No. 1 Miami's 1988 visit to South Bend to meet fellow unbeaten and fourth-ranked Notre Dame was the highlight of a brief but heated annual series between the Hurricanes and Irish.

Miami hadn’t lost a regular-season game in over three years, a stretch that included two appearances in the mythical national championship game. Twice in that stretch, the Hurricanes had pummeled the Irish, both times at the Orange Bowl.

A pregame fight prior to that 1988 game, the origin of which is still debated to this day between the participants, spawned the famous Holtz quote “Save Jimmy Johnson’s ass for me” in his pregame speech. Notre Dame upset the Hurricanes, 31-30, that afternoon in a classic en route to its most recent national title.