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.
In the Basilica Region we saw the top overall seed, ’88 Miami roll into the Elite Eight with a destruction of the ’93 Michigan game. That game will meet Notre Dame’s upset win over No. 3 Florida to cap the 1991 season in the Sugar Bowl.
Tale of the Tape:
The Catholics vs. Convicts is an iconic sports t-shirt that became what this game was as known for as anything. An upstart Notre Dame team in Lou Holtz’s third season ended with a Notre Dame win over defending champion Miami that had everything from a pre-game fight between the teams, Holtz wanting to kick Jimmy Johnson’s butt and a slew of turnovers that led to the last-second win and led to Notre Dame’s 1988 National Championship.
The 1991 season started with the Irish going 8-1 before stumbling late against Tennessee and at Penn State. Notre Dame ultimately finished the regular season 9-3 after winning at Hawaii yet earned a berth in the Sugar Bowl, much to the chagrin of the nation. Holtz claimed before the game that a stranger asked him the difference between Cheerios and Notre Dame and told him that “Cheerios belong in a bowl.” Notre Dame, led by three Jerome Bettis second half touchdowns pulled the upset over No. 3 Florida in what remains the only ever meeting between the two programs.
So which upset win over a Florida based school do you have moving on to the Final Four?
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The winner will meet the winner of ’89 Colorado and ’92 Penn State who are meeting in the Grotto Regional Final.