Pound for Pound, Notre Dame Is 28-3 Winner : Cotton: Irish running game generates 21 points in second half to hand Texas A&M; its first loss.

On a cold New Year’s Day in the Cotton Bowl, Notre Dame warmed Lou Holtz’s heart with a victory over Texas A&M; that the Irish coach could truly appreciate--a no-frills, up-the-gut 28-3 pounding.

The Irish scored 21 points in the second half to put the game away and had to throw only three passes to do it.

For Holtz, who never met a conservative game plan he didn’t like, it was pure football.

For Texas A&M;, the previously unbeaten Southwest Conference champion, it was pure torture.

Most damaging to the Aggies were two long Notre Dame drives in the second half that were accomplished entirely with running plays, most between the tackles.

“It definitely was north and south,” Notre Dame fullback Jerome Bettis said of his running style Friday. “I wasn’t looking for fakes and jukes. I was just trying to pound people.”

Bettis produced all three of the Irish’s second-half touchdowns. He scored on runs of four and one yard and also caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Rick Mirer.

As it turns out, that pass, which gave Notre Dame a 14-0 lead with seven minutes 17 seconds to play in the third quarter, stands as the last of Mirer’s collegiate career.

From that point on, the Irish simply ran, cranking out drives of 87 and 82 yards that didn’t include a pass.

Tailback Reggie Brooks finished the afternoon with 115 yards in 22 carries, and Bettis contributed 75 yards in 20 tries.

“We came in at halftime, took out about three-fourths of our plays and said, ‘We’re going to give our line a chance to come off the ball. Let Reggie and Jerome and the line take over,’ ” Holtz said. “We felt that gave us the best chance to win.”

The loss ruined the fourth-ranked Aggies’ attempt for a 13-0 season and provided yet another embarrassing moment for the Southwest Conference in the national spotlight.

SWC teams have failed to score a touchdown in four of the last five Cotton Bowls, including the last three. Texas A&M; lost, 10-2, to Florida State in last year’s game.

“We’re not accustomed to being beaten like that,” Aggie Coach R.C. Slocum said after Friday’s disaster. “We thought the game would be close, and it was for a half. But they thoroughly dominated us in the second half.”

Tailback Rodney Thomas, who replaced suspended starter Greg Hill for the Aggies, wasn’t much of a factor. He finished with only 50 yards in 20 carries, often getting hit behind the line of scrimmage.

“It’s hard to evaluate what losing Hill meant to them,” Holtz said. “But the way our defense played, I don’t think (A&M; playing without Hill) made much difference in the game.”

The Aggies, their only points coming on a field goal 33 seconds into the fourth quarter, finished with only 165 yards of offense.

Holtz was on his soap box after the game, claiming that the fifth-ranked Irish (10-1-1) deserve to be ranked No. 2 in the final polls.

“I think we’re the best football team in the country,” he said. “But that’s out of our hands. I would hope that we would finish second.”

The temperature at kickoff was 30 degrees, with a wind-chill factor of 20 degrees. The field was slick from freezing rain that pelted the area early Friday.

The weather appeared to be a factor on Notre Dame’s first series, which ended with a fumble by Brooks at the Texas A&M; 23-yard line. On three other carries during that drive, Brooks had trouble with his footing on the slick artificial surface.

The Irish crossed midfield three more times without producing points in the first half before split end Lake Dawson took a screen pass from Mirer and turned it into a 40-yard scoring play.

“It’s a great neutralizer for blitzes,” Holtz said of the screen, which came with 36 seconds to play before halftime, “and we didn’t see blitzes much after that.”

Mirer and Bettis finished off Notre Dame’s first series of the second half with their 26-yard scoring play. And then, after freshman quarterback Corey Pullig and the Aggie offense went nowhere again, the Irish started to pound away with Brooks, Bettis and backup tailback Lee Becton.

Taking over at their nine-yard line, the Irish used 10 running plays to move to a first down at the Texas A&M; 12, from which Brooks carried for eight yards before losing his second fumble of the day.

The turnover only delayed the inevitable, however. Trapped by two Notre Dame defenders, tackles Brian Hamilton and Bryant Young, Pullig lost the ball two plays into the Aggies’ next series, and the fumble was recovered by Irish linebacker Demetrius DuBose at the Texas A&M; 11.

Two plays later, Bettis ran one yard to make it a 21-0 game.

After the Aggies came back with a 41-yard field goal by Terry Venetoulias, Notre Dame went to the ground again. The drive was a monster. The Irish went 82 yards in 16 running plays and took 9:24. Bettis hit right tackle for four yards and the touchdown with 5:03 to play.

“It hurt (A&M;) more when we had those long drives and didn’t even throw a pass,” said Mirer, who threw only 16 passes, completing eight for 119 yards and two touchdowns. “We wanted to score, but we also wanted to take time off the clock. We did all of that.”

Mirer, who also rushed 13 times for 55 yards, was voted the game’s offensive most valuable player, but it was Bettis who dominated postgame conversation.

The 6-foot, 247-pound junior is mulling whether to make himself available for the 1993 NFL draft and has until Wednesday to announce a decision. Friday, he remained noncommittal, saying he was still studying the matter.

One factor was certain in his mind, however, based on his Cotton Bowl performance.

Asked about his future, Bettis laughed and said: “It’s bright. That’s one thing I can say.”