Ranking the 30 Greatest National Championship Games
By Zach Bigalke
18. 1988 Orange Bowl
#2 Miami d. #1 Oklahoma 20-14
BEFORE THE GAME
Catholics versus Convicts is always remembered most vividly as a defining rivalry of the 1980s, but the battle between Oklahoma and Miami might have been even more intense. The Orange Bowl in 1988 featured two of the decade’s most dominant teams. Third-ranked Florida State had already lost to the Hurricanes in the regular season, negating any case they might have to usurp either team’s position in the biggest game of the year.
Syracuse entered the postseason as the only other undefeated and untied team in the country, but the Orangemen had played just the 58th-hardest schedule in the country and played just two teams that ended the regular season ranked, #24 Pittsburgh and #25 Penn State. (Both teams dropped out of the rankings in the final AP and Coaches polls after losing their bowl games.) It was hard to make a compelling case for Syracuse, and they would ultimately tie their finale against Auburn in the Sugar Bowl to remain undefeated.
The game ultimately came down to two recent national champions. Miami had won the school’s first-ever title in the 1984 Orange Bowl against Nebraska. Two years later, Oklahoma’s freshman quarterback Jamelle Holieway propelled the Sooners to the national title despite a regular-season loss to Miami. The following year, the Hurricanes took down Oklahoma yet again. Their home-and-home series had concluded in 1987, but the Orange Bowl got the chance to host another national championship game in the pre-Coalition era and reunite these 1980s rivals for a rubber match for the crystal pigskin.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Playing before a partisan crowd on their home turf, Miami set the tone early by forcing five straight Oklahoma punts in the first half. The Sooners managed to keep things tied at 7-7 heading into halftime thanks to Anthony Stafford’s one-yard touchdown run. But they could only hold the floodgates closed for so long against an offense that averaged over five touchdowns per game heading into the national championship showdown.
The Sooners broke in the third quarter as Miami built an insurmountable 17-7 lead. Greg Cox hit a 56-yard field goal to set a new Orange Bowl record, and Steve Walsh found Michael Irvin for a 23-yard touchdown. Cox hit another field goal, this time from 48 yards out, to seal up the victory. Barry Switzer called the Fumblerooski in the fourth quarter, and senior guard Mark Hutson churned in the ball for a 29-yard touchdown to pull back within six. But the Sooners would get no closer, and Miami won its second national championship in five years in front of a home crowd.