Lou Holtz finds himself in an uncomfortably familiar position this week, trying to rally his team so it doesn’t fold after a second straight loss at home.
Take away any one of three Notre Dame fumbles, which led to nine Michigan points, or a blown assignment on a critical play in Michigan’s final drive and the Irish would be celebrating an open road to a possible national championship.
Instead, they dropped to eighth in the AP poll after Remy Hamilton kicked a 42-yard field goal with 2 seconds left to play for Michigan’s 26-24 victory Saturday.
Holtz acknowledged Sunday the loss was eerily similar to Notre Dame’s last home game of ’93, when the Irish defense couldn’t stop a march down the field in the final minute by Boston College.
New defensive coordinator Bob Davie took the responsibility for the calls during a 59-yard drive by Michigan. Davie said his unit was not in a prevent defense, but utilized six defensive backs.
“They throw a lot of deep square-outs, and we wanted to get a four-man rush,” Davie said.
“After Michael Miller ran that kickoff back 55 yards, even before we scored, I got the whole defense up on the bench and told them what we were going to do. I told Coach Holtz, and he said, `It’s totally up to you.’ “
A critical play in the final series was a 26-yard completion over the middle from QB Todd Collins to tight end Jay Riemersma, who was supposed to have been covered by a linebacker but was wide open.
“We knew they were going to try that. That same play was wide open for them just before the end of the half, and Collins threw it incomplete,” Davie said. “We just didn’t execute.”
Injuries: Wide receiver Derrick Mayes, who sprained an ankle on his TD catch with :46 left, is listed as probable for Saturday’s game against Michigan State. Tight end Peter Chryplewicz (broken hand) is out indefinitely.
