1978 Miami Hurricanes football team

1978 Miami Hurricanes football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–5
Head coach	Lou Saban (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	T formation
Defensive coordinator	Rick Lantz (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Miami Orange Bowl
Seasons ←  1977 1979  →

1978 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Penn State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
North Texas State		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Navy		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 7 Notre Dame		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Florida State		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Temple		–		–				7	–	3	–	1
Pittsburgh		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Holy Cross		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Louisville		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
UNLV		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				6	–	4	–	1
Georgia Tech		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Hawaii		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
William & Mary		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Villanova		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Army		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Memphis State		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Tulane		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Air Force		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Colgate		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Richmond		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Boston College		–		–				0	–	11	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1978 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami as an independent during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Lou Saban in his second and final year as head coach, the Hurricanes played their home games at the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. Miami finished the season with a record of 6–5.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	at Colorado	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		L 7–17	44,714	[1]
September 23	No. 13 Florida State	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)	ABC	L 21–31	25,003	[2]
September 30	at Kansas	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS		W 38–6	36,372–47,420	[3]
October 7	at No. 19 Auburn	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL		W 17–15	55,136	[4]
October 14	at Georgia Tech	Grant Field Atlanta, GA		L 19–24	29,695	[5]
October 21	Utah State	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 17–16	25,702	[6]
October 28	at No. 19 Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		L 0–20	59,075	[7]
November 4	at Tulane	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA		L 16–20	20,045	[8]
November 18	San Diego State	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 16–14	17,468	[9]
November 25	Syracuse	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 21–9	15,739	[10]
December 2	at Florida	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		W 22–21	47,815	[11]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[12]

Personnel

1978 Miami Hurricanes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class FB, RB 47 Ottis Anderson Sr WR 17 E.J. Baker Sr OT, G 58 Clem Barbarino Fr WR 43 Larry Brodsky Fr TE, P 85 Mark Cooper Fr RB, FB 40 Chris Hobbs So WR 13 James Joiner So QB 7 Jim Kelly  Fr QB 15 Kenny McMillian So QB 18 Mark Richt Fr FB 49 Mark Rush Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class ILB 57 Mozell Axson So MG 83 Jim Burt So DB 31 Fred Marion Fr ILB 66 Scott Nicolas Fr DB 37 Rick Valerio Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 1 Danny Miller Fr	Head coach Lou Saban Coordinators/assistant coaches Len Fontes – Defensive backs Ron Marciniak – Offensive line Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Florida State

#13 Florida State Seminoles (2–0) at Miami (FL) Hurricanes (0–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida St	0	14	7	10	31
Miami (FL)	7	7	0	7	21

at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

• Date: September 23, 1978
• Game weather: Cloudy, 83 °F (28 °C)
• Game attendance: 25,003
• Box Score

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida St	Passing	Jimmy Jordan	8/12, 83 Yds, TD, INT
	Rushing	Homes Johnson	23 Rush, 90 Yds
	Receiving	Mark Lyles	5 Rec, 58 Yds, TD
Miami (FL)	Passing	Mark Richt	5/11, 74 Yds, TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Ottis Anderson	15 Rush, 137 Yds, TD
	Receiving	Mark Cooper	3 Rec, 48 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP FSU UM 1 9:27 1 80 0:15 Miami (FL) Ottis Anderson 80-yard touchdown run, Danny Miller kick good 0 7 2 12:57 Florida St Blocked punt returned 48 yards for touchdown by Mark Macek, Dave Cappelen kick good 7 7 2 9:25 2 52 0:19 Miami (FL) James Joiner 48-yard touchdown run, Danny Miller kick good 7 14 2 2:49 13 76 6:36 Florida St Jackie Flowers 4-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Jordan, Dave Cappelen kick good 14 14 3 8:15 7 41 3:44 Florida St Wally Woodham 1-yard touchdown run, Dave Cappelen kick good 21 14 4 6:58 4 -3 0:52 Florida St 26-yard field goal by Dave Cappelen 24 14 4 4:27 5 65 2:31 Miami (FL) E.J. Baker 27-yard touchdown reception from Mark Richt, Danny Miller kick good 24 21 4 1:14 4 31 0:42 Florida St Mark Lyles 22-yard touchdown reception from Wally Woodham, Dave Cappelen kick good 31 21 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 31 21

References

1. "Hurricanes Buffaloed, 17–7". The Tampa Tribune-Times. September 17, 1978. Retrieved October 20, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Florida St. rolls over Miami, 31–21". Staten Island Advance. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Hurricanes blow up a storm in Kansas, 38–6". The Bradenton Herald. October 1, 1978. Retrieved October 20, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Late field goal nips Auburn". The Selma Times-Journal. October 8, 1978. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Hurricanes' comeback falls short". The Miami Herald. October 15, 1978. Retrieved July 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "'Canes overcome Utah State's passing". The Palm Beach Post. October 22, 1978. Retrieved October 20, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Notre Dame, and magic, eat up Miami". St. Petersburg Times. October 29, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Tulane pins 20–16 loss on the UM". The Miami Herald. November 5, 1978. Retrieved October 19, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Miami tops Aztecs, 16–14". Fort Lauderdale News. November 19, 1978. Retrieved October 19, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Miami downs Orange, 21–9". Sunday Telegram. November 26, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Gators muff Dickey's sendoff". St. Petersburg Times. December 3, 1978. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
12. "1978 Football Schedule". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 5, 2016.