Finally, in a fit of exhilaration, the gloves came off. The long, irrational nightmare over, with hallowed Notre Dame finally a winner in this outlandish 2007 college football season, an Irish player tossed his gray mitts into the air amid a group celebration.
Reserve tight end Will Yeatman held his index fingers aloft on a full sprint to the north end zone. Reserve receiver Barry Gallup Jr. set a vertical-leap career best in by chest-bumping tackle Sam Young. And Jimmy Clausen stood before a section of frothing fans, arms open, basking in an opportunistic 20-6 victory over UCLA, the end justifying the screams.
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That’s Notre Dame, 1-5 and counting.
“For this program, it’s a big win,” Irish coach Charlie Weis said, “because it has been a while.”
If the Irish let UCLA slide before 78,543 at the Rose Bowl, it would have been like the Salvation Army turning away a box of Armani suits. Notre Dame managed just 140 yards of offense, surrendered three more sacks and misfired on 14 of 17 third downs.
But Bruins starting quarterback Ben Olson missed the last three quarters with a sprained knee, giving way to redshirt freshman and former walk-on McLeod Bethel-Thompson. That led to seven lethal turnovers for UCLA, two of which led to Notre Dame scores, including a 34-yard fumble return for a touchdown by the Irish’s Maurice Crum.
“It’s the kind of game where Notre Dame played everything close to the vest and didn’t make any mistakes,” UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said. “They put some pressure on our offense, and our offense made some mistakes.”
Dorrell might well include himself in that category. The logic-defying moment of the game occurred not long after halftime, when a fourth-and-2 confronted UCLA. Having held the Irish firmly in check to that point, Dorrell and Co. decided to call a bootleg pass from Bethel-Thompson that Crum promptly blew up for a 7-yard loss.
The Irish went just 29 yards in 13 plays and settled for a Brandon Walker field goal and a 6-6 tie.
But the bloodletting did not stop there. Two possessions later, UCLA called another bootleg on a third down from its own 5-yard line — which turned into a David Bruton interception, which turned into a 1-yard scoring sneak from Clausen and a 13-6 lead.
Yet another Bethel-Thompson turnover on the next possession — a fumble that Crum returned for a score — allowed Notre Dame a relieved, if ironic, celebration.
Though this is no fault-free team, not even close, all that ailed the Irish for the time being dissolved into a cool California night. The first half with 3 rushing yards? The lack of a scoring drive of more than 30 yards?
All blissfully history. Just like the last time the Irish appeared here, when the Four Horsemen of Irish lore rode for the last time on New Year’s Day 1925.
If these Irish are legendary, it’s still on the ironic side of that spectrum. Still, for a night, they were no longer the Snore Horsemen. They didn’t wake any echoes. But at least they woke up.
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