1988 Notre Dame vs. Miami football game - wikipedia 1988 Notre Dame vs. Miami football game Catholics vs. Convicts Non-conference game Miami Hurricanes Notre Dame Fighting Irish ( 4 -- 0 ) ( 5 -- 0 ) 30 31 Head coach : Jimmy Johnson Head coach : Lou Holtz AP Coaches AP Coaches Total Miami 0 21 0 9 30 Notre Dame 7 14 10 0 31 Date October 15, 1988 Season 1988 Stadium Notre Dame Stadium Location South Bend, Indiana, U.S. National anthem Band of the Fighting Irish Halftime show Band of the Fighting Irish Attendance 59,075 United States TV coverage Network CBS Announcers Brent Musburger and Pat Haden The 1988 Notre Dame vs. Miami football game, colloquially known as Catholics vs. Convicts, was played on October 15, 1988 at Notre Dame Stadium. Both the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Miami Hurricanes came into the game undefeated. Notre Dame won the closely contested game 31 -- 30. The name `` Catholics vs. Convicts, '' a T - shirt slogan created prior to the matchup by two Notre Dame students and friends, Joe Frederick and Michael Caponigro, was noticed by the press and reported. The slogan was a play on Notre Dame 's Catholic image and Miami 's roster of flamboyant football players. Leading up to the 1988 season, several players from the Miami team were arrested and their scholarships taken away. These arrests were highly publicized and added to the development of the moniker. The game The two teams met on October 15, 1988, in South Bend, Indiana, with both teams being undefeated. Miami, the defending national champions, came in ranked No. 1 holding a 36 - game regular season winning streak while the Irish were ranked No. 4. The game, which was preceded by a pregame fight between the two teams in the entrance tunnel, was named by USA Today as one of the greatest college football games of the period 1982 -- 2002. After a closely contested game, Miami scored a touchdown with 45 seconds remaining to pull within one point of the Fighting Irish, 31 -- 30. Rather than kick the extra point and likely end the game in a tie, Miami head coach Jimmy Johnson decided to go for two, later reasoning that `` We always play to win. '' However, Hurricanes quarterback Steve Walsh 's pass was batted down by Fighting Irish defender Pat Terrell, and Notre Dame won 31 -- 30, resulting in Miami 's first regular season loss since Florida on September 7, 1985. Notre Dame finished the season 12 -- 0, beating No. 2 USC 27 -- 10 on November 26 in the last game of the season and No. 3 West Virginia in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl 34 -- 21 on January 2, 1989, to win the national title. Miami won the rest of its games and finished No. 2 behind Notre Dame in the polls. With Miami trailing 31 -- 24 and facing a critical fourth - and - 7 from deep in Irish territory midway through the fourth quarter, Walsh connected with Miami running back Cleveland Gary streaking across the middle of the field inside the Irish 5 - yard line for the first down. He caught the football, turned, was tackled and fumbled the football before he hit the ground. Notre Dame inside linebacker Michael Stonebreaker recovered the football. The referees ruled the play as a fumble, as Notre Dame took possession at the 2 - yard line where the ball was recovered. After the game, Johnson was adamant that Gary was down before the ball came loose and Miami should have retained possession. In the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Catholics vs. Convicts, Safety George Streeter claimed he hit the ball loose from Gary 's hand prior to him being down or across the goal line. In the same documentary, Gary disagrees with Streeter 's account of events, claiming he was palming the ball with his right hand and the ball was across the goal line prior to his knee hitting the ground or the ball coming loose. There was later controversy on Miami 's final touchdown. On a desperation pass into the corner of the endzone to Miami receiver Andre Brown, the ball was trapped and then dropped by Brown. Although ruled a touchdown on the field, replay shows that the ball hit the ground in front of the receiver and was dislodged from Andre Brown 's grasp even after trapping it. The two questionable calls continue to be argued by fans on both sides. In a 2005 poll conducted by the University of Notre Dame, the 31 -- 30 win over Miami was voted the Greatest Victory in Notre Dame Stadium history. This game was featured in the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary titled Catholics vs. Convicts, directed by documentary filmmaker Patrick Creadon. The film premiered on December 10, 2016 to over 2 million viewers. Aftermath Notre Dame would go on to win their remaining five ( 5 ) games of the season, including defeating then # 2 ranked USC in Los Angeles 27 - 10. The Irish went on to beat the West Virginia Mountaineers 34 - 21 in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl and win their eleventh ( 11th ) claimed National Championship. Miami would win their remaining six ( 6 ) games of the season. They would be selected to play in the Orange Bowl against # 6 Nebraska, which was played in their home stadium at the time, the Orange Bowl. Miami easily won the contest 23 - 3. Miami would finish ranked # 2 in both the AP and Coaches polls behind Notre Dame. The following season, # 1 Notre Dame went into Miami with a 23 - game winning streak. The seventh ( 7th ) ranked Miami team ended the streak by beating the Irish 27 - 10. Despite losing earlier in the season to Florida State, Miami would go on to win the 1989 National Championship. References Jump up ^ http://static.hurricanesports.com/custompages/football/stats/1988/88-05-nd.pdf Jump up ^ `` 25 years of college football 's memorable games ''. USA Today. 