Victory put shine back into tarnished Dome

NOTRE DAME - At last, Bob Davie can sleep easy.

He hasn't been able to, really, since taking over the head coaching position at Notre Dame a year ago. His Irish lost four of their first five games, which, to hear Notre Dame alumni tell it, was just (barely) this side of the end of the world. Then, the South Bend summer was one of the worst ever, as a pair of front-page lawsuits splattered the school's golden image with so much mud. Furthermore, former Purdue coach Jim Colletto was back as offensive coordinator. All in all, Bob Davie's first year in charge of the Notre Dame program was a rough one. And even though Ron Powlus finally graduated, there wasn't much reason to believe that things would get better.

Davie

But the second year sure started out all right.

Davie's Irish surprised the country when they shocked Michigan last weekend. They ran up and down the field against the defending champs like nobody had in more than a year. In doing so, they vaulted themselves from a No. 22 ranking (which even Davie admitted was likely a generous nod to the program's history) to a top 10 spot, and bounced Michigan from the national picture in just the first week of the season.

WARREN ZINN/Daily The Notre Dame football program had problems off the field this past summer. But on the field, behind running back Autry Denson and second-year coach Bob Davie, the Fighting Irish left their troubles in the dust and trounced Michigan last Saturday in South Bend.

For Davie, it was the first really big win of his tenure, and a welcome relief from an entire summer of negative press.

But don't try and tell him that his team's strong showing was in response to the criticism of recent months.

"This had nothing to do with the summer," he said. "That's a whole different issue."

Still, it had to be a weight off his shoulders. First, he had to watch as an NCAA probe discovered that Kimberly Ann Dunbar, a booster, gave former players free trips and gifts, sometimes with money she embezzled from her job. Dunbar was a member of the University's Quarterback Club, a donors-only group that has since been disbanded in the wake of the controversy.

Next, Davie was a prominent player in a summer lawsuit in which Joe Moore, a former Notre Dame offensive line coach, sued the school for wrongful termination. Moore claimed he was fired for being old. Davie claimed he fired Moore for other reasons, such as hitting players in the face. Moore admitted striking players, which would seem to be reason enough for the loss of his job. Nonetheless, Moore was awarded a hefty amount of money, after some choice testimony proved awfully embarrassing for Davie and the university. The coach ultimately admitted to some unethical moves while an assistant at another school, then admitted suggesting that former coach Lou Holtz had "mental problems."

After all of that, Davie returned to a team that was 7-6 a year earlier, and was opening the season against the defending co-champs. The alumni were already calling for his head. And Colletto was still the offensive coordinator.

Add it all together, and it can safely be assumed that Davie was walking a rather thin line.

But if there's one school that seems to have a knack for rallying when the chips are down, it's Notre Dame. And somehow, the Irish were able to muster enough momentum to derail Michigan's title defense before it even left the station.

"That was obviously a big, big win," Davie said. "I am so excited for the coaches and I'm so excited for this football team, because they sacrificed so much. They deserve it.

"I am really excited about this football team. I like the potential of this football team."

09-08-98