1985 Miami Hurricanes football team

Last updated

1985 Miami Hurricanes football
Miami Hurricanes logo.svg
Sugar Bowl, L 7–35 vs. Tennessee
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 8
APNo. 9
Record10–2
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Gary Stevens (3rd season)
Offensive scheme Pro-style
Defensive coordinatorPaul Jette (1st season)
Base defense 4–3
MVP Vinny Testaverde
Home stadium Miami Orange Bowl
Seasons
  1984
1986  
1985 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 3 Penn State    11 1 0
No. 9 Miami (FL)    10 2 0
Army    9 3 0
No. 15 Florida State    9 3 0
West Virginia    7 3 1
Southern Miss    7 4 0
Syracuse    7 5 0
Virginia Tech    6 5 0
Pittsburgh    5 5 1
Cincinnati    5 6 0
Notre Dame    5 6 0
South Carolina    5 6 0
Southwestern Louisiana    4 7 0
Navy    4 7 0
Temple    4 7 0
Boston College    4 8 0
Memphis State    2 7 2
Rutgers    2 8 1
East Carolina    2 9 0
Louisville    2 9 0
Tulane    1 10 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Hurricanes' 60th season of football. The Hurricanes were led by second-year head coach Jimmy Johnson and played their home games at the Miami Orange Bowl. They finished the season 10–2 overall. They were invited to the Sugar Bowl, where they lost to Tennessee, 35–7.

Contents

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 7No. 5 Florida L 23–3580,227 [1]
September 14at Rice W 48–2015,411 [2]
September 28at Boston College W 45–1031,864 [3]
October 5at East Carolina W 27–1534,511 [4]
October 12 Cincinnati
  • Miami Orange Bowl
  • Miami, FL
W 38–030,164 [5]
October 19at No. 3 Oklahoma ABC W 27–1473,102 [6]
October 26 Louisville No. 15
  • Miami Orange Bowl
  • Miami, FL (rivalry)
W 45–731,761 [7]
November 2at No. 10 Florida State No. 11ABCW 35–2761,250 [8]
November 9at Maryland No. 8 CBS W 29–2262,350 [9]
November 23 Colorado State Dagger-14-plain.pngNo. 4
  • Miami Orange Bowl
  • Miami, FL
W 24–335,035 [10]
November 30 Notre Dame No. 4
  • Miami Orange Bowl
  • Miami, FL (rivalry)
CBSW 58–749,236 [11]
January 1vs. No. 8 Tennessee No. 2ABCL 7–3577,432 [12]
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

Roster

PlayerClassPosSummary
Vinny Testaverde*QB216 Cmp, 352 Att, 3238 Yds, 21 TD
Geoff TorrettaQB11 Cmp, 16 Att, 263 Yds, 3 TD
Alonzo Highsmith*RB117 Att, 451 Yds, 3.9 Avg
Warren Williams*RB89 Att, 522 Yds, 5.9 Avg
Melvin BrattonRB67 Att, 285 Yds, 4.3 Avg
Darryl OliverRB66 Att, 264 Yds, 4.0 Avg
J.C. PennyRB21 Att, 181 Yds, 8.6 Avg
Todd StanishRB11 Att, 31 Yds, 2.8 Avg
Steve StaffierRB2 Att, 8 Yds, 4.0 Avg
Michael Irvin*WR46 Rec, 840 Yds, 18.3 Avg
Brian Blades*WR30 Rec, 657 Yds, 21.9 Avg
Brett PerrimanWR14 Rec, 263 Yds, 18.8 Avg
Kenny OliverWR5 Rec, 125 Yds, 25.0 Avg
Andre BrownWR2 Rec, 23 Yds, 11.5 Avg
Willie Smith*TE48 Rec, 669 Yds, 13.9 Avg
Charles HenryTE4 Rec, 48 Yds, 12.0 Avg
Alfredo RobertsTE1 Rec, 4 Yds, 4.0 Avg
Dave Alekna*OL
Paul Bertucelli*OL
Ed Davis*OL
Paul O'Connor*OL
Greg Rakoczy*OL
John O'NeillOL
Matt PatchanOL
Jerome Brown*DL
Kevin Fagan*DL
Derwin Jones*DL
John McVeigh*DL
Victor MorrisDL
Dan SileoDL
Daniel StubbsDL
Rod Carter*LB
Bruce Fleming*LB
Randy Shannon*LB
Winston MossLB
Tolbert Bain*DB
Selwyn Brown*DB
Donald Ellis*DB
Darrell Fullington*DB
Bennie BladesDB
Jeff FeaglesP
1985 Miami Hurricanes football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 14 Vinny Testaverde Jr
RB 5 Melvin Bratton So
RB 43 Cleveland Gary Fr
RB 30 Alonzo Highsmith Jr
RB 24 Warren Williams So
WR 9 Brian Blades So
WR 83 Andre Brown Fr
WR 47 Michael Irvin Fr
WR 33 Brett Perriman So
OL 52Darren BruceFr
OL 75John O'NeillFr
TE 87 Alfredo Roberts So
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
LB 91 Rod Carter Fr
DB 19 Darrell Fullington So
LB 22 Randy Shannon Fr
DB 36 Bennie Blades So
LB 45 George Mira Jr. So
DE 96 Daniel Stubbs So
DL 93John McVeighSr
DT 95 Kevin Fagan Sr
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 25Greg CoxSo
P 38 Jeff Feagles So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injury icon 2.svg Injured
  • Redshirt.svg Redshirt

