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1988 college football

The First Lambert Trophy For 1988 West Virginia Football

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The Lambert Trophy is the award given annually to the best college football team in the East. Today, with teams folded into mega-conferences, it’s lost a lot of its weight. But in the day when the major Eastern college football teams were all independent, yet played each other annually, it was a big deal. The trophy had never found its way to Morgantown, WVA. That is, until the 1988 West Virginia football team rolled off an unbeaten regular season and finally won it.

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Don Nehlen had arrived in West Virginia as the head coach in 1980 and produced some good teams. The 1988 team had reasonably high expectations, ranked #16 in the preseason AP poll. WVA returned sophomore quarterback Major Harris, an electrifying combination of agility and an electric arm that would be even more lethal in today’s modern spread offenses.

Harris was a big-play passer, and averaged a sparkling 10.3 yards-per-pass, while completing a respectable 57 percent of his throws. His top receivers were Calvin Phillips and Reggie Rembert. Harris was also the third-leading rusher on the team, while A.B. Brown and Undra Johnson had good years carrying the rest of the running load.

On the defensive side, West Virginia had future pros in Bo Orlando and Alvoid Mays in the defensive back, along with a good cornerback in Willie Edwards. The road to the Lambert Trophy wouldn’t be easy—Syracuse was coming off an 11-0-1 season, Pitt was good, and while Penn State seemed down, no one in the East would ever count out Joe Paterno. But Nehlen had the horses to compete.

West Virginia opened with three easy games and blasted Bowling Green, UC-Fullerton and Maryland, scoring a combined 162 points in the process. The Mountaineers nudged to #11 in the polls and it set up a visit to #16 Pitt in the “The Backyard Brawl” on the night of September 24.

Harris made his mark on the game early—on 3rd-and-25 in the first quarter, he took off on a bootleg and gained 38 yards. Harris punctuated that drive with a 33-yard touchdown strike to Rembert, and West Virginia led 10-7 in the second half. Brown then broke off a 64-yard touchdown run, the Mountaineers took over the fourth quarter and won 31-10.

Another easy schedule stretch remained, starting with wins at Virginia Tech (Frank Beamer was just beginning a rebuilding process that would take five years to bear fruit), at East Carolina and at home against Boston College, another Eastern team that’s had its moments, but was down in 1988.

West Virginia was ranked #7 on October 29 and the game the entire state had waited for was at hand—Penn State was coming to town.

This was not a good Nittany Lion team. They were 4-3 coming in, and would end up being the first Joe Paterno-coached team to miss a bowl game. But when you’ve beaten down as many times as the loyal fans of West Virginia had by Penn State, the circumstances don’t matter. This is the game you want to win.

Oddsmakers took a clearer view and installed WVA as a 13 ½ point favorite. That proved to be too conservative. Harris threw the ball well, going 12/20 for 230 yards and no interceptions, but his memorable play came with his legs. After running the wrong way on an option play, he had to bail himself out and did so by juking five different Lion defenders and running 73 yards for a touchdown.

The score was 27-8 as the game got ready for halftime and Nehlen was ready to kill the clock. He called for a draw play to Johnson. The running back took it 55 yards to the house and if the rout wasn’t already on, it was now in full throttle. The game ended 51-30 and West Virginia climbed to #4 in the national polls.

Harris lead the offense to a combined 86 points in wins over Cincinnati and Rutgers. There was one more hurdle in the way of an undefeated season and it was a big one—Syracuse was 9-1, their only loss coming in September to Ohio State. If the Orange won the finale in Morgantown, they would win another Lambert Trophy. And this tremendous season of West Virginia would go down the tubes, not only without a national title shot, but without even the symbol of regional pride.

West Virginia fans needn’t have worried. The defense was ready to play and the running game was consistent. Brown ran for 103 yards, Harris had 96 and Johnson tacked on 72 more. With a 14-3 lead in the second half, Edwards sealed the deal by intercepting Syracuse quarterback Todd Philcox, taking it the house and the party could start. West Virginia won 31-9 and completed their perfect regular season.

