Miami and Notre Dame are back in South Bend on Saturday, and the matchup carries the kind of national shine that instantly brings the 1988 “Catholics vs. Convicts” classic back into focus.
That game, played on Oct. 15, 1988 at Notre Dame Stadium, remains one of the sport’s defining showdowns. The Irish, then No. 4, edged No. 1 Miami 31-30 in a game that had everything: Jimmy Johnson and Lou Holtz on the sideline, Brent Musburger and Pat Haden on the CBS call, and a rivalry fueled by a T-shirt that turned into a cultural lightning rod.
Musburger called it “a perfect setting.”
“Both programs were loaded,” Musburger told The Sporting News. “They were good.
You had the Catholics in South Bend and the loyalty around the country. They were still really the nation’s team, and the villains were coming up from Miami.
It actually was a perfect setting.”
The broadcast itself helped make the night unforgettable. Musburger opened with, “This sparkling jewel in South Bend, Indiana, is a cradle of football memories … ” He later described Miami as the “nouveau riche” of college football, and the pregame package leaned into the tunnel fight between the teams.
He finished by saying, “Two teams. Two eras are about to clash.
No. 1 Miami plays No.
4 Notre Dame on CBS … ”
He also used the “Catholics vs. Convicts” T-shirt as a prop during the telecast.
The schools were both independents then, which made the matchup feel even bigger. Notre Dame still is.
Miami, which won national titles in 1983, 1987 and 1989 as an independent, is now in the ACC. The source material also notes Miami’s 27-24 head-to-head victory against the Irish in 2025, and asks whether Miami’s conference membership was part of why Notre Dame was left out in the final week of the rankings.
The buildup to the 1988 game had already been years in the making. Miami had hammered Notre Dame 58-7 in the Orange Bowl in 1985, Gerry Faust’s final game as Irish coach, and that loss helped lead to Holtz’s arrival.
The Hurricanes had also beaten Notre Dame 24-0 in 1987, giving them four straight in the series. Holtz became a central figure in the 1988 buildup, and his pregame speech ended with, “ Save Jimmy Johnson’s ass for me.”
Holtz died on March 4, and Notre Dame will honor him throughout Saturday’s game against Miami.
Miami entered that 1988 meeting as the defending national champion and riding a 16-game winning streak. The Hurricanes were 98-20 during the 1980s, second only to Nebraska’s 103-20 mark, and quarterback Steve Walsh explained why the program drew such strong reactions.
“The exposure was much more limited but it was also more intense because there were more eyes on those games,” Walsh told TSN. “If you hated Miami, you wanted to watch. You were pulling for whoever Miami was playing to beat our ass.”
The game itself turned wild. The New York Times described a pregame scuffle after warmups, writing: “Just before the game, things got nasty when Miami players were leaving the field after warm-ups. Rod Holder, a Miami center, and Anthony Johnson, an Irish fullback, nearly came to blows and then both teams crowded into the ramp under the north stands exchanging words and futile punches.”
Then came the turnovers. Miami gave it away seven times, but Walsh still put up huge numbers, setting Notre Dame records for completions with 31 and passing yards with 424 while tying the record for touchdown passes with four. One of his three interceptions was returned 60 yards for a touchdown by Pat Terrell, giving Notre Dame a 21-7 lead in the second quarter.
Even then, Miami still had a path to win in the fourth quarter. Trailing 31-24 and facing fourth-and-7 around the seven-minute mark, Walsh hit Cleveland Gary, who appeared to cross the goal line.
The play was ruled a fumble, and Notre Dame linebacker Michael Stonebreaker recovered it. There was no instant replay.
Miami got another chance after recovering a Tony Rice fumble and scoring with 45 seconds left to make it 31-30. Johnson went for two - there was no overtime - and Walsh threw to Leonard Conley in the corner of the end zone. Terrell broke it up, and Notre Dame held on.
The loss was Miami’s only one in an 11-1 season, and Johnson left after the year to coach the Dallas Cowboys. Notre Dame used the win as a springboard to a 12-0 season that ended with victories over No.
2 USC and No. 3 West Virginia, giving the Irish their last national championship.
The rivalry stayed hot for a little while longer. Miami beat No.
1 Notre Dame 27-10 in 1989 to claim the national title, and Notre Dame beat No. 2 Miami 29-20 in 1990 before losing to No.
1 Colorado in the Orange Bowl. Then came a 20-year break.
Now the series is back in the national spotlight, and Saturday’s game in South Bend will be just the second meeting there since the 1980s heyday.
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