Boston College Upsets Notre Dame : Nonconference: But unlike last season’s narrow victory over the Irish, this time the Eagles dominate from the second quarter on.

Only 17 seconds remained in Saturday’s Boston College-Notre Dame game at Alumni Stadium. But with the Eagles about to clinch a 30-11 victory, that was too long to wait to celebrate.

Too long for those old enough to have thirsted for revenge for 50 years, remembering Notre Dame’s last visit to this city, a 64-0 victory over Dartmouth at Fenway Park in 1944.

Too long for those mad enough to have thirsted for respectability after last year’s Boston College victory over Notre Dame was labeled a fluke by some.

Too long for those loyal enough to have thirsted for victory in a game described by everybody from program vendors to area newspapers as The Holy War or the Catholic Super Bowl, matching the last two Catholic universities in this country still playing Division 1-A football.

Whatever their reason, the Boston College faithful in a sellout crowd of 44,500 could wait no longer. They stormed the field, grabbing the goal posts, hugging their heroes and generally creating a scene reminiscent of some of the great victories downtown in Boston Garden by the Celtics or the Bruins.

For Boston College Coach Den Henning, it was as big as a Super Bowl victory. Henning was an assistant coach on two Super Bowl-winning Washington Redskin teams, but as he stood in that multitude on the field Saturday, he realized this was at least equally important to him.

“That’s because I’m the head coach,” he told reporters after order had been restored and the final 17 seconds played out, “because we were underdogs and because we beat one of the mythological giants of college football.”

It wasn’t merely that a 1-2 Big East team beat a 4-1, eighth-ranked national powerhouse, albeit one without four key offensive players. It was the way the Eagles won.

This wasn’t a team squeaking by in the last second as was the case last season, when Boston College won, 41-39, on David Gordon’s 41-yard field goal. This was a team that dominated from the second quarter on. This was a team that beat the Fighting Irish where they rarely lose--on the lines.

That wasn’t all. Henning ran a reverse. He ran a pass play off a reverse. And, in the most crucial play of the game, he called for a fake field goal.

Up to that point, Notre Dame was leading by 3-0 on Stefan Schroffner’s 27-yard field goal. At the start of the second quarter, Boston College drove to the Irish 16-yard line, where the Eagles faced a fourth and six. On came Gordon for an apparent 33-yard field goal.

Instead, Henning went with a play he named “Leprechaun.” Boston College holder Matt Hasselbeck took the snap, took a deep breath, stood up and there, before his eyes, was a hole on the left side of the line that looked as big as Boston Commons.

Hasselbeck ran for eight yards. And, with new life, the Eagles ran into the end zone on the next play, David Green accounting for the eight yards.

“We studied some film and thought that we had something,” Henning said. “It was not going to be run if they didn’t give us the look that we wanted.”

But they did and Boston College never looked back, scoring 24 consecutive points to take command.

The Eagles were led by:

--Running back Justice Smith, who got an unexpected workload when Green reinjured an ankle in the second half, and responded with 147 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries, scoring from seven and six yards. Smith came into the game with a season total of 115 yards rushing on 20 carries.

--Safety Terence Wiggins, who intercepted the first two passes of his career.

--Defensive end Mike Mamula, who had two of the Eagles’ four sacks and applied constant pressure.

--Quarterback Mark Hartsell, who didn’t have a big day statistically, completing 11 of 19 for only 83 yards and no touchdowns. But Hartsell, coming back from a hand injury, kept the Irish defense off-balance by rushing eight times for 21 yards.

It was a miserable day for Notre Dame quarterback Ron Powlus, who tried to shake off the effects of a groin injury, but managed to complete only five of 21 passes for 50 yards.

“I’m not going to make an excuse,” Powlus said. “They just beat us.”

The Irish were without fullback Ray Zellars and tailback Lee Becton and offensive linemen Mike Doughty and Ryan Leahy.

Said Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz: “This was the most physical that we’ve been manhandled in a long, long time. This was not Notre Dame. This is not the way it’s going to be. At the end of the game, I made a commitment to the coaches, players and Notre Dame. We are going to turn it around and we’re going to get back on top earlier than people think.”

Lou’s Low Points

Worst Notre Dame losses with Lou Holtz as coach:

Date Opponent Score *Jan. 1, 1988 Texas A&M; 35-10 Nov. 18, 1987 Miami 24-0 Nov. 16, 1991 Penn State 35-13 Oct. 8, 1994 Boston College 30-11 Oct. 4, 1986 Alabama 28-10 Nov. 15, 1989 Miami 27-10 Oct. 3, 1992 Stanford 33-16

*--Cotton Bowl