Walk-on Reggie Ho’s foot provided the margin of victory in the 19-17 defeat of the Wolverines, the first step in the Irish drive for the national championship
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of spending time with Frank Stams and several other players from the legendary 1988 Notre Dame team. Inspired by their stories and camaraderie, I thought it would be fitting for this week’s Throwback Thursday to look back on a key game from that unforgettable season. The matchup I’ve chosen is Notre Dame’s thrilling season opener against Michigan on September 10, 1988—an intense game that set the stage for the Irish’s climb to a national championship. Let’s revisit how the smallest player on the field, Reggie Ho, became a giant in Irish lore with his game-winning heroics.
The following excerpt is from the 1988 Notre Dame Football Review, in the Scholastic Magazine, written by JonPaul Potts.
Kick-start
by JONPAUL POTTS
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – It was to be a game that could, conceivably, determine the course of the 1988 season. Would the Irish continue on the downward trend of the disappointing 1988 Cotton Bowl, or would they come out with nostrils flaring and make a statement to all of college football that, yes indeed, the Irish were back? The September 10 season opener for both teams had it all—hype, lights, beautiful game-time weather, and the tradition of 19 prior meetings to reflect upon.
Lou Holtz, Irish head coach, had bemoaned his inexperienced offensive line all week to anyone who would listen while he lauded the Michigan team and prepared Notre Dame fans for the arrival of the giant behemoths masquerading as the Michigan line. The stage was set for the clash of the titans. But a small, unassuming pre-med major, senior Reggie Ho, stole the show with his golden right foot.
Michigan came onto the field ranked tenth in the preseason Associated Press poll; The Sporting News had even rated them as the number-one team in the nation. Notre Dame came in ranked 13th in the AP poll, but thanks to opportunistic Irish special teams, a stingy defense, and a potent running attack, the Irish came out on top, 19-17.
On the special teams, sophomore flanker Ricky Watters ran back a punt of 81 yards, bringing back memories of a certain Heisman Trophy winner now playing for the National Football League’s Los Angeles Raiders, Tim Brown.
But of all the players on the field that night, the five-foot-five, 135-pound kicker Reggie Ho stood the tallest with his four field goals, the longest being a 26-yarder with 1:13 left in the game that provided the margin of victory.
“Reggie kicked very well,” said Coach Holtz after the game. “Last year, I talked with Ted Gradel (last year’s kicker) and he told me, ‘Reggie Ho practices the hardest.’ The kid practices in the middle of the winter. I know he isn’t from Krypton, but he tries his hardest.”
Through all the hype (including a feature in Sports Illustrated), Ho kept an unassuming nature and was quick to give credit to anyone but himself.
“I know Tim Grunhard (center) was a good snapper and Pete Graham was a good holder. All I do is kick the ball, just like in practice,” said Ho. “I wasn’t responsible for the win. The whole team was responsible.”
Although Reggie did have a hand—or foot—in the victory, he did not do the job alone. Many of his teammates did an exceptional job.
The game started slowly enough. Tri-captain Mark Green carried the ball for a gain of four, and then a pitch to the left to Green yielded a 14-yard gain and a first down. After two more Green runs and a Tony Rice incompletion, Jim Sexton punted for 48 yards into the Michigan end zone for a touchback, and the Wolverines took over on their own 20-yard line. Michigan went three-and-out, and Wolverine punter Mike Gillette came on to punt. Ho-hum, you say? The fun was just about to begin.
Gillette unleashed a clean 53-yarder, which was fielded at the Notre Dame 19-yard line by Watters. Watters burst up the middle, got a key block from freshman Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, and then jaunted down the left sideline untouched for an 81-yard touchdown. Before you could say “Look out, Bo,” Notre Dame was up 7-0.
Watters’ punt return for a touchdown was the first since Tim Brown’s against Air Force in 1987, and it was the longest since 1954, when Joe Heap returned a punt 94 yards against USC. It was the first of two punts that Watters would run back for touchdowns in 1988.
The teams traded possessions until Michigan got the ball back with 6:37 left in the first quarter. After a short run and a penalty, Michigan quarterback Michael Taylor was sacked for a three-yard loss by sophomore nose tackle Chris Zorich and Frank Stams—the first of Stams’ two sacks of Taylor. After a punt and a nice 16-yard return by Watters, Notre Dame got the ball on their own 42-yard line with good field position.
On first down, Green was stopped for no gain. Then sophomore tailback Tony Brooks exploded through the line for 19 yards. Two plays later, quarterback Tony Rice kept the ball on an option and scampered 16 yards to the Michigan 22. Finally, on fourth-and-three from the Michigan 15, Ho kicked the first of his four field goals, and the score stood at 10-0 in favor of Notre Dame at the end of the first quarter.