Nehlen and his kids now had their eyes on bigger game than the Lambert Trophy. They were ranked #3, trailing only Notre Dame and Miami in the polls. Because the two teams had already played each other—with ND winning—it was West Virginia that would get their chance to play the Irish in the Fiesta Bowl. If the Mountaineers won, they would certainly leapfrog the Hurricanes and win the national championship.

That was too much to ask. Notre Dame and Miami were on a different level then the rest of college football in 1988. West Virginia fell behind 26-6 and after Harris threw a third-quarter touchdown pass, he injured his shoulder. Any faint hope of a comeback was over and the final score was a deceptively close 34-21.

The 1988 West Virginia football team still finished #5 in the country. And they had finally brought the Lambert Trophy to Morgantown.

Third-Year Magic For The 1988 Notre Dame Football Team

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There was something magical about the third year of a Notre Dame football coach’s tenure. Ara Parseghian and Dan Devine had each won a national championship in Year Three. Brian Kelly reached the BCS National Championship Game in 2012. The 1988 Notre Dame football team is a part of that third-year magic, winning a national title for Lou Holtz.

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Holtz had taken over a program that was on hard times, and against a tough schedule, he struggled to a 5-6 record in 1986. The 1987 season saw a big step forward, as the program earned a Cotton Bowl bid. But decisive losses to Miami and in the bowl game to Texas A&M, seemed to suggest that Notre Dame still had work to do in order to reach the national elite. The preseason polls in 1988 reflected that sentiment, ranking ND #13.

The option was the offensive style, and Notre Dame had a powerful running attack. Junior quarterback Tony Rice was an average passer, but he stayed clear of mistakes and was the team’s leading rusher. Rice had a balanced backfield, including Mark Green and Tony Brooks. One of the favored pass targets also came out of the backfield, future NFL star Ricky Watters. And the occasional big passing play could go to explosive sophomore receiver Raghib Ismail.

Defensively, Notre Dame was even better. The coordinator was Barry Alvarez, who would eventually bring the Wisconsin program to life as one of the game’s best head coaches. Chris Zorich, a future NFL talent, was at defensive tackle. Pat Terrell was solid at corner, and there were the “Three Amigos” of Frank Stams, Wes Pritchett and Michael Stonebreaker.

The former was a defensive end, the latter two were linebackers, with Stonebreaker having the most appropriate last name for a defensive football player since Mike Hammerstein played defensive tackle for Michigan in the mid-1980s.

It was Michigan who would come to South Bend to start the year under the lights. The Wolverines were ranked ninth in the country and would eventually win the Big Ten title and the Rose Bowl. Watters made a big special teams play early, returning a punt 81 yards for a touchdown and then the defenses and the kicking game settled in.

Notre Dame never scored an offensive touchdown, but diminutive kicker Reggie Ho, kept knocking field goals through. With 1:13 to play, Ho hit his fourth field goal to give the Irish a 19-17 lead. The Wolverines stormed down the field and got a chance for a 48-yarder to win it. The kick just missed.

Holtz’s team efficiently won at Michigan State 20-3, the team that had won the Rose Bowl the previous season. Notre Dame blew out bad teams in Purdue and Stanford, and they went on the road to beat bowl-caliber Pitt team 30-20. The Irish were up to #4 in the polls and it was time for the game the nation was awaiting—the showdown with #1-ranked Miami in South Bend.

The Hurricanes were the defending national champions, and Notre Dame felt like they owed Miami. Bad blood still ran high over 1985, when it was believed the ‘Canes had run up the score in Gerry Faust’s final game as ND head coach (something Faust does not hold Miami responsible for). The 24-0 loss the prior November rankled Holtz.

Miami’s reputation for trash-talking had made them the villains of college football, and T-shirts that have since become legendary circulated the Notre Dame campus. They read “Catholics vs. Convicts.” The matchup was one of college football’s many “Games of the Century”, and this one really played out that way on the field.

Notre Dame got a big interception from Terrell, who took it to the house and the Irish were ahead 21-7 in the second quarter. Steve Walsh, Miami’s efficient quarterback led two consecutive drives for touchdowns, though one was disputed by the Irish—it was believed Hurricane tight end Rob Chudzinski had fumbled, and the ball recovered by Notre Dame. Officials ruled it an incomplete pass. The game went to halftime tied 21-21.

