Some games don’t just open a season — they announce a statement. And in 1998, Notre Dame delivered one loud enough to echo all the way from South Bend to Ann Arbor.
Coming off a turbulent offseason, a disappointing end to 1997, and a national chorus predicting mediocrity, the Irish entered their season opener against defending national champion Michigan as heavy underdogs. A new quarterback. A second-year head coach still unproven. A roster written off by pundits and passed over by preseason polls.
But anyone who has followed Notre Dame long enough knows one thing: when the world counts the Irish out, that’s when the magic often begins.
This week’s Throwback Thursday takes us back to that crisp September afternoon in 1998 — a day when Autry Denson, Jarious Jackson, and a gritty, relentless defense stunned the Wolverines and reminded everyone that Notre Dame doesn’t rebuild… it rises.
Let’s revisit the opening chapter of a season that started with doubt and erupted in the kind of belief only Notre Dame football can inspire.
The following excerpt is from the 1998 Notre Dame Football Review, in the Scholastic Magazine, written by Andrew Nutting.
Declawing the Champs
The defending national champs fell to the Irish in the season opener
by Andrew Nutting
I think everyone had written Notre Dame off,” said senior running back Autry Denson after the Irish smacked Michigan 36-20 to open the season. “But we knew good things were going to happen.” For the first time since the Gerry Faust regime, the Irish indeed had been written off as a national title contender. The 1997 season’s bitter conclusion, a 27-9 mauling at the claws of LSU, had negated the year’s biggest win. The final regular-season game had been an embarrassing one-point, lastsecond edging of the perennially irrelevant Hawaii Rainbow Warriors~ A new quarterback handling the snaps and a second-year coach who hadn’t showed any particular genius in his first season led cynics to predict a painful year.
Off-the-field events contributed to the diminution of Notre Dame’s gridiron stature almost as much as on-field awkwardness. Terms like age-discrimination lawsuit, Quarterback Club booster and cheerleader sex peppered the nation’s summer sports sections. The names Joe Moore, Kimberly Dunbar and Peeping Tom Athletes made even the most laudatory Domers and subway alumni cringe. Such external pressures, thought the naysayers, could only make a mediocre squad worse.
It didn’t help matters that the Irish were lining up against the Michigan Wolverines, whose shiny 1997 national championship trophy had yet to collect dust and whose defeat of the Irish last year remained fresh in all fans’ minds. The Maize and Blue returned nine starters from a defense that allowed just 9.5 points a game, featured one of the top recruiting classes in the country and had the confidence of a 10-foot-tall Philistine.
But, as Denson said, good things happened. Not good things, actually. Great things. A combination of stalwart defensive play in the first half, brilliant second half offensive execution and some timely Wolverine mistakes enabled the Irish to saunter off the field after the game back at the top of the world of college football.
The Irish didn’t systematically destroy Michigan. Denson kicked the season off with a bang, taking the first Irish play up the middle for 5 8 yards before being caught at the Michigan 14. After the electrifying opening, though, the offense died. The next two plays netted minus-1 yards, and third down was wasted when, in the endzone, Malcolm Johnson dropped a pass from Jarious Jackson. Jim Sanson’s 32-yard field goal tied the game at 3-3.
In the entire first quarter, the Irish ran just five plays and held the ball for only three minutes. Denson’s opening blast was more than half of the team’s 114 first-half yards.
Jackson, the redshirt junior making his first start at quarterback, struggled in the first half. He missed numerous open receivers, completing only one of six attempts. His 33-yard completion to Raki Nelson did set up a second quarter field goal by Sanson, but only after Jackson had overthrew to Johnson in the endzone.
“We felt like we didn’t get enough plays to get in a rhythm,” said senior tackle Mike Rosenthal of the first half. The defense, on the other hand, was on the field long enough for a full game.
The Blue and Gold’s defense was not as inept as its offense in the first half and eventually let Michigan cause its own downfall through a series of missed field goals. Michigan’s long opening drive encompassed 15 plays and swallowed 5:23 off the clock, but the Wolverines were forced to settle for a 36-yard field goal after the Irish defenders stopped Michigan at the 19.
Michigan’s drive following Sanson’s first field goal racked up another 66 yards before A’Jani Sanders dropped Justin Fargas at the ND 16, one yard short of the first down, forcing the field goal. Baker’s 33 yard chip-shot attempt was wide left. Baker would miss again in the first half, coming up a few feet short of the crossbar from 43 yards in the middle of the second quarter.
“We have no excuses,” said Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr after the game. “We had a lot of opportunities we didn’t take advantage of.”
Michigan finally got a few more points on the board when kicker Craig Baker was benched in favor of Jan Feely. Feely’s 21-yarder capped a 54-yard Wolverine drive initiated by Travis Knight’s phenomenal reception. In midair, Knight outmuscled the ball from Irish cornerback Deveron Harper, falling to the ground with pigskin in hand for a 42-yard gain.
Despite their problems, the Irish defense didn’t allow a touchdown until 23 seconds remained in the first half. On second and goal from the one, Michigan’s offensive line allowed enough space for quarterback Tom Brady to break the plane. The extra point put the Irish behind 13-6 going into the half.
In the locker room, defensive coordinator Greg Mattison expressed frustration with the Irish tendency to let Brady and running back Clarence Williams steadily drive deep into Notre Dame territory. “I told our players that it was their own fault they were on the field so long,” Mattison said. “We had them in third down so many times and we didn’t get off the field.”
👉 Continue reading on Page 6 of the Scholastic Magazine to see how the Irish finished the job and toppled the defending champs
The first half may have belonged to Michigan on the stat sheet, but the Irish walked into the locker room knowing something had shifted — the defense had bent but never broken, the offense had flashed sparks, and Michigan had left points scattered all over the field.
What unfolded after halftime is the part Irish fans still love to remember: the adjustments, the confidence, the explosive plays, and the roar of a Notre Dame Stadium crowd sensing an upset turning into a statement win.
It was the moment Notre Dame shrugged off the doubt, the headlines, and the offseason noise — and reclaimed its place among college football’s elite.
And it all began with this unforgettable first half.
Cheers & GO IRISH!
