Notre Dame football: 5 best seasons in Fighting Irish history
By Dante Pryor
Notre Dame football wins the 1988 national title.
1988 was important for so many reasons. It is Notre Dame’s last national championship and perhaps its best team. The Holtz era is the most successful time in Notre Dame history since Ara Parseghian.
Much like Ara, he brought the Irish back to national prominence culminating with a National Championship after the 1989 Fiesta Bowl. What made the game so groundbreaking was who was featured at quarterback.
West Virginia head coach Don Nehlen started Major Harris while Holtz started Tony Rice. This was the first major bowl game that featured two African-Americans starting at quarterback for a national title.
Rice led the Irish in both passing and rushing in 1988 behind an offensive line that featured Any Heck and Tim Grunhard. The defense was anchored by Mike Stone Breaker and Todd Lyght.
Winning the National Title was not easy for Notre Dame. They opened the season with a close win against Michigan. The game of the year was a one-point win against Miami. In the game against the Mountaineers, Rice threw for 213 yards on only 11 passes on his way to being named MVP of the game.
It was one of the Irish’s finest moments.
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