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2000 Miami Hurricanes: The Return Of The U

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The University of Miami had become known as simply “The U” thanks to their dominance in the 1980s and the early 1990s. They won four national titles, and narrowly missed several others. They played with a swagger that made them a national brand. But the mid-1990s saw the ‘Canes slip, even to the point of a losing season in 1997. They had a couple of nine-win campaigns following that, but they still weren’t Miami. It was the 2000 Miami Hurricanes that put the juice back in The U and set the tone for a strong four-year run among the national elite.

Ken Dorsey was one of the nation’s best quarterbacks, albeit one who would not get any respect in the Heisman voting this year .Dorsey’s 58 completion rate was solid by the standards of the time. His 8.5 yards-per-attempt and 25-5 TD/INT ratio were excellent by the standards of any time.  Dorsey’s primary targets were wide receiver Santana Moss and tight end Jeremy Shockey, both of whom had productive pro careers in their immediate futures.

Dorsey had the support of a 1,000-yard rusher in James Jackson, and a change-of-pace back in emerging sophomore star Clinton Portis. The pillars of the offensive line were solid, with tackles Bryant McKinnie and Joaquin Gonzalez getting honorable mention in the All-American voting. And the Miami offense ranked third nationally in points scored.

The defense had its own stars, headlined by future NFL Hall of Fame free safety Ed Reed. With eight interceptions, Reed already had the ball hawking skills that would make him a legend with the Baltimore Ravens. Dan Morgan was an All-American at linebacker. The Hurricane D ranked seventh in the nation for points allowed.

Miami’s greatness was still recent enough that fans were regularly looking for signs the ‘Canes were back. They were never overlooked and were ranked #5 in the preseason polls.

But the season did not start well. After the obligatory 61-14 tune-up blowout of McNeese State, Miami went west to face 15th-ranked Washington. The Huskies were on the way to a Rose Bowl win and top 5 national finish themselves and they handed the Hurricanes a 34-29 loss. Miami slipped to #12.

The Hurricanes played in the old Big East Conference prior to 2004, and they blew out a couple of conference opponents to get back on track. West Virginia had a nice seven-win season, but the ‘Canes hammered the Mountaineers 47-10. Miami then buried lowly Rutgers 64-6. The Hurricanes were back up to #7 in the polls. And the season’s biggest games were ahead.

A year earlier, Florida State had beaten Virginia Tech for the national championship. The Seminoles were merely the ‘Canes historic rival. The Hokies were the team Miami was trying to leapfrog in the Big East. Both were back in the hunt this year. And the showdown with Florida State, still ranked #1 in the polls, was coming up next.

In front of the home crowd, Miami came roaring out of the gates to a 17-0 lead. Dorsey was on his way to a big day, going 27/42 for 328 yards. Moss caught seven of those balls for 115 yards. Jackson picked up 98 yards on the ground.

But that early lead was primarily due to Florida State beating themselves. The Seminoles drove into the red zone four times in the first half and came away with zero points. Twice, they turned ball over. Twice, FSU coach Bobby Bowden eschewed the field goal, went for it on fourth down, and the Hurricane defense came up with the stop.

In the meantime, Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke—the eventual Heisman Trophy winner—was having a huge day of his own, throwing for 496 yards. Once FSU stopped shooting themselves in the foot, they turned it around and took a 24-20 lead in the fourth quarter.

With the money on the table, Dorsey stepped up. He hit 6 of 7 passes. The big one was to Shockey for a touchdown with 0:46 left. Miami had a 27-24 lead. Florida State rallied one more time and got into field goal range. But in a moment that came straight out of the early 1990s, when Miami twice held on to beat FSU thanks to field goals that went wide right, the Seminoles missed another big kick—to the right.

This game remains known in college football lore at Wide Right III. The immediate result was moving the Hurricanes to #4 in the polls. And as a practical matter, it signified to the world that Miami football was the real deal once again.

A couple of soft opponents awaited. Miami easily dispatched Temple 45-17 and then beat Louisiana Tech 42-31. That set up the next big showdown, this one with Virginia Tech. The Hurricanes were #3. The Hokies were #2. The winner would be in line for a shot at top-ranked Oklahoma for the national championship. So it appeared.

Virginia Tech was led by dynamic sophomore quarterback Michael Vick, but Vick had suffered an ankle injury the prior week. He tried to make a go of it in Miami, but his ankle would not hold up. In the meantime, Dorsey was making big plays against a suspect Hokie defense. With only 11 completions, Dorsey racked up 283 passing yards. Moss caught touchdown strikes from 42 and 80 yards out. Jackson pounded his way for 145 yards on the ground.

