I remembered this game. I was in high school then. Florida was the favorite. They didn't give ND a change against Florida. It was a great game. Go Irish 🙌🏾
Always liked the New Years Day Bowl Format from the late 80s and early 90s. You could channel flip to the better game. Also liked the MNF crew announcing the Sugar Bowl.
Thank you Notre Dame and Lou Holtz for one of the best games I ever watched as a high school football player. I write this now, 31 years later, and having played football for USC. To Coach Lou Holtz, I will never forget what you told me after our tie game in 1994 at the Coliseum. I said great game coach, you said it wasn’t a great game. A tie is like kissing your sister 😆
Holtz was underrated ! Holtz COACHED the DEFENSE in this game as well.ND just smashed mouth the gators in the 2nd half.Florida had a all American at middle guard on their def..I would luv to have heard OL coach Joe Moore at halftime.Maybe someday smash mouth running football will come back.
I was at the game. One of Lou's best Coaching victories. At the end of the first half, the Irish had the ball and ran several straight running plays, mostly with Bettis. Our line completely moved the Gators D line. The half ended, Holtz pointed to the locker room and led the team. The second half was complete domination. FL line didn't know what hit 'em. A Florida fan at the half said to me, "Get ready for the blow out." I smiled and agreed.
Dan Dierdorf was a class act, he was Michigan guy that always respected ND football. I can't say enough about him. HOF player & great announcer, I miss him calling games.
USC fan here. I remember watching Bettis ripping us that year on our own home turf. The last thing any defense wanted to do near the end of a game when everyone is worn down is tackle Jerome Bettis.
I'm 40 years old (as of early 2022). I've been watching the Irish for 32 years. My father and I were at this game. This is and likely will always be my favorite Notre Dame memory. I was 10. Florida had a chance going into the day of winning the national championship. They needed Michigan to beat Washington and Nebraska to beat Miami. (Neither happened, and Washington had already won when this game started.) We went to the Notre Dame pep rally a few nights before. The keynote speaker (I want to say Dick Vitale, but I'm not sure) said, "Notre Dame stands for everything that's good about college athletics." He also christened Bettis as "The Bus".
Lou Holtz always had his team ready in big games...always..and the irish played very tough schedule in those days... top 5 strength of schedule most years in that era....
I was at this game and Notre Dame fans were outnumbered 5 to 1 and no one expected the Irish to win. Just incredible. Great comeback. Jerome B. was a beast!!
Commentator: “And I guarantee you Steve Spurrier didn’t think his ball club could lose to Notre Dame today.” (5:21) That is a very dangerous thought pattern. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was one of the reasons the Gators lost this game.
Yeah no doubt and it shows you what I mean about Lou Holtz as a coach being able to get his place and play at a higher level when the games matter most and that's what they don't have anymore and I don't know if they're going to have it anytime soon cuz devil ranked 18 and they will Rank 3 Florida and Notre Dame took it to him that is 450 and 40 yard run I remember that game very well
What a great game....great memories, when everyone in the media and other fanbases couldn't stop bad-mouthing Holtz and the Irish-----ahhhhh!....sweet victory! Lou and the team silenced all the naysayers.....great game----one of many I've either seen on TV.....listened to on "Mutual Broadcasting" back in the day.....or had the good fortune to see up/over in South Bend.....great memories of my self and my brother, good friends, nephews, our father and my two sisters, on many both fun and bittersweet weekends, catching the Irish in the "House That Rockne Built"! I do hope they can make it through this 2018 season to the playoffs and beyond----but there's still Syracuse and USC. GO IRISH!
"You're listening to Notre Dame Football... on Mutual." I remember. Except that I got to be in the Superdome for this game. My #1 moment as a fan in large part because I was there with my dad.
