The adage that close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades is one that possibly crossed the minds of the 1989 edition of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. That’s because even after a dominating season with only a single loss, the Irish found themselves agonizingly short of a second consecutive national title.
The timing of that lone defeat as well as the school it came against helped temper the excitement of Notre Dame’s 21-6 Orange Bowl victory over the top-ranked Colorado Buffaloes on January 1, 1990. Just five weeks earlier the undefeated Irish had dropped a 27-10 road decision to the Miami Hurricanes, the team that ended up being the beneficiary of Notre Dame’s bowl game success.