Last Dance Won’t Be Slow for Notre Dame and Miami

A moment of silence, please, for the rivalry that gave you fistfights and highlights, taunts and touchdowns, cakewalks and classics.

At 12:30 p.m. today (Channel 2), sixth-ranked Notre Dame and second-ranked Miami will conclude a relationship that blissfully began in 1955, but ends 23 games later amid veiled accusations of Irish cowardice and Hurricane thuggery.

Wave goodby to one of the few rivalries that still causes goose bumps. Storied, tradition-dipped Notre Dame vs. the James Dean of college football, Miami. Or as it’s labeled on the hot-selling T-shirts here these days: Catholics vs. the Convicts .

Notre Dame says it is ending the series because future Irish schedules, which run through 2004, need more diversity. The Irish pride themselves on national schedules, meaning there is a turnover in opponents. In this case, Miami gets the boot after 23 games’ worth of faithful service.

In its defense, Notre Dame correctly points out that other longtime opponents, such as Michigan, will step aside in coming years for the likes of Florida State. In essence, Notre Dame is saying the decision was nothing personal.

As you might expect, the Miami version of the story differs from the official Notre Dame explanation. A lot.

The Hurricanes, whose schedule is set through 2000, offered to juggle or drop opponents so the rivalry could continue uninterrupted. Notre Dame declined.

Miami tactfully mentioned the monetary benefits of such a series. After all, the last two games between the Irish and the Hurricanes gave CBS its highest college football rating each season. The 1987 game produced the second-highest rating. Notre Dame shrugged.

And wouldn’t a Hurricane-Irish matchup bring Notre Dame another huge payday for those games played at the Orange Bowl? NBC owns Notre Dame’s home TV rights beginning next year, but that doesn’t mean the Irish couldn’t collect a hefty paycheck for a nationally televised road game on another network.

“We have done everything possible to keep this game alive, both in the present and future,” said Sam Jankovich, Miami’s athletic director. “And we would have entertained any proposal from Notre Dame.”

Notre Dame wasn’t in the proposing mood. Last August, Irish Athletic Director Dick Rosenthal told reporters that “nothing should be read into the fact that the series is ending. It was something planned many, many years ago. There should be no suggestion that Miami doesn’t want to play Notre Dame or Notre Dame doesn’t want to play Miami.”

Rosenthal also said that if an opening presented itself, Miami would be one of the first schools the Irish called. Well, there were openings, but Notre Dame signed Florida State and, later, West Virginia to contracts.

“I don’t think they even called us,” said Larry Wahl, Miami’s associate athletic director.

Miami has its own reasons for the series’ demise, beginning with the escalating ill will that surrounds the game.

“They may feel it’s gotten a little out of hand,” Wahl said.

A little out of hand?

In 1988, the teams traded punches outside the tunnel leading to the Notre Dame Stadium locker rooms.

Last year, the teams almost engaged in another pregame fight, but Miami and Notre Dame coaches were able to separate the players before punches were thrown.

“It became emotional maybe in the mid-’80s,” Irish Coach Lou Holtz said earlier this week in a teleconference. “I read where the players accused Miami of spitting in their faces. I don’t know what happened. That kind of talk fuels emotions for the next year when they play.”

Notre Dame leads the series, 14-7-1, but Miami has won five of the last six games and six of the nine games played in the 1980s. Before that, Notre Dame had won 10 consecutive games against the Hurricanes.

If ever a rivalry caused a nation to take notice, this is the one. For the fourth time in as many years, Miami and Notre Dame start today’s game ranked in the top 10.

One other statistic of note: In the last three seasons, the winner of this game has gone on to win the national championship.

“It’s a good rivalry,” said Melvin Bratton, a former Hurricane running back (1983-87) who plays for the Denver Broncos. “I just think they’re tired of getting beat by us.”

The rivalry was doing nicely until 1985, when the fourth-ranked Hurricanes destroyed the unranked Irish, 58-7. Miami, which was then coached by Jimmy Johnson, was accused of running up the score.

“That kind of teed off Notre Dame fans around the whole country,” Bratton said.

For the record, Bratton said the Hurricanes couldn’t help running up the score, so bad were the Irish that year.

Holtz and Miami Coach Dennis Erickson vowed that there would be no more fights. The last game between the Irish and the Hurricanes, they said, will also be the cleanest. Or so they say.

“I think it’s going to be fine,” Holtz said.

“We’re going there to play a game,” Erickson said in his weekly news conference. “(Fighting is) something of the past, and you won’t see it.”

One other thing you won’t see: a rematch.