Recruits

Jimmy Johnson and his staff had the key recruit in the 1985 class QB Steve Walsh Jimmy also continued collecting talent from Florida, "Ten of the 19 signees are from Florida. Last year, 18 of the 25 high school players who signed letters were from Florida (11 from Dade and Broward), and 19 of 26 who signed in 1983 were from Florida (nine from Dade and Broward)." [13]

Coaching staff

NamePositionSeasonsAlma mater
Jimmy Johnson Head coach 2nd Arkansas (1965)
Gary Stevens Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks 6th John Carroll (1965)
Paul Jette Defensive Coordinator/defensive backs 1st Texas (1977)
Hubbard Alexander Wide receivers 7th Tennessee State (1962)
Joe Brodsky Running backs 8th Florida (1956)
Butch Davis Defensive line 2nd Arkansas (1973)
Art Kehoe Assistant offensive line 1st Miami (1982)
Don Soldinger Tight ends 2nd Memphis (1967)
Tony Wise Offensive line 1st Ithaca (1972)
Mike Knoll Linebackers 2nd Missouri Western State (1975)

Support staff

NamePositionSeasonsAlma mater
Bill Foran Strength & conditioning 1st Central Michigan (1977)
Tom CiskowskiVolunteer assistant
Mark GibsonVolunteer assistant

[ citation needed ]

Rankings

Game summaries

No. 5 Florida

At Rice

At Boston College

At East Carolina

Cincinnati

at No. 3 Oklahoma

1234Total
Hurricanes7713027
No. 3 Sooners700714

[14]

Louisville

[15]

at No. 10 Florida State

#11 Miami (FL) at #10 Florida State
1234Total
No. 11 Hurricanes14071435
No. 10 Seminoles14100327

Despite being sacked seven times, Vinny Testaverde passed the Hurricanes to victory with 339 yards and four touchdowns. [16]

at Maryland

Miami (FL) at Maryland
1234Total
No. 8 Hurricanes0137929
Terrapins1039022

[17]

Colorado State

Colorado State at Miami (FL)
1234Total
Rams00303
No. 4 Hurricanes0371424
  

Notre Dame

Notre Dame at Miami (FL)
1234Total
Fighting Irish07007
No. 4 Hurricanes1314102158

Miami scored the most points in a game since 1967. The Hurricanes scored on their first four possessions, the fifth was ended when time ran out at halftime, and then they scored the first four times they got the ball in the second half. [18]

vs. No. 8 Tennessee (Sugar Bowl)

Miami (FL) vs. Tennessee
1234Total
No. 2 Hurricanes70007
No. 8 Volunteers01414735

[19] [20]

1986 NFL Draft

PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL club
Kevin Fagan Defensive tackle4102 San Francisco 49ers
Reggie Sutton Defensive back5115 New Orleans Saints
Willie Smith Tight end10265 Cleveland Browns
John McVeighLinebacker12321 Seattle Seahawks

[21]

References

  1. "Bell passes Gators over Hurricanes". St. Lucie News Tribune. September 8, 1985. Retrieved November 4, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Hurricanes blow past Owls, 48–20". The Abilene Reporter-News. September 15, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "B.C. knew miracles would end". Sun-Journal. September 29, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Terrific, terrible Testaverde propels Hurricanes, 27–15". The Miami Herald. October 6, 1985. Retrieved March 5, 2021 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Miami downs Cincinnati 38–0". The Macon Telegraph & News. October 13, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Hurricanes blow away OU". San Angelo Standard-Times. October 20, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Hurricanes whip Schnellenberger's Cardinals 45–7". The Tampa Tribune-Times. October 27, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Miami comeback stops FSU, 35–27". The News Tribune. November 3, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "No miracles; Terps left with 'what if?'". The Baltimore Sun. November 10, 1985. Retrieved January 31, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Lackluster Hurricanes beat Colo. State 24–3". St. Petersburg Times. November 24, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Hurricanes finally put it all together". Florida Today. December 1, 1985. Retrieved April 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Orange crush, but Tennessee, not Miami, does the damage". The Shreveport Journal. January 2, 1986. Retrieved November 4, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Um Gets 10 Floridians, Goes Out Of State For Qbs - Sun Sentinel". Archived from the original on July 20, 2014.
  14. "MIAMI BEATS SOONERS, 27-14". The New York Times . October 20, 1985. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  15. "UM Pummels Louisville, 45-7". Sun Sentinel . October 27, 1985. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  16. "Miami's Come-From-Behind Victory Really 'Special'". The Palm Beach Post via newspapers.com. November 3, 1985. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  17. "MIAMI DEFEATS TERPS, 29-22". The New York Times . November 10, 1985. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  18. "FAUST ERA AT NOTRE DAME ENDS IN 58-7 HUMILIATION". The New York Times . December 10, 1985. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  19. "52nd Annual Sugar Bowl Classic ~ January 1, 1986". Sugar Bowl. January 1, 1986. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  20. "SUGAR BOWL; MIAMI SURPRISED BY TENNESSEE, 35-7". The New York Times . January 2, 1986. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  21. "1986 NFL Draft". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved August 23, 2019.