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Miami Hurricanes football history

The 1993 Miami Hurricanes Take A Step Back

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The 1993 Miami Hurricanes were a solid football team by any reasonable measure. Any measure that is, except the one the program had established in the preceding decade. A Cinderella national title in 1983 was followed by titles in 1987, 1989 and 1991. The ‘Canes narrowly missed more two more titles in 1986 and 1988. For seven years running, they had finished in the top three of the final national polls.

But the end to the 1992 season showed a crack in the armor. Miami went to the Sugar Bowl ranked #1 and heavily favored to defeat #2 Alabama. Instead, the Hurricanes were beaten decisively. They were licking their wounds and trying to re-establish their mojo in 1993.

The defense was the strong point of the team and that unit was anchored up front. Kevin Patrick was an All-American defensive lineman. Darren Krein was second-team All-American. In the secondary, Dexter Siegler got some love in the All-American voting. Overall, the D ranked seventh in the nation in points allowed.

It was the offense which stumbled and it started with instability at quarterback. Frank Costa and Ryan Collins shared duties. Collins’ overall production was better—60 percent completion rate and 8.3 yards-per-attempt, compared to 54 percent and 6.7 for Costa. But Collins also threw twice as many interceptions.

Nor was the running game as potent as it had been in years past. James Stewart had a good year, rushing for over 600 yards at nearly six yards a carry. But Donnell Bennett, who got the most carries, had a pedestrian 563 yards and was held under four a pop. The receivers were good—Chris T. Jones, Jonathan Harris and A.C. Tellison could stretch the field. But the revolving door at quarterback prevented any of them from posting huge numbers. Miami ended up 34th in the country in points scored.

1993 was the first year the Big East would be a full-fledged football conference, playing a complete round-robin schedule. It was an eight-team league. Miami, obviously, was the favorite and the flagship program. Boston College, Virginia Tech, Syracuse and West Virginia were expected to produce respectable teams. Pitt and Rutgers were seen as subpar. Temple was simply awful.

Miami had played a number of games against these teams when they were all independents and the last time they had lost one was 1984 against Boston College, a legendary game when Doug Flutie’s desperation pass to Gerald Phelan on the final play became one for the ages. So perhaps it was fitting that a road trip to BC was how Miami would open this 1993 season.

This was a Top 20 game on the Saturday before Labor Day, with the Hurricanes ranked fifth nationally and the Eagles ranked #20. Miami made a strong early statement. They sacked BC quarterback Glenn Foley four times and intercepted him three more. The ‘Canes completely shut down the run. Costa went 15/31 for 205 yards. The final was 23-7 and the BC touchdown didn’t come until very late in the game.

Virginia Tech came to Coral Gables and the defense was again locked in, delivering a 21-2 win. The only points Miami had allowed in two weeks against pretty good teams were a meaningless touchdown and a safety.

A difficult September schedule continued with a trip to play #13 Colorado and the first problems popped up. Not at first—Bennett rushed for 123 yards and Miami led 35-15 in the fourth quarter. Then they gave up two touchdowns and the Buffaloes got the ball back. Colorado drove to the Miami 11-yard line before a facemask penalty set them back and the Hurricanes hung on for the 35-29 win.

The big story of the game afterwards though, was a brawl that had broken out just before halftime. Both benches cleared and overall, twelve players were ejected. Coaches for both teams—Dennis Erickson for Miami and Colorado’s Bill McCartney admitted there was shared fault. But given Miami’s reputation for such antics—most notably their huge number of unsportsmanlike penalties in 1990 against Texas—it was the ‘Canes who took the brunt of the public relations hit.

They returned home and cleaned up on Georgia Southern, a non-Division I program, in an easy 30-7 win. That set the stage for a trip to Florida State.

The Miami-Florida State rivalry of this era was the stuff of legend, easily the top rivalry in college football from a national perspective and probably the hottest rivalry in all of sports. And Miami consistently got the best of their in-state brethren. This year, the Seminoles were ranked #1 in the country and everyone was wondering if they could finally get over the hump that was Miami.

In previous years, Miami might have thrived on such a challenge. But they did not play well on this day and lost 28-10. The Hurricanes were still #6 in the polls, but their national championship hopes had taken a seemingly fatal hit.

Miami came to a soft part of the schedule and blasted Syracuse, Temple and Pitt by a combined score of 126-14. A 31-17 win over Rutgers wasn’t impressive, but the ‘Canes were back up to #4 in the polls. They needed a lot of help to have a serious national championship shot. But that help was coming.

On the same day as Miami’s win over Rutgers, Florida State lost to second-ranked and undefeated Notre Dame. A week later, the Irish turned around and lost to Boston College. The national championship picture was in utter chaos.

The only two undefeated teams left were Nebraska and West Virginia…and the Hurricanes would visit the Mountaineers in the game that started just after the conclusion of Notre Dame’s upset loss to BC. The Miami-West Virginia game was now more than a battle for the inaugural Big East title, it was going to shape how the national championship picture looked.

For those of us that hated the ‘Canes back in the day, it was like a bad dream that would never end. You couldn’t let this team off the mat. But this was a different Miami team than what we were used to. Again, they did not play well in a big road game. Some missed West Virginia opportunities allowed the ‘Canes to take a 14-10 lead into the fourth quarter, but a punt return gave the Mountaineers a short field and they drove it for the winning touchdown.

Miami wrapped up the season with a 41-17 win over a respectable Memphis team. The Hurricanes were still ranked #10 and they still got a major bowl bid—a Fiesta Bowl matchup with #16 Arizona. There was still an opportunity to go out on a good note.

But this was a program for whom nothing less than the national championship was worth playing for. Arizona, by contrast, was hungry and welcomed the opportunity. They had a terrific defense, led by defensive end Tedy Bruschi. In a season marked by spotty performances in big games, Miami played their worst one yet in a 29-0 loss. They concluded the season ranked #15.

It was an un-Miami like finish and started a two-year cycle where the Hurricanes would be a good, contending team. But they would also be a team that clearly was a notch below the superpowers we’d all become accustomed to seeing come out of Coral Gables. And the latter part of the 1990s would not be good ones for Miami football.

1985 Miami Hurricanes: The National Title Push Comes Just Short

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Miami had exploded onto the national stage in 1983 when they won a stunning national title over Nebraska. The mastermind behind it, Howard Schnellenberger, immediately left to the United States Football League, a fledgling organization that had a brief splash in challenging the NFL.

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Jimmy Johnson took over and 1984 was a little more trying. The Hurricanes made a major bowl, the Fiesta, but defensive problems down the stretch led to high-scoring losses against Maryland, Boston College and to UCLA in the Fiesta Bowl. The 1985 Miami Hurricanes were unranked to start the season and had a lot of work ahead to regain national respect.

Vinny Testaverde took over at quarterback for the departed Bernie Kosar. Testaverde threw for over 3,200 yards, averaging 9.2 YPA and completing 61 percent of his passes. He finished with a 21/15 TD-INT ratio in leading the most pass-oriented offense of all ten teams that reached major bowl games.

Sophomore Michael Irvin is the big name among the receivers, and he finished with 840 yards, joining Brian Blades as a big-play threat on the outside. Irvin averaged over 18 yards a catch, while Blades was almost at 22 yards per catch.

But the best target in 1985 was tight end Willie Smith, who caught 48 passes for 669 yards and was a consensus All-American selection. In the backfield, Alonzo Highsmith and Warren Williams gave some balance to the attack.

Miami still lost 35-23 to Florida to open the year and there was no reason to think this would be a big year in Coral Gables. The Hurricanes got themselves back on track with a rout over lowly Rice 48-20. Miami blew out Boston College 45-10, which was nice payback for Doug Flutie’s legendary desperation pass a year earlier, but Flutie was gone and BC wasn’t very good. Miami beat two more sub-.500 teams in East Carolina, 27-15 and Cincinnati, 38-0.

