Notre Dame Holds Off No. 9 Tenn. 17-13

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee lost the second member of its heralded freshman quarterback duo and Notre Dame capitalized with an interception return for a touchdown, then held on to win 17-13 Saturday over the No. 9 Volunteers.<br> <br> Erik Ainge separated his right shoulder on the final play of the first half when he recovered his own fumble and was sacked. He did not return. His injury came a week after Brent Schaeffer broke his collarbone.<br> <br> Junior Rick Clausen, the younger brother of former Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen, replaced Ainge in the second half and almost immediately made a big mistake.<br> <br> Clausen was being sacked by Derek Landri when he let the ball go. Notre Dame&#39;s Mike Goolsby caught it and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown and a 14-10 lead. The Fighting Irish (6-3) never trailed again. <br> <br> The Vols (7-2) now have a week off to regroup and prepare for Southeastern Conference also-rans Vanderbilt and Kentucky, teams it needs to beat to win the SEC East division.<br> <br> Notre Dame padded its lead in the fourth quarter with D.J. Fitzpatrick&#39;s 39-yard field goal. Then all the Irish had to do was stop Tennessee&#39;s hapless offense. The Vols punted on their next possession, but got the ball back for a final chance with 2:12 remaining.<br> <br> Tennessee had a bad snap that Clausen had to recover 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage. The Vols&#39; last gasp came on fourth-and-18 when Clausen&#39;s pass was incomplete, and the Notre Dame bench erupted in celebration.<br> <br> Brady Quinn was 12-of-23 for 118 yards and a touchdown for Notre Dame, which only had 216 yards of total offense. <br> <br> Notre Dame took its first lead, 7-3, in the first quarter on Quinn&#39;s 8-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Fasano, ending a drive that featured Darius Walker&#39;s 32-yard run.<br> <br> Tennessee got back in it in the second quarter when Ainge dumped off the ball to Cedric Houston as he was being pressured. Houston dodged defenders and beat Notre Dame&#39;s Dwight Ellick to the end zone for a 56-yard touchdown.<br> <br> Clausen finished 10-of-18 for 120 yards, but the Vols were held to 58 yards rushing.