William Snyder / DMN
The Aggies shut down Dallas native Tim Brown, Notre Dame's Heisman Trophy winner.Aggies tarnish Irish mystique
Frustration only trophy for ND, 35-10
1/2/1988
Texas A&M came unimpressed with Notre Dame's tradition, Heisman Trophies and golden-domed helmets. The Aggies didn't respect the pluck of the Irish when the golden halo came off, and Notre Dame's legends proved only human.
A&M didn't even take the Fightin' Irish seriously when they tried to live up to their nickname.
The Aggies merely shrugged and beat up Notre Dame, 35-10, before 73,006 in a cold Cotton Bowl Classic. The mood was considerably hotter than the 37-degree temperature. Notre Dame's frustration began to show when quarterback Terry Andrysiak threw the ball at A&M linebacker Adam Bob at the half and boiled into a fourth-quarter fight involving Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown, avenging the theft of his towel.
The Aggies stole more than just the Irish's laundry.
They stole their style.
"Our players got tired of hearing how good Notre Dame was," A&M coach Jackie Sherrill said. "The players did a great job of controlling their emotions and reacting to the mismatch in the media. Our players go to class. They graduate. And they can play, too."
Because of their dominance of Notre Dame, the 13th-ranked Aggies (10-2) almost certainly will be ranked in the Top 10 in the final polls. Because of their youth, Sherrill says they likely will be ranked in the Top 10 in next season's pre-season polls.
But ask the Irish about the fickleness of the polls. Six weeks ago they were running for a national title. Friday, they ended an 8-4 season with their worst loss. The lost their last three games, the last two by a combined score of 59-10.
Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz tried to snap the Irish out of their funk. He shed the offense's conservative image and threw the ball a season-high 28 times. Brown worked underneath the Aggies' deep zone for six first-half catches, one for a 17-yard touchdown and the last two for 22 and 24 yards to set up what could have been a 17-3 second-quarter lead.
But Brown didn't catch another pass. Andrysiak tried to find tight end Andy Heck in the end zone on second-and-eight from the Aggie 18. A&M cornerback Alex Morris, three yards in front of Heck, stuck his right hand out, the ball stuck in it and the Aggies had averted a 14-point deficit.
Sherrill, who watched quarterback Bucky Richardson complete only one of his first six passes, substituted with freshman Lance Pavlas after Morris' interception. Pavlas completed his first three passes, moving A&M to the Notre Dame 35.
Two runs set up what appeared to be a sweep by freshman running back Darren Lewis. Notre Dame safety Corny Southall thought sweep and let wide receiver Tony Thompson slip past him to the five, where Thompson turned and caught Lewis' halfback pass. The 24-yard touchdown made it 10-10.
Twenty-six second later, it was 18-10.
Notre Dame's second of four turnovers came after Braxston Banks dropped a screen pass without being hit. The officials ruled it a fumble; Holtz said Banks never had possession. The fumble and Tony Jones' recovery at the Notre Dame 21 stood, however.
Three plays later, Larry Horton ran over Notre Dame linebacker Ned Bolcar, a second-team All-America, from two yards out. Adding insult was A&M's "swinging gate' on the extra point attempt, with Wally Hartley running for two points.
"Instead of 17-3, we're down, 18-10, in a matter of minutes," Holtz said. "In all honesty, they just whipped us up front."
A&M dominated on both lines. Notre Dame, which had averaged 252.1 yards rushing this season, had a season-low 74. The Irish also gave up 294 yards rushing, their largest yield of the season.
The Aggies got better as the game went on. In the second half, R.C. Slocum, the Aggies' defensive coordinator, switched from a zone with no rush to the blitzing, man-to-man defense that gave the Aggies a third consecutive SWC title. They also went to double coverage of Brown.
A&M is usually better in the second half, anyway. Going into the game, they outscored opponents 121-111 in the first half and 157-47 in the second half.
The Aggie defense set up two TD runs by Richardson in the second half, the first when linebacker Adam Bob forced one fumble and Dana Batiste recovered it at the Notre Dame 23; the second came after Kip Corrington's interception.
Sherrill dressed as if he knew he would win. He walked the sideline without a coat, a maroon V-neck sweater his only protection from the cold. He walked to the locker room afterward wearing the green blazer of the Cotton Bowl winner for the second time.
Holtz had waited a long time to make it to the Cotton Bowl. He was run out of Arkansas because in seven years he couldn't find his way to Dallas on New Year's Day.
He stood in a corridor of the Notre Dame locker room 45 minutes after the game, his hands shoved into his pockets, his long, thin neck bent forward. His eyes were vacant and his mouth hung open. He was asked how he felt in the last six weeks of the Irish's 100th season to go from a national title contender to an 8-4 record.
"Disappointed," he said. "Frustrated."
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