El Paso traded its favorite army green uniforms for the distinctive blue and gold of the University of Notre Dame and the green and orange of the University of Miami during the 2010 Hyundai Sun Bowl, Dec. 31.
In a dream matchup for Sun Bowl organizers (which saw tickets sell out in less than 24 hours, a Sun Bowl record) the Irish defeated the Hurricanes 33-17 in front of 54,021 fans (also a Sun Bowl record).
The Sun City was anything but temperate the night before the matchup as high winds and blowing snow blanketed the area. University of Texas at El Paso employees worked feverishly after sunrise to clear the Sun Bowl turf, which was clean by game time; yet unseasonably cold temperatures remained.
Icy conditions were not enough to keep Sgt. Miguel Leon, a Soldier from 1st Squadron, 13th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, and a Miami native, from watching his hometown team. As one of many Soldiers invited to watch the game from the field level before kickoff, Leon said the chance to watch his Hurricanes here in El Paso was memorable and he was proud that he wasn't alone.
"It's a dream come true," said Leon. "I've been all over this country and all over the world and seeing all of these Miami fans here is proof that no matter where you go, you're always going to find a Miami Hurricane fan."
The Notre Dame-Miami rivalry went back 23 previous games, highlighted in the late 1980s when Notre Dame ended Miami's 36-game regular season winning streak in 1988 and went on to win the national championship. Though the Irish hadn't faced "The U" since 1990 when they upset the Hurricanes 29-20, by the electricity in the stadium, it seemed as the old rivalry was awake once again.
During the week leading up to the game, it was unclear if Miami would go with Jacory Harris or Stephen Morris as quarterback. Harris, a Heisman Trophy hopeful coming into the 2010 campaign, labored through a rough season this year and lost his starting job after losing to the University of Virginia, 24-19, Oct. 31. Morris had sprained his ankle during mid-week practices and his availability was unclear.
Miami interim coach Jeff Stoutland started Harris, and he responded by throwing three interceptions in barely more than a quarter of play before being replaced by the hobbled Morris.
Notre Dame only scored one touchdown off of Harris' interceptions (a 34-yard end zone run by Cierre Wood), but overall they made productive use of their first-half possessions, scoring on five of seven of them.
The Irish led the Hurricanes 27-3 going into the half.
During halftime, after performances from The Band of the Fighting Irish, Notre Dame's marching Band, and The Band of the Hour, Miami's marching band, more than 300 Fort Bliss Soldiers joined servicemembers from all military branches and recording artist Lee Greenwood for an on-field tribute to America. Master Sgt. Marshall Fife, a Soldier from 125th Brigade Support Battalion "Mustangs," 3rd IBCT, 1st AD, who helped organize the Soldiers pre-game and halftime participations, said from a community standpoint, bringing two legendary college football teams to El Paso was a touchdown for the city.
"This is a great opportunity for the community to have these two teams here," said Fife. "It brings some financial income to help some of the local businesses and it looks like it was a great turnout."
Both teams visited Bliss over multiple days during Sun Bowl week, among other outings, and Fife said each program did a great job in embracing the Sun City just as its residents embraced them all the way up through kickoff.
"The Sun Bowl committee did a great job in getting these kids out to experience El Paso's culture while also bringing El Paso in to enjoy these two great teams," said Fife.
"Third-quarter action" was an oxymoron as one David Ruffer (4-5 FG) field goal for the Irish accounted for the only points scored.
The fourth quarter saw a surge of urgency from the Miami side of the field as Morris (22-33, 282 yards 2 TDs) hit Hurricanes receiver Leonard Hankerson (6 receptions, 71 yards) and Tommy Streeter for late-game touchdowns to pull within 13 at 30-17, but yet another Ruffer field goal with 1:21 left put the game on ice and sealed a 33-17 win for the Irish.
Minutes after hoisting the 2010 Hyundai Sun Bowl championship trophy high overhead on behalf of the Notre Dame faithful, Irish first-year head coach Brian Kelly said his team had a game plan and executed it well in the Sun City.
"Getting off to a great start was very important to us," said Kelly. "From our standpoint, offensively and defensively, we played a great game."
Stoutland, who as interim coach led the Hurricanes for the last time as former Temple University head coach Al Golden has been hired to fill the position in 2011, dejectedly agreed with Kelly's assessment.
"We played a very, very good football team who executed on both sides of the ball," he said. "Unfortunately we weren't able to stay with them. I really felt going into halftime - I know it's hard to believe - that we would come out and do some good things, but it didn't happen."
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