Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ham: "The Four Horsemen, Knute Rockne — or whatever his name is — they won't be playing tomorrow. They might need them, though. They need to play the most perfect game Notre Dame has ever played if they plan on beating us." The 1993 season was supposed to be a "rebuilding" year for Notre Dame because the 1992 backfield lost first-round picks in quarterback Rick Mirer and fullback Jerome "The Bus" Bettis, plus record-setting tailback Reggie Brooks (who was selected in the second round). First-round tight end Irv Smith also departed, and first-round cornerback Tom Carter joined Bettis as an early entrant into the NFL Draft. Two strengths made the Irish a sur- prising 9-0 and No. 2. One was line play, led by Lom- bardi Award winner Aaron Taylor on offense and fellow first-round pick and future All-Pro Bryant Young on defense. The other was protecting the foot- ball. Notre Dame entered the contest with no turnovers in its previous three games — and would also have zero against Florida State. (It finished with a then school-record-low 10 for the season.) Senior quarterback Kevin McDou- Notre Dame fans took to the field after the Irish held off No. 1 Florida State for a 31-24 win at home. The Seminoles were considered one of the greatest teams of all time heading into the 1993 showdown in South Bend. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden also was complimentary of 9-0 Notre Dame, but his players didn't get the memo about speaking of the game and the school's tradition respectfully. A couple of his players, including star receiver Kez McCorvey, referred to Notre Dame l918-30 head coach and legend Knute Rockne as "Rock Knuteny." FSU players came off the plane in South Bend Regional Airport wearing green hats with gold FSU interlocking on the front of the caps. On the side were shamrocks. "Mystique? There is no mystique," wide receiver Kevin Knox said of Notre Dame. "How are they going to stop us? By stopping our wide receiv- ers? Not! By stopping Charlie Ward? Not! By stopping our running backs? Not! By stopping our defense? Not!" Added defensive back Clifton Abra- www.BLUEANDGOLD.com gal ran the offense with precision, while tailback Lee Becton and full- back Ray Zellars, although no Brooks and Bettis, consistently produced and were augmented by freshmen Randy Kinder and Marc Edwards. THE GAME The night before the game, Holtz held his "visualization session" with his players. To the surprise of his au- dience, Holtz told them Florida State would take the ball on its opening series and drive for a quick 7-0 lead. The message: Don't panic! Don't flinch! We will then take control. Sure enough, on FSU's opening possession it marched 89 yards for a 7-0 lead, with Ward completing all four of his passes for 43 yards and adding 34 yards rushing. Thereafter, Notre Dame took a 21-7 advantage into the halftime locker room. The Irish's scoring drives covered: • 80 yards on seven plays, with flanker Adrian Jarrell taking a 32-yard reverse for a score and a 7-7 tie. • 60 yards on six plays, with Becton romping for a 26-yard score to give the Irish the lead for good. • 38 yards on four plays, after an interception by safety John Coving- ton. Fellow defensive back Jeff Burris, who moonlighted as a short-yardage back, finished the drive with a six- yard touchdown. The physical mentality instilled by Holtz and offensive line coach Joe Moore took hold, and the Irish play- ers could see FSU players sniping at each other, including All-America linebacker Derrick Brooks. "Everybody asked us what we were going to do against their great speed … speed kills size," Taylor re- called. "They were fast — they were very fast. But when you get hit in the mouth every play, it's hard to deal with." "They play a different style of foot- ball than we're used to," Bowden said before the game. "There is power in everything they do. We have to have a different mentality to play this team." In the second half, the Irish ex- tended their lead to 24-7 on a 47-yard field goal by Kevin Pendergast before Ward and Co. began coming to life to cut their deficit to 24-17 with 10:40 remaining in the contest. Notre Dame responded with an 80-yard drive, highlighted by a Mc- Dougal 14-yard completion to wide- out Lake Dawson on third-and-seven from Florida State's 45. Burris again finished with an 11-yard scoring jaunt at the 6:53 mark to make it 31-17. ND-FSU II? With only 2:26 left, Florida State faced fourth-and-goal from the Irish 20. If the Irish hold, there would be no talk of a rematch between the two programs in the Fiesta Bowl. But Ward, under duress, launched a pass toward the end zone that Notre Dame safety Brian Magee had in his hands — only to let the ball slip out and into the arms of McCorvey for the touchdown that cut the deficit to 31-24. Notre Dame defensive back Shawn Wooden recovered the ensuing onside kick, but the Seminoles regained pos- session at their 37 with 51 seconds left. Three straight Ward completions put the ball at the Irish 14, but on the game's final play Wooden knocked away Ward's desperation pass, his 50th of the day, in the end zone. Immediately, Florida State players were demanding a rematch, mainly because the game had come down to the final play. JANUARY 2012 31