1993 Florida State vs . Notre Dame football game The 1993 Florida State vs . Notre Dame Game was a regular season college football game between the unbeaten Florida State Seminoles ( ranked # 1 in the nation ) , and the unbeaten Notre Dame Fighting Irish ( ranked # 2 in the nation ) . The game took place at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend , Indiana on the campus of the University of Notre Dame . The game is one of the 20th Century college football games to be coined a " Game of the Century " . The build up . Florida State entered the game as the # 1 team in the country , led by quarterback Charlie Ward who would go on to win the Heisman Trophy that season . Notre Dame came into the game ranked # 2 in the country . Though Notre Dame was home they entered the game as the underdog to a powerful Bobby Bowden led Florida State Squad . Notre Dame was led by head coach Lou Holtz . This was the fourth time that Notre Dame had taken part in a Game of the Century . Notre Dame ' s 1935 showdown with Ohio State was their first appearance in one of these historic games . Their 1946 match up against the Army Black Knights was the second instance ; and their 1966 match up against the Michigan State Spartans was the third . Television coverage . NBC had exclusive rights to all Fighting Irish home games , and marketed the game as a " Game of the Century . " The media coverage leading up to the game was so intense that ESPN decided to broadcast " College Gameday " on - location at Notre Dame Stadium for the first time in its history . ESPN also showed footage in the week leading up to the game of FSU players touring the Notre Dame campus wearing green hats with shamrocks and gold - embroidered FSU initials on the front . The game . Notre Dame outplayed Florida State the entire game to the tune of a 31 - 17 lead with 1 : 39 to play in the fourth quarter . The offense had hung its shoulders around their jr . back Lee Becton who had yet another 100 + yd afternoon . With 1 : 39 , Ward drove Florida State down the field , and hit Kez McCorvey on 4th - and - 20 for a touchdown . The pass bounced off of Notre Dame safety Brian McGee and into McCorvey ' s hands . Notre Dame then three - and - out on their next possession , giving Florida State one last shot . In just three plays , Ward had led Florida State to the Notre Dame 14 with three seconds to play . On the last play of the game , Ward rolled out and had his final pass attempt batted down by Notre Dame cornerback Shawn Wooden , giving the Irish a 31 - 24 victory . Aftermath . Notre Dame found itself atop of the polls after the victory , and would only need to defeat Boston College in the next week to earn a berth in the Fiesta Bowl . Its opponent in the Fiesta Bowl would have been Florida State , which surprisingly was only dropped to # 2 in the polls . The rematch was never to take place though , as Boston College stunned Notre Dame 41 - 39 on a last - second field goal , knocking Notre Dame from # 1 , and effectively knocking it out of the national championship picture . After the loss , Florida State retook the # 1 spot in the poll and Nebraska became the new # 2 , setting up a # 1 vs . # 2 match up for the National Championship in the Orange Bowl . Florida State would go on to win the game 18 - 16 on a last second field goal miss by Nebraska . Notre Dame fans felt stifled by the polls , claiming that the Irish should have been given the Orange Bowl berth because of their win over Florida State . Notre Dame wound up earning a berth in the Cotton Bowl where it would defeat Texas A & M 24 - 21 and finish second in the polls . See also . Game of the Century ( college football )