Notre Dame Stumbles but Doesn’t Fall in Opener

Ron Powlus was having a bad game and so was sixth-ranked Notre Dame.

Vanderbilt had just taken a 7-6 lead, and the Irish were on the verge of losing another season opener to a big underdog. Somehow, Coach Lou Holtz finally got through to his players Thursday night and the Irish escaped with a 14-7 victory over the Commodores.

“When we were trailing, we really felt a sense of urgency,” said Powlus, who directed a 14-play, 75-yard march that ended with Marc Edwards’ three-yard touchdown run with 4:59 left. “Before the last drive, Coach Holtz told me, ‘All right now, we’re going to find out about ourselves.’ I went out and told the line what he said and I think we showed him.”

Unlike last season, when Northwestern shocked the Irish, 17-15, in the opener, Notre Dame composed itself after Vanderbilt took the lead on a dramatic 50-yard touchdown pass from Damian Allen to Todd Yoder with 11:16 to go.

“They took it up a notch and we just didn’t match it,” Vanderbilt Coach Rod Dowhower said. “It’s frustrating. Trying hard isn’t enough. You’ve got to make the plays.”

Edwards nearly fumbled away the game when he lost the ball at the Irish 23 to set the stage for Allen’s touchdown pass, which came on a third-and-37 play. Edwards had three fumbles and lost two of them.

“I’m not real proud of how I played,” said the 6-foot, 237-pound fullback, who finished with 84 yards in 22 carries and caught four passes for 50 yards. “I haven’t had three fumbles in my whole career. I’m just embarrassed. I’m embarrassed for the team. I tried to lose this game for us.”

But his teammates wouldn’t let him, especially the defense. In the 1,000th game played by Notre Dame, the Irish held Vanderbilt to two yards rushing and only 126 total yards. Vandy ran only 40 plays to 89 by the Irish. Left end Renaldo Wynn had two of the five sacks for Notre Dame.

Powlus, meanwhile, started off what will probably be his last season by completing a career-best 19 passes in 32 attempts for 216 yards. He finished strong, but overthrew several open receivers in the first half.

The Commodores recovered four of seven Irish fumbles, two each by Edwards and Robert Farmer. But they were unable to cash in any other chances. In their final possession, Jason Dunnavant fumbled after catching a pass from Allen, and cornerback Ivory Covington recovered with 4:08 left.

The Irish’s other scores came on 33- and 32-yard field goals by freshman Jim Sanson.