The Aloha Bowl
1984
SMU 27
Notre Dame 20
HONOLULU
(AP) - All season long, Notre Dame has overcome adversity. This time, in
their final game of the year, the Fighting Irish fell short.
Quarterback Steve Beuerlein overthrew an open Milt Jackson in the
Southern Methodist end zone on fourth down with 30 seconds left in the
game Saturday, as the 10th ranked Mustangs held on to beat No. 17 Notre
Dame 27-20 in the third annual Aloha Bowl Saturday.
John Carney had kicked a 31-yard field goal for Notre Dame with 3:15
remaining, and Beuerlein then guided the Irish from their 23 to the SMU
16. But the rally stopped on the fourth-down incomplete pass.
"Beuerlein is pretty down in the dumps," Notre Dame Coach Gerry Faust
said. "The receiver was pretty wide open and he missed him.
"If we'd scored, we would have gone for a two-point conversion and
the win. We've been fighters all year and we've been coming back all
year."
The loss snapped Notre Dame's four-game winning streak and left the
Irish 7-5 for the season.
Jeff Atkins ran for 112 yards and one touchdown while Reggie Dupard
rushed for 103 yards and another score to lead SMU's effort.
"We thought we had one of the best bowl matchups," SMU Coach Bobby
Collins said after his Southwestern Conference team won its sixth
straight game to wind up 10-2.
"That's four years in a row for 10 wins. Maybe now people will say
SMU is for real."
Dupard, who missed most of the first half with an ankle injury,
scored on a 2-yard run to give SMU a 27-17 lead with 6:13 left in the
game before Carney's field goal pulled the Fighting Irish within 27- 20.
Allan Pinkett gained 136 yards on 24 carries for Notre Dame. He also
caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Beuerlein in the second quarter
that drew the Irish within 14-7.
Atkins ran 7 yards to give the Mustangs a 7-0 lead in the first
quarter and SMU made it 14-0 in the second period when Cobby Morrison
caught a 12-yard TD pass from Don King.
Carney kicked a 51-yard field goal in the second quarter while SMU's
Brandy Brownlee hit a 47-yarder in the same period.
Mark Brooks ran 11 yards in the third quarter for Notre Dame to make it 17-17, but Brownlee's 30- yarder made it 20-17 early in the fourth period.
Notre Dame's Allan Pinkett rushed for 136 yards and caught a touchdown pass.
SMU's Don King releases pass under pressure.
King battles alone against the ND defense.
Media Guides for 1984 Aloha Bowl.
Attendance- 41,777
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
SMU- Atkins 7 run (Brownlee kick)
Second Quarter
SMU- Forrester 12 pass from King (Brownlee kick)
ND- Pinkett 17 pass from Beuerlein (Carney kick)
ND- FG Carney 51
SMU- FG Brownlee 47
Third Quarter
ND- Brooks 11 run (Carney kick)
Fourth Quarter
SMU- FG Brownlee 30
SMU- Dupard 2 run (Brownlee kick)
ND- FG Carney 31
Individual Statistics
Rushing
ND- Pinkett 24-136, Jefferson 9-60, Brooks 4-19, Beuerlein 5-7
SMU- Atkins 17-112, Dupard 23-103, Hashaway 8-34, Morrison 7-26
Passing
ND- Beuerlein 11-23-144
SMU- King 9-17-153
Receiving
ND- Jefferson 2-37, Howard
2-24, Bavaro 2-16, Brown 1-16, Jackson 1-13, Pinkett 1-17, Smith 1-11,
Gray 1-10
SMU- Atkins 2-31, Hashaway 2-27, Morris 2-27, Dupard 1-39, Pleasant
1-17, Morrison 1-12.
