Suddenly, Irish Back in Picture

So much for the lack of the Irish.

Eight months of bad publicity and pot shots were erased in 60 minutes Saturday when Notre Dame, proving much more proficient on the field than in court, defeated defending co-national champion Michigan, 36-20, before a delirious crowd of 80,002 at Notre Dame Stadium.

Stunning?

Well, no. Notre Dame has been pretty good at this game, winning 11 national championships.

But given the recent off-season of their discontent, and the team’s on-the-field woes of late, it rated as the Irish’s most significant win since a 1993 home victory against Florida State.

It lifted an ebbing Irish tide, will no doubt rocket-boost the school in this week’s polls and reintroduced Notre Dame as a factor on the college football landscape.

“We feel like we can play with--and beat--anyone,” said tailback Autry Denson, who finished with 162 rushing yards and two touchdowns. “The message is, ‘It’s going to be hard to go into Notre Dame and win.’ ”

It was hard to believe any of this was going to happen at the half, when Michigan led, 13-6. But rather than burying Notre Dame when they had the chance, the Wolverines settled for too many field-goal attempts, two of which they missed.

After driving for a third-quarter field goal on their first possession to cut the lead to 13-9, the Irish seized on Clarence Williams’ fumble on the ensuing kickoff and simply dominated the rest of the game.

Williams’ muff led to a four-yard scoring pass from quarterback Jarious Jackson to tight end Dan O’Leary to give the Irish a 16-13 lead.

On Michigan’s next series, Irish linebacker Grant Irons recovered Ray Jackson’s fumble on the Wolverine 35.

On first down, Jackson nearly tripped as he dropped back to pass, but recovered to find receiver Raki Nelson uncovered for an easy touchdown down the left sideline.

“Those two turnovers obviously changed the momentum of the game,” Notre Dame Coach Bob Davie said.

The onslaught continued when the Irish’s Jimmy Friday blocked Jay Feely’s 40-yard field-goal attempt late in the quarter.

Denson added scoring runs of three and one yards in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.

It was a mystifying second-half performance for the fifth-ranked Wolverines, who played more like Central Michigan than defending national champions. It was Michigan’s first loss since a 17-14 defeat to Alabama in the 1997 Outback Bowl.

It was the most points given up by Michigan to Notre Dame in the 111-year history of the series.

Michigan returned nine of 11 starters from last year’s No. 1-ranked defense, yet Notre Dame amassed 376 yards.

Gee, Peyton Manning fans, maybe Charles Woodson deserved the Heisman Trophy after all.

Last year, Michigan gave up an average of 8.9 points and 91 rushing yards a game.

Saturday, Notre Dame finished with 36 points and 280 rushing yards.

“I think our front got handled,” Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr said.

The most pleasant Irish surprise was Jackson, who shook off a shaky first half to punch holes in the Michigan defense with his feet and his arm.

At halftime, Jackson had completed only one of six passes and had one yard in five carries. The Irish also had to settle for a field goal, largely because Jackson botched a first-and-goal play by forgetting the snap count.

Davie said his confidence never wavered.

“I see him everyday at practice,” Davie said. “I’ve seen him do remarkable things and I’ve seen him bounce back.”

Jackson did that, finishing with 62 yards rushing in 16 carries and completing all four of his second-half passes, two for touchdowns.

Jackson, the at-long-last successor to Ron Powlus, invigorated the offense with the return of the Irish option. Davie said 30% of the Notre Dame offense was retooled to take advantage of Jackson’s running skills.

“I felt comfortable the whole game,” Jackson said. “It was just a matter of executing.”

Irish eyes are finally smiling for Notre Dame, which plays at suddenly suspect 0-2 Michigan State on Saturday, then gets a bye before playing Purdue and Stanford.

Is it possible the Irish will be 4-0 entering an Oct. 10 meeting at Arizona State.

Davie, 7-2 as Irish coach after a 1-4 start last season, said he has believed in his program all along.

He said the off-season distraction of former coach Joe Moore’s successful age discrimination lawsuit against Notre Dame had no impact on the football team.

“It was no factor,” Davie said. “This had nothing to do with the summer. It never had anything to do with the summer.”

Yet Davie desperately needed a victory like Saturday’s to validate his system and the public’s attention back on the field.

The Irish were coming of a 7-6 season and a humiliating loss to Louisiana State in the Independence Bowl.

But on one shining, late-summer afternoon, Notre Dame football changed direction as fast as Jarious Jackson did.

“At some point you have to win a big football game,” Davie said. “I understand that, the players understand that, you all understand that.”