The Holy War is an American rivalry between the Boston College Eagles and University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, a technical nonconference rivalry in college football, but in most sports an Atlantic Coast Conference rivalry. The series derives its name from the fact that the Eagles and the Fighting Irish represent the only two Catholic universities in the United States which still compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the highest level of competition in American college football.
The phrase "Game of the Century" is a superlative that was applied to several college football contests played in the 20th century, the first full century of college football in the United States. It is a subjective term applied by sportswriters to describe the most notable games of the period.
The Notre Dame–Purdue football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team of the University of Notre Dame and Purdue Boilermakers football of Purdue University.
The 2005 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. The Irish completed the season with a record of 9–3, culminating in an appearance in the Fiesta Bowl and a number 9 ranking in the nation.
The 2006 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Hurricanes' 81st season of football and 3rd as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Hurricanes were led by sixth-year head coach Larry Coker and played their home games at the Orange Bowl. They finished the season 7–6 overall and 3–5 in the ACC to finish in fourth place in the Coastal Division. They were invited to the MPC Computers Bowl where they defeated Nevada, 21–20.
Tony Rice is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and World League of American Football (WLAF). Rice is perhaps best remembered as the dynamic option quarterback of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish's 1988 national championship team under coach Lou Holtz. Rice played professional football for three seasons for the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Barcelona Dragons of the World League from 1990 to 1992. He also played for Munich Thunder in the Football League of Europe in 1994.
The 1987 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Hurricanes' 62nd season of football. The Hurricanes were led by fourth-year head coach Jimmy Johnson and played their home games at the Orange Bowl. They finished the season 12–0 overall. They were invited to the Orange Bowl where they defeated Oklahoma, 20–14, to win the school's second national championship.
The 2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. This was Weis's fourth season as Notre Dame's head coach, who entered the season with a 22–15 record, coming off a 3–9 season after posting back-to-back BCS seasons.
The Notre Dame–USC football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team of the University of Notre Dame and USC Trojans football team of the University of Southern California, customarily played on the Saturday following Thanksgiving Day when the game is in Los Angeles or on the second or third Saturday of October when the game is in South Bend, Indiana.
The 1985 Fiesta Bowl was the fourteenth edition of the college football bowl game, played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Tuesday, January 1. Part of the 1984–85 bowl game season, it matched the fourteenth-ranked UCLA Bruins of the Pacific-10 Conference, and the #13 Miami Hurricanes, an independent.
The 1988 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Irish, coached by Lou Holtz, ended the season with 12 wins and no losses, winning the national championship. The Fighting Irish won the title by defeating the previously unbeaten and No. 3 ranked West Virginia Mountaineers in the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona, by a score of 34–21. The 1988 squad, one of 11 national title squads for the Irish, is considered to be one of the best undefeated teams in the history of college football. The Irish beat the teams which finished the season ranked #2, #4, #5, and #7 in the AP Poll. They also won 10 of 12 games by double digits. The 1988 squad is best remembered for its 31–30 upset of No. 1 ranked Miami, ending their 36-game regular season winning streak. The game is remembered to this day as one of the most memorable games in all of college football.
The 2009 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Weis entered his fifth season as head coach with the expectation from the Notre Dame administration that his team would be in position to compete for a BCS Bowl berth. Notre Dame started the first part of the season 4–2, with close losses to Michigan and USC but ended the season with four straight losses, including a second loss to Navy in three years. Weis was fired as head coach the Monday after the Stanford loss at the end of the season. Although Notre Dame was bowl eligible with 6 wins, the University announced on December 4 that the Irish had chosen not to play in a bowl game. Irish athletic director Jack Swarbrick hired Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly after a 10-day coaching search.
The 1990 Sugar Bowl was the 56th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 1. Part of the 1989–90 bowl game season, it featured the second-ranked independent Miami Hurricanes and the #7 Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Favored Miami won 33–25.
The 2010 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Brian Kelly and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. This was Kelly's first season as Notre Dame's head coach, after leading the Cincinnati Bearcats to a 12–0 regular season and BCS bowl berth. In 2010, Notre Dame's regular season schedule was ranked the most difficult schedule in the nation with a Team Opposition Record Percentage of .6529. They finished the season 8–5 and were invited to the Sun Bowl where they defeated the Miami Hurricanes, 33–17.
Thomas Kevin Rees is an American football coach and former player who is the tight ends coach for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He was most recently the offensive coordinator at Alabama. Before that, he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Notre Dame, where he played college football from 2010 to 2013.
The 2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Brian Kelly and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. They competed as an independent.
The 2012 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinal were led by second-year head coach David Shaw. They played their home games at Stanford Stadium and were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.
The 2013 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Brian Kelly and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. They competed as an independent.
The 2014 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Brian Kelly and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. They compete as an independent.
The 2017 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Brian Kelly and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. They competed as an independent. They finished the season 10–3, an impressive turnaround from the season before, where the Irish finished with their worst record since 2007. They were invited to the Citrus Bowl where they defeated LSU. The Irish would finish the season with four wins over teams that finished in the top 25 rankings, including winning three of those by over 20 points or more.