The Irish defense kept getting turnovers, and had already collected six when they held a 31-24 lead in the fourth quarter. The seventh would be hotly disputed. Walsh completed a pass to running back Cleveland Gary near the goal line. He fumbled, or at least the officials ruled he did, and the ball was recovered by ND. Replays indicated that Gary was down, and that Miami should have had first-and-goal.

Notre Dame ended up giving the ball right back anyway, and Miami eventually faced a fourth-and-goal in the closing minute. Walsh lofted a pass to Andre Brown in the front-right corner of the end zone. Touchdown.

The Hurricanes decided to go for two. They went back to the same spot, this time with running back Leonard Conley. Terrell was waiting and he batted the ball down. Notre Dame had prevailed 31-30 in one of college football’s greatest games.

Notre Dame was still #2 in the polls behind UCLA, which had Troy Aikman at quarterback. The Irish beat Air Force and Navy, while the Bruins suffered an upset loss. ND was #1, while USC was now in the #2 spot and the two teams were on a collision course for a battle in Los Angeles on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

The Irish upheld their end of the bargain, blowing out Rice and beating an uncharacteristically poor Penn State team to get to 10-0. The Trojans took care of UCLA and clinched a Rose Bowl berth. Was another Game of the Century in store?

This one got off to a rocky start for Notre Dame—not on the field, but in the days leading up to the game. Watters and Brooks were late to a team meeting, something they had been repeatedly warned on, and had no valid excuse for. Holtz suspended both players.

The head coach had done something similar (albeit on charges much more severe) when he coached Arkansas against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl that followed the 1977 season. That night, Holtz’s team won and it paved the way for an ND national championship. Could history be, in a roundabout way, repeating itself?

Notre Dame dominated USC. Rice ran the option for a 65-yard touchdown run early on, and defensive back Stan Smagala intercepted Trojan quarterback Rodney Peete for a Pick-6. The game was 20-3 by halftime and it ended 27-10. The unbeaten regular season was complete.

All that was left was third-ranked West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl. Miami had not lost since that October afternoon in South Bend and there were some minor rumblings for the second-ranked Hurricanes to get a rematch. No one really believed that unbeaten West Virginia was better than Miami, but if the Mountaineers could actually beat Notre Dame—something Miami already had its chance it doing—didn’t that change the equation? The right matchup in Tempe took place.

Notre Dame again dominated. They got short touchdown runs from fullbacks Anthony Johnson and Rodney Culver. Rice threw a 29-yard touchdown pass over the middle to Ismail, and the lead was 23-3. West Virginia’s immensely talented quarterback, Major Harris, couldn’t get anything going until a third quarter TD pass that briefly made the game mildly interesting at 26-13.

But any faint hopes of a WVA comeback were gone when Harris injured his shoulder. Notre Dame tacked on an insurance touchdown, West Virginia scored a meaningless one in the closing minute and the final was 34-21.

Notre Dame was national champions. It’s the most recent title for the school, though Holtz continued to put together major bowl teams, and in 1989 and 1993 had very good arguments for the title. But there’s no question that 1988 was the big high point of an era that is the school’s last Golden Age in football.

Jimmy Johnson’s Last College Team: The 1988 Miami Hurricanes

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Jimmy Johnson had produced great football teams since taking over as head coach of the University of Miami. After inheriting the national championship team of 1983, Johnson reached a major bowl game every year, won the national title in 1987 and came within one play of doing so in 1986. The 1988 Miami Hurricanes were his last college team before departing to the NFL, and while it wasn’t a national champion, the ’88 Hurricanes were another outstanding team.

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Miami came into the season feeling disrespected after the previous year’s national championship. They had lost some great talent into the NFL, including wide receiver Michael Irvin, safety Bennie Blades, Outland finalist defensive end Daniel Stubbs and a great leader at middle linebacker in George Mira Jr. The preseason polls in 1988 ranked Miami #8.

The #1 team to start the year was archrival Florida State, and the Seminoles recorded a rap video proclaiming their greatness. Led by cornerback Deion Sanders, they had both bravado and talent. And their first game would be against Miami in the old Orange Bowl.

