Who was that guy posing as Lou Holtz the morning after Notre Dame's season-opening win over Northwestern?
It sure looked like Holtz behind the microphones and tape recorders Sunday. He said he had been up until all night watching film of the 42-15 victory, and that seemed typical of the hard-working coach, too.But this guy was in a good mood.
Holtz would have been simmering after watching his beloved running game sputter and cough like a dying engine.
This guy, this imposter, told jokes.
"I'm going over to work on pass patterns," he quipped, turning down a golf invitation. "I'm going to become the big passing guru now."
Holtz a passing guru? Not in this life.
But yes, that was Holtz sounding like run-and-shoot architect Mouse Davis. And who could blame him? Those same game films he watched until 5 a.m. also showed that the worst-kept secret in college football, sophomore quarterback Ron Powlus, was every bit as good as he was supposed to be.
In one of the most anticipated debuts in recent memory, Powlus tied a school record Saturday night with four touchdown passes. He singlehandedly turned a dismal performance by No. 3 Notre Dame into a runaway.
Powlus was a picture of poise and precision from the time he threw his first pass, a 29-yard completion to Michael Miller on his first play, until he was ushered out of the crowded interview tent underneath the stands at Chicago's Soldier Field.
It had been more than 20 months since he had played a game that counted. He had been besieged by the media since preseason practice began in mid-August, a target because of his injured shoulder and a dusty reputation.
And when he finally got on the field for the first time, Notre Dame's vaunted running game was stuffed. Northwestern, the traditional weakling of the Big Ten, bullied the Irish around most of the first half.
The pressure to deliver, to be the savior, must have been intense. But Powlus stayed cool.
He was nearly perfect in the first half, completing 10-of-13 for 186 yards and three touchdowns as the Fighting Irish took a 21-3 lead. He threw long, with TDs of 46 yards to Miller and 36 yards to Derrick Mayes, and he threw short, nine yards to Mayes and two to fullback Ray Zellars.
He engineered a sterling hurry-up drill, moving 42 yards in 48 seconds to give Notre Dame a 21-3 lead five seconds before halftime.
Powlus finished 18-of-24 for 291 yards.