In a match-up of unbeaten teams, Florida State University was ranked #1. Notre Dame was ranked #2. The winner of this game, at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana, was certain to play #3 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl for the national championship.

Florida State had quarterback Charlie Ward, who would win the Heisman Trophy. Notre Dame was the underdog but had a home-field advantage. It was a game between the most-hyped program of the era (Florida State) and the most-hyped program in college football history (Notre Dame). THe game was hyped as the "Game of the Century".

The Irish jumped out to a 31–17 lead entering the 4th quarter. The Seminoles got the ball with 1:39 to play. But Ward drove the 'Noles down the field and hit Kez McCorvey on 4th-and-20 for a touchdown that bounced off Irish safety Brian McGee. Notre Dame got the ball back but went three-and-out, giving FSU one last shot. In just three plays, they got to the Irish 14 with three seconds to play. Ward rolled out and had a wide-open receiver in the end zone but did not see him, and his pass was batted down by cornerback Shawn Wooden. Notre Dame won 31–24, and a sellout crowd stormed the field.