1991 Miami Hurricanes football team

The 1991 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Hurricanes' 66th season of football and first as a member of the Big East Conference. The Hurricanes were led by third-year head coach Dennis Erickson and played their home games at the Orange Bowl. They finished the season 12–0 overall and 2–0 in the Big East while playing a partial conference schedule. They were invited to the Orange Bowl where they defeated Nebraska, 22–0. The Hurricanes were named as national champions by the AP Poll, the program's fourth national championship. The Washington Huskies, who also finished 12–0 overall, were named as champions by the Coaches Poll.

1991 Miami Hurricanes football
AP Poll National Champion Orange Bowl Champion
Orange Bowl, W 22–0 vs. Nebraska
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 1
1991 record	12–0 (2–0 Big East)
Head coach	Dennis Erickson (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Bob Bratkowski (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Sonny Lubick (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Miami Orange Bowl (Capacity: 74,712)

1991 Big East Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 11 Syracuse	5	–	0	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 1 Miami (FL)	2	–	0	–	0			12	–	0	–	0
Virginia Tech	1	–	0	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Pittsburgh	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
West Virginia	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Rutgers	2	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Boston College	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Temple	0	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
The Big East did not crown an official champion until 1993 when full league play began. Rankings from AP Poll

Personnel

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Seasons	Alma Mater
Dennis Erickson	Head coach	3rd	Montana State (1969)
Bob Bratkowski	Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers	3rd	Washington State (1978)
Sonny Lubick	Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs	3rd	Western Montana (1960)
Gregg Smith	Offensive Line	3rd	Idaho (1969)
Dave Arnold	Special Teams/Tight Ends	3rd
Bob Karmelowicz	Defensive Line	3rd	Bridgeport (1972)
Art Kehoe	Assistant Offensive Line	7th	Miami (1982)
Ed Orgeron	Defensive Line	3rd	Northwestern State (1984)
Tommy Tuberville	Linebackers	3rd	Southern Arkansas (1976)
Alex Wood	Running Backs	3rd	Iowa (1978)

Support staff

Name	Position	Seasons	Alma Mater
Brad Roll	Strength & Conditioning	3rd	Stephen F. Austin (1980)
Scott Auker	Graduate Assistant
Eddie Gran	Graduate Assistant
Jim Michalczik	Graduate Assistant
Randy Shannon	Graduate Assistant	1st	Miami (1989)
Carmen Grosso	Volunteer Assistant

Roster

1991 Miami Hurricanes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 17 Coleman Bell Jr WR 88 Horace Copeland Jr TE 82 Carlos Etheredge Jr T 72 Mario Cristobal Jr RB 30 Stephen McGuire Jr RB 33 Russell Sapp Sr T 73 Leon Searcy Sr WR 35 Darryl Spencer Jr WR 36 Lamar Thomas Jr QB 13 Gino Torretta Jr G 78 Kipp Vickers Jr WR 5 Kevin Williams So	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 1 Jessie Armstead Jr LB 56 Michael Barrow Jr DT 94 Dwayne Johnson Fr CB 47 Ryan McNeil Jr DE 93 Robert J Davis So LB 45 Darrin Smith Jr DB 31 Darryl Williams Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 27 Carlos Huerta Sr	Head coach Dennis Erickson Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
August 31	12:00 pm	at Arkansas*	No. 3	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	W 31–3	46,308
September 12	8:00 pm	No. 10 Houston*	No. 2	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	W 40–10	71,842
September 28	2:00 pm	at Tulsa*	No. 2	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	W 34–10	35,689
October 5	12:00 pm	Oklahoma State*	No. 2	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	W 40–3	42,751
October 12	12:00 pm	No. 9 Penn State*	No. 2	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	W 26–20	75,723
October 19	4:00 pm	Long Beach State*	No. 2	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	W 55–0	40,498
October 26	10:00 pm	at Arizona*	No. 2	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	W 36–9	53,349
November 9	4:00 pm	West Virginia	No. 3	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	W 27–3	60,250
November 16	12:00 pm	at No. 1 Florida State*	No. 2	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry, Wide Right I)	W 17–16	63,442
November 23	7:30 pm	at Boston College	No. 1	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 19–14	32,071
November 30	7:30 pm	San Diego State*	No. 1	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	W 39–12	56,721
January 1	8:00 pm	vs. No. 11 Nebraska*	No. 1	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)	W 22–0	77,747
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	3 (2)	3 (1)	2 (2)	2 (8)	2 (8)	2 (2)	2 (1)	2 (1)	2 (2)	2 (3)	2 т (3)	2 (3)	1 (46)	1 (37 ​^1⁄2)	1 (37)	1 (32)
Coaches	2 (3)	2 (3)	2 (3)	2 (6)	2 (5)	2 (3)	2 (3)	2 (3)	2 (4)	2 (4)	2 (4)	2 (4)	1 (44)	1 (32)	2 (30)	2 (25 ​^1⁄2)