October 19 would be one of the most significant days in football history. Miami, still unranked, traveled to Oklahoma to play the third-ranked Sooners.

Midway through the first quarter, Testaverde hit Irvin with a touchdown pass. Oklahoma answered, when their sophomore quarterback Troy Aikman hit tight end Keith Jackson on a 50-yard pass that set up the tying touchdown. Later in the second quarter came the play that altered the course of history.

Hurricane defensive tackle Jerome Brown broke through and sacked Aikman. The quarterback broke his ankle and was gone for the year. Because of this, Oklahoma would revert to its wishbone, option-oriented attack of years past. Aikman would transfer to UCLA and play in a pro-style scheme, turning into the #1 pick in the draft.

Aikman would be picked by the Dallas Cowboys in 1989 and their rookie head coach named Jimmy Johnson. Aikman won two Super Bowls for Johnson, playing with Michael Irvin. Then he won a third, after Switzer took over the Cowboys. And all the while, Jerome Brown was with the division rival Philadelphia Eagles, playing several big games against Johnson, Aikman and Switzer.

In the short-term, Oklahoma was a mess for the rest of this game. Testaverde threw for 270 yards and Miami pulled away to a 27-15 win. They moved to #15 in the polls.

A 45-7 win over lowly Louisville set up a trip to 10th-ranked Florida State. Miami trailed 24-14 at the half and 27-21 with a little more than eleven minutes left. Testaverde was in the groove though, throwing for 339 yards. He threw the go-ahead touchdown with 9:55 to go, and then added another TD pass with three minutes left. Miami won 35-27 and cracked the Top 10, at #8.

The ‘Canes traveled to Maryland, to whom they had blown a 31-0 lead and lost a year earlier. This was a good Terps team, one whose only other losses were to Penn State—who would conclude the regular season undefeated—and Michigan, who lost just once.

Add Miami to the list of excellent teams that beat Maryland, this one 29-22. It moved the Hurricanes to #4 and they followed it up by beating Colorado State 24-3.

In the season finale at home, Miami brought a miserable end to the Notre Dame coaching career of Gerry Faust, beating the Irish 58-7 and drawing a national media backlash for running it up (something Faust does not blame Johnson for and for which the charge is unfair). Either way, the negative media coverage didn’t’ prevent Miami from being ranked #2 going into the Sugar Bowl against Tennessee.

The buildup to New Year’s Night had Johnson on the campaign trail. Penn State was #1, the nation’s only undefeated team and would be a clear #1 if they won the Orange Bowl against Oklahoma. The Sooners were #3 and the media hype was saying that OU would vault to the top spot if they beat the Nittany Lions.

How could that be, Johnson wanted to know, given the head-to-head result in Norman? The odds are good that in such a scenario there would have been a split national title, something that makes no sense in light of Miami’s decisive win over Oklahoma. But there was never a chance to find out. Because all of Johnson’s campaigning was finding a receptive audience—in the Tennessee locker room, where they found the presumptiveness of a Hurricane bowl win to be insulting.

Miami started well, taking a 7-0 lead on the first possession, keyed by a successful fake punt conversion. Then Tennessee and their fans took over. The Superdome was packed to the brim with gaudy orange, and the crowd noise, along with Tennessee’s constant blitzing, something Testaverde had not been subjected to all year, gave this game an unexpected turn.

Tennessee tied the game early in the second quarter and took the lead at 14-7 with five minutes to go before halftime. Miami couldn’t run the ball, gaining only 32 yards on the ground. Testaverde threw four interceptions. The Vols were able to get the running game going and their second quarter momentum turned into an avalanche. Miami lost 35-7. Oklahoma did beat Penn State in the Orange Bowl, but it wouldn’t matter to anyone in New Orleans.

But neither the Hurricanes nor their head coach were going away. Under Johnson, Miami won the national championship in 1987 and came within one play of doing so in 1986 and 1988. Johnson would go to the NFL and win Super Bowls. Miami rolled on to two more national titles in 1989 and 1991. All’s well that ends well and the 1985 Miami Hurricanes were the team that re-established the program in the national elite.

1983 Miami Hurricanes: A Historic National Championship Run

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The Miami football program had been in the doldrums when Howard Schnellenberger took over as head coach in 1979 and after a 5-6 opening year, promptly went 25-9 over the next three seasons. The 1983 Miami Hurricanes were clearly a team on the rise, but no one could have guessed they would win one of the sport’s most historic national championships by season’s end.

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Schnellenberger had freshman Bernie Kosar at quarterback, who would go on to an outstanding NFL career with the Cleveland Browns. Kosar threw for over 2,300 yards, completed 61 percent of his passes and averaged 7.1 yards-per-attempt, while orchestrating one of the more sophisticated passing attacks in the country.

Kosar’s favorite target was tight end Glenn Dennison, who caught 54 passes for 594 yards. The best big-play threat was Eddie Brown, who got 640 yards out of his 30 catches. Stanley Shakespeare was good for 34 more receptions.

Albert Bentley caught 32 passes out of the backfield and ran for 722 yards. Keith Griffin rushed for 447 in a well-balanced attack that moved the football around. The defense was led by linebacker Jay Brophy, who got some votes for All-American at the end of the season.

Miami still opened the season unranked and when they were beat up by a good Florida team, 28-3, there was no reason to expect a special season in the works.

Easy games against Houston and Purdue led to easy wins of 29-7 and 35-0. On the final weekend of September, 13th-ranked Notre Dame came to Coral Gables. The Hurricanes dominated in a 20-0 win and were rewarded with the Irish spot in the rankings at #13.

Another soft part of the schedule followed, with Duke, Louisville, Mississippi State and Cincinnati all finishing with losing records. Miami rolled to four easy wins, outscoring the opposition 146-45 and were up to #7 in the polls when West Virginia came rolling into town on the final weekend of October.

The Mountaineers were ranked 12th and had future pro Jeff Hostetler at quarterback. It was realistically an elimination game for major bowl consideration and the Hurricane defense was ready. They held West Virginia to two yards rushing. Miami sacked Hostetler five times in spite of only rushing three men.

WVA head coach Don Nehlen gave his opponent the supreme compliment by pulling Hostetler, feeling they could no longer keep him safe. Kosar went 19/36 for 211 yards, with Dennison pulling in in seven catches. The final was 20-3 and at #5 in the country, Miami was at the forefront of possible opponents for top-ranked Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.

The ‘Canes didn’t play well in a home game with East Carolina, but they won 12-7. A bigger test came at Florida State to end the season. The Seminoles were only 6-4, but this game was played with the competitiveness that would make it the hottest rivalry in sports within five years.

FSU led 16-14 in the fourth quarter, with an early safety threatening to be the difference. Miami kicker Jeff Davis had already missed field goals of 46 & 41. Instead of enduring the same kind of infamy that Seminole kickers would in the early 1990s, Davis got another chance.

Kosar drove his team to the two-yard line and Davis kicked a simple 19-yarder on the final play to win 17-16. Miami got the nod to the Orange Bowl, and with the three teams between them and Nebraska in the polls—Texas, Auburn and Illinois—all playing in different bowls, Miami had a theoretical path to the national title.

When Texas and Illinois lost prior to the Orange Bowl kickoff, the door was opened a little further. But it wasn’t something being seriously talked about. Miami was still a 10 ½ point underdog to a Nebraska team considered the greatest of all time.

But the Cornhuskers had weaknesses on defense and in the kicking game that hadn’t been tested all year. The ‘Canes would put them to the test. They blocked a field goal. Kosar went to work. He began carving up the Nebraska defense, twice finding Dennison for touchdown passes and building up a 17-0 lead.

The Cornhuskers certainly didn’t go quietly though. A trick play got them on the board and soon it was back to a tie game at 17-17. Now, surely it was team for the top-ranked team to assert themselves the rest of the way, right?

