Notre Dame Stadium field Saturday and tried to kick his way into Fighting Irish folklore.

Separating him from history was 27 yards and as it turns out, the rear end of Tennessee defensive back Jeremy Lincoln, whose own mother teases him about his ample posterior.

Don’t laugh. These things happen here. It is, after all, Notre Dame.

Leonard, a second-string walk-on who wasn’t summoned until Tennessee owned a 35-34 lead, until four seconds remained on the scoreboard clock, until team trainers told Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz for the millionth time that starting kicker Craig Hentrich was out with a sprained right knee, until every one of the 59,075 fans were on their feet and a national television audience was on the edge of its seats, lined up near the right hashmark and waited for the snap.

This is where fate came in. And Lincoln, too.

Starting at the right corner of the Tennessee line, Lincoln sprinted past his would-be blocker and actually overran the ball as Leonard kicked. But as luck would have it--the kind of luck that Notre Dame usually enjoys--the ball caromed off Lincoln’s right buttock, cartwheeled toward the goalposts and missed wide right. A one-point victory was Tennessee’s, though nobody, including Irish Coach Lou Holtz or Volunteer Coach Johnny Majors knows how.

“I’ve been in this game a long time and that was as difficult a loss as I’ve ever been associated with--ever,” a disconsolate Holtz said. “It’s the most disappointed I’ve ever been in my life.”

And this from a stunned Majors: “I can’t describe in words the meaning of this win and the way it happened.”

He isn’t the only one. Somehow the Volunteers overcame a 24-point deficit, survived four turnovers--three of which resulted in Notre Dame touchdowns--weathered a 315-yard performance by Irish rushers and endured a Notre Dame Stadium crowd eager to see its team improve its national championship chances.

Yes, well, say goodby to Notre Dame’s title hopes. The No. 5-ranked Irish (8-2) were done in by No. 13 Tennessee (6-2), as well as a variety of other developments.

For instance, what are the chances of someone’s puffy bottom blocking a field goal attempt? Of course, here in South Bend, anything is possible.

“Whenever I go home, my mom teases me about my big butt,” Lincoln said. “Today, my big butt paid off.”

What are the chances of Leonard, who isn’t even listed in the Notre Dame media guide, and who has attempted one point-after touchdown in his two-year career, being asked to deliver a tiny miracle at game’s end? Better yet, what are the chances of the starting field goal kicker getting hurt in the first place?

It happened, though, and when Notre Dame could least afford it. Nobody knew it at the time, but when Hentrich was helped off the field with 2:02 left in the third quarter and the Irish leading, 34-21, Notre Dame’s fate was sealed. It would come down to a field goal. It had to. That’s the Irish way.

Holtz predicted just this very type of finish. Earlier in the week, he said he wouldn’t be the least surprised if the winner scored 35 points. Even more amazing, Holtz said the game would be decided on the final play.

But this? A no-name non-scholarship kicker from Decatur, Ga.? A collision between butt and ball?

As Leonard prepared for his one and only attempt, Tennessee players stood on the sideline in anguish. Quarterback Andy Kelly, who completed 24 of 38 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns, draped a towel over his head, squinted his eyes nearly shut and peeked only at the last moment.

Volunteer defensive end Kacy Rodgers turned away from the field and stared at the Notre Dame fans.

Tennessee guard Tom Myslinski whispered, “Please, let him miss it,” and then added a little prayer.

“Hey, I’m Catholic, too,” he said.

When Leonard’s kick squirted wide right, Myslinski and Kelly rushed onto the field. Rodgers, still looking into the stands, savored the moment.

“When I saw their heads drop, I knew we had it then,” he said.

Truth be known, it should have never come to this. Notre Dame led, 21-0, by the end of the first quarter. They owned a 31-7 lead with 23 seconds left in the first half.

But then Tennessee cornerback Floyd Miley scooped up a blocked field goal and raced 85 yards for a touchdown. Instead of going to their locker room demoralized, the Volunteers found a glimpse of hope.

At halftime, Majors scribbled something on the locker room blackboard. It read: “Tennessee 14, Notre Dame 10, Turnovers 21.”

True enough. Two fumbles and one interception helped account for 21 of Notre Dame’s 31 first-half points. Stop the turnovers, said Majors, and you stop the Irish. Or so he suggested.

Actually, the Irish stopped themselves, especially in the crucial fourth quarter. When Notre Dame followers look back at the 1991 season and pinpoint the reasons why they don’t have another championship, they can start at 9:03 in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game.

For reasons unknown, Rick Mirer was instructed to throw three consecutive passes. At the time, the Irish were leading by six points and had run around and over the overmatched Volunteers.

But rather than chew up the clock, Notre Dame tried those three passes, all incomplete.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the Irish went to the air again, this time with 5:10 left in the game. Mirer completed the pass . . . to Tennessee safety Dale Carter. About a minute later, the Volunteers scored on a 26-yard screen pass and took a 35-34 lead.

“They’ve got an explosive offense, and our offense kind of choked in the second half,” Notre Dame tailback Tony Brooks said.

The gagging did more than cost the Irish a crack at a New Year’s Day bowl game that really matters. Notre Dame complicated the entire bowl picture. Nothing can really be decided until the Irish play Penn State and No. 1 Florida State plays No. 2 Miami next Saturday.

Of course, the would-be hero, Leonard, wasn’t thinking about any of this. Instead, he was thinking about the difference between storybook legend and footnote.

“It’s something I always dreamed about,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get to try it again before I leave.”