Season summary

Arkansas

#3 Miami (FL) at Arkansas

1 2 3 4 Total • Hurricanes 7 7 7 10 31 Razorbacks 0 3 0 0 3 Date: August 31 Location: War Memorial Stadium Game attendance: 46,308

Scoring summary Q1 MIA Copeland 99 yard pass from Torretta (Huerta kick) MIA 7–0 Q2 ARK Wright 35 yard field goal MIA 7–3 Q2 MIA McGuire 11 yard run (Huerta kick) MIA 14–3 Q3 MIA Patton 42 yard pass from Torretta (Huerta kick) MIA 21–3 Q4 MIA McGuire 1 yard run (Huerta kick) MIA 28–3 Q4 MIA Huerta 22 yard field goal MIA 31–3

[1]

Houston

[2]

Tulsa

#2 Miami (FL) at Tulsa

1 2 3 4 Total • Hurricanes 0 21 7 6 34 Golden Hurricane 0 3 0 7 10 Date: September 28 Location: Skelly Stadium Game attendance: 35,689

Scoring summary Q2 MIA McGuire 8 yard run (Huerta kick) MIA 7–0 Q2 MIA Etheredge 1 yard pass from Torretta (Huerta kick) MIA 14–0 Q2 MIA Moore 3 yard pass from Torretta (Huerta kick) MIA 21–0 Q2 TLSA Lange 30 yard field goal MIA 21–3 Q3 MIA McGuire 4 yard run (Huerta kick) MIA 28–3 Q4 MIA Huerta 23 yard field goal MIA 31–3 Q4 TLSA Fair 3 yard pass from Rubley (Lange kick) MIA 31–10 Q4 MIA Huerta 28 yard field goal MIA 34–10

• Gino Torretta 20/33, 327 Yds
• Lamar Thomas 5 Rec, 106 Yds

[3]

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State at #2 Miami (FL)

1 2 3 4 Total Cowboys 0 0 3 0 3 • Hurricanes 17 13 3 7 40 Date: October 5 Location: Orange Bowl Game attendance: 42,751

Scoring summary Q1 MIA McGuire 7 yard run (Huerta kick) MIA 7–0 Q1 MIA Huerta 27 yard field goal MIA 10–0 Q1 MIA Thomas 5 yard pass from Torretta (Huerta kick) MIA 17–0 Q2 MIA Patton 4 yard run (Huerta kick) MIA 24–0 Q2 MIA Patton 2 yard run (kick failed) MIA 30–0 Q3 MIA Huerta 29 yard field goal MIA 33–0 Q3 OKST Myers 20 yard field goal MIA 33–3 Q4 MIA Bennett 22 yard run (Huerta kick) MIA 40–3

[4]

Penn State

#9 Penn State at #2 Miami (FL)

1 2 3 4 Total Nittany Lions 3 3 7 7 20 • Hurricanes 3 3 14 6 26 Date: October 12 Location: Orange Bowl Game attendance: 75,723 Television network: ABC

Scoring summary Q1 MIA Huerta 24 yard field goal MIA 3–0 Q1 PSU Fayak 20 yard field goal Tie 3–3 Q2 PSU Fayak 46 yard field goal PSU 6–3 Q2 MIA Huerta 45 yard field goal Tie 6–6 Q3 6:34 MIA Copeland 80 yard pass from Torretta (Huerta kick) MIA 13–6 Q3 MIA K. Williams 91 yard punt return (Huerta kick) MIA 20–6 Q3 PSU T. Smith 2 yard pass from Sacca (Fayak kick) MIA 20–13 Q4 MIA Thomas 42 yard pass from Torretta (kick failed) MIA 26–13 Q4 PSU T. Smith 9 yard pass from Sacca (Fayak kick) MIA 26–20

