[13], The critical moment of the game came in the second half, when late into the fourth quarter the Irish were clinging to a 23-20 lead when the Panthers forced the Irish into a 4th and long from their own 23-yard line. [21] Rice set up the score with another pass to Watters - a 27-yard play that moved the ball to Penn State's 33-yard line. 2 point conversion. [11], Tony Rice rushed for two touchdowns and passed for a third to lead the Fighting Irish to a 42-14 blowout of Stanford. [9] 156 yards came on 19 carries in the third quarter alone. Conference: Ind. Lou and Alvarez spent some time discussing Stams and Terrell and their transition from the offensive side of the ball. Warming up on the field that day were Maurice Crum, a linebacker from Miami, and Andre Jones, an OLB for Notre Dame. 3 Michigan, 24-23, before a crowd of 59,075 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.The game was the first for Lou Holtz as Notre Dame's head coach.. On the game's opening possession, Michigan mounted a six-and-a-half-minute drive to the Notre Dame 25-yard line, but Pat Moons missed a 42-yard field goal. Bo was, in 1988, in his 20th year as coach of the Maize and Blue and one of his specialties was not losing to the same team in consecutive years. [9] Reggie Ho tied the game with 31-yarder in the second quarter and put the Irish ahead 6-3 at the half with a 22-yard field goal. The vaunted USC rush defense got caught napping, with Mark Carrier confronting two players, Mark Green and Rice. As a matter of policy, Sports Reference only reports the results of games as played on the field. [13] S3E4: Breaking Down Notre Dame Football Spring Position Battles, Notre Dame Football: Audric Estime Primed for Massive 2023 Season, Previewing the 2023 Notre Dame Running Backs Room, S3:E3: Notre Dame Football Has an OC and a Perception Problem, Ara Parseghian: Tribute To A Notre Dame Football Legend, #1 George Gipp: Notre Dame Footballs Top 25 Players, #2 Johnny Lujack: Notre Dame Footballs Top 25 Players. Some school's results have been altered by retroactive NCAA penalties. notre dame football roster 1988. And Lou had hired a new Offensive Line Coach. [3][4][5], 13th ranked Notre Dame debuted its season against No. 1 in the postseason AP poll, giving Notre Dame its latest national championship. [9] Reggie Ho tied the game with 31-yarder in the second quarter and put the Irish ahead 6-3 at the half with a 22-yard field goal. They play their home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana . /** * Error Protection API: WP_Paused_Extensions_Storage class * * @package * @since 5.2.0 */ /** * Core class used for storing paused extensions. The Irish fans were delirious. Lou like the way his team looked in the Spring. Nevertheless the schedule looked daunting. Appeared in 19 games and made 18 starts. The game was a rare night game in South Bend and the faithful looked for Wolverine blood on the moon. [20] After Notre Dame's final touchdown, Rice LB Billy Stone returned the blocked extra-point all the way for two points to account for the final score of 54-11. opposite swift Stan Smagala. [21] Five plays later, Notre Dame scored from Penn State's two. Rocket Ismail was the fastest human ever to play at Notre Dame, he was elusive, and he loved the game. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The 1988 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. [7] Holtz was named national coach of the year for taking the Irish squad from an 8-4 record the previous year to national title winners the following year. [17] "We couldn't throw consistently, we weren't mentally alert and that's my fault. [16] After the turnover, Air Force answered with its first field goal by Steve Yarborough from 22 yards out. [16] Air Force answered before the end of the half with a touchdown to cut Notre Dame's lead to just seven points. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. [16] In at running back, Belles took a pitch from Tony Rice, stepped back to his right and threw to a wide open Ricky Watters. [16] In the second quarter, The Irish continued to run the ball, with quarterback Tony Rice and running back Anthony Johnson both running for touchdowns. 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. 1 Miami the following week. [9] 156 yards came on 19 carries in the third quarter alone. George Williams pressured Steve Walsh, and Pat Terrell easily batted the ball away from Leonard Conley. [11] 3rd-string quarterback Steve Belles hit running back Tony Brooks for a 34-yard score to put the Irish up 42-0 at half-time. Then, in the Orange Bowl, Miami did their rap, wrapping the Noles in a 31-0 beating. NOTRE DAME, Ind. [7], As of 2016, the 1988 Irish squad is also the most recent to win the national title. The scoreboard changed to Notre Dame 14-USC 7 as Traveler executed that haughty equine prance. [21] Penn State's only score came on the last play of the first half, when Eric Etze kicked a 52-yard field goal.