By the end of the game, the disrespect for the Hurricanes was gone. Miami completely dominated Florida State in all phases of the game. It was 17-0 by halftime, it ended 31-0 and it never even seemed that close. The ‘Canes were immediately vaulted all the way to the top of the polls.

The focus was now on who Miami had in their lineup rather than who they lost. The answers were impressive. Steve Walsh, one of the country’s most accurate passers, was back at quarterback. There were two good running backs, Cleveland Gary and Leonard Conley, who were also threats to catch the ball out of the backfield.

Bill Hawkins was a top defensive end and future #1 NFL draft pick Russell Maryland was at defensive tackle. Bernard Clark, and future Hurricane head coach Randy Shannon were at the linebacker spots. Bubba McDowell was a good defensive back. Johnson had no shortage of speed on defense, and along with coordinator Dave Wannstedt, they oversaw one of the country’s best D’s.

They also played one of the nation’s best schedules, and after a week off to celebrate beating Florida State, Miami was off to play Michigan. This game wasn’t quite as easy. In fact, the Hurricanes trailed 30-14 with 7:16 to play and it looked over.

Then Johnson surprised even his own players by going to the two-minute offense and Walsh orchestrated a rapid touchdown drive and two-point conversion that cut the lead to 30-22. With 3:45 left, Miami got the ball back and Walsh hit Conley for a 48-yard touchdown pass less than a minute later. But Michigan stopped the two-point conversion.

Miami lined up for the onside kick and covered it. They drove for the winning field goal and won 31-30. The comeback was stunning under any circumstances, but particularly given the quality of this opponent. Michigan would win the Big Ten title and Rose Bowl.

Johnson’s team churned through easy games against Wisconsin and Missouri, and set up an October 15 date at fourth-ranked Notre Dame. The hype for this matchup was through the roof. Miami had beaten Notre Dame badly in 1985 and 1987, and the bad blood between the two programs was running even hotter than the media hype.

The game’s place in college football history is remembered by a T-shirt that was sold on the ND campus, aiming at Miami’s bad-boy reputation—“Catholics vs. Convicts.”

To further add fuel to the fire, a fight broke out between the teams in the tunnels before the game. Miami’s reputation resulted in them being blamed, but Notre Dame players said afterward they had picked the fight. Even though the Irish had the more storied program, the Hurricanes were the power of the 1980s and it was ND who had the chip on their shoulder.

What followed on the field was one of the greatest college football games ever played. Miami didn’t play sharp—they turned it over seven times—but they moved it up and down the field. Trailing 31-24, and facing fourth-and-goal with less than a minute left, Walsh found Andre Brown in the right corner of the end zone. In the days prior to overtime, Johnson now had to decide—should he kick the extra point and take the tie or play for the win?

To Johnson’s credit, he didn’t hesitate in playing for the win. It was the same situation—and ironically the same score—that Nebraska head coach Tom Osborne had faced when his team played Miami in the Orange Bowl following the 1983 season. Osborne passed on a tie and a sure national title to go for the win, and ended up losing.

Just as Nebraska had done five years earlier, Miami threw a pass to the right side of the end zone. Just as had been the case five years earlier, the pass was batted down and the game ended 31-30. And just like five years earlier, being noble might have cost the Hurricanes a national championship.

Miami blasted Cincinnati, East Carolina, Tulsa and what was then a mediocre LSU program. They were ranked #3 in the polls, while Notre Dame and USC were in the top two spots, but slated to play each other on November 26. West Virginia was ranked #4, but undefeated. The plan was to pair them up with Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, with the only question being if the Irish would be ranked #1 or if that would go to the Trojans.

Johnson reminded anyone who would listen that his team still had to play a tough game of its own on November 26. The opponent was Arkansas, undefeated in their own right, though ranked #8 in the weak Southwest Conference, they weren’t getting any love as a national title contender. In fact, having lost to Miami one year earlier by a 51-7 count in Little Rock, no one gave the Razorbacks any chance in Miami. The game turned out to be the war the head coach feared.

Arkansas got a 58-yard field goal, and they had a future NFL star in Barry Foster at running back. Foster broke an 80-yard touchdown run and Miami trailed 16-15 into the fourth quarter. The Razorbacks had another future NFL mainstay in the secondary, safety Steve Atwater. He nearly made the play of the game.

