Irish Run Away With a Tie : Midwest: Holtz booed for conservative play-calling after Notre Dame rallies in fourth quarter for 17-17 deadlock with Michigan.

The boos began raining on Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz shortly after he called the first running play, the one that came with 1:05 remaining in Saturday’s game against Michigan. The one that was supposed to catch the Wolverines by surprise and help break a 17-17 tie. The one that didn’t work. That one.

The boos grew louder when Holtz called a second running play, this time with 35 seconds left . . . and counting. This one was supposed to get a first down and expose the Michigan pass defense--or so Holtz said. Instead, it resulted in an illegal procedure penalty and left the Irish 51 yards from legitimate field goal range and 88 yards from a touchdown.

But nothing matched the howls when Holtz signaled for a timeout--Notre Dame’s last-- after an incomplete pass by quarterback Rick Mirer. Seven seconds remained, but it didn’t matter. Moments later, Mirer’s final pass of the day fell harmlessly, preserving an odd tie that left everyone searching for explanations.

“It just doesn’t seem like the game should be over,” Holtz said. “I don’t know how you’re supposed to feel after a tie.”

Try frustrated.

“If it had been Michigan,” Wolverine tight end Tony McGee said, “we would have played to win.”

Maybe so, but sixth-ranked Michigan (0-0-1) had better be careful about pointing too many fingers. The Wolverines had a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but then slowly self-destructed. They committed a costly, if not questionable, pass-interference penalty that later resulted in an Irish touchdown. They gave up their first and only sack of Elvis Grbac, killing another drive. And they saw Grbac throw two interceptions in less than seven minutes, an unfortunate bit of timing that allowed third-ranked Notre Dame (1-0-1) to eventually tie the score and, incredibly enough, have a chance to win it.

This was vintage Irish drama, of course, another in a long series of improbable happenings that seem to happen only at Notre Dame Stadium. One minute the Irish were on the verge of a loss, the next minute they readied themselves for the usual comeback drive for the ages.

One problem: There was no drive, only two very strange running plays, followed by a penalty and then two incomplete passes. The Gipper, Hornung and Montana would have stared in disbelief. In fact, Hornung, who was in attendance Saturday, nearly did that very thing.

Holtz defended the play selections, but his heart didn’t seem in it. The draw play to fullback Jerome Bettis on first and 10 from the Notre Dame 12? Holtz said he wanted to take a look at the Wolverine pass defense and anyway, Bettis might break through for a big gain.

“He came close to popping it out,” Holtz said.

Bettis gained seven yards. By the time Notre Dame lined up for its second play, nearly 30 seconds had passed.

As for the failed running play on second down, Holtz said he wanted another peek at the Michigan coverage. He saw it. He also saw a Notre Dame illegal procedure penalty and 11 more seconds tick off the clock.

By then, it was virtually hopeless. Michigan defenders dropped way back and Mirer never had much of a chance. One pass attempt was caught out of bounds and the final attempt was batted down at the Michigan 32-yard line. The booing resumed shortly thereafter.

“People have the right to do whatever they wish to do,” Holtz said.

In this case, 59,075 fans and a national television audience wished to second-guess Holtz and that final minute of play. Among the questions:

Why, with only one timeout left, would Notre Dame choose a running play with 1:05 remaining in the game?

Why did it take not one, but two running plays for Holtz to feel comfortable with the Michigan defensive coverage? And did the Irish really have that kind of time cushion for such a play-calling luxury?

Why didn’t Holtz simply say he was playing for a tie, the better to keep his national championship hopes alive?

Why did he call a timeout after an incomplete pass?

“It’s a crazy game, it really is,” he said. “It left me with an empty feeling.”

He wasn’t alone. Notre Dame players, knowing better than to doubt the wisdom of Holtz, were on their best diplomatic behavior after the game. On occasion, though, they revealed their true feelings.

“I was surprised,” linebacker Pete Bercich said of the running plays. “I figured there was a reason for it.”

What it was, Bercich didn’t know.

“Something with reading the coverages,” he said. “We kind of, like, want to forget about it.”

But then the little crack. “We thought we could win it,” he said. “We got Rick Mirer at the controls, you’re never out of it.”

Mirer would like to forget the whole thing, too. Rather than criticize, Mirer considered the alternative, mainly a loss and an end to Notre Dame’s title hopes.

“It’s not my job to second-guess Coach Holtz,” he said.

Michigan had its frustrations. The Wolverines had recovered three Notre Dame fumbles and turned two of them into touchdowns. They had blocked an Irish field goal and turned that into three points of their own. They had protected Grbac almost the entire game, survived some iffy calls by the officials and generally played well enough to leave here with a victory.

Instead, the Wolverines let it all slip away during the final quarter, thanks mostly to a pass-interference call against cornerback Ty Law with 11:25 remaining. On a third and seven from the Michigan 12, Mirer threw to split end Lake Dawson near the end zone. Replays seemed to indicate that Law stripped Dawson of the pass shortly after it thumped against Dawson’s chest.

But that’s not the way the official saw it. Moments after the apparent incomplete pass bounced away, a yellow flag fluttered to the ground.

“You know something, my hands are tied,” Michigan Coach Gary Moeller said. “I can’t tell you, so I’ve got to lie. I can’t comment on officials. If I do, I can’t coach next week (because of a Big Ten Conference rule prohibiting public criticism of officials).”

But Moeller wasn’t afraid to mention that this was Michigan’s 1992 debut. The school had tried to adjust its schedule so the Wolverines would have a tune-up game first, but failed in the attempt. So off they went to South Bend for a season opener.

“I could use that as an excuse,” Moeller said. “To be honest with you, it’s a correct excuse.”

Excuse or not, Michigan could have, perhaps should have won Saturday. The same might be said of Notre Dame--if only it had given itself a chance.

“Dang, we wanted to win this game,” Moeller said. “About the only thing I can say is, it’s better than getting beat.”

Barely.