Former Hurricanes RB has respect for the 'Chumps' that beat them in 1988 Game

Former University of Miami running back Cleveland Gary does not want to hear about Notre Dame's storied past.

When the Fighting Irish and the Hurricanes take the field Sunday night, Gary is all in on the Canes, but he has respect for the Fighting Irish. He just hopes the Canes come out on top.

In 1988, when the two teams played, Gary said he did not even get psyched up to take the field at Notre Dame Stadium. He was no more psyched for the Fighting Irish than he was for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

To him, it could have been East Carolina. It was just another game on the schedule. It was another roadblock on the road to an undefeated season and another national championship.

"It was just another game for me. Notre Dame was not the best team we played that season," Gary said. "We were just flat, and Steve [Walsh] threw an interception."

"We did not get pumped up because it was Notre Dame," Gary said. "We got pumped up because we had a game to play and another team to beat."

Gary also said his teammates were upset about the "Catholics vs. Convicts" moniker that the game was referred to by Notre Dame students. They saw the shirts, and it made them angry.

"They were lucky that day because they did not have the athletes we had," Gary said. "Look at who they played. The University of Miami, we are just such good actors. We don't talk... When we walked through the tunnel, they thought we were really a bunch of convicts."

Gary did not think Notre Dame's defense could stop Miami's offense.

"We had such a high-octane offense. We weren't thinking of Notre Dame, we were thinking of another national championship. After the game, I didn't believe those chumps beat us.

"No, we beat ourselves." Notre Dame won the game 31-30 when Pat Terrell broke up a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter. Gary also had a costly, yet contested fumble in the fourth quarter in the end zone, which would have given Miami the victory and a shot at another national title.

"I don't think I will ever have closure; there is no closure to this day," Gary said. "I hear about it all the time. Everyone says I scored."

"That costs us another national title and it cost me money in the NFL Draft," Gary said. "I would have gone a lot earlier in the first round if we won another national title."

Gary does have tremendous respect for the University of Notre Dame and the program's history. He just did not think of it when he walked into the stadium. He said Notre Dame was in his top five before committing to the University of Georgia.

"I went to Georgia because I wanted to win a Heisman Trophy and win a national championship," Gary said. "When I was being recruited, the Notre Dame coaches spent more time in Florida recruiting me at my high school than anywhere else."

When Gary transferred to Miami, it came down once again, to Miami and Notre Dame.

I was homesick and I wanted to come home to Florida," Gary said. "I got to see my family more often, and it was just good to come home."