We have reached the Elite Eight in determining the greatest Notre Dame football game since 1986. As we said upon selection, there were some great ones that didn’t end in Notre Dame’s favor, no doubt. We did decide make the requirement that Notre Dame did in fact need to win in order to garner consideration for a tournament berth.
The Golden Dome Regional Final finds Notre Dame’s last national championship clincher meeting up with the final regular season game that year, a 1. Notre Dame vs. 2. USC match-up. As you’re probably not surprised, 1988 remains well-represented in this as we continue to narrow things down.
Tale of the Tape:
What else is there really to say other than “Notre Dame clinched a national championship!” when they beat West Virginia to cap the 1988 season in the Fiesta Bowl. If you require more though, here you go: Notre Dame was in control for the majority, winning 34-21 and also out-gaining the Mountaineers by 173 yards. It was dominating for a title performance which to me would probably be the third or fourth most-memorable game from that season, actually.
In order to get to the Fiesta Bowl and have a national championship shot though, Notre Dame had to finish the regular season unbeaten. To do that the No. 1 Fighting Irish had to go to No. 2 USC and take care of business against Rodney Peete and the Trojans. They had to do so without Ricky Watters or Tony Brooks who were sent home for missing team dinner Friday night. Notre Dame lost everywhere that day except the scoreboard and turnover battle. On just eight first downs and 253 yards (21/356 for USC), Notre Dame completed the perfect regular season with a 27-10 win in the Coliseum.
So Who Moves On – You Decide…
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And don’t forget to vote in the other regional finals, either:
Basilica Region: ’88 Miami vs. ’91 Florida
Grotto Region: ’89 Colorado vs. ’92 Penn State
Hesburgh Region: ’93 Florida State vs. ’12 Oklahoma
Voting will close Monday evening at 10 p.m. ET so get it done now and share with your friends until then.