It was never a game. The Hurricanes led 28-0 after three quarters and even the 41-21 final makes the result look closer than it was. Miami was #2 in the polls and seemingly in control of their own destiny.

They went on to blow out a pretty good Pitt team, 35-7. Syracuse and Boston College each had winning seasons. The Hurricanes shut out the Orangemen 26-0 and hammered the Eagles 52-6. Miami’s 10-1 jaunt through the regular season complete. Now, it was just time to face off with Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl for a national title, right?

Not so fast. Even though Miami was ranked #2 in the polls, college football was using a rigid reliance on computer rankings to determine the national championship game matchup (the four-team Playoff was still 14 years in the future). And the computer said Florida State was #2.

There was national outrage, given Miami’s head-to-head win over Florida State.  That’s understandable, although it has to be said that Washington was also 10-1, with its own head-to-head win over Miami. Somehow the Huskies got left out of the argument entirely.

In any case, it was somewhat of an ironic coincidence—in a presidential election year where November and December had a riveting focus on the state of Florida and the ballot counting between George W. Bush and Albert Gore, the college football world also had all of its eyes on the Sunshine State, wondering where the computer rankings would ultimately fall.

The answer was not pleasing to Hurricane fans. Florida State got the nod to play Oklahoma. Miami settled for a Sugar Bowl bid against another in-state rival, SEC champion Florida.

Another twist though, was that the AP poll had not agreed to bind its final vote to the winner of the Orange Bowl. Miami was ahead of Florida State in the polls. The Hurricanes’ hope was that they could win the Sugar Bowl impressively enough for pollsters to keep them ahead of the ‘Noles in the event Florida State could beat undefeated Oklahoma. It was a realistic hope for a split national title.

On January 2 in New Orleans, the Hurricanes played their first major bowl game in six years. The Gators grabbed an early 7-0 lead. Miami answered with a  field goal, and then a Dorsey-to-Shockey TD pass. After trading field goals, the ‘Canes went to halftime at 13-10.

They fell behind 17-13 in the third quarter and ran the risk of wasting the national outrage that was on their side in this national championship debate. But Dorsey immediately answered by throwing consecutive touchdown passes and putting Miami in control at 27-17. Florida kept it interesting with a field goal. But the ‘Canes were controlling the clock, to the tune of 35 minutes of possession time. They tacked on ten more points and won 37-20.

Whether it was a decisive enough win to share a national title is something we’ll never know. Oklahoma’s defense completely shut down FSU two nights later, 13-2. The Hurricanes had to settle for a #2 ranking and the support of most college football fans, who were more convinced than ever that Miami would have made the better opponent for the Sooners.

That was no small thing, after several years in the wilderness. But for The U, there was still one last step to take. Even though head coach Butch Davis departed for the NFL after this season, the Hurricanes were rising and would not be stopped. Their 2001 edition not only won the national championship, they produced a team that is a part of any credible discussion for the best of all-time. They came within one controversial call of repeating in 2002. They won the Orange Bowl in 2003. The 2000 Miami Hurricanes had sent the world a clear message—We’re back.

The Story Of The 1990 Miami Hurricanes

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The 1990 Miami Hurricanes came into the season atop the college football world in every way. They won their third national championship in seven years in 1989, each one under a different coach and making Dennis Erickson 1-for-1 in winning titles in his first year. The Hurricanes were ranked #1 to begin the 1990 college football season. This was another excellent season in Coral Gables, but one that fell short of the standards the program had established for itself.

An NFL-style passing game differentiated the Miami offense and they were led by quarterback Craig Erickson (no relation to his coach). Erickson averaged a healthy 8.6 yards-per-attempt and finished with 22/7 TD-INT ratio. Randall Hill, an eventual first-round NFL draft choice led a deep receivers corp that included Lamar Thomas and tight end Rob Chudzinski.

Miami was no less outstanding on defense, led by tackle Russell Maryland, who went first overall in the following spring’s NFL draft. Defensive end Shane Curry was a second-round pick. The rest of the defense and offensive line was sprinkled with players the pro scouts had their eyes on. The Hurricanes would finish in the Top 10 in both scoring offense and scoring defense, even as they played a rigorous schedule.

That schedule proved to be their undoing though. They traveled to BYU for the opener and gave up over 400 yards passing to Ty Detmer, who launched a successful Heisman campaign by upsetting Miami 28-21. The ‘Canes rebounded with easy wins over Cal and eventual Big Ten co-champ Iowa. Miami was ranked ninth in the polls as the calender turned to October.

