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1990 Notre Dame VS Miami… Pretty Good Too

By Joshua Vowles

Jan 10, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Two time Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year recipient Lou Holtz speaks during Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year press conference at Renaissance Hotel Dallas. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 10, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Two time Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year recipient Lou Holtz speaks during Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year press conference at Renaissance Hotel Dallas. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 1990 Notre Dame football game against Miami is not as legendary as the 1988 battle… why?

In the late eighties and just into the nineties, there was no clash in America that was more heated and had so much on the line each game than the series Notre Dame played in against Miami.

It had it all… legendary coaches, great college players that went on to become great NFL players, fights, culture clash, north versus south, South Beach versus South Bend, and yes… Catholics versus Convicts.

It was brutal, and it was cut down and left for dead about a half a decade too soon.

If you ask just about any Notre Dame fan, the most memorable game in the series was in 1988, and it’s almost impossible to argue against it. The stakes were high, the fight, Jimmy Johnson, the pregame speech, special teams play, turnovers, do or die call from the Canes… man it was incredible, and it was especially incredible for the Irish.

However… while I won’t troll you into believing that I think the 1990 game was better, I will say that the 1990 game is severely underrated when we talk about this series.

(BTW… Love those CBS cartoon graphics. They need to make a comeback).

This game still had a lot of national title implications, big plays, big time players, close and heated game, and above all else it was the last game of the series because the schools thought it was getting out of hand.

It’s that finality that made this game so special, and once the game played out as it did and as close as it was, it should have instantly gone down as one of the best games of the Lou Holtz era.

While a game that saw the winner kick 5 field goals seems like a bit of a yawner, it was anything but that as the Canes and the Irish closed out this ridiculously hate-filled rivalry (yeah, I’ll use the “r” word) with yet another big performance.

I guess I just wonder why we don’t mention this game more often in our usual banter about great games. I’m here to stoke the fire a little bit and toss you that reminder- it too was incredible.

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