6B - The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - September 8, 1997
FOOTBALL
squeaker gives Davie his
Collegiate victory in debut
ne wins after Yellow Jackets miss two late field goals
0
SOUTH BEND (AP) - Finally,
the debut of Bob Davie at Notre
Dame is over. Now maybe the Irish
can get some work done.
And after the way they played
Saturday, they need plenty.
"There wasn't a whole lot of cele-
bration last,
night," Davie said
yesterday. "I had
a chance to watch
that tape late. It's
pretty much been
trying to solve the
problems."
The Irish beat
Georgia Tech, 17-
13, but just barely.
The Yellow Davie
Jackets (0-1)
missed two field goals in the fourth
quarter, and Autry Denson's I-yard
touchdown run didn't come until
2:37 was left.
The disappointing performance
dropped Notre Dame one spot, to No.
12, in The Associated Press poll.
After watching the tape, Davie did-
n't spare anyone from criticism. Ron
Powlus threw for 217 yards, but one
of his two interceptions was the
result of bad judgment. The offensive
line faltered in goal-line stands, as
Notre Dame blew an easy touchdown
in the third quarter when it couldn't
get in from the 1-yard line on four
tries.
The short-yardage game was com-
pletely ineffective.
"There's a lot of new things hap-
pening that need to get ironed out,"
Powlus said. "We need to concen-
trate on the little things that will keep
the offense going."
The defense had its problems, too.
It was thrown off early by Georgia
Tech's heavy use of the option, and
couldn't get on track until late in the
fourth quarter.
Davie said senior left end Melvin
Dansby probably had his best game
- 12 tackles, including two sacks for
18 yards - but the younger players
weren't nearly as productive.
Then there were the mental mis-
takes. The Irish lost 44 yards on
seven penalties, including several
false start calls. Even the coaches can
do better when it comes to communi-
cation.
"I think the foundation is built,"
Davie said. "But I'm realistic, we
need a lot of improvement in all areas
of the game. At least we know where
to start."
Davie and his staff were already
making adjustments yesterday, and
there will be more as the week goes
on.
"First football games are wars and
a lot of times, they're survival," he
said.
"Also, the most improvement you
do as a football team is between the
first and second game, particularly
when you've got a new coaching
staff."
As for Davie, he can now get back
to being just another coach - or as
close to that as he can be in college
football's glamour job.
The hype over his first game has
been building since November, when
the former Irish defensive coordina-
tor was appointed to succeed Lou
Holtz. His every move is covered by
reporters, with no detail of his life
deemed too insignificant.
And it got even worse this week, if
that's possible.
Fans started arriving early at newly
renovated Notre Dame Stadium,
which now seats 80,000. More than
3,100 people showed for Friday's
Quarterback Club luncheon, the most
ever.
Another 35,000 turned out for the
pep rally in Notre Dame Stadium that
night. His parents, who rarely come
to games, made the six-hour trip
from Pennsylvania.
"It was a big week," Davie said.
"I'm only glad to have it over with if
we got that W That makes it all
worthwhile to me."
First Impressions
Notre Dame coach Bob Davie
won his first game in his colle-
giate debut. Here is a list of how
his predecessors fared in their
first years as head coach of the
Irish:
Jesse Harper 1913 7-0
Knute Rockne 1918 3-1-2
Heartly Anderson 1931 62-1
Elmer Layden 1934 6-3
Frank Leahy 1941 8-041
Ed McKeever 1944 8-2
Hugh DeVore 1945 7-2-1
Terry Brennan 1954 9-1
Joe Kuharich 1955 5-5
Ara Parseghian 1964 9-1-0
Dan Devine 1975 8-3
Gerry Faust 1981 5-6
Lou Holtz 1986 5-6 *
* Opened his first season with a
loss to Michigan
AP PHO
Autry Denson and the Fighting Irish stumbled their way to a 17-13 victory over
Georgia Tech in head coach Bob Davie's first game. "First football games are
wars, and a lot of times, they're survival," Davie said.
Seminoles eke out win over USC
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Dee
Feaster scored on a 3-yard run with
10:40 left to play as the fifth-ranked
Florida State Seminoles sputtered but
survived in their season opener
Saturday, edging the 23rd-ranked USC
Trojans, 14-7.
