Irish squeaker gives Davie his first collegiate victory in debut

Notre Dame wins after Yellow Jackets miss two late eld goals

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 celebration 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 Jackets (0-1) missed two field goals in the fourth quarter, and Autry Denson's 1-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 didn'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 completely ineffective.

"There's a lot of new things happening that need to get ironed out," Powlus said. ''We need to concentrate 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 mistakes. The Irish lost 44 yards on seven penalties, including several false start calls. Even the coaches can do better when it comes to communication.

"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 coordinator 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."

AP PHOTO
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.

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