Looking back at Notre Dame’s win over LSU in 1984

By KAREN CROAKE

The week of the LSU game, Irish tri-captains Mike Golic, Larry Williams, and Joe Johnson paid head coach Gerry Faust an after-hours visit.

Notre Dame had just dropped its third straight game at home—a frustrating 36–32 decision to South Carolina. Embarrassed owners of a 3–4 season mark, the Irish were headed for a stadium commonly referred to as Death Valley to play an unbeaten and sixth-ranked Tiger squad that was favored by as many as 10 points.

Golic, Williams, and Johnson were perplexed. The Irish had played well against South Carolina. They showed heart, determination, intensity, and desire. They had done all the things they were supposed to do and had still lost.

“It really hurt us to lose the South Carolina game, especially after it looked like we had it under control,” said Faust in retrospect. “We simply hadn’t played very well in the second half against Miami and against Air Force. But our young men came back and really put their hearts into the South Carolina game against a team that was unbeaten and ranked 11th.

“I told the players that if they kept playing with that kind of intensity, then the ball was bound to start bouncing their way.

“I knew we would beat LSU.”

Faust and his troops rolled into Baton Rouge like a Sherman tank, crushing whatever obstacle got in its way. The Irish stunned the football world with a 30–22 upset of the bewildered Tigers who couldn’t tell what hit them. And the game really wasn’t as close as the score indicated. Notre Dame dominated LSU with a nearly flawless ball-control offense and spirited defense. The fans in Tiger Stadium and the ABC television audience watching at home were shocked.

“You’ve got to give the players a lot of credit,” bubbled Faust after the game.

“Winning in this place, against an undefeated team, is a real compliment to the kids. These kids work hard, and they don’t quit. They’d have quit a long time before the first quarter with everything said this year. They’re just strong kids, and I’m a strong guy. I’ll last, I’ll tell you that.”

How did the Irish perform this gridiron miracle in hot, muggy weather before an ugly mob chanting “Tiger bait” at the top of its noisy collective lungs?

Well, tailback Allen Pinkett enjoyed his biggest and best day of the season, scoring a pair of touchdowns and rushing for 162 yards on 40 carries.

Quarterback Steve Beuerlein completed 16 of 23 passes for 168 yards.

Kicker John Carney booted field goals of 44, 37, and 34 yards.

The Notre Dame defense held LSU to 118 yards rushing, its lowest output of the season.

And, according to first-year Tiger coach Bill Arnsparger, “Notre Dame dominated us pretty good after the first quarter. They dominated along the line of scrimmage. They dominated the defensive line of scrimmage, too.”

But it took the Irish a while to get their game plan going. From the looks of things on the first Notre Dame possession, the Irish appeared headed for another devastating defeat.

On his second carry of the game, Pinkett fumbled on the Irish 48-yard line, and linebacker Gregg Dubroc pounced on it for the Tigers.

Quarterback Jeff Wickersham quickly went about his business. He hit split end Eric Martin with a 22-yard pass and then hooked up with tailback Garry James for 18 yards. Then running back Dalton Hilliard, who ranks number two on the all-time rushing list at LSU, took matters into his own hands. After gaining five yards on two carries, he caught a three-yard pass from Wickersham for the touchdown. Juan Betanzos’ PAT gave the Tigers a 7–0 lead.

Then on the first play after the ensuing kickoff, freshman cornerback Kevin Guidry picked off a Beuerlein interception and returned it to the Notre Dame 28-yard line. Death Valley was rocking. The Irish looked like a tasty afternoon snack for the hungry Tigers who were licking their chops.

But strange things started happening. On third down and three, nickel back Hiawatha Francisco nailed James for no gain on the sweep. LSU had to settle for a 38-yard field goal attempt, and Betanzos’ kick missed.

The Irish breathed new life. Beuerlein, who was four-for-four for 52 yards, engineered a 79-yard drive in nine plays that culminated in a one-yard touchdown dash by Pinkett. Carney’s kick knotted the score.

Betanzos missed another field goal—this one from 48 yards out—and then Wickersham was sacked twice in a row by Jerry Weinle and Wally Kleine.

The Irish began to roar.

Carney’s 44-yard field goal put the Irish ahead 10–7. A few minutes later, Notre Dame added another touchdown as Allen Pinkett leaped over the goal line from the two. Carney’s kick made it 17–7.

“We just had some fun,” said Williams, one of the big, beefy offensive linemen who cleared a path for Pinkett most of the afternoon. “We didn’t listen to what LSU said. They called us slow and fat. We knew they’d be kind of quick. But we didn’t want that quickness to bother us.”