On October 6, the ‘Canes put themselves back in the national championship race with a decisive win over archrival and second-ranked Florida State. Miami scored on four straight possessions in the first half and built a 24-6 lead. When the lead was cut to ten, they used a power running game to salt it away. Stephen McGuire ran for 176 yards and Leonard Conley added 144 more. A 14-play scoring drive in the fourth quarter sealed a game that ended 31-22.

Miami was now #3 and going to South Bend to face Notre Dame in the last installment of the “Catholics vs. Convicts” Rivalry that was the hottest in all of sports from 1988-90. Another Heisman contender—Notre Dame’s Raghib Ismail, who finished second to Detmer—made his case against the ‘Canes and led the Irish to a 29-20 win. Miami fell to #8.

In most years that would have ended their national championship hopes, but 1990 was taking chaos to new levels in college football. The Hurricanes won their final five games, getting a scare only at San Diego State in the finale and finished the regular season 9-2 and ranked #4.

The reward was a Cotton Bowl trip to play third-ranked Texas and a national title was still a possibility. Colorado and Georgia Tech were in the 1-2 poll spots, but playing in separate bowls. From Miami’s standpoint, the only downside was that Colorado was playing #5 Notre Dame and if the Buffs lost, the Irish—with the same two-loss record and a head-to-head win, might jump over Miami.

That meant Miami needed to not only win and get plenty of help, but they needed to look impressive doing it. No one can say they weren’t motivated on a dreary Dallas afternoon on New Year’s Day.

Texas tried to play man coverage on Miami’s receivers and it blew up quickly. Erickson hit Wesley Carroll for a pair of first-half touchdowns and the lead was 19-3 by the half. In the second half, the game got completely out of control. The Hurricanes couldn’t be stopped and won 46-3, one of the most stunning routs in the history of college football bowl games. They also couldn’t contain their excitement and accrued over 200 yards in penalties, many of the personal foul and taunting variety.

As it turned out, Georgia Tech was taking care of its business at the same time and Colorado edged Notre Dame that night. It’s interesting to think of how a Miami-Notre Dame vote might have turned out had it come to that, because the Hurricanes were the talk of college football in the aftermath—both for how badly they crushed the #3 team in the country and for what poor sportsmanship had been shown in the process.

Miami had still sent a message about how good they were capable of being and it set the tone for an even stronger message in 1991—when they won yet another national championship.

1989 Miami Hurricanes: A Third Coach Wins A National Title In Seven Years

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Most college football dynasties are marked by a transcendent figure at head coach. The University of Miami was different. Their national championship of 1983 was won with Howard Schnellenberger at head coach. In 1987, Miami won with Jimmy Johnson at the helm. And the 1989 Miami Hurricanes reached the top of the polls in the first year of Dennis Erickson’s tenure. That’s three championship with three coaches in a seven-year period.

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Miami was ranked #4 to start the season, with Erickson replacing Johnson and another Erickson—quarterback Craig—replacing Steve Walsh behind center. The skill positions were ably manned by a deep corps of talent, with three good receivers in Dale Dawkins, Wesley Carroll and Randall Hill. At running back was the shifty Leonard Conley and the more powerful Stephen McGuire.

The ‘Canes had top talent up front, with future NFL players on both sides of the trenches, including Leon Searcy at offensive tackle, with Cortez Kennedy and Russell Maryland on the defensive front. Miami was ranked #4 to start the season.

It wasn’t an imposing schedule, the kind the 1987 and 1988 teams had to navigate. Miami was able to open with three cakewalk wins over bad teams in Wisconsin, Cal and Missouri. The first test came at Michigan State on September 30, and even here we should note that while the Spartans would finish the year 8-4, they weren’t even ranked at the time Miami went to East Lansing.

Things went wrong early for the Hurricanes, as Craig Erickson hurt his hand and redshirt freshman Gino Torretta was inserted. Miami trailed 10-3 in the second quarter, before Torretta capped a 57-yard drive with a short touchdown pass to Carroll. In the second half, they blocked a punt and pulled out to a 20-10 lead.

The game seemed in hand, but the Spartans got a field goal and then Torretta threw a pick-6 with five minutes remaining. The game was tied, and if it ended that way—overtime did not exist prior to 1996—it would be disastrous for Miami’s national title hopes. They might as well have been trailed, and a redshirt freshman had to lead the way on the road.

