Catholics vs. Convicts
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Catholics vs. Convicts was a colloquial name given to the 1988 college football matchup between the University of Notre Dame ("the Catholics") and the University of Miami ("the Convicts"). The name was seized on by the press after an enterprising Notre Dame student began to print t-shirts carrying the slogan prior to the legendary matchup between the two teams at Notre Dame Stadium.
"Catholics" was an obvious reference to Notre Dame's Catholic character (although before the game, Miami quarterback Steve Walsh noted that Miami in fact had more Catholics on its team than Notre Dame, including himself and the entire Hurricane offensive line). "Convicts" was a derogatory reference to the 'bad boy' image that Miami had cultivated during the mid-and-late 80s.
[edit] The game
The two teams met on October 15, 1988 in South Bend, with both teams being undefeated. Miami, the defending national champion, came in ranked #1 holding a 36-game regular season winning streak while the Irish were ranked #4. The game, which was preceded by a pregame fight between the two teams in the entrance tunnel, would be one of the greatest games in college football history.[1]
After Notre Dame controlled most of the game, Miami scored a touchdown with 45 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to pull within one point of Notre Dame, 31-30. Rather than kick the extra point and likely end the game in a 31-31 tie, Miami head coach Jimmy Johnson decided go for the two-point conversion, later reasoning that "We always play to win." However, Steve Walsh's pass on the play was knocked down by Pat Terrell, and Notre Dame snapped Miami's winning streak and won 31-30.
Notre Dame would finish the season 12-0, beating #2 Southern California 27-10 on November 26 in the last game of the season and #3 West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl 34-21 on January 2, 1989 to win the national title. Miami would win the rest of its games and finish #2 behind Notre Dame in the polls.
The game is also remembered for controversial officiating. 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 at the Irish 11-yard line. Gary picked up the first down and turned up-field but was tackled at the Notre Dame 1-yard line. The ball came loose at the end of the play and the ball was recovered by Notre Dame linebacker Michael Stonebreaker. Miami fans maintained that Gary was down before the ball came loose and Miami should have retained possession with a first-and-goal at the Notre Dame 1 yard line. The Notre Dame student newspaper, The Observer, also stated that it appeared Gary was down before he fumbled, but the referees said the ball came out before he was down.[1]
Despite the controversy, in a recent poll conducted by the University of Notre Dame, the 31-30 win over Miami was voted the Greatest Victory in Fighting Irish history by a landslide.[2]
