CBS SportsLine wire reports
Oct. 3, 1998
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame coach Bob Davie was so desperate to turn around his team's first-half problems that he decided to let the Irish sleep in an extra 15 minutes Saturday morning.
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It worked.
Outscored 79-23 in the opening half of its first three games, No. 23 Notre Dame scored on its first three possessions, led by Jarious Jackson's 100 yards rushing and 163 passing, as the Irish beat Stanford 35-17.
That extra 15 minutes of sleep seemed to do Jackson the most good.
HE CAME INTO THE GAME completing just 39.5 percent of his first-half passes and averaging 5.6 yards on the ground. But he was 6-of-8 to open the game and ran for 71 yards as Notre Dame (3-1) jumped out to a 28-3 lead -- the first time the Irish have led at the half this season.
"Well, maybe we did something right in practice this week. Maybe it was the 15 minutes," Davie said.
"But we need to be more aggressive. We took that approach this week of not being back on our heels on defense, and on offense, we let it rip a little bit more. And I think that helps this football team."
This time, Jackson and the Irish dominated from the start, taking the opening kickoff and going 65 yards in eight plays, capped off by Jackson's 22-yard scoring run. It was Notre Dame's first, first-half lead of the season and the only time they've scored on their opening drive.
"Basically, we just came into the game pretty much focused," Jackson said. "I came out today and just threw the ball like I was in practice."
DAVIE SAID THE QUICK START took the pressure off Jackson, unlike in previous weeks. Michigan State jumped on Notre Dame 42-3 by halftime, and against Purdue, the Irish were down 14-0 the second time Jackson walked onto the field.
"It's the first time he's not been behind. It's the first time he's been able to get confidence early," Davie said.
The rest also seemed to put an extra kick into the Irish running game. Averaging 193 yards coming into the game, Notre Dame racked up 199 yards in the first half and finished with 309.
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Notre Dame quarterback Jarious Jackson (7) and
teammate Malcolm Johnson (6) celebrate Jackson's 23-yard touchdown run
in the first quarter.
(AP)
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The Cardinal, playing without wide receiver Troy Walters for most of the game, couldn't capitalize on the few Notre Dame mistakes. Their first three drives inside the Notre Dame 20 netted only a Kevin Miller 25-yard-field goal with 2:49 left in the first quarter.
Stanford got its best opening field position of the day after Dale Davis returned the second-half kickoff to the 35 and Ty Goode brought him down by his face mask. Stanford was held to three plays and then downed the punt at the one-yard line before Jackson took over.
HE PLUNGED UP THE MIDDLE for two yards to give Notre Dame a little room, and the Irish churned out 99 yards on 15 plays over the next 7:10. Jackson ran in from five yards out to put Notre Dame up 35-3 with 6:21 left in the quarter.
"It comes down to execution and the physical aspect," Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham said. "You have to find a balance between the two areas, but we were down 21 points before you could blink. We have done that two weeks in a row, which makes it difficult to come back. One thing you like to do is air it out, but you can't do that when your defense isn't performing well."
Stanford scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull within 35-17. Todd Husak hit Russell Stewart for a five-yard touchdown pass, and his backup Randy Fasani ran it in from 1-yard out with 1:07 left.
But those were the only Stanford offensive highlights of the day. An offense that had been averaging 402 yards managed just 224 through the first three quarters before the two late touchdowns against a mix of backups and starters. The Irish defense held Stanford to 115 first-half yards before eventually surrendering 347 to the Cardinal, with only 63 yards coming on the ground.
"This was a big game for us, no question, but I talked to our team that we're putting this one behind us right now, right now." Davie said. "It's time for us to go win a big football game for us on the road (against Arizona State). The last time we were in this situation was the Michigan game, and we didn't do a very good job against Michigan State."