This is what a rivalry looks like: UM Hurricanes vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Miami vs. Notre Dame rivalry has been hot for decades.

In the 1970s, powerful Notre Dame knocked around weaker Canes teams. UM’s dominance began in 1983, when the unranked Hurricanes, led by freshman quarterback Bernie Kosar, knocked off 13th-ranked Notre Dame 20-0 at the Orange Bowl. Miami broke into the AP rankings with that win and wound up winning its first national title. A year later, after a pre-game scrum in the tunnel in South Bend, Indiana, Alonzo Highsmith scored four touchdowns, and the Hurricanes beat the Irish 31-13.

But it’s the 1985 game at the Orange Bowl that really got Notre Dame fans’ blood boiling.

On Nov. 30, 1985, the 5-5 Irish arrived in Miami to play their last game under coach Gerry Faust, who had announced that he would resign at the end of what had been a mediocre season. The Hurricanes, already assured of a trip to the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day, scored on eight of their first nine possessions and trounced the Irish 58-7. It was Notre Dame’s fourth-worst defeat ever and their worst loss in 41 years. Ara Parseghian, the former Notre Dame coach who was in the broadcast booth for the game, criticized UM coach Jimmy Johnson for running up the score.

The infamous “Catholics vs. Convicts” game was in 1988 in South Bend, and Notre Dame got revenge with a 31-30 victory after a brawl in the tunnel. The game was the subject of an ESPN “30 for 30” documentary. A year later, in the 1989 regular-season finale, the Canes won 27-10 at the Orange Bowl in front of 81,000 fans, breaking Notre Dame’s 23-game win streak. The teams last played in 2017, a 41-8 UM victory.

As Notre-Dame and Miami get set to play again on Aug. 31 at Hard Rock Stadium, let’s take a look through the Miami Herald photo archives at the action and fans through the years:

This story was originally published August 25, 2025 at 12:19 PM.