Mirer Passes Irish Past Michigan State : Nonconference: Notre Dame quarterback throws for 253 first-half yards in 52-31 victory over Spartans.

Coach Lou Holtz didn’t sound too pleased after watching No. 7 Notre Dame roll up a 38-10 halftime lead on the way to a 52-31 victory over Michigan State on Saturday.

“I would have liked to have run the football better,” he said. “We threw the ball more because we couldn’t run the football,” he said. “I don’t think we played well defensively; I really didn’t.”

But amid downplaying the Fighting Irish’s domination of Michigan State, Holtz did acknowledge that Rick Mirer, who threw three first-half touchdown passes, “was absolutely brilliant.”

Mirer completed 12 of 24 passes in the first half for 253 yards. Holtz pulled him midway through the third quarter with the Irish leading, 45-10.

Mirer, who had one interception, threw only one pass in the third quarter, a seven-yarder.

“This was a day we had 2 1/2 quarters offensively you won’t see very often,” Holtz said.

Lee Becton returned a kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown for Notre Dame (2-0-1), which rebounded from a 17-17 tie against Michigan last week. Michigan State of the Big Ten fell to 0-2.

Notre Dame scored on its first five possessions.

The 52 points marked the highest score against the Spartans in 10 seasons under Coach George Perles.

Perles said the final score could have been even worse, but “Lou was a gentleman today. He could have probably tacked on some more. They’re an outstanding team.”

Mirer set the tone for the game on the first play when he faked a handoff and hit split end Lake Dawson with a 43-yard bomb down the middle.

After that, enjoying good protection, he peppered the Spartan secondary.

“This kind of embarrassment is not something you want to face week in and week out,” Myron Bell, a Michigan State cornerback, said.

Mirer gave Notre Dame a 14-3 first-quarter lead with a seven-yard pass to Dawson, who was practically alone in the end zone.

Early in the second quarter, Mirer found split end Ray Griggs all alone for a 39-yard touchdown.

The Spartans scored three times in the final quarter, getting a 15-yard run from Tico Duckett and scoring runs of 16 and three yards from Craig Thomas. Those scores came against Notre Dame reserves and after most of a crowd of 76,188 had left.