I remember this game well. During the season, Notre Dame got upset by Tennessee and hammered by Penn State. Paterno was angry because Notre Dame got the Sugar Bowl bid. Penn State went to the Fiesta Bowl and clobbered Tennessee. I don't think either of the SEC teams were ready for the physical style of play that the Irish and Lions played. A greatwin for the Irish.
Lou Holtz spoke at a conference I was at on Tuesday in Orlando and he told this story. Before this game a guy at a restaurant came up to him and said "Hey coach? What's the difference between Cheerios and Notre Dame?" "Cheerios belong in a bowl." This victory felt good to him!
Personally have felt the 3 best coached games Lou Holtz had at Notre Dame was '88 Miami , 92' Sugar Bowl against Florida, and 93' against F.S.U. all Florida Teams, hmmmmm
Yes that is Al Michaels, Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf, the longtime "Monday Night Football" announcers, doing a college game. I think, to date, this is the last college game Al Michaels has announced.
I think part of it is , that Lou Holtz (if given time) can outcoach a lot of great ones. This was jan. 1st,1992, they played florida state in november of 1993.
You're thinking of the 1992 regular season. This bowl game was on January 1, 1992 to end the 1991 season. Florida was SEC champions and lost only one other game, to Syracuse, that season.
rick mirer?? this was forever known to me for 4 reasons. 1 - Steve Spurrier complaining before the game that he wanted to play a higher ranked team. 2 - The green numbered jerseys. 3 - Jerome Bettis running thru Florida. 4 - The 'cheerios' game. for rick mirer highlights, see his last home game versus Penn State, in the snow.
I was 9 and living in Tennessee. Dad was a Major in the Army stationed at the defense depot and mom was a teaching assistant at my school. They let me stay up for this game and it was wonderful.
This was such a fun game to watch , I just got back from the Rose Bowl celebrating UW's win and watching an upset of ND beating a good Florida Team in the sugar bowl was awesome!
the best part about this game was that after hearing for a month that ND had no business being on same field as the gators, we looked great n holtz out coached spurier. also seeing clips on tv of the post-game victory party, thrown by shane matthews p's, being set-up in a new orleans hotel. 'boy this party really died' -lloyd christmas
I remember this game well as I was in a pool hall with some friends ( I was in college) and watched it unfold. Now we were in SEC country here but there was no love lost for either of these teams as Florida was well... Florida. An interesting observation that year. Florida was awful on astro turf that year as a few of us noticed this early in the season when Florida got bombed off the field at Syracuse. Some of us were surprised the Irish started slow but they eventually found what they needed. Sure Florida had some great talent and missed some opportunnites but it was kind of coll to see them implode mainly to watch Spurrier go nuclear. He is a great ball coach and I like him but some times he was a bit too cocky. His own players called him Coach Superior lol. Well that was what Jevon Kearse stated. Great memory.
i think everyone should know this. Florida never scheduled a game outside of the south after this season. Thats right. They haven't left the south since '91.
@@sleahy67 I know my facts. I don’t care about any of his other wins. I only care about his wins at ND. He has no national championships unlike most of the other greats that coached there. He has ONE signature win on his resume. Compare that to Holtz who used to beat teams that were ranked 5-10 regularly and if I go back farther to the Parseghian days, he beat even more. And ND has definitely been watering down their schedule for years, so I’m sorry if I don’t get overly excited about close wins over Duke and Louisville and a blowout against South Florida. Every time he gets a chance to win a big game he gets exposed as a poser. Clemson did it last week and Alabama is going to absolutely destroy them in a couple days. And I’m a ND fan, so it’s not like I’m a hater or anything. I’m simply saying they’ll always be a step below the big boys with Kelly as a coach. He can’t compete with them.
check out that water bottle thrown at jerome bettis at 4:05, i assume a bitter fla fan upset at spurriers lack of half time adjustments. this game was lou holtz owning spurrier. fla was so overrated that year. what a game.
Because back then they had the possibility of ties. To avoid that possibility, many teams would go for two in that situation to see if they would need a TD or just a FG to win on their last possession.
