They were bigger, stronger, more polished, more precise. The Notre Dame marching band, oldest in the country, played up to par, thoroughly outclassing the Oregon State musicians. Unfortunately for the Irish, Monday’s Fiesta Bowl was not a battle of the bands.
It didn’t matter which 11 players Notre Dame had on the field. It didn’t matter whether the Irish offense was going up against the Beavers’ defense or the Irish defense against the Beavers’ offense. In every phase of the game, Oregon State thoroughly outplayed Notre Dame. The final score, 41-9, served merely as a punctuation mark for the once-beaten Beavers, who came into the game ranked No. 5. Oregon State (11-1) will at least maintain, if not improve, its final ranking. No. 10 Notre Dame, on the other hand, not only dropped to 9-3 for the season, it will likely plummet in the polls after losing its fifth straight bowl game.
In a game that was supposed to establish the return of Notre Dame football to national prominence, a game that was supposed to establish the team as a national-championship contender heading into the 2001 season, the Irish looked bewilderingly overmatched.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve got an awful lot of work,” Notre Dame coach Bob Davie said after losing a season finale for the fourth straight year. “Offensively, we cannot get ourselves off rhythm. Defensively, certainly we have to improve coverage.”
The Fiesta Bowl was supposed to be a contest between Oregon State’s speed and Notre Dame’s size, but the Beavers were both fleeter and tougher. Oregon State quarterback Jonathan Smith shredded the Irish secondary, throwing for 305 yards and three touchdowns on 16-of-24 passing.
“I kept telling our players that eventually he would cool down, but he never did,” Davie said.
The only evidence of the luck of the Irish was the fact that Notre Dame, despite being thoroughly outplayed, trailed only 12-3 at halftime.
That the lead wasn’t bigger could be credited to the Irish defense, which limited Oregon State to field goals on its first two scoring drives.
The third quarter began quietly for the Irish, who forced Oregon State to punt on its opening possession. Two plays later, however, Beavers linebacker Darnell Robinson tore through the line and clocked Notre Dame quarterback Matt LoVecchio, forcing the ball loose. Defensive tackle Eric Manning recovered. Forty-five seconds later, T.J. Houshmandzadeh took a 23-yard rainbow from Smith into the right corner in the end zone, giving the Beavers a 19-3 lead.
Even their own mistakes ultimately benefited the Beavers. Houshmandzadeh, returning a punt after Notre Dame’s next possession, fumbled the ball at the 50-yard line. Five yards up the field, teammate Terrell Roberts scooped up the ball and ran it into the end zone. A two-point conversion increased the lead to 27-3.
Within two minutes, the Beavers had raised the lead to 34-3 on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Chad Johnson.
Another two minutes later, Oregon State tailback Ken Simonton scored from 4 yards out, wrapping up a 29-point third quarter and building the lead to 41-3.
Notre Dame’s vaunted special teams, which had blocked five punts this season, barely had a chance to show their stuff. Oregon State punted only three times and outgained the Irish 446-155.
And Notre Dame’s offensive line, which was supposed to be supple, stable and strong, proved to be no match for an undersized but ferocious Oregon State defense. The Irish, who had been advertised as an all-run, little-pass offense, managed to do neither well. For the season, Notre Dame averaged 213 rushing yards per game. Monday, the Irish gained just 17 yards in 37 attempts. The line also allowed five sacks of LoVecchio, who was 13-of-33 for 138 yards with two interceptions.
“When we can’t run the football more effectively than we did tonight we virtually have no chance,” Davie said. “We got our butts kicked and Oregon State deserves a lot of credit.”
The only victory the Irish could claim was moral, playing a cleaner game than the Beavers. Oregon State set a Fiesta Bowl record with 18 penalties for 174 yards. Notre Dame had seven penalties.
“We’re a very aggressive football team,” Oregon State coach Dennis Erickson said. “That’s just how we play, and that’s just how we are.”
