Notre Dame-Miami: Renewing an Old Rivalry in Sun Bowl Matchup

As Notre Dame fans waited to see what bowl invitation the team would accept, they never thought they would be going back in history. All reports going into the weekend indicated that the Fighting Irish would be facing Maryland in the Champs Sports Bowl. While a trip to Orlando would have been nice, I am much more excited about what actually played out: The Fighting Irish will play Miami in the Sun Bowl.

When I was a kid, Notre Dame-Miami was The Game. This rivalry was just as big if not bigger than the team's rivalry with USC. At the time both teams were independents and both were powerhouses. That is where the similarities stopped.

Notre Dame was led by Lou Holtz and was always known for being tough on the players academically. Holtz was also very strict in how his players behaved off the field. Holtz would even discipline players for something as small as underage drinking.

Meanwhile, Miami, led by Jimmy Johnson, seemed to always have players in serious trouble with the law as well as all kinds of academic troubles. Alot of scandals were at Miami at the time. The game eventually became known as Catholics vs. Convicts.

To nobody's surprise, these teams just didn't like each other with their different ways of doing business. Notre Dame ultimately decided to pull out of this rivalry. It did not want to be associated with a school who it felt demonstrated poor sportsmanship.

Now after nearly two decades, this rivalry will reignite. Neither team is a powerhouse at this time. Both come in at 7-5 and Miami is looking for a new coach after dismissing Randy Shannon. Notre Dame is still reinventing itself under first year coach Brian Kelly.

Miami will be led by Junior Jacory Harris who has had an up and down career. This season he has completed 54 percent of his passes. He has thrown for 1756 yards with 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Notre Dame will be led by true freshman Tommy Rees who is starting only his fourth game after Dayne Crist suffered a season ending injury. Since taking over for Crist, Rees has played well at times and has shown his inexperience at others. He has 908 yards with 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Rees has completed 64 percent of his passes.

Although it won't be two powerhouses facing each other, I am still excited about seeing this old rivalry reborn. I always looked forward to this game as a kid. Unfortunately, the game I remember the most was 1989 when Notre Dame hadn't lost a game in two years and appeared to be on its way to another National Championship. Miami had other plans.