The Tigers really didn’t have much of a chance to flash their speed. From the moment LSU scored its first touchdown until less than two minutes to play in the game, Notre Dame outscored LSU 30–7, ran 82 plays to the Tigers’ 50, chalked up 352 yards to LSU’s 213, and allowed the high-powered Tiger offense to run a mere 14 plays from scrimmage in the second and third quarters.

Notre Dame added another field goal in the third quarter. Carney capped a 66-yard scoring drive with a 37-yard kick to increase the lead to 20–7.

But the Irish let the Tigers back into the game. Beuerlein’s second interception gave LSU possession on its own 31-yard line. On the second play from scrimmage, Hilliard broke loose for a 66-yard touchdown run. Betanzos’ kick brought the Tigers back to within striking distance at 20–14.

Although the Irish have displayed a knack for letting victory slip through their fingers in the fourth quarter, this time they straightened up. But it wasn’t easy.

Thanks to center Mike Kelley’s drenched pants from perspiration, Beuerlein couldn’t hang on to the football and fumbled two snaps.

“When Mike would bring the ball up into Steve’s hand, it was squeezing like a sponge,” said offensive coordinator Ron Hudson, trying to keep a straight face.

Reserve tackle Marty Roddy gallantly gave up his pants in front of 78,033 strangers for the cause.

With that problem solved, the Irish tacked on another Carney field goal from 34 yards to move ahead 23–14.

The Tigers threatened again and moved to the Irish 28-yard line before linebacker Mike Larkin intercepted a Wickersham pass—the first theft of his injury-plagued career—to kill the drive.

“I was just keying on the one remaining back, and Mike Gann got great pressure on him,” said Larkin. “The defensive line made a big difference. LSU is a good pass-blocking team. Gann even said it was the best he’s ever faced, and that included Pitt and Bill Fralic.”

With less than a minute remaining, the Irish got some insurance with a final touchdown. Mark Brooks bulldozed his way over the goal line from the three-yard line. Carney was again perfect on the PAT, and the Irish were in the driver’s seat, 30–14.

Wickersham, who finished the afternoon with 19 completions in 27 attempts for 213 yards, threw up a “Hail Mary” pass as time was running out. Flanker Rogie Magee picked it out of the crowd for a 50-yard touchdown. Wickersham connected with Herman Fontenot for the two-point conversion, but it was too late as Notre Dame came away with the 30–22 upset win.

“This is the kind of football we felt the team was capable of playing all year long,” said Beuerlein. “This shows we can play with anybody in the nation, which is something we knew all along.”

Thanks to a one-back formation and another two-back set, both of which utilize two tight ends, the Irish offense racked up 202 yards rushing, the most since a 212-yard effort early in the year against Colorado.

“When we used the one-back, it made them play a basic 50 defense,” explained Hudson. “We just tried to keep them off their game and just run at them physically.”

“We” really spells A-l-l-e-n P-i-n-k-e-t-t. And the 5-9, 183-pound junior earned every one of his 162 yards.

“I’ll do whatever it takes,” said the Irish workaholic, who tied Phil Carter for the Irish record for most carries in a game. “Our number-one goal was to get on track. We were looking at this game as a real challenge in this rowdy stadium and the odds against us. We don’t back away from a challenge.

“I think we got off the ball well on dry ground. The linemen were able to sustain their blocks and churn their feet—something they weren’t able to do the last few games because of the rain.”

The linemen accepted Pinkett’s praise with ease.

“I think we did pretty well for a bunch of slow, fat guys,” said guard Tim Scannell. “When we’re able to get a rhythm going and eliminate our errors, we’re fine.”

Defensively, the Irish held the Tigers to 331 yards total offense, but 99 of those yards came in the first quarter and another 66 came on a single play.

“Notre Dame reduced it to pound for pound,” said Tiger offensive line coach Pete Mangurian. “How many teams have gotten to us with three linemen? Nobody. But you take three of their people with their talent and it’s just… go! They’re that good.”

Notre Dame’s victory marked the first time in 1984 that the Irish had beaten a team with a winning record.

“Two things pulled it out,” said Pinkett. “One was pride. We just wouldn’t lie down; it’s too easy to quit. The other was poise.

“It makes you think, though, of how much more we could have done without the errors.”

The Irish, who a week ago were burying dreams of a bowl bid, had ventured into Death Valley and emerged rejuvenated. Was it just a temporary reprieve from the heartaches and disappointments of the last few weeks, or would this Irish team—one that displayed consistency, intensity, and talent—last through the final three games of the season? Only Faust and his players knew for sure.