[21]. On Wednesday, Freeman took his mother to the White House for a state dinner where they will meet President Joe Biden who was a 15 year veteran of the United States Senate in 1988. [7] This title drought looms large as Notre Dame is currently in its 26th year going without winning a title, the longest such streak since they won their first in 1924. [13] Tony Rice went 8-14 passing for the game and a third quarter Braxston Banks touchdown gave the Irish the lead for good. [16] But Pat Terrell, the defensive hero of last week's victory over Miami, stepped into the spotlight again, this time with Stan Smagala. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Notre Dame got started early, scoring on their first possession, an 87-yard on 12 play drive. Lou felt comfortable with what Alvarez was building on the defensive side of the ball. [13], The critical moment of the game came in the second half, when late into the fourth quarter the Irish were clinging to a 23-20 lead when the Panthers forced the Irish into a 4th and long from their own 23-yard line. [13] After an Anthony Johnson touchdown gave the Irish a 14-7 lead, Dickerson scored his second touchdown to tie the game again at 14-14. 1 Miami 31-30", "25 years of college football's memorable games", "COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Unbeaten Notre Dame Posts 7th Victory", "2006 USC Media Guide: USC Football History", "SPORTS OF THE TIMES; Lou Holtz of Notre Dame Raps the Gavel Again", "2007 Notre Dame Media Guide: 2007 Supplement (page 165)", "Paul "Bear" Bryant College Football Coaching Awards", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1988_Notre_Dame_Fighting_Irish_football_team&oldid=1149805683, Stonebreaker 39 yard interception return (Ho kick), Brooks 34-yard pass from Belles (Ho kick), C. Williams 10-yard pass from Fox (Sullivan kick), A. The Irish got the early edge on a Lou Holtz specialty, a special teams touchdown.. Will-of the-wisp Ricky Watters snaked throughthe Wolverine punt team for an electrifying 81 yard TD. The most comprehensive coverage of The Fighting Irish Football roster schedule game summaries scores highlights on the web. [16] Holtz's fears seemed to be valid during the rain in the first half as Notre Dame only held a 7-point lead at the half. 30 rockefeller plaza tenants January 14, 2022. myrtle beach drug . He knew how Nehlen and the Mountaineers would come at him. [8] The lone touchdown from Notre Dame came from a Ricky Watters punt return, an 81-yard runback. [21] On first down after a Penn State punt, Tony Rice threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to Raghib Ismail. The Hurricanes had destroyed Notre Dame in their last four meetings by a combined total of 132-20. Stirring victories over Michigan, SC and Alabama raised hopes that were dashed in annoying season ending losses to Penn Stae in the cold of State College, to the Miami Hurricanes by shutout in the sunny Orange Bowl, and then to Texas A&M in the cloudy Cotton Bowl. [1] They also won 10 of 12 games by double digits. The Irish had just one more game before Miami, a trip to Pittsburgh to play Mike Gottfrieds Panthers. In the fourth quarter after another Irish touchdown, Rice blocked the extra point, and Billy Stone took it into the Notre Dameend zone for 2 points, the first such defensive conversion for two in NCAA history. With 45 seconds left, as he had for Miamis first score, Walsh hit Andre Brown for an 11 yard touchdown Notre Dame 31, Miami 30. Rankings from AP Poll. [1] The 1988 squad is best remembered for its 31-30 upset of No. As a matter of policy, Sports Reference only reports the results of games as played on the field. [12] Rice completed 11 of 14 passes for 129 yards and rushed for 107 yards. [17] "We couldn't throw consistently, we weren't mentally alert and that's my fault. See our list of forfeits and vacated games for more details. On September 13, 1986, Notre Dame lost to No. punched it in. Continuing with the celebration of college football's 150th season, ESPN recently put together a list of the 150 best teams of all time. [8], MSU threatened Notre Dame early with a 1st-quarter field goal, but that would be the only points of the day the Notre Dame defense would allow as the Irish downed MSU 20-3. Everyones eyes turned to October 15, 1988. [7] His 1989 and 1993 squads narrowly missed repeating the feat. The 1988 went 12-0 and ranked No. Nevertheless, the squad rushed out, touched the sign, exited the tunnel. The Irish rushing attack for the year was balanced, and the season end totals would show Rice with 700 yards, Brooks with 667 and Green with 646. We belonged on the same field with the mighty Canes. With the game less than 5 minutes old, Holtz called a bread and butter play, the option to the left. Staying home, the Irish entertained Stanford, coached by Jack Elway, more noted as a sire than as a football coach. With a fourth and three at his own 46, Johnson went to an old standby, the fake punt. 1 Miami the following week. Conference. [12], Notre Dame, a loser to Pittsburgh three years in a row, narrowly avoided another such upset as the Irish improved to 5-0 on the season. [16] In the end, the Irish defense held the explosive Falcons to 54 yards rushing in the second half and 195 for the game, 237 yards below its season average. Ho addedd a field goal for a 26-6 margin, but the Mounties fought back and Harris hit Grantis Bell for a TD pass and a 26-13 Irish lead. [22] The Irish came into the game as underdogs, but spectacular play of defensive end Frank Stams and cornerback Stan Smagala aided the Irish offense, led by Tony Rice, to an Irish victory. 