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Sunday, September 04, 1994 Page: 1C
CHICAGO — Notre Dame quarterback Ron Powlus faced many questions before
Saturday night’s game with Northwestern. On the field, the highly touted
redshirt freshman had all the answers.
Powlus, the first freshman ever to start at quarterback for the Fighting
Irish, tied a school record with four touchdown passes to lead third-ranked
Notre Dame to a 35-9 lead over the Wildcats with six minutes left in the
fourth quarter.
Powlus completed 19-of-25 passes for 299 yards and hit Mike Miller and
Derrick Mays with two touchdown strikes each to lead the Irish attack.
The former Berwick sensation started his college career off in style,
hitting Miller with a 29-yard pass on his first attempt to put the Irish deep
in Northwestern territory.
But the Irish were denied as the Wildcat defense stopped running back Lee
Becton on a fourth-and-1 inside the Wildcat 10-yard line.
The Irish got on the scoreboard in the second quarter when Powlus and Mays
combined on a 9-yard touchdown pass to cap an 8-play, 82-yard drive. On the
drive, Powlus hit Miller with a 41-yard bomb to give Notre Dame a
first-and-goal inside the Northwestern 10.
A Northwestern field goal cut the Irish lead to 7-3, but the Irish rookie
quickly responded with a 46-yard touchdown pass to Miller, giving Notre Dame a
14-3 lead with 2:18 left in the first half.
After Notre Dame intercepted a Tim Hughes pass, Powlus found the end zone
again with five seconds left in the half. Powlus’ third touchdown pass of the
evening was a 2-yarder to Ray Zellers, and it gave Notre Dame a 21-3 lead.
The Irish had started their final first-half drive with 53 seconds
remaining in the half. Powlus hit Miller for 10 yards and Mays for 22 more to
put the Irish deep into Northwestern territory.
Notre Dame took the second half kickoff and marched 65 yards on 11 plays to
increase the Irish lead to 28-3. Becton capped the drive with a 3-yard sprint
into the endzone. Powlus was 5-for-5 for 50 yards and answered some questions
of his durability by gaining seven yards on a quarterback keeper on the
scoring drive.
Powlus joined some select company, including former Irish greats Steve
Beurlein and Daryl Lamonica, by tossing his fourth touchdown pass of night, a
36-yard strike to Mays for a 35-3 lead in the third. The Notre Dame score was
the Irish’s fifth consecutive touchdown drive after a relatively slow start
offensively.
Northwestern’s Dennis Lundy (138 yards on 27 carries) scored in the fourth
quarter with a 7-yard scamper into the end zone. The Cats went for two, but
Irish cornerback Bobby Taylor intercepted the attempt. He nearly returned it
for two points, but was bumped out of bounds at midfield.