It wasn't some random FB breaking long runs, it was freakin Jerome Bettis. It would help to have your starters in to begin with. Yes, backups should step up, but they're backups for a reason.
One of the best examples of why Holtz was truly a great coach. In game adjustments, halftime changes... and ND beats a team thats better than them... why can't Weis do this just once?
@FightOn2VICTORY Yeah, all those amazing leather helmet championships. Just amazing! Go Gators, winningest program in college football in the past 20 years (AKA the MODERN era...quit living in the past!).
I remembered this game. I was in high school then. Florida was the favorite. They didn't give ND a change against Florida. It was a great game. Go Irish 🙌🏾
Always liked the New Years Day Bowl Format from the late 80s and early 90s. You could channel flip to the better game. Also liked the MNF crew announcing the Sugar Bowl.
Thank you Notre Dame and Lou Holtz for one of the best games I ever watched as a high school football player. I write this now, 31 years later, and having played football for USC.
To Coach Lou Holtz, I will never forget what you told me after our tie game in 1994 at the Coliseum. I said great game coach, you said it wasn’t a great game. A tie is like kissing your sister 😆
Jerome Bettis was something else , best fullback I ever saw .
I remember this game and will always remember it!
Love Lou Holtz
Love Notre Dame Football
GO IRISH!
Gotdamn Jerome Bettis ripped Florida defense like a pop Warner team. I forgot all about this. What a treat to watch 😂 Bettis was a man among boys
I was 19 or 20 years old when i watched this game, will never forget it. Gotta love this old school huge shoulder pads.. GO IRISH!!!!
Lou Holtz was an amazing coach and leader
Best coach ever
Holtz was underrated ! Holtz COACHED the DEFENSE in this game as well.ND just smashed mouth the gators in the 2nd half.Florida had a all American at middle guard on their def..I would luv to have heard OL coach Joe Moore at halftime.Maybe someday smash mouth running football will come back.
That was just a old fashioned brutal running attack, really great game by ND
I was at the game. One of Lou's best Coaching victories. At the end of the first half, the Irish had the ball and ran several straight running plays, mostly with Bettis. Our line completely moved the Gators D line. The half ended, Holtz pointed to the locker room and led the team. The second half was complete domination. FL line didn't know what hit 'em. A Florida fan at the half said to me, "Get ready for the blow out." I smiled and agreed.
First game in the lou holtz era that I thought no way the Irish win. The game turned physical and Florida couldn't handle it
Rest in Peace---Rodney Culver!
One of my mom's good friends was on that same ValuJet plane that crashed in the Florida Everglades. Indeed, Rest In Peace.
This was the first Notre Dame football game I'd ever seen. I was 13 years old and have been hooked ever since. Go Irish!
Same for me
FUCK...TOUCHDOWN JESUS!!!!
HE'LL PROBABLY ENJOY IT!!!
Dan Dierdorf was a class act, he was Michigan guy that always respected ND football. I can't say enough about him. HOF player & great announcer, I miss him calling games.
USC fan here. I remember watching Bettis ripping us that year on our own home turf. The last thing any defense wanted to do near the end of a game when everyone is worn down is tackle Jerome Bettis.
Back when the Irish still believed in a strong running game.
Genx 0ver50 hey man the past 2 seasons...Josh Adams and Dexter Williams
I'm 40 years old (as of early 2022).
I've been watching the Irish for 32 years.
My father and I were at this game.
This is and likely will always be my favorite Notre Dame memory. I was 10.
Florida had a chance going into the day of winning the national championship. They needed Michigan to beat Washington and Nebraska to beat Miami. (Neither happened, and Washington had already won when this game started.)
We went to the Notre Dame pep rally a few nights before.
The keynote speaker (I want to say Dick Vitale, but I'm not sure) said, "Notre Dame stands for everything that's good about college athletics."
