Notre Dame's Fighting Irish wanted to proclaim its revival -- its return to the hierarchy of college football -- when it signed coach Charlie Weis to a 10-year contract extension last week.
Then on Saturday, Notre Dame defeated Tennessee 41-21 to improve to 6-2 and make itself eligible for a bowl and still eligible for one of the six coveted Bowl Championship Series games.
The Irish will be favored to win their last three games, at home against Navy and Syracuse and at Stanford. If No. 1 Southern California and No. 2 Texas remain undefeated and meet in the Rose Bowl, and if the Irish have nine victories and finish at least No. 12 in the Bowl Championship Series standings, Notre Dame is likely to be invited to the Fiesta Bowl.
PHOTO: AP
"We should be in the BCS; we're good enough to be in the BCS," Irish defensive tackle Trevor Laws said. "If we're not in the BCS, I'll be disappointed."
Mike Allen, a representative of the Fiesta Bowl, had no comment about picking the Irish, but other bowl representatives at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday said it was doubtful that the Fiesta would pass on Notre Dame. The Fiesta has a tie-in with the Big 12, and if the bowl loses Texas to the national championship game at the Rose Bowl, the Fiesta would have first rights.
Notre Dame looked as if it might get cooled off, however, by a Tennessee team (3-5) reeling from three consecutive defeats. The Vols, down by 21-3, rallied to tie the score at 21-21 with 1 minute 37 seconds left in the third quarter.
PHOTO: AP
But Notre Dame, which had gone seven possessions without scoring, erupted for 20 points in the fourth quarter.
The big play was a third-and-10 pass from Notre Dame's 25-yard line late in the third quarter. Wide receiver Jeff Samardzija, who caught seven passes for 127 yards, came across the middle running left to right and caught a short pass from Quinn.
When a defender slipped and fell, Samardzija turned the corner and raced down the sideline to the Tennessee 2 yard line for a 73-yard play.
"All the momentum swung back our way on that one play," Weis said.
Two plays later from the 4-yard line, Quinn threw a quick pass to Samardzija for the go-ahead touchdown with 13:57 left in the game.
Samardzija and Quinn made the clutch play of the game, but the biggest star of the game for the Irish was the junior safety Tom Zbikowski, who returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and returned an interception 33 yards for another touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Quinn completed 20 of 33 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns, but he found himself under pressure from the Vols for much of the second and third quarters and was sacked three times.
The Irish revived themselves in time to turn the game into a late rout, as their throng of fans cheered wildly at the final score and a chance to go to a bowl once again.
After the game, a crowd of fans gathered 10 rows deep and pressed up against a wrought-iron fence outside the locker room just trying to get a glimpse of the team's stars, Quinn, Zbikowski and linebacker Corey Mays, among others.
There is also special devotion for Weis, the former NFL assistant coach and Notre Dame alumnus. University officials acted quickly on Weis' popularity and gave him a 10-year contract extension last week.
Penn State 35, Wisconsin 14
Penn State took the Big Ten lead and put itself in position to appear in a major bowl game by taking a big early lead on Saturday and weathering a Wisconsin comeback for a 35-14 victory.
After a week off, the Nittany Lions (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) can win their first conference title since 1994 with a victory at Michigan State in the final game of the regular season on Nov. 19.
Though it is unlikely that the Lions will play in the Rose Bowl, this season's designated national championship game between the top two teams in the Bowl Championship Series rankings, they could qualify for the Fiesta, Orange or Sugar Bowls. At the very least, they have already clinched a bowl berth while fashioning a remarkable revival after finishing ninth in the conference in each of the previous two seasons.
And it has been a year of vindication for Joe Paterno, their 78-year-old coach, who resisted calls for his retirement after going a combined 7-16 in 2003 and 2004.
"I just had to take a good look and say, `Hey, do I want to get up again?'" Paterno said earlier this week when asked whether he was tempted to quit. "Once I made up my mind I wanted to get up again, I didn't care about what people thought."
Regarding criticism that his approach had grown stale, Paterno said: "I never resented any of that stuff. We get 100,000 people in that stadium. When we lose, they care, and when we win, they get enthusiastic about it."
