On October 15, 1988, Notre Dame cornerback Pat Terrell made a pivotal defensive play against the Miami Hurricanes at Notre Dame Stadium. With the game on the line, Terrell, wearing number 15, deflected a pass intended for Miami's Leonard Conley, number 28, preserving a lead that helped the Fighting Irish secure a signature victory.
The play became a defining moment in head coach Lou Holtz's tenure, illustrating the defensive intensity that propelled Notre Dame to a national championship that season. Photographer John Biever captured the sequence for Sports Illustrated, immortalizing Terrell's outstretched hand as the ball sailed incomplete.
Decades later, the moment remains a touchstone for Notre Dame fans, symbolizing the program's resilience under Holtz. The play is revisited in a new feature examining how a single defensive stop can alter the trajectory of a historic season.