Wrong. Miami bounced back with consecutive touchdown drives of 70-plus yards of 31-17. Even when Nebraska responded with a TD early in the fourth quarter, Kosar drove the Hurricanes down to the Cornhusker 25. Davis came on to attempt what would surely be a clinching field goal.

He missed. Nebraska had one more chance and they drove it down to the 26-yard line. On 3rd-and-8, a dropped pass in the end zone seemed to ensure it would be Miami’s night. But the Cornhuskers were great because of their running game and even on 4th-and-8, they ran the option. It not only worked, it produced a touchdown.

Nebraska could choose to kick the extra point and settle for a tie. Overtime didn’t exist in college football until 1996. The fact Texas—the only other unbeaten team—had lost, made it certain that a tie would win the national championship for the Cornhuskers.

But Nebraska coach Tom Osborne believed champions play to win. They came out for a two-point conversion, winner-take-all with 48 seconds to play.

Hurricane safety Ken Calhoun was the hero. Nebraska running back Jeff Smith was open on the goal line and the pass was on target. But Calhoun was able to get his fingers in there to deflect the pass. Miami covered the onside kick and the upset was complete.

Now it was up to the voters. Auburn had beaten Michigan in the Sugar Bowl, but the 9-7 win hadn’t inspired anyone. Miami was riding a huge wave of media momentum into the vote. Even though the Hurricanes had only beaten two bowl teams all year (including the Orange Bowl), while Auburn had beaten eight, it was Miami voted as national champs.

If it sounds like I think Auburn should have won the vote, that’s correct. In either case though, Miami had overturned the establishment I college football. The program became a dynasty, winning national titles in 1987, 1989 and 1991, along with a resurgence in 2001. They had near-misses in 1985, 1986, 1988, 1992 and 2002. It all started with a landmark night in South Beach on January 2, 1984.

1987 Miami Hurricanes: A Redemptive National Championship Run

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The 1987 Miami Hurricanes were in need of some redemption. Each of the last two years they’d gone into the major bowls in position for a national title. Each time they lost as a favorite.

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The first one came to Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl following the 1985 season. Worse was a loss to Penn State in the previous year’s Fiesta Bowl, when a Hurricane team stocked with future NFL talent lost to a squad that was basically a nice college team.

The program might have a 1983 national title to fall back on, but current head coach Jimmy Johnson did not. Since coming to Miami in 1984 to replace Howard Schnellenberger, Johnson was 0-3 in bowl games.

Expectations were lower in 1987 and the preseason ranking was #10. Steve Walsh replaced Heisman-winning quarterback Vinny Testaverde. Walsh posted good, if unspectacular numbers in ‘87—he completed 59 percent of his passes, which was pretty good for this era. He got 7.5 yards-per-attempt and the TD/INT ratio was 19-7.

Walsh had plenty of skill position talent to get the ball to, starting with wide receiver Michael Irvin. The future Dallas Cowboy star and NFL Hall of Famer was honorable mention All-American in 1987. Irvin caught 44 balls for 715 yards. The complementary targets included Brian Blades and the top two running backs, Melvin Bratton and Warren Williams were both good out of the backfield.

The running game was well-balanced and consistent. Williams led the way with 673 yards and averaged five yards a pop. Bratton and Leonard Conley chipped in by combining for nearly 900 yards. The Hurricane offense ranked sixth in the nation in scoring.

But defense was the signature of this team. Free safety Bennie Blades was a co-winner of the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s best defensive back. Daniel Stubbs was an All-American defensive end. George Mira Jr. was the team leader at linebacker, a position he was joined at by Randy Shannon, a future head coach for this program. Miami’s defense finished second in the nation.

The season opened at home against 20th-ranked Florida and the Hurricane defense made a quick statement. They sacked talented Gator quarterback Kerwin Bell five times and picked him off three more times. Walsh showed he was ready to handle the duties of running the Miami offense, going 17/27 for 254 yards. All the scoring took place with the Hurricane offense on the field. They scored 31 points, but also were stopped for a couple safeties in a strange 31-4 final score.

The ‘Canes got some down time and after this September 5 win, they didn’t play again for three weeks, when they went to Arkansas. The Razorbacks were ranked #10 and there was a big storyline—Jimmy Johnson was a former Arkansas player and later a coach.

Those close to Johnson knew he was bitter at having been passed over for the Arkansas head coaching job. In front of a sellout crowd at War Memorial Stadium, he showed no mercy on his alma mater. Miami scored on eight straight possessions. By the second quarter, the score was 28-0 and the Hurricane reserves were coming into the game. It was 38-0 by the half and ended 51-7. Miami moved up to third in the national polls.

The Hurricanes had no time to celebrate. A difficult schedule got tougher when they went to Tallahassee on October 3. Florida State was ranked #4 and they came blazing out of the gates. The proud ‘Cane defense was gashed for a 67-yard touchdown run. The normally reliable special teams gave up a big punt return to Deion Sanders that set up points.

But FSU’s kicking game failures—a missed extra point and field goal, left four points on the table. Miami was in deep trouble in the third quarter, down 19-3, but it was still a two-possession game. And the Hurricanes came back.

A 49-yard touchdown pass to Bratton and two-point conversion cut the lead to 19-11 Walsh threw a 29-yard touchdown strike to Michael Irvin. The Hurricanes again converted the two-point play. Miami made another opportunistic play, recovering a fumble to snuff out a Seminole drive inside the 10-yard line in the fourth quarter. The nudged the ball out to their own 27 and faced 3rd-and-7 with 2:32 left.

The pass route called for Irvin to run and out-and-up. Walsh hit him in perfect stride. Irvin didn’t stop until he was in the end zone. 26-19 Hurricanes.

Now it was Florida State’s turn to rally. The converted a 4th-and-8, then got a 42-yard touchdown pass, both with fantastic catches by receivers. The ‘Noles had to decide whether to play for the win or tie in the pre-overtime era of college football. They opted for the win.

The pass went into the right corner of the end zone, but there was double coverage and the ball was batted down. The Hurricanes covered the onside kick with 0:42 left and ran out the clock.

Miami stayed at #3 in the polls, but they controlled their own destiny. Oklahoma and Nebraska were 1-2 and would play each other for an Orange Bowl berth in November. If the Hurricanes won out, they could get the winner in a national championship game.

The next six games were against sub-.500 teams. They ripped through Maryland, East Carolina, Cincinnati and Miami-Ohio by a combined score of 189-32. The Hurricanes were a little more pedestrian in a 27-13 win over a bad Virginia Tech team. And a 24-14 win over Toledo wasn’t inspiring. But they were still unbeaten and it was time for the final two tests.

Notre Dame came to Coral Gables ranked #10. The Hurricanes simply dominated. Tim Brown, the Irish receiver who won the Heisman in a landslide was held to three catches for 37 yards and took some ferocious hits along the way. The Hurricane defensive front got five sacks and no Irish runner went for more than 28 yards.

Some sloppiness on offense by Miami kept the game deceptively close deep into the first half. Steve Walsh threw an interception that killed one drive and Melvin Bratton fumbled on the one-yard line. But Miami eventually pulled away 24-0.

Johnson told anyone who would listen that South Carolina was better team than the Irish. The Gamecocks were 8-2 and ranked #8. They had a receiver named Sterling Sharpe that would be a five-time Pro Bowl receiver in the NFL before a neck injury cut his career short. They put together a couple nice early drives, but settled for field goals both times. Walsh threw 46 yards to Michael Irvin for a TD, then Sharpe answered with a 47-yard touchdown catch.

Trailing 13-7, Walsh again went over the top to Irving for a 42-yard gain that put Miami in field goal range. Johnson called for a fake and it paid off. The Hurricanes got the first down and kept the drive going to the end zone.

