1988 national championship game

The Irish offense had now hit its stride and had Stanford by at halftime before closing the deal at Rice seemed to be improving as a passer.

For the first time, the Irish were facing an extremely athletic quarterback, Darnell Dickerson. He was big, elusive and could reset and throw the ball the few times he was flushed from the pocket. Pitt never rolled over, but the Notre Dame defense tightened in the second half and held the Panthers to two field goals while touchdowns by Braxston Banks in the third quarter and steady Mark Green in the fourth quarter brought the Irish the win.

The other good news was that the Pitt outing would not leave the Irish overconfident for Miami. There was a swirl of emotions on the Notre Dame campus, not all of them good. Miami would be arriving with great players, swagger and a 36 game regular season winning streak.

And a head coach who just loved the attention of being a lightning rod. It was the first big game on the campus since the Michigan game and would be for the pole position in the polls. At Notre Dame, victory is both expected and traditional. But there is nothing that gets the juices flowing in the Notre Dame community quite like being the underdog in a big game. And Louis Leo Holtz, an underdog his whole life, loved being thrown into the briar patch from whence underdogs sprang.

Later, each had a son who would play for Notre Dame. Miami always came alive on the road trying to get in the first intimidation and pushing the home fans back in their seats. During the pre-game warmups the Canes ran through the Notre Dame team and bumped into a number of Notre Dame players. Push me, shove you, eh? Well, there were fisticuffs in the North End Zone. It was a twin gusher of testosterone and adrenaline. In the locker room, Holtz got sanctimonious and warned his players about fighting and threatened dismissal if anyone brawled.

But, never one to let a crisis go to waste cf. The way Lou now retells the story is that he was not concluded with his pregame remarks. Nevertheless, the squad rushed out, touched the sign, exited the tunnel……….

Bright, sunny, football time in Michiana. The campus had that special aura, the aroma of a stew of equal parts adrenaline, vitriol and anticipation that had been simmering all week. These were not the tickets you gave away to the dentist or doctor. These were the ones you kept. But the Irish were attacking, and later scored the first touchdwon of the game on a Tony Rice keeper from 7 yards out, following great blocks by the right side of the line and a fine block by Tony Brooks—for a first quarter lead.

The Canes struck back in the second quarter on a short pass from Walsh to Andre Brown to knot the score at 7. In the second quarter the Irish had the best of it for most of the quarter, with a long 57 yard pass to Ismail setting up a drive capped by a nine yard pass from Rice on a delay to Braxston Banks for the score.

The rout was on! Or not. People who had watched Miami come back in Ann Arbor for a victory by overcoming a deficit with 5 minutes to go, then suffered deja vu. Johnson and Walsh turned up the jets and put up 14 points against a proud Notre Dame defense in just 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

The score was at the half, and serious, not morose, fans wandered the concourse at halftime. Jaws were clenched. The game was living up to the buildup. And then some. Nervous, but excited fans filed back into the stands. We belonged on the same field with the mighty Canes. But they sure belonged on the field with Notre Dame.

Midway through the third quarter, Johgnson let impatience and hubris get the best of him. With a fourth and three at his own 46, Johnson went to an old standby, the fake punt. The fake punt. That Notre Dame stuffed. Seizing the moment, on the next play, Rice went long to Watters to the 3 yard line.

Then, on the next play Pat Eilers, the secret weapon, dove in from the three. Irish Canes Later in the third quarter, Jeff Alm dropped into a lane and intercepted a pass, and the Irish marched down close enough for a Reggie Ho field goal as the third quarter waned for a lead. With about 2 minutes gone in the fourth, Carlos Huerta kicked a fild goal from 23 yards and it was Notre Dame Miami Miami drove and with 6 minutes left, was knocking on the door, and Walsh tossed to Cleveland Gary who lost the ball and it was ruled a fumble with Notre Dame recovering at its 1.

With a little over 3 minutes left, Stams banged Walsh again, forcing a fumble which Zorich recovered. But Rice, under duress from future Cane coach Randy Shannon, coughed up the ball inside the Time had seemed to stop. Moment of truth. It seemed that destiny required this moment.

The Irish fans were delirious. The streak was over. Johnson and the Canes had been defeated. The Irish continued to work through the schedule with a month to go before the third head of the three headed monster on the regular season schedule, USC, in the Coliseum, following Michigan and Miami.

Air Force came in to South Bend and the offense, relishing the opportunity to play against a defense less stellar than the Canes, rolled easily and won The letdown came the following week against Navy in rickety old Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

Rice came in the next week, and the Irish set two special team records. One made Holtz chortle with glee, the other made him gag. Rocket Ismail brought two kickoffs back for a touchdown, tyng a Notre Dame record set by Paul Castner in against mighty Kalamazoo.

The Irish were in gear, and led at the half, finishing with a win. The Irish rushing attack for the year was balanced, and the season end totals would show Rice with yards, Brooks with and Green with Johnson, Culver and Banks would all rush for more than yards.

In the fourth quarter after another Irish touchdown, Rice blocked the extra point, and Billy Stone took it into the Notre Dame end zone for 2 points, the first such defensive conversion for two in NCAA history. Holtz was less than excited by entering the record book in this way. Penn State was Senior Day, and the Nits put up the usual fight, being outgained , but being begrudging on the scoreboard. Rice scored in the first quarter, Mark Green in the seond, and a last second field goal by Penn State made the halftime score Notre Dame Penn State 3.

In the third quarter Rice tossed a 67 yarder to Ismail, and the final margin was Now, in , they were. Lou, in a move evocative of his player suyspensions before the Arakansas OU game in the the 78 Orange Bowl, sent Ricky Watters and Tony Brooks after they were late for a meeting.

Early in the game, with the Irish backed up in their own end zone, Rice went back deep into the end zone and uncorked a beatury to Ismail, putting the Irish out of harms way.

With the game less than 5 minutes old, Holtz called a bread and butter play, the option to the left. Carrier, caught between Scylla and Charybdis, chose Mark Green and Rice sauntered in 65 yards for the lead.

Lat in the second quarter the Trojans punched in their first score on a short run by Scott Lockwood. The Trojans swiftly got the ball back and the crowd roared for their hero Peete to tie the game. Rodney Peete-meet Stan Smagala. Stan was aided by a decleating block by Frank Stams on Peete. In the second half, defenses prevailed and the Notre Dame defense held the mighty Trojans to just a third quarter field goal. Early in the fourth quarter, with the Irish now wearing down the Trojans, senior Mark Green dashed in from the 1 yard line, and it was Irish.

West Virginia had had a magical unbeaten season under Don Nehlen. With cannon-armed and swift-footed Major Harris, recruited from Pittsburgh, operating behind a huge, veteran offensive line, the Mountaineers had put up points in 11 games, over 42 a game.

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