Jimmy Clausen set Notre Dame bowl record with 406 yards passing and five touchdowns to help the Irish win a postseason game for the first time in 15 years, 49-21 over Hawaii on Wednesday night in the Hawaii Bowl. Golden Tate had six catches for 177 yards and three touchdowns, also Notre Dame bowl records, including a 69-yarder that sparked a 28-point outburst for the Fighting Irish (7-6), who ended their NCAA-record nine-game bowl losing streak in dramatic fashion. Full story
UWIRE
Dan Murphy, Observer: Christmas came a day early for the Irish this year, and their stockings were stuffed to the gills with points and records. Notre Dame ended its 15-year, nine-game bowl drought with a 49-14 rout of Hawaii in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. Full story | UWIRE Bowl Coverage
Key Players
Greg Alexander, QB, Hawaii The junior threw for 264 yards -- his fifth consecutive game with at least 250 yards passing -- on 23-of-39 passing with two touchdowns and one interception.
Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame The sophomore set Notre Dame bowl records with 406 yards passing on 22-of-26 passing with five touchdowns. He threw three touchdowns to Golden Tate, including one for 69 yards.
Team Reports
Hawaii: After losing coach June Jones, quarterback Colt Brennan and all four wide receivers from last year's Sugar Bowl roster, they struggled to find cohesion on offense. They were 3-4 when they decided to insert Greg Alexander into the quarterback spot Oct. 25 against Nevada. Since then, the Warriors are 4-2 -- with a sloppy loss at Utah State and a fourth-quarter meltdown in Saturday's regular-season finale against No. 12 Cincinnati. More
Notre Dame: He might be on thin ice after a 6-6 regular season in which the Irish squandered too many leads, failed against the better teams on its schedule and lost its final three games. But athletic director Jack Swarbrick, while not endorsing the season, is bringing back Weis with the instruction that Notre Dame had better start competing for BCS bids. More -- Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.
Photo Gallery
Notre Dame's David Bruton, David Grimes and Maurice Crum celebrate after winning the Hawaii Bowl. (AP)
Goodness gracious, where in the world was THIS Notre Dame team all year? I know Hawai'i hasn't had their best year, but I never would have figured on such a lopsided score in this game. I think Charlie Weis may have scooted to the edge of the hot seat for now with the victory, and it's great to see them get the "We can't win a bowl game to save our lives" monkey off their backs, but I have to believe once the elation from this win wears off a bit, Weis, and the team, will be back to focusing on making sure Weis still has a job after 2009. Post your thoughts!