Miami’s defense forced South Carolina quarterback Todd Ellis into an erratic night, as he went 10/28 for 141 yards. Walsh threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Brian Blades. The PAT was blocked and South Carolina stayed within a touchdown at 20-13.

The ultimate difference though, the difference was that Miami got big plays—Walsh finished 22/40 for 340 yards and finished drives with touchdowns. South Carolina drove again, but again settled for a field goal. The Hurricanes had survived 20-16. For the second straight year, Miami completed the regular season 11-0. The Orange Bowl was on deck.

Oklahoma was waiting. The Hurricanes had beaten the Sooners each of the previous two years, but they faced adversity before kickoff even arrived—George Mira Jr., the defensive captain, was suspended for failing a drug test. Bernard Clark would have to step in and step up, and that’s exactly what he did. Clark made fourteen tackles and the Hurricane defense set an early tone by forcing punts on Oklahoma’s first five possessions.

Meanwhile, it didn’t take Miami’s offense long to put the pressure on. On their first possession, they marched to the OU 30-yard line. Walsh dropped back to pass and Bratton slipped out of the backfield and up the left sideline. Walsh hit him in stride and it was 7-0. Oklahoma pulled even just before the half, but even here their offensive problems were exposed–it took them 15 plays to drive a short 45-yard field set up by a Walsh interception.

The Hurricanes came out after halftime and again struck on their first possession. They reached the 39-yard line and Johnson sent out kicker Greg Cox to try what would be a career-long 56-yard field goal attempt. Cox nailed it.

Oklahoma got a drive going and a pass to tight end Keith Jackson was about to set up the Sooners on the Miami 30-yard line. Instead, Jackson was stripped of the football by Selwyn Brown and Shannon. Miami drove right back the other way and Walsh threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Irvin.

Walsh finished 18/30 for 209 yards and he led another drive for points. Cox, having a great night, boomed a 48-yarder. With 2:05 left, the celebration seemed to be kicking in, but Switzer had something left in his bag of tricks. Oklahoma ran the “fumble-rooskie” play. The quarterback takes the snap, sets the ball on the ground near the line of scrimmage and an offensive lineman scoops it up and goes running. It worked for a surprise touchdown.

The lead was cut to 20-14, but it just delayed the inevitable. Miami closed out the game without further incident. Clark was named the Most Outstanding Player for his defensive effort. After the frustration of 1985 and the heartbreak of 1986, Johnson was finally a champion and he jubilantly thrust his arms into the air repeatedly as he got his victory ride from the players.

The Season-Long Narrative Of The 1986 Miami Hurricanes

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The 1986 Miami Hurricanes were loaded with talent on both sides of the ball, and weren’t afraid to let you know it. They spent the entire regular season backing up their talk and looked poised to secure a place in college football history. They did…but for the wrong reasons, as an infamous bowl loss has become an integral part of college football lore.

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Jimmy Johnson had taken over the program following the magical national title run of 1983. After some struggles in the 1984 transition, the Hurricanes had found their mojo again in 1985. They went 10-1, were the only team to beat eventual national champion Oklahoma and only a Sugar Bowl meltdown cost Miami a shot at another championship.

They came back in 1986 led by quarterback Vinny Testaverde. He would complete 63% of his passes for a sterling 9.3 yards-per-attempt. Testaverde threw for over 2,500 yards and in 1986, a 26/9 TD-INT ratio was positively dazzling. He was the runaway winner of the Heisman Trophy.

Testaverde didn’t lack talent around him. Michael Irvin, a future NFL Hall of Famer, was at wide receiver and Irvin caught 53 balls for 868 yards. The backfield was led by Alonzo Highsmith, who would eventually be chosen third overall in the NFL draft. Highsmith’s 442 yards rushing is deceiving—Miami didn’t run the ball a lot, they had depth and were often substituting in during blowouts. Highsmith was a tough physical runner and he also caught thirty balls out of the backfield.

The talent wasn’t all on offense either. Jerome Brown at defensive tackle and Bennie Blades in the secondary were both consensus All-Americans and future high draft choices in the NFL. Miami could do it all—they would average 36 points per game on offense, give up just 12.5 on defense and finish in the top five nationally in both categories.

Preseason polls had the ‘Canes at #3, behind Oklahoma and Michigan. After dismantling South Carolina 34-14 and then beating Florida 23-15, Miami was moved past Michigan. Both wins had been on the road and though Florida would have a mediocre year they were ranked 13th at the time of the game.

A 61-11 beatdown of a decent Texas Tech team set the stage for the game college football fans wanted to see—Oklahoma was coming to Coral Gables on the final weekend of September.

As talented as the Sooners were, the Hurricanes were ideally suited to beat them. Oklahoma’s option-oriented offense was explosive and could simply run past weaker teams. Miami was good enough to stop the dive into the middle, with Brown anchoring the defensive front. And they had the speed to chase Sooner runners down on the outside. Oklahoma might be obliterating everyone else, but Miami had beaten them decisively on the road in 1985 and they would defend their home turf with little problem in 1986.

The ‘Canes led 7-3 at the half and then got two turnovers, which Testaverde immediately converted into points, hitting four straight passes. The lead was 21-3. Testaverde finished the day with four touchdown passes, the final was 28-16 and even that was deceptively close. Miami moved to the top of the polls and the Heisman race all but ended on that day.

It was time for a soft portion of the schedule. The Hurricanes rolled through three losing teams in Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Cincinnati, winning those games by a combined 137-27.

November opened with a home date against Florida State. The Seminoles hadn’t been in a major bowl game since 1980 and they would finish 6-4-1 this year. But they were only a season away from becoming a perennial national contender and their rivalry with Miami would become must-see television. They would give the Hurricanes their stiffest test of the 1986 regular season.

Miami had a rare special teams breakdown, allowing a 105-yard kickoff return off a lateral play and the game was tied 14-14 after the first quarter. Florida State got a couple field goals and nudged out to a 20-14 lead by halftime.

It was Testaverde Time and the quarterback heated up. He threw for two touchdowns, ran for two others, ended up with 315 yards on the day and Miami finally shook off the pesky challenger. They controlled the second half and won 41-23.

That was the last real test of the regular season. Pitt and Tulsa both finished the season with winning records, but were no match for the Miami juggernaut in games that ended 37-10 and 23-10 respectively. The Hurricanes closed the regular season with a 36-10 rout of lowly East Carolina.

Penn State was sitting at #2 in the polls and neither they nor Miami were contractually tied to any of the major bowls. With the Rose, Orange, Sugar and Cotton unable to match them up, the door was open for a new bowl to join college football’s center stage. As the top-ranked team, Miami would determine where they would be.

The bidding war was between the Fiesta Bowl and the Citrus Bowl (known today as the Capital One Bowl). Miami preferred to stay closer to home and play in Orlando, but money talks. The Fiesta moved its game to January 2 on prime-time, giving it separation from the other bowls. The Fiesta and NBC increased the payout and the game would be played in Tempe.

Miami did not conduct themselves well. The players walked out of a steak fry put on by the Fiesta organizers for both teams. The grounds were that a Penn State player had made a racial joke—which was true, though obviously in fun. And in either case, the Miami players admitted the walkout had been planned all along.

They wanted to make a point. It was Brown who said “Did the Japanese eat with Pearl Harbor before they bombed them?” It was a comment monumental in its insensitivity for comparing military loss of life to a football game. And it made Brown sound like an idiot, since one does not “eat” with a military base.

It all fed a “Good vs. Evil” storyline that would aggravate Johnson. In recent years, the revelations that Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was a pedophile has caused some revisiting of this narrative.

I’ve made no bones about the fact that I think PSU head coach Joe Paterno has been smeared by a lazy media and that Paterno deserves his good name back. But in fairness to Miami, you can still allow that Sandusky acted alone and accurately note that the trash talk by the Hurricanes is nothing compared to what Sandusky did. And since Sandusky devised the defensive schemes that would change the course of history, that alone is enough to end the Good vs. Evil narrative.

