His Safe Calls Were Sane Ones

And now, the rebuttal.

Never in the history of college football--and not since Dan Quayle at the Emmy Awards--has anybody taken such unfairly one-sided criticism as Notre Dame’s fine coach, Lou Holtz.

This must be “pick-on-the-conservative” season. Holtz’s conservative strategy did not cost Notre Dame a victory over Michigan--it saved a day that easily could have ended in defeat.

Where is the criticism of Michigan Coach Gary Moeller, whose mind-numbing decision to pass resulted in Elvis Grbac throwing an interception that gave away the game?

Holtz chose not to pass from his 12 with the score tied! With one minute to play!

This wasn’t a dumb decision. This was a smart decision.

An interception gives Michigan the football and another chance to win the game.

An incomplete pass stops the clock and gives Michigan more time to get the ball back on a punt.

A punt would have to come from the rear of the end zone. It could be blocked. It could be downed at the 30 or 40. It could put Michigan’s kicker in field-goal range.

This whole thing comes down to machismo. To having more guts than brains.

Everybody loves the brave person who gets killed. But then the brave person is dead.

Notre Dame lived to fight another day. Notre Dame did not cost itself a national championship with a defeat, when one defeat is about all it takes these days.

Notre Dame did not retreat. Notre Dame stood pat. Notre Dame was lucky that Michigan gave back the game and did not press its luck.

Why does Michigan get off the hook for throwing one of the most foolish passes ever hurled while Notre Dame gets sliced, diced and taken apart for not gambling away with its back to its end zone?

Michigan led by 10 points in the fourth quarter. You tell me who blew this game.

Grbac threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter when Michigan could have been running the football, running down the clock.

All the Wolverines needed was a lousy field goal to win a very, very big game. What in the world was Grbac doing, throwing the ball deep in Notre Dame territory?

They think as much of Grbac in Ann Arbor as they do of Rick Mirer in South Bend. Michigan trusted Grbac to do something wonderful and look what happened.

Yet critics of the Fighting Irish wanted them to permit Mirer to take exactly the same chance. To risk doing something totally foolish.

It is so easy to say: “Hey, you’ve got 65 whole seconds and all you’ve got to do is drive 88 yards.” Or however long Notre Dame would have needed to drive to try a field goal.

On first down--remember, this is a team buried in its end of the field--Notre Dame handed the ball to one of the hardest runners in the game, Jerome Bettis. The defense is playing back, afraid of the deep pass.

Bettis gained seven yards, which is as good as the short pass that Mirer might have tried anyway, and a hell of a lot safer.

And unless this short pass had been carried out of bounds, Notre Dame would not have stopped the clock after one down anyway. An incompletion would have, but then you’re still stuck back at your 12.

“And he came close to popping it out,” Holtz said afterward. He darn sure did. Bettis might not be Marshall Faulk, but he’s not far from it.

Now it’s second and three from the 19. Notre Dame has one timeout remaining. If Mirer goes long, his pass can be intercepted with enough time left for Michigan to get back downfield. If Mirer goes short, his pass can be intercepted deep in Notre Dame territory. If Mirer is sacked, he can fumble inside his 10.

If his pass is incomplete, it is now third down and Notre Dame stops the clock. Then what? I’ll tell you then what. Then you have one play to get that first down. Pass or run, it doesn’t matter. Because if you fail on third down, you must punt.

Gamble on fourth down and even if Michigan gets the ball with only seconds to play, a field goal loses you the game.

So, Holtz had Notre Dame go after a first down. If his runner gets three yards, Notre Dame can use its timeout. The Irish will have four more plays and a little more breathing room at their 22. Michigan’s chances of getting back the football in field-goal range become a little more remote.

It isn’t Holtz’s fault that one of his backs committed illegal procedure. The same penalty would have wiped out a completed pass, you know.

So, Notre Dame didn’t win. Big deal. Ten points down in the final quarter, the team should consider itself successful that it didn’t lose.

Michigan blew the game. Not Notre Dame.