Torretta came through. He got the ‘Canes into field goal range and All-American kicker Carlos Huerta kicked a field goal to get the lead. Huerta kicked one more before it was over and Miami escaped 26-20.

Two more easy wins over Cincinnati and San Jose State at home followed, and it set up a prime-time visit to ninth-ranked Florida State. The Seminoles had lost their first two games of the season, effectively ending their national championship hopes, but FSU was coming on strong and wanted badly to end a three-game losing streak in their series against Miami.

Craig Erickson’s hand was not recovered and Torretta remained in the lineup. His inexperience showed on this night. He threw an interception on his first pass of the game and ended up with four picks before it was over. Miami lost 24-10, slipped to #7 in the polls and their national championship hopes appeared dead.

The Hurricanes blew out lowly East Carolina and then got a nice 24-3 road win over an eight-win Pitt team. Another home rout, this one over San Diego State followed. Miami hadn’t moved in the polls—they were still at #7. But all ills would be healed if they could beat Notre Dame.

Miami’s crushing 31-30 loss to Notre Dame the previous year in South Bend was the game that settled the national championship. Indeed, Johnson’s parting request to the team upon leaving to coach the Dallas Cowboys was “beat Notre Dame.” The former coach sent the team a telegram reminding them of his request in the week leading up to the battle on Thanksgiving Saturday night. Notre Dame was ranked #1 in the country and riding a 23-game winning streak.

The Hurricanes looked like the quicker, hungrier team right from the outset and built up a 10-0 lead, with Craig Erickson hitting Dawkins on an early 55-yard touchdown strike. ND got a field goal back, and then tied the game when Craig Erickson threw a Pick-6 near midfield late in the second quarter. Fortunately for Miami, Irish quarterback Tony Rice threw an interception to Bernard Clark and Miami quickly cashed it in and led 17-10 at half.

Early in the third quarter, Miami was backed up in its own end and facing an impossible 3rd-and-44. Hill ran a fly route down the sidelines. Erickson let the ball fly. An improbable 50-yard completion gave Miami a first down. A grinding drive ensued. By the time it was over, Miami had taken 22 plays to drive 80 yards and taken 10:47 off the clock. They got into the end zone and with the soul-crushing drive, Notre Dame was all but finished. Miami won 27-10.

The Hurricanes not only had revenge, but the impressive quality of the win shot them back up to #2 in the polls and they were in the national championship race. Colorado was ranked #1 and tied into the Orange Bowl. But the bowl matchups had been put in place over the previous couple weeks, as was the norm in the anything-goes-chaos that preceded the Bowl Championship Series in later years.

Miami was already ticketed for the Sugar Bowl to play Alabama.  The Orange Bowl paired up Notre Dame with Colorado, anticipating a 1 vs. 2 battle. Instead, the matchups gave the Hurricanes season a new irony—they had to root like heck for Notre Dame.

Both games took place in prime-time on New Year’s Night. McGuire ran in a first-quarter touchdown from three yards out, Alex Johnson ran in another, and Craig Erickson hooked up with Carroll on a short TD pass. But Miami’s defense was having a tough time keeping Alabama’s overachieving quarterback, Gary Hollingsworth, under control and the score was 20-17 at half.

The Hurricanes talent was too much though. Craig Erickson threw TD passes towards the end of the third quarter and early in the fourth, though the normally reliable Huerta missed his second extra point of the night on one of them. The result was the score was 33-17, and still within two possessions.

That looked like it might matter when Alabama scored with 2:53 left and converted the two-point play to make it 33-25. A tie would be as good as a loss, even with the scoreboard showing Notre Dame was in command against Colorado. But the Hurricanes were able to run out the clock and win the game. They were voted national champions.

The dynasty was nowhere near over. Dennis Erickson would win another national championship in 1991 and play for another in 1992. The 1989 Miami Hurricanes made it apparent that “The U” was bigger than any one coach.

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 1992 Miami Hurricanes Run Of Miracle Finishes

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The Miami Hurricanes were one of the great dynasties in college football in the ten-year period from 1983-92. They started the era off by winning the national title in a shocking Orange Bowl upset of top-ranked Nebraska. The Hurricanes went on to win crowns in 1987, 1989 and 1991. They came within one play of doing so in 1986 and 1988.

The “off-years” were 1985, where they still had a shot at #1 before a Sugar Bowl loss, and 1990 when they only ended up #3 nationally after a 46-3 demolition of Texas in the Cotton Bowl. The 1992 Miami Hurricanes were gunning for a repeat title, something none of their predecessors had done, and the path they followed was marked by series of last-second clutch plays.