The Fiesta Bowl remains the most-watched college football game in history. The narrative, the buildup and the prime-time Friday night spot, separate from the other games, all drew people to their sets. And Testaverde failed spectacularly.

Miami’s defense dominated from the outset, with a Brown sack on the first play setting the tone. But Testaverde, confused by the package of 20 different coverages Sandusky had put in place during the weeks leading up to the game threw three interceptions in the first three quarters. Miami also missed a makeable field goal.

In spite of that, they still led 10-7 early in the fourth quarter. But another Testaverde pick was returned inside the 5-yard line and Penn State took a 14-10 lead. When Testaverde converted a 4th-and-6 throw with three minutes left, it triggered a drive that looked ready to save the season. He hit four more passes in succession and had his team set up 1st-and-goal at the 9-yard line with 25 seconds left.

Miami had its timeouts and Highsmith was having a big night on the ground. He had 119 yards on 18 carries. Johnson and his offensive coordinator, Gary Stevens, wanted to pound him. Paterno feared that was exactly what was about to happen. Penn State defensive players have since admitted they were too gassed to stop Highsmith. But Testaverde insisted he was going to pass and he was allowed to have his way.

After a short pass to Irvin put the ball on the 5-yard line, Testaverde was sacked for a 12-yard loss. After another incompletion, the quarterback completed his prime-time meltdown by staring down Perriman in the end zone and throwing his fifth interception of the night.

The 14-10 loss remains an incredible upset as Miami’s lineup of future NFL talent and a future Super Bowl-winning coach had come up short against a team with nowhere near that level of personnel. Johnson would be haunted by the game.

But sports offers second chances and Miami made the most of theirs. They ripped off another undefeated season in 1987, and this time drew Oklahoma in the 1 vs. 2 national title game, at home in the Orange Bowl. Miami won that one. After Johnson left for the Dallas Cowboys, Dennis Erickson took over and the beat kept rolling on, with national titles in 1989 and 1991. This was the program that defined a decade in college football, but one night in Tempe will always stick in its craw.

The Road To The 1986 Sugar Bowl: Tennessee & Miami

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Miami and Tennessee played a game with national championship implications at the 1986 Sugar Bowl, with the Hurricanes looking to get win and get help, while the Volunteers were out to play spoiler. Here’s a look back at the road both teams took through the 1985 college football season before their paths converged in New Orleans on New Year’s Day.

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Tennessee had not reached the Sugar Bowl, the SEC’s contract game, since 1970. But they were winning consistently, having reached nine straight bowls, including four in succession under Johnny Majors, who came to Knoxville after winning a national championship at Pitt in 1976.

Tony Robinson opened the season at quarterback and played well, completing 64% of his passes and getting 8.7 yards per attempt before an injury ended his year. Darryl Dickey stepped in and posted even better numbers, albeit narrowly.

Dickey connected 65 percent of his passes with an 8.9 YPA. And though Dickey attempted almost as many passes as Robinson (131 to 143), the former only had one interception against seven for the starter.

Whomever was at quarterback enjoyed the benefit of All-American receiver Tim McGee a future part of the 1988 Cincinnati Bengals’ Super Bowl team. In 1985, McGee led the SEC in both catches and receiving yards, with 50 and 947 respectively. The running game was led by Keith Davis, who ran for 684 yards and on the other side of the ball Chris White, a running back converted to the secondary, intercepted nine passes.

Tennessee was unranked to open the season, and they would be tested immediately. UCLA, ranked #10 and the eventual Pac-10 champs, came to Knoxville. The game ended in a 26-26 tie. Two weeks later, the Vols hosted top-ranked Auburn.

The first possession let the Tigers know they had trouble. Tennessee marched 76 yards for a score, keyed by a 37-yard pass to McGee. Robinson was brilliant, going 17/30 for 259 yards and four touchdowns. The defense kept the future Heisman Trophy winner, Auburn’s Bo Jackson, under control, allowing him 80 yards and 17 carries. The Vols led 24-0 in the third quarter and won 38-20.

They moved into the polls at #16 and then did not play well in a 31-29 win over a weak Wake Forest team. A 17-10 loss at seventh-ranked Florida sent Tennessee to #20 in the rankings and made an October 19 visit to Alabama must-win for any SEC title hopes.

Tennessee was motivated to win for defensive coordinator Ken Donahue, who had been on the staff for the great Bear Bryant at Alabama. The defense would have to play an outsized role in this game because Robinson broke his leg. The Vols clung to a 16-14 lead and hung on for the win when ‘Bama’s 61-yard field goal missed at the gun.

A non-conference date with a good Georgia Tech team was next—give Majors credit for taking on tough opponents in addition to his SEC slate—and another tie was the result, this one 6-6. Tennessee bounced back with wins over bad teams in Rutgers and Memphis, by scores of 40-0 and 17-7 respectively.

It was mid-November and Tennessee and Florida were tied in the loss column in the SEC race, with one loss apiece. Even though the Gators had the tiebreaker, they had something else—NCAA probation and were ineligible to go to the Sugar Bowl. So the Vols had a half-game lead for the berth in New Orleans over Alabama, LSU and Georgia, with Auburn a game back.

Tennessee blew out mediocre teams in Ole Miss and Kentucky by a combined 76-14. Then the Vols finished the season with a 30-0 win over lowly Vanderbilt. Tennessee shared first place with Florida and moved into the Top 10, at #8 in the polls, as they headed for the Sugar Bowl.

Miami had exploded onto the national stage in 1983 when they won a stunning national title over Nebraska. The mastermind behind it, Howard Schnellenberger, had immediately left to the United States Football League, a fledgling organization that had a brief splash in challenging the NFL.

Jimmy Johnson took over and 1984 was a little more trying. The Hurricanes made a major bowl, the Fiesta, but defensive problems down the stretch led to high-scoring losses against Maryland, Boston College and to UCLA in the Fiesta Bowl. The ‘Canes lost respect nationally and were unranked to start the 1985 season.

Vinny Testaverde took over at quarterback for the departed Bernie Kosar. Testaverde threw for over 3,200 yards, averaging 9.2 YPA, completing 61 percent of his passes and finished with a 21/15 TD-INT ratio in leading the most pass-oriented offense of all ten teams that reached major bowl games.

Sophomore Michael Irvin is the big name among the receivers, and he finished with 840 yards and joined Brian Blades as big-play threats on the outside. Irvin averaged over 18 yards a catch, while Blades was almost at 22 yards per catch.

But the best target in 1985 was tight end Willie Smith, who caught 48 passes for 669 yards and was a consensus All-American selection. In the backfield, Alonzo Highsmith and Warren Williams gave some balance to the attack.

Miami still lost 35-23 to Florida to open the year and there was no reason to think this would be a big year in Coral Gables. The Hurricanes got themselves back on track with a rout over lowly Rice 48-20. Miami blew out Boston College 45-10, which was nice payback for Doug Flutie’s legendary desperation pass a year earlier, but Flutie was gone and BC wasn’t very good. Miami beat two more sub-.500 teams in East Carolina, 27-15 and Cincinnati, 38-0.

October 19 would be one of the most significant days in football history. Miami, still unranked, traveled to Oklahoma to play the third-ranked Sooners.

Midway through the first quarter, Testaverde hit Irvin with a touchdown pass. Oklahoma answered, when their sophomore quarterback Troy Aikman hit tight end Keith Jackson on a 50-yard pass that set up the tying touchdown. Later in the second quarter came the play that altered the course of history.

Hurricane defensive tackle Jerome Brown broke through and sacked Aikman. The quarterback broke his ankle and was gone for the year. Because of this, Oklahoma would revert to its wishbone, option-oriented attack of years past. Aikman would transfer to UCLA and play in a pro-style scheme, turning into the #1 pick in the draft.

