Irish Leave Ty in a Knot

The game was sold as “Ty Bowl” but it really came down to can we move on now?

On a sunny day set against a purple-shirted backdrop interspersed with specks of green, No. 16 Notre Dame defeated Washington, 36-17, at Husky Stadium.

The school that fired Willingham last year beat the school that hired him -- and that was about it.

“I thought it was pretty unique,” Willingham would say.

It would have been better theater if both teams were on equal footing, but the team Willingham left behind in South Bend is clearly better than the one he inherited in Seattle.

Saturday would have been memorable had Washington, 1-10 last year, been able to pull off a stunning upset. Instead, it was only interesting.

Willingham did not offer much pregame fodder for his first game against Notre Dame after his aborted tenure as Irish coach, but his body language during the game spoke volumes as to how much he wanted to stick it to his former school.

Willingham was agitated and animated and, believe it or not, had his team positioned for a possible upset as Washington trailed, 12-3, in the third quarter.

Then, the Irish went on a 17-0 run and, in effect, reality set in.

After the game, Willingham sought out former players on the field and even embraced a few.

“I expected them to at least say they knew me,” Willingham said. “And that’s what happened.”

Yet, there were no public tears shed or lingering moments spent with the players. All in all, there was not much loitering.

Notre Dame moved on to 3-1, with Purdue up next, and 1-3 Washington gets ready (or not) for UCLA next week in the Rose Bowl.

“We’re here to play football,” Notre Dame linebacker Corey Mays said. “Coaches come and go. That’s the business.”

While the Irish players certainly respect Willingham, and had nothing to do with his firing after a three-year record of 21-15, it seemed everyone was ready to turn the page.

“You’ve got to understand,” said Irish receiver Jeff Samardzija, who had eight catches for 164 yards. “People are out to win football games. Period. That’s what I was out to do.”

There was a harsher undertone regarding all that has transpired, but it mostly involved hurt feelings and uprooted families.

Washington defensive coordinator Kent Baer, who lost his job at Notre Dame when Willingham got fired, admitted the whole ordeal had taken a toll.

“It’s been a difficult week for the coaches,” he said.

Baer spent the day exhorting his outmanned defense to play over its head and, for a while, it did.

“We had a lot of ‘want to,’ ” he said.

Washington totaled 449 yards and held Notre Dame’s point total in check for more than a half but couldn’t make big plays when it mattered.

Washington hit on a 39-yard pass play on its first drive, but instead of scoring on the play, receiver Anthony Russo stumbled and was down at the 12.

A few plays later, Craig Chambers fumbled at the Irish one-yard line on a call that was reviewed by instant replay and upheld.

Washington missed another chance at the Irish six when cornerback Ambrose Wooden made a brilliant end-zone interception of an Isaiah Stanback pass.

Still, it was only a 12-3 game at the half and, early in the third quarter, Washington twice stopped Notre Dame on fourth down in Husky territory.

After the second stop, Washington rumbled downfield with ideas of making it a one-possession game, but tailback Kenny James’ fumble at the Irish 32 proved to be the turning point.

From there, Notre Dame drove 68 yards in seven plays and scored on Rashon Powers-Neal’s two-yard run to make it 19-3 with 2:48 left in the third quarter.

Notre Dame played the rest of the game with Washington in its rear-view mirror.

“It was a football game made to contain a lot of emotion,” Willingham said. “But it was a football game that came down to what football games usually come down to: the ability to make plays.”

Notre Dame certainly made more. The Irish, rebounding from last week’s overtime loss to Michigan State, ransacked the Huskies for 560 yards.

Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn completed 25 of 37 passes for 327 yards and a touchdown. Tailback Darius Walker had 128 yards and a touchdown in 21 carries.

Irish Coach Charlie Weis, who had nothing to do with Willingham’s firing but has a lot to do now with Willingham’s former players, was happy to be rid of this game.

“We’re going to move on and I hope they move on,” Weis said. “I wish them nothing but the best.”

With the likes of Purdue, USC and Tennessee left, Notre Dame has enough schedule power to surge up the polls after going from unranked to No. 10 before the previous week’s defeat.

With the emotional energy expended Saturday, though, you wonder what’s left for Washington, which plays its next four games against four of the best teams in the Pacific 10 Conference: UCLA, Oregon, USC and Arizona State.

Before the game, Weis and Willingham exchanged pleasantries on the field.

“We both acknowledged it’s been a little bit of a circus,” Weis said later.