He also christened Bettis as "The Bus".
Lou Holtz always had his team ready in big games...always..and the irish played very tough schedule in those days... top 5 strength of schedule most years in that era....
I was at this game and Notre Dame fans were outnumbered 5 to 1 and no one expected the Irish to win. Just incredible. Great comeback. Jerome B. was a beast!!
One of the best games I ever saw, thanks for uploading.
Commentator: “And I guarantee you Steve Spurrier didn’t think his ball club could lose to Notre Dame today.” (5:21)
That is a very dangerous thought pattern. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was one of the reasons the Gators lost this game.
Seeing Spurrier wiping his brow made me and my Dad laugh when I was watching this as a kid
Yes, once Holtz recognized that weakness in the D-Line on the right side, he knew the bus would pound through
This was one of Notre Dames greatest victories.
Yeah no doubt and it shows you what I mean about Lou Holtz as a coach being able to get his place and play at a higher level when the games matter most and that's what they don't have anymore and I don't know if they're going to have it anytime soon cuz devil ranked 18 and they will Rank 3 Florida and Notre Dame took it to him that is 450 and 40 yard run I remember that game very well
What a great game....great memories, when everyone in the media and other fanbases couldn't stop bad-mouthing Holtz and the Irish-----ahhhhh!....sweet victory! Lou and the team silenced all the naysayers.....great game----one of many I've either seen on TV.....listened to on "Mutual Broadcasting" back in the day.....or had the good fortune to see up/over in South Bend.....great memories of my self and my brother, good friends, nephews, our father and my two sisters, on many both fun and bittersweet weekends, catching the Irish in the "House That Rockne Built"! I do hope they can make it through this 2018 season to the playoffs and beyond----but there's still Syracuse and USC. GO IRISH!
"You're listening to Notre Dame Football... on Mutual."
I remember.
Except that I got to be in the Superdome for this game. My #1 moment as a fan in large part because I was there with my dad.
I remember that game fighting Irish
God rest Rodney Culver and his wifes soul!!!!
Big Comeback, in a time when Notre Dame would regularly smack SEC teams and win Major Bowl and National Championships.
Georgia has smacked
Noter Dame 3 times
Notre Dame has never ever and will never
Beat GEORGIA!!!!!!!!!!
Notre Dame is 0-3😂
Against little old Georgia.
I remember this game well. During the season, Notre Dame got upset by Tennessee and hammered by Penn State. Paterno was angry because Notre Dame got the Sugar Bowl bid. Penn State went to the Fiesta Bowl and clobbered Tennessee. I don't think either of the SEC teams were ready for the physical style of play that the Irish and Lions played.
A greatwin for the Irish.
Lou firing his OC and DC after that Penn State game was such a smart move
#JoeKnew
wow i remember watching this game as a kid brings back lots of memories
Loved this crew especially Dan Dierdorf! Cool dude!
Lou Holtz spoke at a conference I was at on Tuesday in Orlando and he told this story. Before this game a guy at a restaurant came up to him and said "Hey coach? What's the difference between Cheerios and Notre Dame?" "Cheerios belong in a bowl." This victory felt good to him!
Personally have felt the 3 best coached games Lou Holtz had at Notre Dame was '88 Miami , 92' Sugar Bowl against Florida, and 93' against F.S.U. all Florida Teams, hmmmmm
Saw every one of them....great games
That was such a great game one for the ages that's when ND played tough Lou Holts allways had his team ready to play🍀🏈
The Notre Dame offensive line just manhandled Florida.
Love having the classic MNF crew calling a bowl game.
RIP Rodney Culver #5 for Notre Dame. Died in the ValueJet crash
Lou Holtz one said, Rodney Culver was greatest captain he ever coached!
I remember that in the marsh swamp
Value Jet....cheap planes
Along with his wife.
Pure negligence by Valujet.
Didn’t know that, thank you. RIP to the Culvers.
