THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI
I
n the midst of pregame warm-ups
against Texas, there was a temporary
flashback to Sept. 9, 2000.
That was the day No. 1 Nebraska's
"Sea of Red" fans packed in about 30,000
strong in Notre Dame Stadium, leading
to a chant of "Husker Home Game!"
before surviving in overtime against the
inspired Fighting Irish.
The Texas brigade of burnt orange
this year wasn't quite as conspicuous,
but still fairly prominent and detected
by Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly,
who acknowledged that it did disturb
him.
"A little bit, quite honestly," he said
of the droves of Texas fans wearing the
team colors mainly in the south and east
side of Notre Dame Stadium. "In pre-
game, you're looking around and you
see it, and then it just kind of closes in
after that.
"But I was just … probably looking
for something to complain about at that
time, because I had no players to get on
or anything like that."
The Irish players were at such an emo-
tional peak to get the season started with
a flourish that Kelly stated the team meal
took about "two and a half minutes."
There wasn't much to kvetch about
during the game either, a 38-3 Notre
Dame rout. Virtually all the boxes of
championship football were checked:
• Zero turnovers.
• Domination from both sides of the
line.
• The fewest yards of total offense
allowed (163) in his six seasons at Notre
Dame by the Irish defense, while espe-
cially excelling on the "money down,"
meaning the Longhorns were 2 of 13 on
third-down conversion attempts.
• An ideal showing on offense in
Complaint Department
Minimal In Rout Of Texas
Just like in last year's 31-0 win over Michigan, the
38-3 drubbing of Texas provides early optimism for
head coach Brian Kelly.
PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA
