Irish Know They Have Battle-Tested QB

Arnaz Battle can expect to hit another concrete wall Saturday when Notre Dame plays host to No. 1 Nebraska in the biggest game at South Bend, Ind., since that seminal 1993 victory against Florida State.

In his first career start last week, Battle, a junior quarterback, led the Irish to a 24-10 home victory over Texas A&M;, although he’ll need more cooperation from teammates if the Irish are going wipe the egg off last year’ 5-7 face.

In the first half, Battle took a vicious hit after running out of bounds on the Notre Dame sideline.

Cheap shot from a Texas A&M; player?

Nope.

Battle rammed into a retaining wall.

“They say you take your first hit and the jitters go away,” Battle said. “My first lick just so happened to be against a concrete wall. It loosened me up a lot. Kind of knocked the wind out of me.”

It may have said something about the Irish’s confidence in Battle that none of his teammates tried to cushion the blow.

You figure if Joe Montana was careening face-first toward a wall, guys would have formed a human box-spring mattress.

But only a few minutes into his first wait-and-see start, Battle’s teammates opted to recoil.

“I thought somebody would grab me, but they parted like the Red Sea,” Battle joked.

The players had more to protect than they thought.

After a wobbly start, Battle settled down to orchestrate the first important win in a must-win season.

Battle rushed for 50 yards in 12 carries and had 133 passing yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead, 46-yard scoring strike to Javin Hunter.

This was bulletin-board news for those who doubted whether Battle could even make the ball spiral.

In two years of mop-up work behind Jarious Jackson, Battle had totaled three interceptions and no touchdowns.

Most of us remember Battle two years ago as second act in a twin-bill horror flick during a 10-0 loss to USC.

Battle matched starter Eric Chappell’s two-interception pitching performance at the Coliseum with two completed passes to USC of his own.

“That was just a tough situation,” Battle said. “It was one of those nights that nothing went right.”

There may be no tougher job in sports than Notre Dame quarterback--the position has produced four Heisman winners plus Daryle Lamonica and the Joes, Theismann and Montana--and perhaps no tougher year to be under center than this one.

It might sound presumptuous to suggest Coach Bob Davie’s future rests on the steadiness of Battle’s right arm, but it might be true.

Battle says he and his teammates never saw it that way entering the season.

“A lot of the players didn’t look at the situation Coach Davie is in,” he said. “We just wanted to go out there and win.”

The Texas A&M; victory was nice, and needed, but Nebraska could be a watershed moment in Davie’s tenuous tenure.

Victory could salvage the coach’s career; a blowout loss could launch a vertigo free-fall.

Battle sees the dome as half full.

“If we go out and execute, and win, it’ll put Notre Dame back where it is supposed to be,” he said.

Battle knows Nebraska. As a high school star in Shreveport, La., he toured Lincoln on one of his two recruiting visits.

Battle will watch plenty of Cornhusker tape between now and Saturday, but he also plans to review footage of last week’s header into the wall.

In fact, he’s taking down names and jersey numbers.

“I’m going to watch that film and find out who moved on that sideline,” Battle joked.

HAVE TROPHY, WILL TRAVEL

The best job in college football belongs to Jared Newland, a 29-year-old pigskin fan from Montana.

Newland gets paid to haul the Sears Trophy to college football’s top games each week. The trophy, insured for $30,000, is presented each year to the national title game winner by the ESPN/USA Today voting coaches.

Newland was a sports information grunt at Utah State in the spring of 1999 when he ran across a classified ad on the Internet.

“It basically said ‘looking for tour manager to tote Sears Trophy around country,’ ” Newland explains. “I said, ‘This is right up my alley.’ ”

Newland’s first baby-sitting assignment this year was Saturday’s UCLA-Alabama game at the Rose Bowl.

Newland logged 22,000 air miles last year and got a sideline pass to Ohio State-Miami, Notre Dame-Michigan, Georgia Tech-Florida State, Penn State-Miami, Michigan-Michigan State, Syracuse-Virginia Tech, Kansas State-Nebraska, Florida-Florida State, Texas-Nebraska in the Big 12 title game and the Sugar Bowl.

Newland and the trophy head to Seattle this week for Miami at Washington.

Newland uses United Parcel Service to ship the 123-pound trophy from town to town.

Last year, in what could have been a career-ending mix-up, the trophy got lost in transport to Miami because of shipping problems caused by Hurricane Floyd.

It was the closest Newland has come to a heart attack.

“I thought the thing was in Cuba,” he says. “I was very upset.”

Thankfully, the trophy turned up in a Miami warehouse next to golf bags and suitcases.

The work is not all gravy.

Newland sometimes feels like a rock ‘n’ roll roadie lugging the trophy in the kind of black case used to move sound equipment.

“It’s tough pushing it up ramps, and sometimes I don’t get a parking pass,” he says. “Sometimes I’m pushing it in from the boonies.”

Another problem: no bathroom breaks.

He can’t leave the trophy’s side during games.

Once, last year, Newland had to stop an intoxicated Nebraska fan from stealing the crystal football off its stand and making like Gale Sayers out of the stadium.

The guy wanted to fight Newland outside the stadium later, but “10 Nebraska guys grabbed him and threw him out.”

Newland also discovered the Sears Trophy is not popular in Michigan. Three years ago the coaches’ poll awarded its share of the national title to Nebraska even after No. 1 Michigan won the Rose Bowl.

At Ann Arbor, Mich., last year, some fans cursed at Newland: “We should have won that thing!”

Yes, the job can be a grind Sunday through Friday.

“‘But it all pays off on Saturday,” Newland says.

HURRY-UP OFFENSE

Who said life was fair? Texas quarterback Major Applewhite set 11 school records last year while throwing for 3,357 yards and 21 touchdowns, but he may not get the start in Saturday’s home opener against Louisiana Lafayette. Texas Coach Mack Brown said his starter, Applewhite or Chris Simms, would be a game-time decision, although Simms, the touted sophomore son of Phil, has been working exclusively with the first-team offense.

Simms says having a famous last name does not bother him.

“I don’t care if people try to compare me to my dad,” Chris says of father Phil, who led the New York Giants to a Super Bowl title in 1986. “If they do, that’s great. I love him.”

Pick-me-up memo to Penn State fans: In 1983, Joe Paterno’s team rallied from a 0-3 start to finish 8-4-1. In 1990, Penn State opened 0-2 and finished 9-3. The difference between now and then? Here’s a thought: talent?

Irish players needed a refresher course to get them through a rendition of the “Notre Dame Victory March” after Saturday’s victory. The Irish only break into song after victories and Notre Dame had not won since October.

“I had to pass out a sheet before the game,” Davie quipped.

Michigan quarterback Drew Henson, out because of a broken foot, thinks he’ll be ready for the Sept. 16 game at UCLA, but coaches may hold him out until the Wolverines’ Big Ten opener at Illinois on Sept. 23. Given backup John Navarre’s four-touchdown performance against Bowling Green, there may be no reason to rush Henson back.

Former prep teammates Michael Vick and Marcellus Harris reunite tonight when Virginia Tech visits East Carolina. Some day Harris can tell his kids he was the last man to beat Vick out at quarterback. When Vick was a freshman at Ferguson High in Newport News, Va., Harris was the team’s starter. But after six games, Coach Tommy Reamon elevated Vick from the junior varsity and moved Harris to wide receiver. The rest is history. Vick has become a superstar at Virginia Tech, while Harris is a senior receiver at East Carolina.