WHO would have thought it would come down to the final five seconds of the game? Notre Dame’s victory
over Hawaii ‘iffy’Certainly not Notre Dame. And not even the most diehard Rainbow fans, considering there were more than 6,000 no-shows Saturday at Aloha Stadium.
Notre Dame, the most storied team in college football, needed a 20-yard field goal with five seconds left to beat UH, 23-22, in a game that seemed a mismatch on paper. Thankfully, you don't go by the book in any sport; you have to play the game.
The field goal denied UH of the greatest weekend in the school's sports history. Less than 24 hours earlier, the Rainbows knocked off Bobby Knight and his Indiana Hoosiers. The Wahine defeated the Lady Hoosiers in basketball, too.
Oh well, it was not meant to be. But oh, was it ever close.
When you think about it, it came down to a lot of ifs.
If Eric Hannum hadn't missed his extra-point attempt on UH's first touchdown, even though those in the press box thought it was insignificant, considering the Fighting Irish were 26-point favorites.
If the officials penalized the Rainbows five and not 15 yards for what UH coach Fred vonAppen called a "quasi" face-mask penalty that gave Notre Dame a 15-yard jump start on its final drive.
If the Rainbows made just one first down in the fourth quarter. It could have allowed them to eat up more time at the end.
AND two more "ifs" on one play with three minutes left and the Rainbows nursing a 22-20 lead:
If only the Rainbows ran the ball on second-and-four instead of trying a hitch-pass. And if only Eleu Kane, who caught the pass - apparently for no gain -didn't try to make something out of it. He lost 7 yards trying to reverse his field.
So instead of third-and-four, or maybe less if the 'Bows had run the ball, it became third-and-11 and an obvious passing situation. They had to punt after using up less than two minutes.
Shades of last year's season-opening loss to Boston College - in terms of clock management. It was déjà vu all over again in not making a first down when needed.
But that it came down to all those ifs was testimony to the Rainbows' gritty effort against Notre Dame. They had nothing to be ashamed of.
If anybody, Notre Dame, with all its talent, should be embarrassed.
With the victory, the Irish will get a bowl berth and a chance to crack the Top 25 in the final Associated Press poll. But it's a good thing they're not going to play Colorado State. The Rams would kick their butts.
And to a man, the Rainbows agreed with vonAppen - it wasn't good enough to play Notre Dame close.
CLOSE doesn't count," vonAppen said. "I don't want to discredit the effort by the players. It was a magnanimous effort, but we came up short. We've got to find a way to win."
"Nobody expected us to stay in there with them. But we knew we could play with anybody," said Eddie Klaneski, who returned three punts for 103 yards, including a 52-yarder that set up a touchdown. "We got to learn how to finish. Hopefully the guys next year will learn how to finish off the game."
One of those guys is freshman star Charles Tharp, who ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns. And who knows, maybe it will include some of the 14 visiting recruits who watched the game from the UH sideline
"This is something for us to build on and help us in recruiting," Tharp said. "We'll be looking to make some noise next year."