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Sunday Press Conference
Notre Dame Dominates Huskies, 54-20
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| Autry Denson ran for 137 yards against the Huskies.
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SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame scored four quick touchdowns and Ron Powlus put the
game away with three touchdown passes after intermission as the
11th-ranked Fighting Irish defeated 16th-ranked Washington,
54-20.
Notre Dame (3-1), which saw its national title hopes take a hit
with a loss to Ohio State two weeks ago, shook off the defeat by
scoring touchdowns on four of its first five possessions.
Washington (3-2) allowed 650 yards, marking the first time it
has allowed more than 500 yards since 1983 against UCLA. The 54
points were the most for Notre Dame since a 55-27 win over Texas
last season.
"We knew we needed a big game because it was a tough loss to
Ohio State," Powlus said. "We knew we needed to make some
improvements."
Defensive back Deke Cooper, a freshman making his first start,
intercepted a pass from Washington's Brock Huard at the Huskies
38 on the game's opening possession. Two plays later, Autry
Denson raced 33 yards for a touchdown. Denson finished with 137
yards on 14 carries and the Irish had 397 rushing yards overall.
"My running came from good blocks and openings, but the
offensive lineman made it all happen," Denson said. "If they had
not done their job today, the outcome would have been
different."
The Fighting Irish then drove 86 yards in 12 plays on their next
possession, capped by a 16-yard run by Jamie Spencer, to take a
16-0 lead after one quarter.
A 13-yard reverse by Emmett Mosley to the Washington 5 set up a
two-yard run by Randy Kinder early in the second quarter.
Notre Dame increased its lead to 26-0 on a 21-yard run by Robert
Farmer. A 42-yard pass from Powlus to Shannon Stephens set up
the score.
The Huskies, who nearly rallied from a 21-point deficit before
losing to Arizona State in their season opener, got back into
the game with an 11-yard touchdown run by Corey Dillon with 4:51
left in the first half.
Allen Rossum of the Irish fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the
Huskies recovered at the Irish 32. Rashaan Shehee later scored
on a one-yard run, cutting the deficit to 26-14 with 2:54 left
in the half.
A fumble by Powlus on the next possession gave the Huskies yet
another opportunity before halftime. But John Wales missed two
short field-goal attempts -- the first hit the upright and the
second, which followed a deadball penalty, was blocked.
The Irish exploded for 21 points in the third quarter. Powlus
threw touchdown passes to six and 29 yards to tight end Pete
Chryplewicz and 45 yards to Malcolm Johnson for a 47-14 lead.
Powlus completed all four of his passes for 119 yards in the
second half and was 8-for-12 for 194 yards overall.
Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz did not mind the lopsided win. "I
don't think it ever hurts your team to beat a 16th-ranked team
convincingly," Holtz said. "It did us a lot of good."
Dillon scored his second touchdown in a 15-yard run before Notre
Dame closed the scoring on a 23-yard pass from Jarious Jackson
to Stephens.
Huard completed 8-of-26 passes for 99 yards before leaving in
the third quarter with a concussion.
"This a game you learn from, and, as always, you have to have a
conviction to where we're going to take this game as a lesson,"
Washington coach Jim Lambright said. "This puts us in proper
place in terms of where we rank nationally."
Notre Dame has won all four games between the schools, including
a 29-21 victory at Washington last season. It was the third
straight game against a ranked team for Notre Dame, which
defeated Texas before losing to Ohio State.
Scoring Summary
1st 2nd 3rd 4th TOTAL
Washington (16) 0 14 0 6 20
Notre Dame (11) 14 12 21 7 54
1st Quarter
ND--TD, Autry Denson 33-yd run (Jim Sanson kick); 1:30
ND--TD, Jamie Spencer 16-yd run (Jim Sanson kick); 10:42
2nd Quarter
ND--TD, Randy Kinder 2-yd run (kick failed); 4:13
ND--TD, Robert Farmer 21-yd run (2-pt conversion failed); 6:23
UW--TD, Corey Dillon 11-yd run (John Wales kick); 10:09
UW--TD, Rashaan Shehee 1-yd run (John Wales kick); 12:06
3rd Quarter
ND--TD, Pete Chryplewicz 6-yd pass from Ron Powlus
(Jim Sanson kick); 3:15
ND--TD, Pete Chryplewicz 29-yd pass from Ron Powlus
(Jim Sanson kick); 12:42
ND--TD, Malcolm Johnson 45-yd pass from Ron Powlus
(Jim Sanson kick); 14:44
4th Quarter
UW--TD, Corey Dillon 15-yd run (2-pt conversion failed); 4:37
ND--TD, Shannon Stephens 23-yd pass from Jarious Jackson
(Jim Sanson kick); 11:15
Washington Notre Dame
First downs 16 31
Rushed-yards 42-111 58-397
Passing yards 146 253
Sacked-yards lost 5-30 1-7
Return yards 16 10
Passes 12-35-2 11-16-0
Punts 10-32.5 4-45.0
Fumbles-lost 1-1 3-3
Penalties-yards 5-51 6-61
Time of possession 28:46 31:14
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Washington-Dillon 18-87, Reed 4-14, Shehee 8-7,
Fortney 4-2, Huard 7-1, Keiaho 1-0. Notre Dame-Denson 14-137,
Farmer 7-68, Kinder 11-60, Edwards 8-37, Goodspeed 4-26, Barry
3-25, Spencer 1-16, Mosley 1-13, Stephens 1-10, Powlus 5-8,
Jackson 3-minus 3.
PASSING: Washington-Huard 8-26-1-99, Fortney 4-9-1-47. Notre
Dame-Powlus 8-12-0-194, Jackson 3-4-0-59.
RECEIVING: Washington-Janoski 3-48, Cleeland 3-45, Pathon 3-38,
Coleman 2-11, Dillon 1-4. Notre Dame-Stephens 3-93, Chryplewicz
3-41, Edwards 2-46, M Johnson 1-45, Nelson 1-20, Spencer 1-8.
Att: 59,075