1 Miami 31-30", http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1067906/index.htm, "25 years of college football's memorable games", https://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2007-11-29-25-memorable-moments_N.htm, "COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Unbeaten Notre Dame Posts 7th Victory", https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/23/sports/college-football-unbeaten-notre-dame-posts-7th-victory.html, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,968941,00.html, https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/24843840.html?dids=24843840:24843840&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+30%2C+1988&author=Associated+Press&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=1&desc=NOTRE+DAME+ROLLS+ON%2C+STOMPS+NAVY, https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/20/sports/college-football-10-0-irish-send-penn-state-to-5-6.html, "2006 USC Media Guide: USC Football History", https://web.archive.org/web/20080524023557/http://graphics.fansonly.com/schools/usc/graphics/media-guides/06-footbl/05fbguide208.pdf, "SPORTS OF THE TIMES; Lou Holtz of Notre Dame Raps the Gavel Again", https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/27/sports/sports-of-the-times-lou-holtz-of-notre-dame-raps-the-gavel-again.html?pagewanted=all, "2007 Notre Dame Media Guide: 2007 Supplement (page 165)", https://web.archive.org/web/20080511143720/http://www.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/nd/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/Football-Supplement-07, "Paul "Bear" Bryant College Football Coaching Awards", http://www.americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/11950567165420708%20BB%20Previous%20Winners.pdf, http://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/awards/robinson/index.html, https://footballfoundation.org/hof_search.aspx, https://web.archive.org/web/20080724182537/http://www.footballdb.com/index.html, Pages containing cite templates with deprecated parameters, Pages using CFB schedule with named parameters, 1988 NCAA Division I-A independents football season, Notre Dame Fighting Irish football seasons, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Stonebreaker 39 yard interception return (Ho kick), Brooks 34-yard pass from Belles (Ho kick), C. Williams 10-yard pass from Fox (Sullivan kick), A. Rocket Ismail not only had it he was it.. 9 Michigan in Notre Dame Stadium. Ho notched his third field goal early in the fourth quarter and the Irish led 16-14.. But it was close enough for Reggie Ho, and he kicked another Field Goal for a 13-0 lead. WVU scored late for the 34-21 final. Starters are marked with an asterisk (*). Led the Irish with 59 goals, had a .434 SOG percentage and had one game winning goal. [12] Rice scored runs of 30 yards and 6 yards while the Irish tailbacks added 3 other scores with touchdowns from Mark Green, Tony Brooks, and Anthony Johnson. Miami would be arriving with great players, swagger and a 36 game regular season winning streak. Well, there were fisticuffs in the North End Zone. Chris Zorich, from CVS right there on the Chicago Skyway, having lifted weights (lots of them) and gotten acclimated as a freshman in 87, was ready to go at Nose Guard. Search, discover and share your favorite 1988 Notre Dame Football Roster GIFs. [16] Albert Booker, an Air Force halfback, was carrying the ball on second down when Smagala hit him hard. [9] Tony Rice ran for an 8-yard touchdown and Michael Stonebreaker added a 39-yard interception return for a touchdown in the final quarter to end any hopes of a Spartan upset. [11] The Irish exploded for 28 points in the second quarter, highlighted by a 54-yard Rice touchdown pass to Rocket Ismail. [7] In addition to Reggie Ho's game winner, the Irish kicker scored 3 other field goals. In the second half, running back Mark Green added the final touchdown of the day(aided by a key 22-yard gain on a 3rd down screen play by Anthony Johnson) to help defeat the Trojans. 1988 Division I-A independents football records, 1988 Michigan State Spartans football team, Michigan StateNotre Dame football rivalry, 1988 Penn State Nittany Lions football team, 1988 West Virginia Mountaineers football team, http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/football/ncaa/specials/bowls/2004/01/05/perfect.seasons/, "Catholics vs. Convicts The Irish pulled out a gritty win over a bitter foe", https://web.archive.org/web/20080629045909/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/best_game/06/11/burns.best/index.html, "College football's best of the last 20 years", https://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2002-11-19-memorable-moments_x.htm, "CFN's Tuesday Question - The All-Time Greatest Regular Season Games", https://web.archive.org/web/20080821191445/http://cfn.scout.com/2/561908.html, http://www.collegepollarchive.com/football/ap/teams/by_season.cfm?teamid=7&seasonid=1988, "2007 Notre Dame Media Guide: History and Records (pages 131-175)", https://web.archive.org/web/20080610005741/http://und.