Yes that is Al Michaels, Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf, the longtime "Monday Night Football" announcers, doing a college game. I think, to date, this is the last college game Al Michaels has announced.
wow!! this comment was 17 yrs ago. ughh how time goes
I think part of it is , that Lou Holtz (if given time) can outcoach a lot of great ones. This was jan. 1st,1992, they played florida state in november of 1993.
RIP Rodney Culver
I imagine many hearts were broken in Florida at about 5:03, followed by many television sets at 5:11.
You can't stop the Bus!
No one on florida wanted a peace of the Bus, Bettis.
You're thinking of the 1992 regular season. This bowl game was on January 1, 1992 to end the 1991 season. Florida was SEC champions and lost only one other game, to Syracuse, that season.
I miss those Notre Dame teams.
rick mirer?? this was forever known to me for 4 reasons. 1 - Steve Spurrier complaining before the game that he wanted to play a higher ranked team. 2 - The green numbered jerseys. 3 - Jerome Bettis running thru Florida. 4 - The 'cheerios' game. for rick mirer highlights, see his last home game versus Penn State, in the snow.
Old Rick.. The Goshen Redskin Golden boy. He was good for ND
People forgot this same team played in the NC game the year prior. The only player absent was the Rocket.
Chris Zorich , Ricky Watters also were not on this ND team
Florida Gators were huge favorites to win this game.
Rodney Culver #5 ND. Died in Valu jet crash into everglades RIP
This game was Jerome Bettis come out game and eventual ticket to the Hall of Fame
that running back jerome bettis was pretty good!!!
If you are my age and you are a Notre Dame fan, you watched this game with your Dad/Mom and you won’t forget it.
I was 9 and living in Tennessee. Dad was a Major in the Army stationed at the defense depot and mom was a teaching assistant at my school. They let me stay up for this game and it was wonderful.
My boy brother willie Clark#32 nd
The Bus was not going to be stopped that night in New Orleans.
I was at this game. I was 7. I still remember walking to the super dome
ND stopped being a true national power when they ditched the power run game. They used to have 3rd string running backs who'd play in the NFL
notre dame vs florida and THE ANNOUNCERS!!!!
This was such a fun game to watch , I just got back from the Rose Bowl celebrating UW's win and watching an upset of ND beating a good Florida Team in the sugar bowl was awesome!
It's explained at the end. A waiter in Florida asked Holtz what the difference is between Notre Dame and Cheerios...Cheerios belong in a bowl.
Rodney culvre is one of my dads friend in summer school
the best part about this game was that after hearing for a month that ND had no business being on same field as the gators, we looked great n holtz out coached spurier. also seeing clips on tv of the post-game victory party, thrown by shane matthews p's, being set-up in a new orleans hotel. 'boy this party really died' -lloyd christmas
I remember this game well as I was in a pool hall with some friends ( I was in college) and watched it unfold.
Now we were in SEC country here but there was no love lost for either of these teams as Florida was well... Florida.
An interesting observation that year.
Florida was awful on astro turf that year as a few of us noticed this early in the season when Florida got bombed off the field at Syracuse.
Some of us were surprised the Irish started slow but they eventually found what they needed.
Sure Florida had some great talent and missed some opportunnites but it was kind of coll to see them implode mainly to watch Spurrier go nuclear.
He is a great ball coach and I like him but some times he was a bit too cocky.
His own players called him Coach Superior lol. Well that was what Jevon Kearse stated.
Great memory.
Best part of the game was when Mirer, Brooks and Bettis did the Gator mouth cheer in front of Spurrier
I have (okay, I took the photo and blew it up) a poster of that.
In the second half, this Notre Dame played smash mouth. I think they ran 9-10, up the middle plays, in a row and completely destroyed Florida.
that must have been such a good game to watch
i think everyone should know this. Florida never scheduled a game outside of the south after this season. Thats right. They haven't left the south since '91.