The Seminoles, two-touchdown
favorites over USC in the first meeting
between the storied football schools,
finally put together a sustained scoring
drive early in the final quarter.
Thad Busby, erratic for much of the
game, completed 5-of-8 for 94 yards -
including a 46-yarder to E.G. Green -
to take Florida State on a 97-yard
march for the only score of the second
half.
Florida State didn't seal the victory
until free safety Dexter Jackson tackled
Trojans receiver Billy Miller for no
gain after a short completion on fourth-
and-6 at the Seminoles 26 with 2:20
remaining.
There was even a scare for the
Seminoles after that. Florida State's
Laveranues Coles fumbled after pick-
ing up 24 yards to midfield on a
reverse, but teammate Melvin Pearsall
fell on the ball.
No.4 WASHINGTON 42, No.19 BYU
20
For Washington's Rashaan Shehee, it
was second verse, same as the first -
and the nation's -longest current win-
ning streak came to an end at Brigham
Young.
Shehee rambled for 171 yards and a
touchdown and caught a pass for anoth-
er as the No. 4 Huskies routed the 19th-
ranked Cougars 42-20 Saturday in the
opener for both teams. The senior tail-
back had two TDs in Washington's 29-
17 win over BYU a year ago in Seattle,
the last time the Cougars lost at home.
Brock Huard hit 18-of-23 passes for
285 yards and three scores as
Washington of the Pac-10 snapped
BYU's 12-game win streak.
Jerome Pathon caught seven passes
for 163 yards for the Huskies, who now
have beaten BYU three times in a row.
No. 8 COLORADO 31, No. 24
COLORADO ST. 21
Rashidi Barnes and Marcus
Washington grabbed momentum-turn-
ing interceptions early in the third quar-
ter, rallying No. 8 Colorado to 31-21
victory over No. 24 Colorado State on
Saturday.
Colorado (1-0) was trailing 14-7
when Barnes returned his theft 26 yards
for a tying touchdown with 13:58 left in
the period. Washington's interception
and 10-yard return two minutes later set
up the first of two touchdown passes
from John Hessler to Phil Savoy.
Hessler hit Savoy in the back of the
end zone on a 4-yard scoring pass with
8:38 to go in the quarter. After a
Colorado State punt, Hessler and Savoy
hooked up on a 43-yarder with 5:51
left, the third Colorado touchdown in a
span of 8:07.
Colorado, which has won the last
seven games in the series with its in-
state rival, went ahead 31-14 on Jeremy
Aldrich's 34-yard field goal midway
through the fourth quarter.
He'd been working with his new
team only a month, but Michael Bishop
did what every veteran quarterback
would like to do - he moved the
offense up and down the field.
"It wasn't easy when I first came in,
but I got comfortable with what the
coaches taught me," Bishop said
Saturday night after leading Kansas
State to a 47-7 rout of Northern Illinois.
The win moved the Wildcats up to one
spot to No. 20 in the poll.
"I'd probably give myself a B-minus.
There are a lot of things that I missed,
that I should have checked off. Overall
I thought I did a pretty good job."
The transfer from Blinn (Texas)
Junior College threw four touch-
down passes and ran for another,
gaining 98 yards rushing and passing
for 172 - all in the first half - as
the Wildcats built up a 42-7 halftime
lead.
"He did all right in the first half but
he made a lot of mistakes that will have
to be corrected," Kansas State coach
Bill Snyder said. "He's very athletic. It
will come with time."
Bishop's athleticism showed itself on
the Wildcats' first possession, when he
ran 43 yards for a touchdown on a quar-
terback draw.
A P PHOTO
Florida State's Peter Warrick beats USC defender Daylon McCutheron in the second half of the Seminoles' 14-7 victory over
the Trojans. For most of the game, however, the Seminoles two-touchdown favorites, struggled on offense.
Gators romp, Tennessee survives late-game comeback by UCLA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - With
each of his seven touchdown passes in
the first half, Doug Johnson sent a sub-
tle message - the Fun 'N' Gun
offense of No. 2 Florida isn't dead yet.
A week after a dismal debut,
Johnson tied a school record with
seven touchdown passes in the first
half and the Gators scored their most
points in 84 years in an 82-6 victory
over Central Michigan.
