COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Army Gets Within a Foot of Beating Irish : Nonconference: Notre Dame stops two-point conversion try at goal line to win, 28-27.

Do not tamper with the rhythms of dramatic lore. With 39 seconds to go at Giants Stadium on Saturday, Notre Dame suddenly was staring at the ghost of a rivalry--apparently long withered away--in all its bygone, corny, mythic proportions.

Army had scored its second touchdown in less than four minutes and, with no timeouts remaining, was lining up for the two-point conversion that would blow Notre Dame clear back to the 1940s, when these two teams traded No. 1 rankings for five consecutive years. Army showed up Saturday with a 1-2-1 record, and roughly 50-pounds-per-man lighter than 4-2 Notre Dame, yet Army had feinted and schemed its way back from a 28-7 deficit early in the third quarter to 28-27.

And only a heroic tackle by Notre Dame sophomore cornerback Ivory Covington, all 5-foot-10, 161 pounds of him, at last froze the scoreboard there--28-27, Notre Dame--as 74,218 squirmed in their seats.

Covington’s game-saving tackle--bear-hugging junior Army tight and Ron Leshinski (6-3, 240) out of bounds at the one-foot line on that last two-point conversion--brought back memories of this storied old duel.

“I’ve got to get that ball in the end zone,” Leshinski said. “The play is designed for me to catch it in the end zone, but I got bumped back a step or two on the line of scrimmage, so I was running along the one-yard line when I caught it. Before I could turn, I felt him [Covington] hit me.”

That Army should try for the winning two-pointer, instead of the safe kick for the tie against a team favored by more than three touchdowns, was neither in the minds of the Army coaches and players, nor in the spirit of this rivalry’s glory days.

“Our players deserved to go for two. They deserved to have the chance to win,” said Army Coach Bob Sutton.

In fact, in the second or two that McAda’s pass hung in the air for the waiting Leshinski, Army appeared to have stolen the victory.

“I pictured this a thousand times in the last two weeks,” McAda said. “Us getting the ball with three minutes to go and driving down for the winning score. It was like living my dream.”

In real life, Notre Dame’s offense spent three quarters squashing Army’s defense. But then Notre Dame mistakes--a pass-interference penalty and two big fumbles, one by quarterback Ron Powlus on a fourth and inches at the Irish 40--let Army get back into the game.

Coach Lou Holtz was trying to call a timeout from the press box when Powlus fumbled.