1991 Miami Hurricanes football team

1991 Big East Conference football standings
	The Big East did not crown an official champion until 1993 when full league play began.; Rankings from AP Poll

1991 Miami Hurricanes football
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	One-Back Spread
Defensive coordinator	Sonny Lubick (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Miami Orange Bowl; (Capacity: 74,712)
	Seasons ← 1990 1992 →

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.

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	2nd	Washington State (1989)
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	So
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)	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[]

^[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

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

^[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

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

^[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

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[]

^ Gainesville Sun. 1991 Sep 01. Retrieved 2017-Jan-01.
^ "Miami bad boys humble Houston in 40-10 win". The Baltimore Sun. September 13, 1991. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
^ "Miami shakes off rust, blasts Tulsa." Gainesville Sun. 1991 Sep 29. Retrieved 2017-Jan-07.
^ "Miami jumps on OSU early." Gainesville Sun. 1991 Oct 6. Retrieved 2017-Jan-08.
^ "With TV distracted, UM whips Penn St." Gainesville Sun. 1991 Oct 13. Retrieved 2017-Jan-14.
^ Gainesville Sun. 1991 Oct 20. Retrieved 2017-Jan-15.
^ "1992 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on 2007-12-21.

[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] "1992 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on 2007-12-21.

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[4]

[5]

[6]

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v t Miami Hurricanes football
Venues	Orange Bowl (1937–2007) Hard Rock Stadium (2008–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Florida (Florida Cup; Seminole War Canoe) Florida State (Florida Cup) Nebraska Virginia Tech
Culture & lore	Sebastian the Ibis Band of the Hour The U Quarterback U Hail Flutie Catholics vs. Convicts 30 for 30 film Miami 4–3 defense Wide Right I Wide Right II FIU–Miami brawl 2011 athletics scandal
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
National championship seasons in bold

v t College football national champions (poll era)
1936–1949	1936: Minnesota (AP) 1937: Pittsburgh 1938: TCU 1939: Texas A&M 1940: Minnesota 1941: Minnesota 1942: Ohio State 1943: Notre Dame 1944: Army 1945: Army (AP) / Oklahoma A&M (Coaches) 1946: Notre Dame 1947: Notre Dame 1948: Michigan 1949: Notre Dame
1950s	1950: Oklahoma (AP, Coaches) 1951: Tennessee 1952: Michigan State 1953: Maryland 1954: Ohio State (AP) / UCLA (FWAA, Coaches) 1955: Oklahoma 1956: Oklahoma 1957: Auburn (AP) / Ohio State (Coaches, FWAA) 1958: LSU (AP, Coaches) / Iowa (FWAA) 1959: Syracuse (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF)
1960s	1960: Minnesota (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ole Miss (FWAA) 1961: Alabama (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA) 1962: USC 1963: Texas 1964: Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (NFF) 1965: Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FWAA, NFF) 1966: Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF) 1967: USC 1968: Ohio State 1969: Texas
1970s	1970: Nebraska (AP, FWAA) / Texas (NFF, Coaches) / Ohio State (NFF) 1971: Nebraska 1972: USC 1973: Notre Dame (AP, FWAA, NFF) / Alabama (Coaches) 1974: Oklahoma (AP) / USC (FWAA, NFF, Coaches) 1975: Oklahoma 1976: Pittsburgh 1977: Notre Dame 1978: Alabama (AP, FWAA, NFF) / USC (Coaches) 1979: Alabama
1980–1991	1980: Georgia 1981: Clemson 1982: Penn State 1983: Miami (FL) 1984: BYU 1985: Oklahoma 1986: Penn State 1987: Miami (FL) 1988: Notre Dame 1989: Miami (FL) 1990: Colorado (AP, FWAA, NFF, USAT/CNN) / Georgia Tech (Coaches) 1991: Miami (FL) (AP) / Washington (Coaches, FWAA, UPI/NFF)

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	One-Back Spread
Defensive coordinator	Sonny Lubick (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Miami Orange Bowl (Capacity: 74,712)
Seasons ← 1990 1992 →

1991 Big East Conference football standings
v t	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