He would picked by the Dallas Cowboys and their rookie head coach in Jimmy Johnson. Aikman won two Super Bowls for Johnson, playing with Michael Irvin. Then he won a third, after Switzer took over the Cowboys. And all the while, Jerome Brown was with the division rival Philadelphia Eagles, playing several big games against Johnson, Aikman and Switzer.

In the short-term, Oklahoma was a mess for the rest of this game. Testaverde threw for 270 yards and Miami pulled away to a 27-15 win. They moved to #15 in the polls.

A 45-7 win over lowly Louisville set up a trip to 10th-ranked Florida State. Miami trailed 24-14 at the half and 27-21 with a little more than eleven minutes left. Testaverde was in the groove though, throwing for 339 yards. He threw the go-ahead touchdown with 9:55 to go, and then added another TD pass with three minutes left. Miami won 35-27 and cracked the Top 10, at #8.

The ‘Canes traveled to Maryland, to whom they had blown a 31-0 lead and lost a year earlier. This was a good Terps team, one whose only other losses were to Penn State—who would conclude the regular season undefeated—and Michigan, who lost just once.

Add Miami to the list of excellent teams that beat Maryland, this one 29-22. It moved the Hurricanes to #4. They beat Colorado State 24-3 and then brought a miserable end to the Notre Dame coaching career of Gerry Faust, beating the Irish 58-7 and drawing a national media backlash for running it up (something Faust does not blame Johnson for and for which the charge is unfair). Either way, the negative media coverage didn’t’ prevent Miami from being ranked #2 going into the Sugar Bowl.

The buildup to New Year’s Night had Johnson on the campaign trail. Penn State was #1, the nation’s only undefeated team and would be a clear #1 if they won the Orange Bowl against Oklahoma. The Sooners were #3 and the media hype was saying that OU would vault to the top spot if they beat the Nittany Lions.

How could that be, Johnson wanted to know, given the head-to-head result in Norman? The odds are good that in such a scenario there would have been a split national title, something that makes no sense in light of Miami’s decisive win over Oklahoma. But there was never a chance to find out. Because all of Johnson’s campaigning was finding a receptive audience—in the Tennessee locker room, where they found the presumptiveness of a Hurricane bowl win to be insulting.

Miami started well, taking a 7-0 lead on the first possession, keyed by a successful fake punt conversion. Then Tennessee and their fans took over. The Superdome was packed to the brim with gaudy orange, and the crowd noise, along with Tennessee’s constant blitzing, something Testaverde had not been subjected to all year, gave this game an unexpected turn.

Tennessee tied the game early in the second quarter and took the lead 14-7 with five minutes to go before halftime. The defense intercepted Testaverde four times and completely shut down the Miami running game, with the ‘Canes only able to get 32 yards on the ground. It was a game heavy on penalties, with each team drawing double-digit flags and being charged over 100 penalty yards.

The Vols were the ones who could run the football. Jeff Powell ran for 104 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown jaunt in the third quarter that made the score 28-7 and all but sealed the deal. The game ended 35-7. Oklahoma would beat Penn State in a game that was playing at the same time, but it wouldn’t matter to anyone here.

Tennessee’s Sugar Bowl win announced that they were more than just a bowl team, they were now a regular contender. Majors brought them to three more major bowls, all in succession from 1989-91 and turned the reins over to Philip Fulmer who eventually won a national title in 1998. Miami, of course was not going away. They would win a national title in 1987 and come within one play of doing so in 1986 and 1988. Johnson would go to the NFL and win Super Bowls. Everything turned out well for all involved in the 1986 Sugar Bowl.

The Road To The 1985 Fiesta Bowl: UCLA & Miami

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Miami was the defending national champion, while UCLA had won back-to-back Rose Bowls. Both teams slipped from those lofty heights during the 1984 college football season. But they both made their way back to the New Year’s Day stage and met in the 1985 Fiesta Bowl. Here’s a look back at the paths the Bruins and Hurricanes traveled.

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UCLA opened the season ranked fifth in the nation and had a future NFL quarterback in Steve Bono. The numbers weren’t dazzling for Bono, but his 54 percent completion rate was second-best in a Pac-10 that had good quarterbacks, and his six interceptions were the fewest among conference starters. It was the kind of high-efficiency work that kept him in the NFL.

Bono had a field-stretcher at receiver in future first-round draft pick Mike Sherrard, who finished with 38 catches for 635 yards. Mike Young was a quality second wideout, and Danny Andrews was a versatile running back who could also catch the ball.

The running game itself wasn’t great—Andrews only ran for a little over 600 yards—and the defense didn’t have any All-American talent. The weaknesses showed in the first three games. UCLA was unimpressive in beating weak teams in San Diego State and Long Beach State. Then they hosted top-ranked Nebraska and were physically manhandled in a 42-3 loss that dropped the Bruins to #17.

A 33-16 win at lowly Colorado didn’t prove much, and it was followed by a 23-21 upset loss at home to Stanford, against a Cardinal team that would finish sub-.500. UCLA then pulled out a couple more narrow escapes, 27-24 over Washington State and 17-14 over Cal.

The win over WSU was pretty good, considering the Cougars were a winning team that had the Pac-10 MVP in running back Reuben Mayes and a future Super Bowl MVP at quarterback in Mark Rypien. But Cal only went 2-9. UCLA had still yet to do anything impressive.

The Bruins went to Arizona State, and while the Sun Devils were a subpar team, they had a prolific passing attack. Jeff Van Raaphorst never made it at the next level, but he was one of the league’s best in 1984. The UCLA defense stood tall in a 21-13 win.

Another disappointing effort at home resulted in a 20-18 loss to mediocre Oregon and eliminated the Bruins from the Rose Bowl chase. They beat two-win Oregon State 26-17 and got set to face USC. Their archrival had already wrapped up the Rose Bowl spot and was doing some trash-talking. Trojan quarterback Tim Green promised a “whipping.” UCLA had bulletin-board material and the added enticement of the Fiesta Bowl spot if they could win.

Donahue’s team delivered its best performance of the season. They picked off Green three times and forced five turnovers in all. Andrews left the game with an injury in the second quarter and freshman Gaston Green entered to rush for 134 yards. UCLA was an easy 29-10 winner and after being unranked since the Stanford loss in early October, the Bruins were #14 when the Fiesta Bowl arrived.

Miami had a new coach coming off its miracle national championship. Howard Schnellenberger left and Jimmy Johnson took over. The ‘Canes were ranked 10th to start the year and opened the season against Auburn in the Kickoff Classic held in the Meadowlands.

Auburn was not only the #1 team in the country, but the Tigers felt (correctly) that they, and not the Hurricanes should have been voted national champs the previous January.

 

But Miami was ready. Alonzo Highsmith rushed for 140 yards, outperforming the great Bo Jackson, who ran for 96. Bernie Kosar threw for 329 yards, repeatedly connecting with Eddie Brown, who caught eight passes for 157 yards.

Kosar threw an early 17-yard touchdown pass to Stanley Shakespeare to give Miami the lead. Auburn tied it, and then got a safety when the Miami punter muffed a snap. The ‘Canes trailed 15-14 in the third quarter and both teams traded field goals. One more field goal by Miami with 6:08 left got them out of New Jersey with a 20-18 win.

Another tough game with an SEC opponent awaited. Seventh-ranked Florida would come to Miami. The Gators would win the SEC this season, though probation would prevent formal recognition of the title. They were the only team to have beaten Miami in the 1983 season and the Gators nearly did it again.

Kosar played well again, going 25/33 for 300 yards and Miami led 19-13 in the fourth quarter. Florida drove to the brink of the goal line, but Hurricane safety Ken Calhoun, who made the defensive play that had preserved the national championship win the previous year, recovered a fumble on the one-yard line. Miami continued to have problems with the punting game, with another muffed snap giving Florida a chance at a field goal…which they missed.

