Irish finish horrible season with victory
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- They wouldn't stop singing.
Holed up in the locker room behind Stanford Stadium Saturday afternoon, the Notre Dame football team broke into their standard fight song, a rare result in the most dire of seasons. Then the Irish put another quarter in the "Victory March" jukebox, then another and another and another.
By the time they finished, most of the team's fifth-year seniors had played choir director, savoring their final musical moments in a Notre Dame uniform.
"We sang the fight song about 10 times," said Trevor Laws. "People are ecstatic, all kinds of pictures being taken, all kinds of love being shown."
There wasn't much of that this fall, even after a 21-14 victory over Stanford granted Notre Dame its second straight win in a 3-9 season. The Irish didn't secure that result until cornerback Raeshon McNeil broke up a Cardinal desperation fourth down pass in the end zone with 26 seconds remaining.
Robert Hughes ran 18 times for 136 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, making him the first Irish rookie back to crack 100 yards in back-to-back games since Allen Pinkett did it in 1982.
Jimmy Clausen delivered a mixed performance, showing a fearlessness to throw deep against Stanford's blitz and an unawareness of how to handle that pressure. His fourth quarter interception, a desperation toss while being rag-dolled by Stanford linebacker Clinton Snyder, gave the Cardinal a first down in Notre Dame territory with the scored tied 14-14.
Charlie Weis didn't want a sideline explanation. He wanted Clausen to watch the Jumbotron.
"Needless to say, he saw himself in the grasp and just laying it up to them," Weis said. "That could have been a critical play."
Stanford missed a 49-yard field goal attempt on the ensuring possession, then Notre Dame pounded away with Hughes. After a couple Clausen passes, Hughes broke a 44-yard gain up the middle. Two plays later he was in the end zone for the winning points.
The end-game dramatics obscured a game made wild as much by the officials as the players. Big East referee Dennis Hennigan's crew overturned four calls, including erasing a beautiful diving touchdown grab by David Grimes. The replay official also gave Stanford a touchdown, took away a Cardinal interception and negated a Notre Dame fumble recovery.
The biggest call might have been the personal foul flag against Laws after a wild sequence of three laterals, 93 return yards and a Tom Zbikowski touchdown. David Bruton picked off the halftime heave, handed it to Zbikowski, who pitched to Darrin Walls, who returned the favor to Zbikowski.
"He disowned me," Laws said after Zbikowski told the media to ask about the personal foul. "I'm only an acquaintance now. I deserve it though … that was ridiculous."
Many would describe this season in similar terms after Notre Dame lost nine games for the first time and posted some historically horrendous statistics. There will be a day to analyze those figures, not that Weis will rush to tear apart the most trying season of his coaching career. He'll remain on the West Coast to recruit instead of traveling home with the team.
"We're still not a great football team, but at least we've taken two steps in the right direction," Weis said. "That's a big positive."
Those "Victory March" renditions will go silent soon enough. Until then, the Irish won't apologize for a few brief moments of glee.
"You live in the moment," Bruton said. "When that moment's over you've got to realize what you've got to do to do something better. If you're part of the problem, you better make sure you're not part of the problem."