Miami was in the red zone, and Walsh lofted the ball toward the front corner of the end zone. It was an uncharacteristically poor decision by the Hurricane quarterback—needing only a field goal with five minutes to play, there was every reason to play it safe and this ball was underthrown. Atwater appeared to have the interception, before the ball was stripped at the last minute. Miami kicked the field goal and escaped with an 18-16 win.

Notre Dame blew out USC and the debate was on. The Fiesta Bowl could pair up two of the independents, and Johnson argued for a rematch. His team had beaten Michigan, Florida State (who had not lost since the opening night massacre) and Arkansas, and could have tied the top-ranked team in the nation on their home field had they so chose.

Pollsters ranked the Hurricanes #2. But Notre Dame, as the #1 team, called the shots under the old system, since they could go to whatever bowl they wanted, and they made it clear they were going to play West Virginia.

As much as Miami fans would protest, the correct decision was made. West Virginia’s resume was nowhere close to what Miami’s was, but the Mountaineers were undefeated and deserved their chance to try and beat Notre Dame. If WVA could do what Miami had not, how could the Mountaineers be denied the crown?

The Hurricanes settled for an Orange Bowl date with Nebraska and the game was never close. Miami coasted to a 23-3 win. Earlier that day, Notre Dame had an equally easy time with West Virginia. The ‘Canes finished #2 in the final polls.

Johnson would depart for the Dallas Cowboys shortly after and three years later he was coaching a Super Bowl champion. He certainly had nothing left to prove in college—over his final three seasons in Miami, Johnson had lost only two games and each one came on by a single play. He was two plays from going 36-0 over a three-year period.

The Great Catholics Vs. Convicts Battle Defines 1988 College Football

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It had been 11 years since Notre Dame won the 1977 national championship, but Lou Holtz was in his third year in South Bend, and had restored the program to contention. Miami was the defending national champion, had finished #1 twice in five years and lost another winner-take-all battle at the goal line in 1986. Their 1988 battle, legendary for its Convicts label, was one of the greatest college football games ever played.

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The battle got its nickname from T-shirts reading “Catholics vs. Convicts” that were a hot item on the ND campus. A pregame brawl broke out in the tunnel when the teams crossed paths. Miami’s public reputation left them perceived as guilty, but Notre Dame defensive tackle Chris Zorich freely admitted the Irish had picked the fight.

Miami had the superior talent and with Steve Walsh at quarterback, always seemed on the move offensively. But the Notre Dame defense was opportunistic. They forced seven turnovers, including an interception brought back to the house, and the Irish led 31-17 in the fourth quarter.

Walsh brought Miami back and on fourth down, trailing 31-24 in the final minute, completed a pass to the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Hurricane coach Jimmy Johnson opted to go for the win, and another pass went to the same spot. This one was batted away and Notre Dame prevailed.

Miami continued to win against an exceptionally good schedule, hammering a good LSU team and then surviving a tough fight from Cotton Bowl-bound Arkansas. The ‘Canes desperately wanted a rematch, but West Virginia was also undefeated.

No one really believed the Mountaineers, and their electrifying quarterback Major Harris could beat Notre Dame or that they were better than Miami. But given that the Irish and ‘Canes had already played, how could you deny West Virginia their day in court?

Thus, the Fiesta Bowl matched up Notre Dame and West Virginia, while Miami went to the Orange Bowl and played Nebraska. Both games were mismatches, with the Irish rolling 34-21 and the Hurricanes cruising 23-3. Notre Dame and Miami ended up 1-2 in the polls. The real national title game had been October 15 in South Bend and it had been played to a virtual draw.

That October afternoon remains one of the greatest college football games of all time and the high point of the Catholics vs. Convicts rivalry that really only had four noteworthy games (from 1987-90), but generated such heated emotions that it seems to have lasted for decades.

You can read the season-long narrative of both teams, along with West Virginia, at the links below…

READ MORE ABOUT 1988 NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL
READ MORE ABOUT THE 1988 MIAMI HURRICANES
READ MORE ABOUT 1988 WEST VIRGINIA FOOTBALL