2007 - 12 - 01. Retrieved 2009 - 10 - 10. Jump up ^ Telander, Rick ( 1988 - 10 - 24 ). `` Pluck of the Irish -- Spunky Notre Dame laid claim to the top spot in the national rankings by outlasting No. 1 Miami 31 - 30 ''. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2017 - 11 - 17. Jump up ^ `` DISMISSED. Two University of Miami players arrested in... '' tribunedigital - orlandosentinel. Retrieved 2017 - 11 - 29. Jump up ^ `` A University of Miami football player has been suspended... '' UPI. Retrieved 2017 - 11 - 29. Jump up ^ `` College football 's best of the last 20 years ''. USA Today. November 19, 2002. Retrieved December 16, 2009. Jump up ^ `` What was the greatest Fighting Irish football game in the history of Notre Dame Stadium ? ''. Notre Dame Fighting Irish. August 29, 2005. Retrieved May 5, 2017. Jump up ^ Creadon, Patrick ( December 8, 2016 ). `` CATHOLICS VS. CONVICTS ''. ESPN. Retrieved May 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Heisman Presentation, Catholics vs Convicts, North Dakota St - South Dakota St top cable sports TV ratings for Saturday December 10, 2016 ''. Sports TV Ratings. 2016 - 12 - 13. Retrieved 2017 - 06 - 27. Jump up ^ `` Bowl Championship Series - Flashback : Notre Dame - USC 1988 ''. www.espn.com. Retrieved 2017 - 11 - 29. Jump up ^ `` 1989 Orange Bowl recap -- HuskerMax TM ''. www.huskermax.com. Retrieved 2017 - 11 - 29. Jump up ^ `` 1989 Orange Bowl ''. game.orangebowl.org. Retrieved 2017 - 11 - 29. Jump up ^ `` 1988 Final Football Polls - College Poll Archive - Historical College Football and Basketball Polls and Rankings ''. collegepollarchive.com. Retrieved 2017 - 11 - 29. Jump up ^ WOJCIECHOWSKI, GENE ( 1989 - 11 - 26 ). `` Miami Exacts Its Revenge, 27 - 10 : Hurricanes : Seventh - ranked squad ends Notre Dame 's winning streak and reign as top - ranked team ''. Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458 - 3035. Retrieved 2017 - 11 - 29. Miami Hurricanes football Venues Orange Bowl ( 1937 -- 2007 ) Hard Rock Stadium ( 2008 -- present ) Bowls & rivalries Bowl games Florida ( Florida Cup ; Seminole War Canoe ) Florida State ( Florida Cup ) Nebraska Virginia Tech Culture & lore Sebastian the Ibis Band of the Hour The U Quarterback U Hail Flutie Catholics vs. Convicts Miami 4 -- 3 defense Wide Right I Wide Right II FIU -- Miami brawl 2011 athletics scandal People Head coaches NFL players Statistical leaders Seasons 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 National championship seasons in bold Notre Dame Fighting Irish football Venues Cartier Field ( 1889 -- 1928 ) Soldier Field ( 1929 ) Notre Dame Stadium ( 1930 -- present ) Bowls & rivalries Bowl games Emerald Isle Classic Army Boston College : Holy War Michigan Michigan State Navy Northwestern Pittsburgh Purdue Stanford USC Culture & lore All - time series results History Band of the Fighting Irish Irish Guard Notre Dame Box Notre Dame Leprechaun `` Notre Dame, Our Mother '' `` Notre Dame Victory March '' Play Like a Champion Today Subway Alumni T formation Tall Grass Game 1946 `` Game of the Century '' 1966 `` Game of the Century '' Catholics vs. Convicts 1993 `` Game of the Century '' Bush Push Navy ends the drought Knute Rockne, All American Notre Dame Football on NBC Rudy People Head coaches Starting quarterbacks Four Horsemen NFL draftees Statistical leaders Seasons 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 National championship seasons in bold College Football on CBS Related articles College football on television Southeastern Conference CBS Sports Network Current commentators Brad Nessler Gary Danielson Allie LaForce Adam Zucker Brian Jones Rick Neuheisel Carter Blackburn Aaron Taylor Jenny Dell Past commentators Gus Johnson Lindsey Nelson Jim Nantz Sean McDonough Brent Musburger Todd Blackledge Tim Brant Brad Nessler Ed Cunningham Terry Donahue Pat Haden Craig James Mike Mayock Jill Arrington John Dockery Greg Gumbel Andrea Joyce Pat O'Brien Ara Parseghian Lou Holtz Dean Blevins Don Criqui Dan Fouts Steve Beuerlein Sam Ryan Tracy Wolfson Tim Brando Spencer Tillman Archie Manning Craig Bolerjack Verne Lundquist Lore televised by CBS Tight - roping the sidelines in Happy Valley ( 1982 ) Hail Flutie ( 1984 ) Catholics vs. Convicts ( 1988 ) Georgia Tech vs. Virginia ( 1990 ) Tebow 's 4th Quarter comeback ( 2008 ) Game of the Century ( 2011 ) Hello, Johnny Football ( 2012 ) Prayer at Jordan -- Hare ( 2013 ) Kick Six ( 2013 ) Games televised annually Army -- Navy Game SEC Championship Game Sun Bowl Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1988_Notre_Dame_vs._Miami_football_game&oldid=823249467 '' Categories : 1988 Atlantic Coast Conference football season 1988 in sports in Indiana 1988 NCAA Division I-A independents football season College football games Miami Hurricanes football games Notre Dame Fighting Irish football games Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from December 2016 Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 31 January 2018, at 03 : 15. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who won the game between notre dame and miami
Answer: Notre Dame