It was just the kind of game Florida
needed heading into its Sept. 20 show-
down with No. 3 Tennessee, but coach
Steve Spurrier warned the Gators not
to let it go to their heads.
"It won't be that easy anymore for
us, I can assure our guys that,"
Spurrier said. "This kind of game can
hurt you if you don't keep it in per-
spective. It's not that great for us -
just better than the one last week."
Spurrier spent a week hounding his
offense after a - 21-6 victory over
Southern Miss, the Gators' worst
showing in a season opener since
1989. And even though Florida (2-0)
had Central Michigan badly out-
manned, he managed to find some pos-
itives.
"You've got to get in the habit of
going up and down the field and scor-
ia points," he said.
at wasn't a problem against the
rhm:--~ -11 n
He took off his pads at halftime and
turned the game over to Noah Brindise
and Canadian freshman Jesse Palmer.
They each threw a touchdown, giving
Florida a school-record nine TD pass-
es for the game.
The previous record was eight, also
against New Mexico State. The 82
points were the most scored since a
144-0 win over Florida Southern in
1913.
The Gators, who had 357 yards last
week to rank last among Southeastern
Conference teams, had 708 yards
against the Chippewas. Freshman Bo
Carroll rushed for 159 yards and two
touchdowns on just seven carries,
while Fred Taylor had 106 yards on
nine carries.
"Our offense had something to
prove. They had 82 points, so I think
they proved something," cornerback
Fred Weary said. "You can't really tell
how good it is because Central
Michigan hasn't played a lot of tough
teams. But with two weeks of prepara-
tion, I think we'll be ready for
Tennessee."'
No. 3 TENNESSEE 30, UCLA 24
Peyton Manning has come a long
way in the last three years. He showed
just how far on Saturday, although his
team was hanging on for dear life at
the end.
tu~rnina to theR oea lnsil -te
Campbell, that the move from fullback
to tailback can pay big dividends.
Williams ran 19 times for 155 yards
and three touchdowns and Aaron
Humphrey had three interceptions as
the 12th-ranked Longhorns overcame
a turnover-filled first half and rolled to
a 48-14 victory over Rutgers Saturday
night.
Williams, who was mistakenly
arrested this week by a campus police
officer after a routine traffic stop, con-
sidered his performance subpar
because he struggled early before
breaking a 74-yard TD run.
"I was really tired the first half"
said Williams, whose first five carries
included a 1-yard loss and a fumble. "I
was a little bit nervous. I think playing
halfback had something to do with it. I
expected to just blow them off the ball,
but they played well."
The Longhorns (1-0) trailed 7-0
after the first quarter and needed two
big plays - the 74-yarder by Williams
and a 32-yard TD pass from Brown to
Wane McGarity after Humphrey's sec-
ond interception - to take a 13-7 lead
over the Scarlet Knights (0-2) at inter-
mission.
Texas quarterback James Brown left
the game late in the first half with a
sprained left ankle and didn't return.
Team doctors said the injury wasn't
serious and listed him as day to day.
The Cardinal remained undefeated
in 16 season openers against San Jose
State and stretched their winning
streak to six games dating to last sea-
son.
The Spartans, playing their first
game under coach Dave Baldwin,
scared Stanford before Haskins deflat-
ed upset hopes by picking off Brian
Vye's pass and going in for the score
with 3:30 remaining.
"I'm hurt because I thought we
could win," Baldwin said. "I still think
we can. I think we came out of this
with our kids believing we can play."
Stanford quarterback Chad
Hutchinson finished 18-of-36 for 30
yards and a touchdown, with Troy
Walters making eight receptions for
166 yards.
Vye was 16-of-40 for 236 yards and
a touchdown.
Both teams were hurt by turnovers
and special teams breakdowns.
San Jose State turned the ball over
four times, including three intercep-
tions off Vye, and punter Jaso
Chapple failed to get off a kick when
he mishandled a snap.
"I think we have to improve a lot,
Vye said. "I think my game wasn't up
to par. If I made better throws, we had
a shot at this game."
Stanford had three turnovers, two of
them interceptions off Hutchinson, and
AP PHOTO
Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning scorched the UCLA defense for 341 yards
and two touchdowns. But the Volunteers had to fight off a late game charge from
the Bruins before winning, 30-24.