Catholics vs Convicts: How the Notre Dame - UM rivalry came to be.

by Mark Tanner

This Sunday, the University of Miami faces Notre Dame at Hard Rock Stadium to open the 2025 college football season. It will be the first time the two teams have met since 2017, when Miami routed the Irish 41-8.

Miami Hurricanes' Deejay Dallas (13) tackles Notre Dame's Chris Finke (10) in the first quarter on Saturday, November 11, 2017 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald/TNS)

The rivalry began in the early 1980s, when Miami emerged as a rising powerhouse under coach Jimmy Johnson. The Hurricanes brought a sense of swagger and cockiness that no other team in college football had. They taunted opponents and embarrassed teams on the field. Notre Dame, in contrast, was tradition-heavy and disciplined. To the Irish, Miami represented everything wrong with college football.

In 1985, the Hurricanes humiliated Notre Dame in a 58-7 win, the worst loss in the Irish’s modern history. Notre Dame players believed Miami was running up the score to rub it in, adding fuel to the fire for the next meeting. Miami went on to beat them three times in a row, each time with the same swagger.

The Legendary Game

In 1988, No. 1 Miami traveled to No. 4 Notre Dame. Before the game, two Notre Dame students created a T-shirt with the words “Catholics vs. Convicts.” The slogan caught the attention of national media and became the lasting name of the rivalry.

Pregame tensions were high and boiled over in the tunnel, where a brawl broke out as both teams walked out. Security had to separate them. Before kickoff, Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz delivered one of his most famous speeches:

“Save Jimmy Johnson for me. Don’t talk it. Don’t fight it. Play it.”

Holtz wanted his players to prove they were better on the field, not off it. The game came down to the final seconds, but Miami fell short in a 31-30 loss. Notre Dame went on to win the national championship that season.

The rivalry only grew nastier from there.

1989: Miami ended Notre Dame’s 23-game win streak. After the game, Hurricanes players mocked the Irish on the field.

1990: Notre Dame fans pelted Miami’s team bus with snowballs before the game.

The Rivalry Now

By the mid-1990s, the rivalry cooled as Miami faced NCAA sanctions and Notre Dame’s dominance waned. Still, the battles of the 1980s created one of the most bitter, violent and hateful rivalries in college football. It was about more than wins and losses. It was about identity — two programs convinced the other represented everything wrong with the sport.

Player Stories

The quotes below are from post-game press conferences.

UM quarterback Steve Walsh:

“We had no sympathy for them. They were Notre Dame, the program that got every break, every headline. If we had a chance to bury them, we buried them. Everywhere we went, people spit on us, threw stuff at us. We were the villains, and we loved it.”

Notre Dame defensive lineman Chris Zorich:

“They weren’t beating us. They were laughing at us, rubbing it in. That doesn’t go away. That sticks.”

Notre Dame linebacker Michael Stonebreaker:

“To us, they were thugs. Street guys who didn’t respect the game. We hated everything about them.”

Miami safety Bennie Blades:

“Notre Dame acted like they were better than everyone — better students, better people. That was garbage. They broke the rules just like everyone else, but they judged us. That’s why we hated them.”

Notre Dame quarterback Tony Rice:

“Every play felt like life or death. You hit harder, you held longer, because you hated the guy across from you.”

Game Recap

On Sunday, August 31, both teams faced off in the opening week of college football. It was an exhilarating matchup with UM. dominating the whole game until the fourth quarter when Notre Dame tied it up 24-24. Miami came through in the final moments and won the game at the last seconds by a field goal making the final score 27-24. Miami is now ranked #5 and this could be the start to an amazing season for this Miami team.