@904austin
They lost at Syracuse in 1991 if I am correct. Interesting fact about the Gators never leaving the south. At least
I am criying my god so goog thank you lou holtz
Jerome Bettis takes over (at the 5:04 clip) in this video with this 49 yard breakaway!! 5-11, 250 pounds, hand-timed 4.5 40
The Bus was on a roll!
BETTIS.I think I have heard that name before. Spurrier was totally out coached in the second half. He just didn't know what to do.
"ALL" incoming Freshmen...."MUST" take Calculus I......mandatory!
Wishbone
Pete w You sure don’t hear that about ND’s current coach. Brian Kelly couldn’t out couch a snail.
@@sleahy67 I know my facts. I don’t care about any of his other wins. I only care about his wins at ND. He has no national championships unlike most of the other greats that coached there. He has ONE signature win on his resume. Compare that to Holtz who used to beat teams that were ranked 5-10 regularly and if I go back farther to the Parseghian days, he beat even more. And ND has definitely been watering down their schedule for years, so I’m sorry if I don’t get overly excited about close wins over Duke and Louisville and a blowout against South Florida. Every time he gets a chance to win a big game he gets exposed as a poser. Clemson did it last week and Alabama is going to absolutely destroy them in a couple days. And I’m a ND fan, so it’s not like I’m a hater or anything. I’m simply saying they’ll always be a step below the big boys with Kelly as a coach. He can’t compete with them.
check out that water bottle thrown at jerome bettis at 4:05, i assume a bitter fla fan upset at spurriers lack of half time adjustments. this game was lou holtz owning spurrier. fla was so overrated that year. what a game.
@enm97
ND wore green that game. I suggest you watch the various videos of that game again.
One word; Jerome !
Because back then they had the possibility of ties. To avoid that possibility, many teams would go for two in that situation to see if they would need a TD or just a FG to win on their last possession.
@koroseman Hell the Gators field goal kicker was the only reason they were even in the game!
Bettis best game as a irshmen
It wasn't some random FB breaking long runs, it was freakin Jerome Bettis. It would help to have your starters in to begin with. Yes, backups should step up, but they're backups for a reason.
The should've made a DVD out of this!
This was 30 years ago.....back when Notre Dame was relevant😀.
What was the line in this game?
ND was the Hammer and Florida was the nail. All game long . Go Irish
Bettis just made Florida ice cream SOFT, LOL. They didn't want to tackle him.
The wheels on the bus go round and round 😎🎸
All aboard "The Bus!!"
Smashmouth always beats Shotgun
Not a good day for the SEC.
Penn State hammered Tennessee in Fiesta Bowl.
I remember this game I watched it with my uncle.
I live in Florida and all I heard for a solid month how my Irish didn't stand a chance in hell of winning. Ha!!!
Six for six, baby.
One of the best examples of why Holtz was truly a great coach. In game adjustments, halftime changes... and ND beats a team thats better than them... why can't Weis do this just once?
All my friends before the game doing the "cheerios" thingy...hope ND had Cheerios to celebrate hahahah!!
actually the game against Hawaii was pretty impressive
Hey Spurrier.... Cheerios would have given ND a better game than Florida did.
Why was this called 'The Cheerios Bowl?'
it was an impressive win, in a bowl game.
therefore impressive bowl win. you didn't say against a decent team the first time.
It's 2008, not 1988. The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost caught the last train out of town the day the music died, and the music died a long time ago.
Love Lou. 100%
@FightOn2VICTORY Yeah, all those amazing leather helmet championships. Just amazing! Go Gators, winningest program in college football in the past 20 years (AKA the MODERN era...quit living in the past!).
20 years ago is the past.
idk, they have an easy schedule, for an SEC team at least
they might if he is healthy
Hey Shanty: I'm a Bama fan. But, I agree with you about Florida sucking.
Kind of like Alabama and the 90s and early 2000s LOL