There were 109,865 fans here Saturday, about a quarter of them students dressed in white and waving white towels, for a game that began in sunshine and ended under the lights.
Michael Robinson, the Penn State quarterback, connected for two long touchdown passes to wide receiver Deon Butler. Robinson also carried the ball 16 times for 124 yards. Tony Hunt rushed for two touchdowns and gained 153 yards on 24 carries for the Lions.
Among the Penn State defensive stars was Tamba Hali, a left end who had four sacks against Wisconsin quarterback John Stocco, who was sacked eight times in total. The Badgers came into the game averaging 39.7 points a game, best in the conference.
The Badgers (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten) finish their conference schedule next week at home against Iowa, followed by a non-conference game on Nov. 25 at Hawaii.
Like Penn State, Ohio State, which routed Illinois, 40-2, has only one loss in the conference, but the Lions are on track to get the better bowl bid because they beat the Buckeyes.
Miami 27, Virginia Tech 7
The only dance partners doing the Hokie-pokey with the Miami Hurricanes late Saturday night were probably officials from the Bowl Championship Series.
The BCS no longer has to worry about Virginia Tech going undefeated, getting snubbed from the national championship game and complaining until spring practice.
Miami's victory over the Hokies, 27-7, started to clear the way for a Rose Bowl devoid of controversy. Should Texas and Southern California finish the season undefeated, they will most likely play each other in Pasadena, Calif., for the title, and it will be difficult to debate.
Virginia Tech (8-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) cannot be considered a contender for much more than the Gator Bowl. The Hokies suffered their worst loss at Lane Stadium since 1992, and their starting quarterback, Marcus Vick, committed six turnovers. Virginia Tech, which had been thinking about a national championship game, may now be left out of the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship game.
Miami (7-1, 4-1), which had lost four of its last five appearances in Blacksburg, put an authoritative end to the slump.
"I didn't really expect it to be like this," Miami quarterback Kyle Wright said.
With UCLA also losing Saturday, the only undefeated teams remaining in college football are Texas, USC and Alabama. Because Alabama still has to play Louisiana State, Auburn and an opponent in the Southeastern Conference Championship game, the Crimson Tide's road to Pasadena is filled with potholes.
Peeved that Virginia Tech spent part of the week talking about Texas and USC, Miami tried to ensure that the Hokies would not face either of them. The Hurricanes are not traditionally known as spoilers, but they are certainly qualified. Miami, which has not lost since the first game of the season, at Florida State, will now probably be considered the best one-loss team in the country.
"We had a little edge," coach Larry Coker said. "We took it a little personal."
Virginia Tech and Miami have two of the fastest defenses in college football, but Miami was several steps faster Saturday. The Hurricanes, with the nation's No. 1 total defense and the No. 1 pass defense, upstaged the Hokies, who boasted the nation's No. 2 total defense and the No. 2 pass defense.
"They knew we were a fast team," Miami defensive tackle Kareem Brown said. "But I think it was a shock for them because they haven't played this kind of speed this year."
The Virginia Tech offensive line and quarterback were overwhelmed. Vick completed 8 of 22 passes for 90 yards. He lost four fumbles, one of which went for a touchdown and another that set up a field goal. He threw two interceptions, one leading to a touchdown. Coming into the game, Vick was among the best comeback stories in college football. Now, he will be regarded as a major reason the Hokies are missing out on another chance at a national title.
"I don't feel like I was forcing things," Vick said. "Sometimes I had to get rid of the ball and hope my receivers made a play. Unfortunately, they didn't."
Vick received a shipment of new cleats this week from his older brother, Atlanta Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick, to wear against Miami. The shoes, known as Vick III's, are advertised to have a "molded bottom" and a "mid-range" to support the ankle, but they did nothing for the arm.
Normally more accurate than his brother, Marcus Vick completed 1 of 10 passes in the first half for six yards.
Miami only needed to wait for Vick's mistakes. Wright did not complete a pass until the final minute of the first quarter, yet he still had a three-point lead. When Wright finally found his range, Virginia Tech's Darryl Tapp knocked him woozy with an illegal hit. Not only did Wright sit out most of the second quarter, but starting tailback Tyrone Moss sprained his left knee and receiver Devin Hester pulled a hamstring.
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