Subscribe
Jobs
Cars
Real Estate
Apts
Classifieds
Shop
SOUTH BEND – Jack Swarbrick, the first-year Notre Dame athletic director, walked through the tunnel on the north side of Notre Dame Stadium after Saturday’s game against Syracuse. He turned around and gazed back at the field. This is what he had just witnessed:
•The Orange coming from behind for a crushing 24-23 win
•Lame-duck Syracuse coach Greg Robinson getting his first double-digit, come-from-behind win
•Notre Dame losing on Senior Day for the first time under head coach Charlie Weis
•Weis’ record dropping to 28-20, the same career winning percentage (.583) as the Irish’s prior two coaches, Bob Davie and Tyrone Willingham, both of whom were fired.
Swarbrick declined to speak about Weis’ future at Notre Dame.
“Not today,” Swarbrick said, although he also said earlier that Weis wouldn’t be evaluated until the end of the season.
Notre Dame (6-5), which led 23-10 entering the fourth quarter, allowed Syracuse (3-8) to score two fourth-quarter touchdowns including an 11-yard pass from Orange quarterback Cameron Dantley to receiver Donte Davis with 42 seconds remaining to give his team the final lead.
Dantley is the son of former Notre Dame basketball star Adrian Dantley. Dantley was 13-of-25 passing for 126 yards.
“To do that on this type of stage on national TV, it’s just a dream come true,” he said.
Notre Dame kicker Brandon Walker had a chance to win, but his 53-yard field goal fell short. Walker was 3-of-6 on field-goal attempts for the game.
Before Saturday, Syracuse had scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns all season.
“It really isn’t a surprise at all to our football team,” Robinson said. “They knew that somewhere along the line this team was going to do something special.”
On national television, with nothing to play for except for the pride of their beleaguered coach, they did.
Syracuse’s players showed intensity Saturday from the beginning while Notre Dame looked flat.
The Orange, a team that had allowed 209.2 rushing yards per game, held Notre Dame to 41 yards. The next-lowest total the Orange gave up this season was to Northeastern, a middle-of-the-road FCS school, which gained 90.
“I didn’t feel any emotion on the sideline,” said sophomore Notre Dame wide receiver Golden Tate, who had seven catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns. “Even myself, I was just kind of ‘Eh.’ I think that was one of the problems for me, at least, at the beginning of the game, and I probably could have said some things and acted differently (to) help the team.”
The Irish were undone again by their inability to close out a game. Three Notre Dame drives in the third quarter started inside the Syracuse 23-yard line. The Irish scored three points.
“It’s the team’s responsibility to close out the game,” Weis said. “I include coach in with teams. So before you think that I’m passing that off on the players, I’m not doing that.”
The Irish stalled with a lead, much as they did in losses to North Carolina and Pittsburgh and close wins over Stanford and Navy.
“Bottom line, being kind of blunt,” junior right tackle Sam Young said. “They wanted it more.”
Saturday’s game was also marred by bad behavior by Notre Dame students. Fans in the student section pelted the Irish players with snowballs in the first quarter. Freshman quarterback Dayne Crist and freshman defensive end Ethan Johnson were both hit in the head by snowballs, and an usher was struck in the chest.
Senior defensive end Pat Kuntz, who was also hit in the head, yelled at the student section.
Police escorted at least one person from the stands for throwing snowballs.
“They start throwing snowballs at their own team, I didn’t think that was a smart thing to do,” Kuntz said.
South Bend had 10 inches of snow Friday.
mrothstein@jg.net
