Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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21-point fourth-quarter explosion by head coach Gerry Faust's Irish resulted in this win on the road versus quarter- back Dan Marino and his cohorts. Oct. 15, 1988: Miami (31‑30) — Con- sidered the greatest game ever played in Notre Dame Stadium, this ended the defending champion Hurricanes' 36- game regular-season winning streak and was the catalyst of Notre Dame's most recent national title march. Jan. 1, 1990: Colorado (21‑6) — Simi- lar to the 1971 Cotton Bowl, the 12-1 Irish finished No. 2 despite defeating the No. 1 and 11-0 Buffaloes in the Or- ange Bowl. Because 11-1 Miami beat Notre Dame head to head, it was voted No. 1. Nov. 13, 1993: Florida State (31‑24) — The 11-1 Irish finished No. 2 again, even though this time they defeated No. 1 FSU head to head. Overall, Notre Dame is 8-16-1 when it plays the No. 1 team in the AP, and it has a three-game losing streak since that FSU showdown in 1993: 27-24 in overtime to Nebraska in 2000, 41-10 at USC in 2004 and 34-31 at home versus the Trojans in 2005. DEFEATING THE TITLE HOLDER Even if Florida State isn't No. 1 when facing Notre Dame, an Irish victory would still give it a record 11th victory versus a defending national champion. Notre Dame is 10-9-2 in its history versus defending AP national champs (which began in 1936). The 10 tri- umphs were: Minnesota 1937 (7-6) Oklahoma 1957 (7-0) USC 1963 (17-14) Texas 1970 (24-11 in 1971 Cotton Bowl) USC 1973 (23-14) Pitt 1977 (19-9) Alabama 1980 (7-0) Miami 1988 (31-30) Miami 1990 (29-20) Michigan 1998 (36-20) The last time such a victory occurred on the road was in 1980 at Alabama, dropping Crimson Tide head coach Bear Bryant to 0-4 all time versus the Irish. The ties occurred against Army in 1946 (0-0) — which helped Notre Dame eventually win the national title that season — and USC in 1968 (21-21). ✦ Streak Busters On Sept. 6, Michigan entered Notre Dame Stadium with an NCAA-record 365-game streak without being shut out. Where else but Notre Dame would it be appropriate to end such a streak? The Irish did so with a 31-0 whitewash. On Oct. 18, Florida State will put a 22-game winning streak on the line. Once again, the Fighting Irish will take on a streak-busting role. Here were some of the most notable ones accomplished in football, starting with the longest: • 47 straight wins by Oklahoma (7-0 in 1957). • 31-game unbeaten streak by Georgia Tech (27-14 in 1953). This included two ties (29-0-2). • 30 consecutive wins by Texas entering the 1971 Cotton Bowl (24-11). • 25 straight wins by Army (0-0 in 1946).