The Canes went for the two-point conversion and missed as Notre Dame's safety Pat Terrell batted down the ball. The loss snapped a 36-game, regular season winning streak for the Miami Hurricanes. Rice, who opened up the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, completed 8 of 16 passes for 195 yards—which included a 9-yard touchdown pass to running back Braxston Banks in the second quarter. No. 1 Notre Dame ran its record to a perfect 10-0 by defeating Penn State, 21-3, at home on November 19. In doing so, Tony Rice performed at a high level while completing the longest pass play of his career—a 67 yarder to flanker Raghib "Rocket" Ismail for a touchdown. Rice went 10-of-18 passing for 181 yards while rushing 15 times for a game-high 84 yards and a touchdown. The game was never in jeopardy as the Irish had built a 14-0 lead in the 2nd quarter. A week later, #1 Notre Dame visited #2 USC at the L.A. Coliseum. The USC team led by All-American and future Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner Rodney Peete was 10-0 and a truly formidable team. Entering the game Peete was leading the nation in passing and was a frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy. Notre Dame would additionally be playing without leading pass catcher Ricky Watters, and leading rusher Tony Brooks, both of whom were suspended for arriving late to team meetings. Tony Rice would have a spectacular day, including a breathtaking 65-yard touchdown run on the Irish's first drive. The Irish would win the game handily 27-10 and propel them into the National Championship game. Rice finished the contest rushing 13 times for 86 yards and completing 5 of 9 passes for 91 yards against the Trojans. Coming into the 1989 Fiesta Bowl, Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz insisted that his team couldn't pass the ball against West Virginia. Tony Rice simply smiled and agreed. But by the end of the game he had outplayed Mountaineer quarterback Major Harris, who went down with an injury early in the game, by completing 7 of 11 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns. Rice would finish the year with 1,176 yards and 8 touchdowns passing and 700 yards and 9 touchdowns rushing. Tony Rice entered his senior season with high expectations following all the successes from a year ago. Preseason ranked No. 2 Notre Dame faced a brutal schedule that included monster games against five ranked opponents.