Finally, the Gators broke thorugh and took a 20-19 lead with 41 seconds left. Kosar went to work, and when he hit tight end Willie Smith on a 36-yard pass, it got the ‘Canes into field goal range. It was Smith’s 11th catch of the game and he finished with 152 total yards. Kosar found Brown on a 12-yard touchdown pass with seven seconds left. On the game’s final play, a Florida desperation pass was intercepted and brought back for a score, making the final a deceptive 32-20.

Because Miami’s season got an early start in the Kickoff Classic, they played two games before the next poll was taken and they were appropriately moved up to the #1 spot. But they played a very demanding schedule and a road trip to Michigan—even a team that would be mediocre by Wolverine standards—ended up in a 22-14 loss.

The Hurricanes bounced back with a 28-17 win at Purdue and future NFL quarterback Jim Everett, but Miami was then embarrassed by archrival and 15th-ranked Florida State. The 38-3 win sent the ‘Canes plummeting to #16.

A bounceback win over lowly Rice was followed by a trip to #16 Notre Dame. The Irish had their share of problems in the early 1980s, but this was still a team that would win seven games. Miami’s 31-13 win was impressive and got them back into the Top 10. They followed it up with three straight easy wins over bad teams in Cincinnati, Pitt and Louisville.

Miami was having no problems moving the football. Kosar threw for over 3,600 yards on the season, completed 63% of his passes and got 8.8 yards-per-attempt, all numbers that are good today and were positively dazzling in the world of 1984. He finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting.

The sophomore Highsmith rushed for over 900 yards and caught 37 passes out of the backfield. Brown was an All-American receiver with over 1,100 receiving yards, while Smith caught 66 passes for 859 yards in the tight end slot.

No, scoring wasn’t the problem in Coral Gables. Defense was, and it would be the reason that, with a #6 ranking, the season suddenly took a wrong turn of historic proportions.

Miami hosted a good eight-win Maryland team. The Hurricanes came out smoking and were up 31-0 at halftime. Then came the biggest collapse in college football history and they lost 42-40. After licking their wounds on that game, came an even bigger defensive debacle against Boston College on Black Friday. Miami scored 45 points at home, with Kosar throwing for 447 yards. And they lost 47-45, on Doug Flutie’s legendary desperation pass on the final play.

The Hurricanes were reeling, going into the Fiesta Bowl ranked #13 and looking for some way to find some defense.

There wasn’t a lot of defense to be found in Tempe on New Year’s Day and the back-and-forth action made for great television. UCLA took a 7-0 lead, but Miami responded with three straight touchdowns, including a 68-yard punt return from Brown.

The Bruins responded with a 72-yard touchdown run from Green, a safety and a pair of field goals—including a 51-yarder from Lee—to take a 22-21 lead into the locker room.

Bono threw two touchdown passes in the second half and UCLA took a 36-24 lead. But while Miami might not be able to hold a lead, they could still overcome this kind of fourth-quarter deficit. The Hurricanes scored two quick touchdowns of their own, but a missed two-point conversion in the process kept the lead at one point, 37-36, rather than stretching it to three.

It proved to be the difference. UCLA got the ball with 2:58 left, drove it down and won the game with a short field goal by Lee.

The 39-37 win marked the third straight major bowl win for UCLA, a streak they would continue at the following year’s Rose Bowl. As for Miami, they would most definitely be back. Johnson’s program would lose just four games over the next four years and win a national championship, all keyed by staff changes and massive improvements on defense.

Jimmy Johnson’s Last College Team: The 1988 Miami Hurricanes

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Jimmy Johnson had produced great football teams since taking over as head coach of the University of Miami. After inheriting the national championship team of 1983, Johnson reached a major bowl game every year, won the national title in 1987 and came within one play of doing so in 1986. The 1988 Miami Hurricanes were his last college team before departing to the NFL, and while it wasn’t a national champion, the ’88 Hurricanes were another outstanding team.

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Miami came into the season feeling disrespected after the previous year’s national championship. They had lost some great talent into the NFL, including wide receiver Michael Irvin, safety Bennie Blades, Outland finalist defensive end Daniel Stubbs and a great leader at middle linebacker in George Mira Jr. The preseason polls in 1988 ranked Miami #8.

The #1 team to start the year was archrival Florida State, and the Seminoles recorded a rap video proclaiming their greatness. Led by cornerback Deion Sanders, they had both bravado and talent. And their first game would be against Miami in the old Orange Bowl.

By the end of the game, the disrespect for the Hurricanes was gone. Miami completely dominated Florida State in all phases of the game. It was 17-0 by halftime, it ended 31-0 and it never even seemed that close. The ‘Canes were immediately vaulted all the way to the top of the polls.

The focus was now on who Miami had in their lineup rather than who they lost. The answers were impressive. Steve Walsh, one of the country’s most accurate passers, was back at quarterback. There were two good running backs, Cleveland Gary and Leonard Conley, who were also threats to catch the ball out of the backfield.

Bill Hawkins was a top defensive end and future #1 NFL draft pick Russell Maryland was at defensive tackle. Bernard Clark, and future Hurricane head coach Randy Shannon were at the linebacker spots. Bubba McDowell was a good defensive back. Johnson had no shortage of speed on defense, and along with coordinator Dave Wannstedt, they oversaw one of the country’s best D’s.

They also played one of the nation’s best schedules, and after a week off to celebrate beating Florida State, Miami was off to play Michigan. This game wasn’t quite as easy. In fact, the Hurricanes trailed 30-14 with 7:16 to play and it looked over.

Then Johnson surprised even his own players by going to the two-minute offense and Walsh orchestrated a rapid touchdown drive and two-point conversion that cut the lead to 30-22. With 3:45 left, Miami got the ball back and Walsh hit Conley for a 48-yard touchdown pass less than a minute later. But Michigan stopped the two-point conversion.

Miami lined up for the onside kick and covered it. They drove for the winning field goal and won 31-30. The comeback was stunning under any circumstances, but particularly given the quality of this opponent. Michigan would win the Big Ten title and Rose Bowl.

Johnson’s team churned through easy games against Wisconsin and Missouri, and set up an October 15 date at fourth-ranked Notre Dame. The hype for this matchup was through the roof. Miami had beaten Notre Dame badly in 1985 and 1987, and the bad blood between the two programs was running even hotter than the media hype.

The game’s place in college football history is remembered by a T-shirt that was sold on the ND campus, aiming at Miami’s bad-boy reputation—“Catholics vs. Convicts.”

To further add fuel to the fire, a fight broke out between the teams in the tunnels before the game. Miami’s reputation resulted in them being blamed, but Notre Dame players said afterward they had picked the fight. Even though the Irish had the more storied program, the Hurricanes were the power of the 1980s and it was ND who had the chip on their shoulder.

What followed on the field was one of the greatest college football games ever played. Miami didn’t play sharp—they turned it over seven times—but they moved it up and down the field. Trailing 31-24, and facing fourth-and-goal with less than a minute left, Walsh found Andre Brown in the right corner of the end zone. In the days prior to overtime, Johnson now had to decide—should he kick the extra point and take the tie or play for the win?

To Johnson’s credit, he didn’t hesitate in playing for the win. It was the same situation—and ironically the same score—that Nebraska head coach Tom Osborne had faced when his team played Miami in the Orange Bowl following the 1983 season. Osborne passed on a tie and a sure national title to go for the win, and ended up losing.

Just as Nebraska had done five years earlier, Miami threw a pass to the right side of the end zone. Just as had been the case five years earlier, the pass was batted down and the game ended 31-30. And just like five years earlier, being noble might have cost the Hurricanes a national championship.

Miami blasted Cincinnati, East Carolina, Tulsa and what was then a mediocre LSU program. They were ranked #3 in the polls, while Notre Dame and USC were in the top two spots, but slated to play each other on November 26. West Virginia was ranked #4, but undefeated. The plan was to pair them up with Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, with the only question being if the Irish would be ranked #1 or if that would go to the Trojans.

