The next season, on October 9, top-ranked Notre Dame defeated second-ranked Michigan in the first matchup of top teams since the creation of the AP Poll in 1936.

In October 1887, DeHaven wrote to Brother Paul, who ran Notre Dame's intramural athletics program, telling him about the new game of football.

[10][14] The Notre Dame student newspaper, Scholastic, reported: "It was not considered a match contest, as the home team had been organized only a few weeks, and the Michigan boys, the champions of the West, came more to instruct them in the points of the Rugby game than to win fresh laurels.

[12] The Notre Dame paper reported: "At 1 o'clock carriages were taken for Niles, and amidst rousing cheers the University of Michigan football team departed, leaving behind them a most favorable impression.

On March 24, 1888, the Notre Dame student newspaper reported: "Mr. DeHaven writes from Ann Arbor that the boys from the University of Michigan have such pleasant remembrances of their Thanksgiving game here that they would like to play here again.

A newspaper account reported that Michigan's defense was generally good, and the team's overall performance against Notre Dame was "much superior" to that displayed in the prior week's game against Western Reserve.

[23] Although Notre Dame did not score on Michigan, its captain, Louis J. Salmon, demonstrated why he had earned "the reputation of being the hardest line bucker in the west.

E. A. Batchelor, a sportswriter for the Detroit Free Press, submitted a report on the game with the headline: "'Shorty' Longman's Fighting Irishmen Humble the Wolverines to Tune of 11 to 3.

[10] After the long hiatus, Michigan athletic director and head coach Fritz Crisler arranged with Elmer Layden for two games to be played with Notre Dame during the 1942 and 1943 seasons.

Notre Dame, coached by Frank Leahy and led by 1943 Heisman Trophy winner Angelo Bertelli, came into the game ranked #1 in the AP Poll with 53 first place votes.

According to the United Press game account, Bertelli's passing "caught the Wolverine secondary flatfooted and out of position repeatedly to make the rout complete.

In the Chicago Daily Tribune, Wilfrid Smith analogized to the 1927 Long Count Fight and wrote that the period "will be remembered as the 'long third quarter' of collegiate sport.

After the final poll was released before the bowls, as was the custom in those days, Notre Dame was awarded the AP National Title and trophy, which the school still holds.

"From Grantland Rice down through the ranks of the nation's top sports writers assembled in the Rose Bowl press box yesterday there was nothing but glowing expletives for the synchronized Michigan Wolverine wrecking crew that powered over Southern California, 49–0.

While for the most part hedging from a comparison of Michigan with Notre Dame, the consensus of the scribes was that the offensive-minded Ann Arbor squad deserved no less than a co-rating with the Irish as America's Number One Collegiate eleven.

[36] Detroit Free Press sports editor Lyall Smith argued the debate should be answered by comparing the two teams' performance against common opponents.

Notre Dame dropped USC, 36 to 7, in what Coach Frank Leahy termed his team's 'greatest game of the year,' while Michigan slaughtered the same Trojans, 49 to 0.

The AP's final poll of the top ten teams, released Dec. 8 at the conclusion of the regulation season, resulted in Notre Dame winning first place with 1,410 points.

"[38] Another AP report indicated the special poll was "conducted by popular demand" to answer "the burning sports question of the day" and to do so "at the ballot box.

The AP reported: "The nation's sports writers gave the final answer Tuesday to the raging controversy on the relative strength of the Notre Dame and Michigan football teams, and it was the Wolverines over the Irish by almost two to one — including those who saw both powerhouses perform....

Opinion of the 54 writers who saw both in action last fall coincided at almost the same ratio, with 33 giving the nod to Michigan, 17 to Notre Dame, and four voting for a tie.

"[41] Commenting on the special poll, Michigan coach Fritz Crisler said "the men who voted couldn't have made a mistake if they had picked either team."

[10] Michigan's new head coach, Bo Schembechler, was reportedly delighted at the chance to face his close friend and former mentor Ara Parseghian.

"[10] By the time the two teams squared off in 1978, both coaches were correct: Ara had indeed left Notre Dame and Dan Devine had taken his place and the Wolverines delivered a thorough "whipping," 28–14.

With four seconds left on the clock, Oliver atoned for his earlier missed extra point by kicking a 51-yard field goal as time ran out for a 29–27 Irish victory.

Trailing 24–14 in the third quarter, the Irish got a lucky bounce, or carom when an errant third down pass intended for Raghib Ismael found its way into the arms of receiver Lake Dawson and kept a scoring drive alive.

[10] The Irish took a 27–10 lead in the third quarter and were poised to put the game out of reach when fullback Marc Edwards was stuffed on fourth and goal from the Michigan one-yard-line.

Michigan then drove 99 yards for a touchdown and closed the gap to four with less than a minute to go before Notre Dame recovered an onside kick to preserve a 27–23 victory.

Poor clock management proved costly for Notre Dame as the Irish, out of timeouts, drove frantically downfield only to have time run out when they could not get out of bounds.

(A 1927 Notre Dame – Southern California game at Soldier Field in Chicago, prior to NCAA record keeping for attendance, drew an estimated 117,000 – 123,000.