Notre Dame Turnaround Continues

One victory down, one more to go.

Ron Powlus connected with Bobby Brown on a 11-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter as Notre Dame overcame 234 yards rushing and two touchdowns by Amos Zereoue to defeat No. 22 West Virginia, 21-14, Saturday.

As time expired, the Notre Dame fans rushed out onto the field and surrounded the players, who raised their helmets in celebration. When they finally were shooed off the field, most of the fans left through the hallowed tunnel chanting, “We are N-D.”

“To be able to come back late in the season, after all we’ve been through and beat the 11th-ranked team in the nation [LSU] and then [No. 22] . . . ,” Irish Coach Bob Davie said, his voice trailing off as he shook his head.

The victory was the latest in what once seemed an improbable turnaround for the Irish, who were destined to go down as one of the worst Notre Dame teams after starting 1-4. But they’ve won four in a row and five of their last six--the last two over ranked teams, Louisiana State and the Mountaineers.

The Irish (6-5) are over .500 for the first time since defeating Georgia Tech in the opener, and the victory moved them within one victory of qualifying for a bowl. Notre Dame will qualify for a bowl if it defeats Hawaii next Saturday. Representatives from the Independence, Liberty and Motor City bowls were at Saturday’s game.

Like the rest of this quirky season, though, the victory didn’t come easily for the Irish. The Mountaineers (7-3) got the ball back at their own 20 with 1:14 left and quarterback Marc Bulger moved them quickly down the field.

On fourth and 11 at the Irish 26, Bulger lofted a pass to Jerry Porter that could have been for a touchdown. But Irish cornerback Ty Goode intercepted it in the end zone with eight seconds left and was immediately mobbed by the Notre Dame band.