Reliving an intense college football rivalry

Posted Sep 21, 2010 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated Sep 21, 2010 at 10:52 PM

I was fortunate to cover University of Miami football for four seasons (1980-83) when I worked on the east coast of Florida. I got a firsthand look at how Coach Howard Schnellenberger established his “State of Miami” recruiting strategy, which kept so many prospects in South Florida close to home.

The pipe-smoking, professor-like Schnellenberger was alternately a driven coach and a relentless salesman, holding impromptu news conferences in his hotel room to tout his program (as he did in Daytona Beach in 1981 when a group of reporters milled near his room during a media day sponsored by the Florida Sports Writers Association).

It was quite a growth curve for the Hurricanes. I can still remember Fred Marion falling to the ground in jubilation after his interception sealed UM’s 17-14 victory against top-ranked Penn State in 1981 in Miami. And it culminated with Miami’s shocking 31-30 victory against top-ranked Nebraska in the Orange Bowl in January 1984, an upset that gave Miami its first national title.

That set the tone for the next eight seasons, when Miami would win three more national championships under Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson. Those Hurricanes had a swagger that was loved in South Florida and despised elsewhere. It was inevitable that a good vs. evil morality play would grow during that era: the bad boy Canes vs. the clean image projected by Notre Dame. It was a rivalry that in simple terms, was brilliantly marketed as “Catholics vs. Convicts.”

The Miami Hurricanes and Notre Dame faced each other five times over a six-year span (1985-1991), with the last three meetings having a national title in the balance. That rivalry is captured vividly by Jeff Carroll in his new book, “Perfect Rivals: Notre Dame, Miami, and the Battle for the Soul of College Football,” by Jeff Carroll (Ballantine/ESPN Books, $26).

Carroll, a freelance writer for the South Bend Tribune and The Times of northwest Indiana, plays it straight and presents a balanced look at both programs. Despite Miami’s perceived reputation as thugs, for example, the Hurricanes’ graduation rate under Johnson was admirable. Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish, under Lou Holtz, managed to have athletes with marginal academic credentials admitted, including quarterback Tony Rice.

To his credit, Holtz changed the culture of Notre Dame football, which had suffered mightily during the coaching tenure of Gerry Faust. Holtz was blunt and driven, and brought the Irish back to national prominence and even won a national title in the process.

The Miami-Notre Dame series during the late 1980s were notable for pregame brawls, controversial calls and memorable plays. There was Miami’s famous conversion on third-and-43 from its own 7-yard line, when Craig Erickson completed a 44-yard pass to Randal Hill that broke Notre Dame’s spirit and led to a 27-10 win by the Hurricanes.

There was the fumble — or was it a no fumble? — by UM running back Cleveland Gary in the 1988 contest in South Bend that was pivotal in Notre Dame’s 31-30 victory.

It was a fumble that would have been reviewed under today’s college rules, and possibly reversed. Gary, a humble kid from Stuart who idolized Herschel Walker but was too respectful to wear Walker’s No. 34 (he reversed the numbers and wore No. 43 instead during his high school and college career), was tagged as the goat and would carry a reputation as a fumble-prone running back even into the NFL.

Through extensive interviews and research, Carroll brings the reader into the huddles and the locker rooms and presents a real feel for the white-hot intensity of this rivalry. Players and coaches from both teams weigh in with observations and opinions.

Look for the fun comments by Dan Sileo, whose sports talk radio show airs on weekdays in the Tampa Bay area (Among the gems by the former UM defensive lineman: “We did some nutty things. Our guys were crazy. What can I tell you? We were really crazy guys.”).

Carroll does a good job of documenting a colorful era of college football. It’s fun reading.