Miami’s 1991 national championship team had shared the crown with Washington and both teams were considered loaded for bear and ready to joust all year at the top. The ‘Canes opened the season at #1, but there was pressure each week as voters continually evaluated and debated over both teams. And in those days, the bowl system would send Washington to the Rose to play the Big Ten champ, so there was no way a Hurricanes-Huskies debate could settle itself on the field.

Miami opened the year with an easy win over #23 Iowa, destroyed Florida A&M and then it was time for things to get interesting.

Arizona came to South Beach and brought a tough defense with them. Miami’s running game was undergoing renovation, with the loss of Stephen McGuire to knee surgery. The ‘Canes couldn’t run the ball to save their life, while Arizona piled up 170 yards on the ground.

In the course of the game, Miami lost All-American defensive end Rusty Medearis to a season-ending knee injury. Somehow they still led 8-7, when the Wildcats lined up for a 51-yard-field goal. It came up a foot short.

Even though the near-escape moved Washington to the top of the polls, Miami would have a chance to play their way back up. The next two games would be against national title contenders in Florida State and Penn State.

Florida State came to Miami. This was the era of “Wide Right” when Florida State had issues making big kicks against their in-state rival. Miami’s key win in the 1987 title run came when FSU had missed an extra point and subsequently had to go for two in a game that ended 26-25. One year earlier, the Seminoles had a missed a field goal wide right by inches in a 17-16 game.

The 1992 affair was similarly taut. Florida State scored two special teams touchdowns, but Miami quarterback Gino Torretta threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Lamar Thomas for a lead with less than seven minutes left. It was a lead with a familiar score—17-16. Only this time, Miami got a couple gift points. A Florida State screwup on a punt return on the goal line resulted in a safety. Florida State still drove to the 22-yard-line to try and tie the game on the final play. A tie, of course, would temporarily end the #1 debate and leave Miami dependent on a Washington loss. Florida State missed the field goal…wide right.

There was no time for celebration as Miami packed its bags for Penn State. It was the first time the schools had met since an epic 1986 Fiesta Bowl that settled the national championship. Heavily favored Miami had lost 14-10, when Heisman winner Vinny Testaverde threw five interceptions.

In October of 1992, the Hurricanes made a huge defensive play, when defensive end Darren Krein intercepted a screen pass and returned it for a touchdown in the third quarter, giving Miami a 17-7 lead. Penn State rallied with a touchdown and when they got into field goal range, Miami was again in danger of a tie game in the pre-overtime era (OT rules were instituted for 1996). This time the ‘Canes made the play themselves and blocked the field goal. Three times, their bid for a perfect season was placed on the line with a last-play field goal. Three times they’d survived.

Miami gave its fans some room to breathe in the coming weeks, steamrolling TCU, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Temple. Over the course of that time what happened on their bye week of November 7 was most significant though. Washington took on Arizona and the Huskies weren’t as fortunate as Miami. The Wildcats knocked them off 16-3. Miami moved to the top of the polls, Alabama was #2 and the two would meet in the Sugar Bowl so long as they took care of their business the rest of the way.

Taking care of that business wouldn’t be so easy, as Miami paid a visit to a good Syracuse team and had to do one more Cardiac finish. The ‘Canes led 16-10, when Syracuse reached the 32-yard line. On the final play quarterback Marvin Graves completed a pass down near the goal line. The Orange were stopped on the three-yard line. Once again, Miami survived. Senior linebacker Michael Barrow had a simple explanation—“It’s all heart!”, he screamed to the TV cameras in the aftermath of the win.

After a blowout of San Diego State, Miami secured their perfect season. Their quarterback, Gino Torretta, won the Heisman Trophy, although this was a classic case of giving a quarterback way too much credit for a team achievement. Torretta’s selection is one of the two or three worst of my lifetime and on my short list of worst major award decisions in any sport during my lifetime. Miami was consistently winning defensive-oriented games, with the defense or special teams making key plays. If there was a quarterback carrying this team, I missed it.

The 1992 Miami Hurricanes showed as much heart as any of their championship predecessors and it’s why they remain a great story even 21 years after the fact. But they didn’t have the same dominating talent and it’s what finally did them in. Alabama was motivated and played its best game in the Sugar Bowl, pulling away in the second half to a 34-13 win. At a program that had come to see the national title as the only measurement of success, the 1992 Cardiac Canes didn’t get their due. But they deserve better—they made clutch play after clutch play and produced a memorable season as they tried to chase down their dream.