• First meeting between the two schools since 1987 Fiesta Bowl
• Fans watching on television outside of Florida missed two scores when the network switched to United States Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee
• Horace Copeland 5 Rec, 106 Yds

[5]

Long Beach State

Long Beach State at #2 Miami (FL)

1 2 3 4 Total 49ers 0 0 0 0 0 • Hurricanes 7 28 7 13 55 Date: October 19 Location: Orange Bowl Game attendance: 40,498

Scoring summary Q1 MIA McGuire 1 yard run (Huerta kick) MIA 7–0 Q2 MIA Spencer 8 yard pass from Torretta (Huerta kick) MIA 14–0 Q2 MIA McGuire 1 yard run (Huerta kick) MIA 21–0 Q2 MIA K. Williams 63 yard punt return (Huerta kick) MIA 28–0 Q2 MIA Torretta 1 yard run (Huerta kick) MIA 35–0 Q3 MIA Bennett 2 yard run (Huerta kick) MIA 42–0 Q4 MIA L. Jones 30 yard run (Huerta kick) MIA 49–0 Q4 MIA Marucci 5 yard run (kick failed) MIA 55–0

[6]

Arizona

West Virginia

Florida State

#2 Miami (FL) at #1 Florida State

1 2 3 4 Total • Hurricanes 7 0 0 10 17 Seminoles 3 7 3 3 16 Date: November 16 Location: Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, FL Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 63,442 TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson and Bob Griese

Scoring summary 1 MIA Stephen McGuire 2-yard run (Huerta kick) MIA 7-0 FSU Gerry Thomas 25-yard field goal MIA 7-3 2 FSU Paul Moore 1-yard run (Thomas kick) FSU 10-7 3 FSU Gerry Thomas 31-yard field goal Tied 13-7 4 FSU Gerry Thomas 20-yard field goal FSU 16-7 9:48 MIA Carlos Huerta 45-yard field goal FSU 16-10 3:01 MIA Larry Jones 1-yard run (Huerta kick) MIA 17-16

Boston College

San Diego State

vs. Nebraska (Orange Bowl)

#1 Miami (FL) vs. #11 Nebraska

1 2 3 4 Total • Hurricanes 13 0 9 0 22 Cornhuskers 0 0 0 0 0 Date: January 1 Location: Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida Game attendance: 77,747 Referee: Ron Winter (Big Ten) Television network: NBC

Awards and honors

First Team All-Americans

• Leon Searcy, T
• Darrin Smith, LB
• Darryl Williams, FS
• Kevin Williams, KR/PR
• Carlos Huerta, K

Awards Finalists

Bold indicates winners

• Darrin Smith, LB - Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year
• Gino Torretta, QB - Big East Offensive Player of the Year
• Kevin Williams, KR/PR - Big East Special Teams Player of the Year

• Russell Sapp, RB/KR/PR -Big East Co-Special Teams Player of the Year

Jack Harding University of Miami MVP Award

• Carlos Huerta, K

Other notable players

• Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, DT
• Finesse Mitchell
• Russell Sapp, RB

1992 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Team
Leon Searcy	Tackle	1	11	Pittsburgh Steelers
Darryl Williams	Defensive Back	1	28	Cincinnati Bengals
Craig Erickson	Quarterback	4	86	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Anthony Hamlet	Defensive End	10	263	Seattle Seahawks
Kelvin Harris	Center	12	312	Los Angeles Rams
Carlos Huerta	Kicker	12	315	San Diego Chargers

[7]

References

1. Gainesville Sun. 1991 Sep 01. Retrieved 2017-Jan-01.
2. "Miami bad boys humble Houston in 40-10 win". The Baltimore Sun. September 13, 1991. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
3. "Miami shakes off rust, blasts Tulsa." Gainesville Sun. 1991 Sep 29. Retrieved 2017-Jan-07.
4. "Miami jumps on OSU early." Gainesville Sun. 1991 Oct 6. Retrieved 2017-Jan-08.
5. "With TV distracted, UM whips Penn St." Gainesville Sun. 1991 Oct 13. Retrieved 2017-Jan-14.
6. Gainesville Sun. 1991 Oct 20. Retrieved 2017-Jan-15.
7. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1992.htm