Notre Dame-Miami rivalry defined by seven memorable games - ESPN

On Saturday, two of college football's most memorable rivals will meet on the field in one of the biggest games of the season.

Miami and Notre Dame are no stranger to matchups with major stakes. It's part of why the game tends to come with a heightened intensity — the Hurricanes and Irish don't play every year, but when they do play, there's usually quite a bit on the line.

There's also, of course, the historical foundation of the rivalry — a stretch of several games in the 1980s and early 1990s that produced a number of iconic showdowns, including one so famous that it became the subject of a 2016 ESPN 30 for 30.

But notable Notre Dame and Miami games aren't exclusively found in 1980s history books. When the two squads square off in South Bend on Saturday night, they'll do so with recent memories in mind as well.

Here's a refresher on the most iconic games in the intense series between two of the sport's premier programs.

Before there could be legendary matchups, there had to be a first meeting. Notre Dame and Miami's history starts in 1955, when the two met for the first time in the Orange Bowl.

Fittingly, it featured two squads well-adjusted to winning ways: The Irish had won 10 straight, while the Hurricanes had come away victorious in 10 consecutive home games. It was Notre Dame that prevailed in the inaugural game, winning 14-0 behind a pair of touchdown passes by future Heisman winner and No. 1 NFL draft pick Paul Hornung.

The late '80s meetings between the two teams might be the most famous, but a large part of why the tension in those games was high stems from a fuse that was lit in 1985. Miami routed Notre Dame, racking up nearly 60 points in what was the Irish's worst loss in decades. The disastrous defeat