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/nd/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/07fbguidehistory, https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/12/sports/college-football-kicking-saves-notre-dame.html, "MIDWEST ROUNDUP;No. Rice seemed to be improving as a passer. In a desultory, but WINNING performance, the Irish squeaked by, 22-7, validating Holtz mantra Im scared to death of the University of Navy. That very evening, unbeaten UCLA fell to Washington State, clearing the logjam for the USC-Notre Dame game Thanksgiving weekend in Los Angeles. [18] After Rice scored an early field goal in the first quarter, Rocket Ismail returned his first of two kickoffs, a 78-yard return for a score. Rice optioned left, froze the Penn State linebacker Eddie Johnson with a pump-fake, then ran into the end zone. ! 14-7 Irish. August 4, 2020. [13] Reggie Ho scored a 37-yard field goal to give the Irish a 17-14 half time lead. College Football at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Fighting Irish. Rice came in the next week, and the Irish set two special team records. The 1988 squad, one of 11 national title squads for the Irish, is considered to be one of the best undefeated teams in the history of college football. On the very next play, Tony Rice optioned left for a 65-yard touchdown play. "We could have won the game," said Panther coach Mike Gottfried, "but we made just enough mistakes to lose it. Big Ten SEC ACC Big 12 Conference USA. The sellout crowd of 93,829 was the largest in this rivalry since 1955. "Notre Dame 54, Rice 11". The Fighting Irish won the title by defeating the previously unbeaten and No. The 1989 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Irish were methodical and inevitable. The other good news was that the Pitt outing would not leave the Irish overconfident for Miami. Rocket Ismail brought two kickoffs back for a touchdown, tyng a Notre Dame record set by Paul Castner in 1922 against mighty Kalamazoo. And then some. 8 Irish Leave Spartans Smartin', "Pluck of the Irish Spunky Notre Dame laid claim to the top spot in the national rankings by outlasting No. College Football at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. 0. [11] The second half saw the Irish score ten points with back-ups, a 44-yard field goal by Billy Hackett and a 36-yard run from freshman fullback Rodney Culver. [7] In a 19-17 thriller, walk-on kicker Reggie Ho kicked a 26-yard field goal winner with 1:13 remaining. Brown 8-yard pass from Walsh (Huerta kick), Pat Terrell 60-yard interception return (Ho kick), Conley 23-yard pass from Walsh (Huerta kick), C. Gary 15-yard pass from Walsh (Huerta kick), A. With a little over 3 minutes left, Stams banged Walsh again, forcing a fumble which Zorich recovered. [13] The Panthers came out strong early, starting the game with an impressive drive, but before the Panthers could score, Irish cornerback Todd Lyght forced a fumble, which Chris Zorich recovered. The fake punt. [16] In the second quarter, The Irish continued to run the ball, with quarterback Tony Rice and running back Anthony Johnson both running for touchdowns. Objective Keith Jackson got apoplectic and insisted that Rice was out of the end zone. 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. [14][15], A potential letdown after defeating No. Posted on . "Undefeated Irish Avert an Upset". document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. [21] Two plays later, running back Mark Green took a handoff up the middle, then found daylight to his right and ran 22 yards for a touchdown. Our offensive line got beat up, we couldn't run inside. Later, each had a son who would play for Notre Dame. With cannon-armed and swift-footed Major Harris, recruited from Pittsburgh, operating behind a huge, veteran offensive line, the Mountaineers had put up 472 points in 11 games, over 42 a game. Lous way or the highway! The Irish nominally played a 4-3, but converted fullback Frank Stams often had his hand on the ground. 16-0. The Irish were National Champions of 1988. [9] Notre Dame struggled early in the contest, accumulating only 50 yards running on 21 carries. [16] After the turnover, Air Force answered with its first field goal by Steve Yarborough from 22 yards out. For the first time, the Irish were facing an extremely athletic quarterback, Darnell Dickerson. 10. With about 2 minutes gone in the fourth, Carlos Huerta kicked a fild goal from 23 yards and it was Notre Dame 31-Miami 24. Notre Dame and USC entered the game undefeated and ranked number one and two respectively for the first time ever in their storied series. 9 Michigan in Notre Dame Stadium.
