The Catholics vs. Convicts T-shirts are likely faded now. No one expects a reprise of the so-called “tussle in the tunnel” this time around. And any sense of venomous back-and-forth dialogue simply has been nonexistent this week.
Notre Dame vs. Miami is not what it once was — thankfully, perhaps.
For the first time in nearly a quarter-century, the Fighting Irish and Hurricanes are meeting in a regular-season game. The rivalry will be renewed tonight at Soldier Field in Chicago (7:30, NBC), a purportedly neutral site that will be overwhelmingly in favor of No. 9 Notre Dame (4-0), seeking its first five-game winning streak since 2006. On the other side will be the young-but-dynamic Hurricanes (4-1), two-touchdown underdogs with one win over a top 10 foe since 2005.
“I think it’s great,” Miami coach Al Golden said. “When it’s all said and done, it’s a special day for both universities, both staffs, both football programs, and the young men that are playing. I think at the end of the day both teams are going to look back at this venue, one of the storied cities in America, and say, ‘This is what it’s all about. This is what college football is all about.’ ”
The last time the teams played, Notre Dame won 33-17 in the 2010 Sun Bowl.
Combined, the programs have 13 national championships — but none since 2001, the longest drought for either the Fighting Irish or Hurricanes to go without an Associated Press title since the 16-season stretch spanning 1950 and 1965.
“It’s always important to impart a little bit of the tradition to our players,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “But they’re focused on what this football team is at 4-1, the kind of schedule they play, the teams they’ve beaten. I think that’s our focus, and I know it is for our players that they’re focused on this team more than the tradition and the history. Because if they’re not, they’re going to get beat.”