The halftime statistics revealed trends that would hold for the game. The “young and inexperienced” offensive line of Notre Dame performed admirably. In the first half, Notre Dame outrushed Michigan by a whopping 54-yard spread, with sophomore tailback Tony Brooks leading the way with 43 yards on five carries. The much-heralded offensive line of Michigan (which, by the way, averaged a monstrous 6’3” and 271 pounds) had been handled, and Notre Dame had controlled the line of scrimmage.
After the game, Coach Holtz praised his offensive line, which he had bemoaned just 24 hours earlier.
“The offensive line did well in opening up the holes, but I was disappointed in our first-half passing game,” said Holtz.
The passing game was indeed disappointing. Rice was zero-for-eight with an interception, and he showed none of the passing skills he would display in later games. In fact, for the game, he was three-for-12 for 40 yards with one interception. It was the linemen, led by senior tri-captain Andy Heck, and the running backs who carried the offensive load in the first half.
In the third quarter, Michigan got the only score, but not without some controversy. After recovering a Watters fumble at the Notre Dame 14-yard line, a series of plays resulted in Coach Holtz running on to the field to protest a call.
First, after several Michigan delays because of the tremendous crowd noise (Michigan was working in the end of the stadium where the Notre Dame students sat), Taylor threw an incomplete pass intended for Greg McMurtry in the end zone, but Notre Dame was called for pass interference, and Michigan got a first-and-goal from the five-yard line.
“I didn’t think the ball was catchable, and I thought the flag was a little late,” said Holtz. “Even though I have glasses and I wear bifocals, I thought that there was no way he could catch the ball unless he had a ticket in section 18.”
Michigan gained one yard on the next play, and then the fun really started. Urged on by the Notre Dame defense, the student section erupted and was so loud, Michigan refused to snap the ball. After a few minutes of this, Notre Dame was called for a delay of game penalty and a loss of a time-out. Holtz was furious and went on to the field.
“I simply wanted to voice my opinion to the officials,” said Holtz. “I think that was the only time I lost my poise. I’m proud of that.”
Notre Dame got the time-out back when the penalty was rescinded, but the Irish were still displeased with how the officials handled the whole situation.
“We played at Alabama, we played at Miami, and it was twice as loud as that,” said senior tri-captain and inside linebacker Ned Bolcar. “Michigan was looking for some cheap yards. I kept telling the official that a lot of these people were Michigan fans.”
Michigan got the touchdown, however, on a naked bootleg left by Taylor. Gillette converted the extra point, and it was 14-13, Michigan. That’s the way it stood entering the fourth and final quarter.
During the fourth quarter, each team connected on a field goal, and with 1:13 left in the game, Ho put through his fourth field goal, making the score 19-17, Notre Dame.
But the drama was not over yet. Michigan managed to take the ensuing kickoff and drive down to the Notre Dame 31-yard line, where, with three seconds left on the clock, Gillette lined up for a 48-yard field goal, which would have won the game for Michigan.
“I just wanted to hit it like an extra point,” said Gillette. “Everything felt good, but I probably kicked it a little short. It is a shame when you come back like that on the road and you lose it on a bleeping field goal.”
The kick went up, and the Michigan band ran for the field. But when the ball came down short and wide right, the Notre Dame students exploded and the Irish were off and running on a season which would prove quite historic, indeed.
In the end, both coaches agreed that Notre Dame had simply outplayed Michigan.
“We gave up a lot of yards,” said Bo Schembechler, the Michigan head coach. “I wasn’t satisfied. Notre Dame played a fine game. We were not clean and crisp. We did not open up good holes. In my judgment, they (Notre Dame) deserved to win.”
The Irish had beaten a team which would go on to finish fifth in the final poll with a final record of 9-2-1, including a Rose Bowl victory over Notre Dame’s archrival, the University of Southern California. But for five points, Schembechler’s Wolverines may have been playing for the national championship on New Year’s Day.
This victory vaulted Notre Dame to eighth in the polls. And so began the climb to number one.
The 1988 season opener against Michigan was more than just a victory; it was a statement. With Reggie Ho’s clutch kicking, Ricky Watters’ electrifying punt return, and a defense led by stars like Chris Zorich and Frank Stams, Notre Dame proved they were a force to be reckoned with. This game not only set the tone for a season that would ultimately lead to a national championship, but it also showed the heart, resilience, and unity that defined that 1988 team. As we look back on this unforgettable season, it’s clear that moments like these are what make Notre Dame football so special.