SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame scored four quick touchdowns in the first half and Ron Powlus put the game away with three touchdown passes after intermission as the No. 11 Fighting Irish defeated No. 16 Washington, 54-20.

Notre Dame (4-1), which saw its national title hopes take a hit with a loss to Ohio State two weeks ago, shook off the defeat by scoring touchdowns on four of its first five possessions.

"Ohio State was a wakeup call," said Notre Dame running back Autry Denson. "We knew what we could do, we just went to our strength. ... You put it together on Saturday no matter what."

Washington (3-2) allowed 650 yards, marking the first time it has allowed more than 500 yards since 1983 against UCLA. The 54 points were the most for Notre Dame since a 55-27 win over Texas last season.

Defensive back Deke Cooper, a freshman making his first start, intercepted a pass from Washington's Brock Huard at the Huskies 38 on the game's opening possession. Two plays later, Autry Denson raced 33 yards for a touchdown. Denson finished with 137 yards on 14 carries and the Irish had 397 rushing yards overall.

"My running came from good blocks and openings, but the offensive lineman made it all happen," Denson said. "If they had not done their job today, the outcome would have been different."

The Fighting Irish then drove 86 yards in 12 plays on their next possession, capped by a 16-yard run by Jamie Spencer, to take a 16-0 lead after one quarter.

A 13-yard reverse by Emmett Mosley to the Washington 5 set up a two-yard run by Randy Kinder early in the second quarter.

Notre Dame increased its lead to 26-0 on a 21-yard run by Robert Farmer. A 42-yard pass from Powlus to Shannon Stephens set up the score.

The Huskies, who nearly rallied from a 21-point deficit before losing to Arizona State in their season opener, got back into the game with an 11-yard touchdown run by Corey Dillon with 4:51 left in the first half.

Allen Rossum of the Irish fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Huskies recovered at the Irish 32. Rashaan Shehee later scored on a one-yard run, cutting the deficit to 26-14 with 2:54 left in the half.

A fumble by Powlus on the next possession gave the Huskies yet another opportunity before halftime. But John Wales missed two short field-goal attempts -- the first hit the upright and the second, which followed a deadball penalty, was blocked.

"At halftime, all I said was, 'Men, we are 12 points ahead with 30 minutes left,'" Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz said. "I don't know how we got it, but we got it."

The Irish exploded for 21 points in the third quarter. Powlus threw touchdown passes to six and 29 yards to tight end Pete Chryplewicz and 45 yards to Malcolm Johnson for a 47-14 lead.

"In the halftime, everybody was talking like 'That was their half, this is our half.' Everybody was very fired up," Husky linebacker Jason Chorak said. "They just came out and did what they wanted to."

Powlus completed all four of his passes for 119 yards in the second half and was 8-for-12 for 194 yards overall.

"It was fun to come out and bury them in the second half," Powlus said. "It's fun to beat up on a team."

Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz did not mind the lopsided win, either. "I don't think it ever hurts your team to beat a 16th-ranked team convincingly," Holtz said. "It did us a lot of good."

Dillon scored his second touchdown in a 15-yard run before Notre Dame closed the scoring on a 23-yard pass from Jarious Jackson to Stephens.

Huard completed 8-of-26 passes for 99 yards before leaving in the third quarter with a concussion. Shane Fortney was also ineffective, completing four of nine passes for 47 yards.

"Our quarterbacks failed," Washington coach Jim Lambright said. "A definite hard-learning situation.

"This a game you learn from, and, as always, you have to have a conviction to where we're going to take this game as a lesson. This puts us in proper place in terms of where we rank nationally."

Notre Dame has won all four games between the schools, including a 29-21 victory at Washington last season. It was the third straight game against a ranked team for Notre Dame, which defeated Texas before losing to Ohio State.

The win moved Holtz into sole possession of second place with 96 career coaching victories at Notre Dame. Knute Rockne holds the record with 105.