Johnson reminded anyone who would listen that his team still had to play a tough game of its own on November 26. The opponent was Arkansas, undefeated in their own right, though ranked #8 in the weak Southwest Conference, they weren’t getting any love as a national title contender. In fact, having lost to Miami one year earlier by a 51-7 count in Little Rock, no one gave the Razorbacks any chance in Miami. The game turned out to be the war the head coach feared.

Arkansas got a 58-yard field goal, and they had a future NFL star in Barry Foster at running back. Foster broke an 80-yard touchdown run and Miami trailed 16-15 into the fourth quarter. The Razorbacks had another future NFL mainstay in the secondary, safety Steve Atwater. He nearly made the play of the game.

Miami was in the red zone, and Walsh lofted the ball toward the front corner of the end zone. It was an uncharacteristically poor decision by the Hurricane quarterback—needing only a field goal with five minutes to play, there was every reason to play it safe and this ball was underthrown. Atwater appeared to have the interception, before the ball was stripped at the last minute. Miami kicked the field goal and escaped with an 18-16 win.

Notre Dame blew out USC and the debate was on. The Fiesta Bowl could pair up two of the independents, and Johnson argued for a rematch. His team had beaten Michigan, Florida State (who had not lost since the opening night massacre) and Arkansas, and could have tied the top-ranked team in the nation on their home field had they so chose.

Pollsters ranked the Hurricanes #2. But Notre Dame, as the #1 team, called the shots under the old system, since they could go to whatever bowl they wanted, and they made it clear they were going to play West Virginia.

As much as Miami fans would protest, the correct decision was made. West Virginia’s resume was nowhere close to what Miami’s was, but the Mountaineers were undefeated and deserved their chance to try and beat Notre Dame. If WVA could do what Miami had not, how could the Mountaineers be denied the crown?

The Hurricanes settled for an Orange Bowl date with Nebraska and the game was never close. Miami coasted to a 23-3 win. Earlier that day, Notre Dame had an equally easy time with West Virginia. The ‘Canes finished #2 in the final polls.

Johnson would depart for the Dallas Cowboys shortly after and three years later he was coaching a Super Bowl champion. He certainly had nothing left to prove in college—over his final three seasons in Miami, Johnson had lost only two games and each one came on by a single play. He was two plays from going 36-0 over a three-year period.

The 1991 Miami Hurricanes Spoil Their Archrival’s Party

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The University of Miami football program came into 1991 having established itself as the nation’s best. There had been three national titles in the previous eight seasons, all three under different head coaches.

There had been four other major bowl bids, and three top five finishes, including a final #3 ranking in 1990. The role of underdog was now a rare one in Coral Gables. But at the season’s biggest moment that’s exactly what the 1991 Miami Hurricanes were and they thrived on it.

Miami opened the regular season at #3 in the polls, but all the media hype surrounded their #1-ranked rival Florida State. This was going to be the Seminoles’ year to finally win their first national title. FSU was loaded and the November 16 date between the two archrivals would be in Tallahassee. That was how the story was supposed to play out anyway.

The Hurricanes produced the best defense in the nation, led by linebacker Darrin Smith and free safety Darryl Williams, both All-Americans. They were physical in the trenches, led by All-American offensive tackle Leon Searcy. Miami had a tough runner in Stephen McGuire and an efficient quarterback in Gino Torretta.

After a season-opening pounding of Arkansas, the ‘Canes moved to #2 in the polls behind Florida State. Up next was a Thursday night home game with Houston. The Cougars “run-and-shoot” passing offense—the forerunner of today’s spread in a lot of ways—was getting rave reviews, but the points were being piled on against bad teams. Its flaws—at least as run by Houston—were left badly exposed by an elite defense.

Miami chased Cougar quarterback David Klingler all over the field, had a 30-3 lead by halftime and won 40-10. Subsequent routs of Tulsa and Oklahoma State set up a real battle with Penn State, who was ranked #9 and no one in Coral Gables needed a reminder of what happened last time the two schools played—the Nittany Lions won a national championship battle in one of the great sporting events ever played, the Fiesta Bowl that followed the 1986 college football season.

The Hurricanes had home-field advantage and they also had a speed advantage. Kevin Williams, their excellent kick returner, brought a punt back 91 yards. Torretta found receiver Horace Copeland on an 80-yard touchdown pass. Defensively, they sacked Penn State quarterback Tony Sacca eight times.

Miami was still only ahead 26-20 with 1:04 left and the Lions were on the Hurricane 44-yard line. Sacca was a big strong-armed quarterback and there was plenty of time for him to win the game. But Darryl Williams came up with the interception that sealed it.

That was the last real test the ‘Canes would have before the biggest exam of all. They blew through Long Beach State, Arizona and West Virginia and rolled into Tallahassee on November 16 as the underdog.

Anyone remotely interested in college football was watching this game, and McGuire put Miami up early on a 30-yard touchdown run. Florida State began to take the game over the better part of 2 ½ quarters after that, but consistently did not cash in.

Miami held FSU to a field goal after a 1st-and-goal at the 1-yard line. Two deep third-quarter drives by the ‘Noles ended up with field goals. The ‘Canes made mistakes—three turnovers led to one Florida State touchdown and cut short two other promising Miami drives. But the Hurricane deficit was only 16-7 early in the fourth quarter when it could have been worse.

A 45-yard field goal by All-American kicker Carlos Huerta cut it to 16-10. On a big drive, McGuire, who rushed for 142 yards, had several tough runs and Torretta completed a 4th-and-6 pass inside the FSU red zone to Copeland. It produced a touchdown and Miami had a 17-16 lead with three minutes to play.

Florida State came driving back down. A pass interference call on Miami in the end zone set the ball up at the 18-yard-line—with college rules only giving 15 yards rather than at the 1-yard line, the penalty was actually worth it for the ‘Canes. FSU would try a field goal to win it. And in a phrase that would become legendary in college football and define this rivalry in the early 1990s, it sailed “Wide Right.” Miami had spoiled the dream season of their archrival and set themselves up for another national championship.

Miami won at mediocre Boston College the following week by a 19-14 score, but the unimpressive nature of the win and gathering sentiment for the undefeated Washington Huskies and their long-time head coach Don James, created a split poll. Washington took over the top of the coaches’ poll while Miami held firm with the writers.

The debate was really the only drama. The Hurricanes played a good San Diego State team, that had future NFL great Marshall Faulk in the backfield, but Miami had too much depth and too much at stake. They won 39-12.

Miami faced Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. This wasn’t a dominant Cornhusker team—they were a nice 9-1-1 team and co-champion of the Big Eight, but they were ranked #11 and no one was under any illusion it should have been higher. With the ‘Canes unable to play Washington (committed to the Rose Bowl) or fourth-ranked Michigan (also in Pasadena), rematching with Florida State being pointless, the Orange Bowl was an anti-climactic ending.

Toretta threw an early touchdown pass and it was 13-0 at the half. The scope of the mismatch was so bad that at halftime, NBC analyst and former San Francisco 49er head coach Bill Walsh termed it “a semi-successful half for Nebraska.” Walsh wasn’t wrong, though it begged the question of how ugly the game might have gotten had the first half not gone so swimmingly for the Huskers.

Washington had already blown out Michigan in the Rose Bowl, and Miami held up their end of the bargain with a 22-0 whitewash of Nebraska in the Orange. Both of the final polls ended up close, but the split decision held—Miami took the writers’ nod, Washington with the coaches. In those days, it was as appropriate a finish as you could hope for.

And the ultimate legacy of the 1991 Miami Hurricanes is this—not only did they win their fourth national title in nine years, but they denied their most hated rival in the most excruciating way possible. It really doesn’t get much sweeter than that.