American college football season
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. Washington , who also finished 12–0 overall, were named as champions by the Coaches Poll .
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source August 31 12:00 pm at Arkansas * No. 3 ABC W 31–346,308
8:00 pm No. 10 Houston * No. 2 ESPN W 40–1071,842
September 28 2:00 pm at Tulsa * No. 2 W 34–1035,689
October 5 12:00 pm Oklahoma State * No. 2 Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL W 40–342,751
October 12 12:00 pm No. 9 Penn State * No. 2 Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL ABC W 26–2075,723
October 19 4:00 pm Long Beach State * No. 2 Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL W 55–040,498 [ 1]
October 26 10:00 pm at Arizona * No. 2 W 36–953,349
November 9 4:00 pm West Virginia No. 3 Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL W 27–360,250 [ 2]
November 16 12:00 pm at No. 1 Florida State * No. 2 ABC W 17–16 63,442
November 23 7:30 pm at Boston College No. 1 ESPN W 19–1432,071
November 30 7:30 pm San Diego State * No. 1 Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL ESPN W 39–1256,721
8:00 pm vs. No. 11 Nebraska * No. 1 NBC W 22–077,747
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking 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 )
#3 Miami (FL) at Arkansas
1
2 3 4 Total
• Hurricanes
7
7 7 10
31
Razorbacks
0
3 0 0
3
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
[ 3]
[ 4]
#2 Miami (FL) at Tulsa
1
2 3 4 Total
• Hurricanes
0
21 7 6
34
Golden Hurricane
0
3 0 7
10
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
[ 5]
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 5Location: Orange BowlGame 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
[ 6]
#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 12Location: Orange BowlGame attendance: 75,723Television 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
[ 7]
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 19Location: Orange BowlGame 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
[ 8]
#2 Miami (FL) at #1 Florida State
1
2 3 4 Total
• Hurricanes
7
0 0 10
17
Seminoles
3
7 3 3
16
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
Vs. Nebraska (Orange Bowl)[ edit ]
#1 Miami (FL) vs. #11 Nebraska
1
2 3 4 Total
• Hurricanes
13
0 9 0
22
Cornhuskers
0
0 0 0
0
1991 Miami Hurricanes football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Roster
Leon Searcy, T
Darrin Smith, LB
Darryl Williams, FS
Kevin Williams, KR/PR
Carlos Huerta, K
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
[ 9]
^ "Miami 55 Long Beach St. 0" . The Desert Sun . Palm Springs, California. October 20, 1991. p. B-7. Retrieved February 10, 2017 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Miami wakes up, tops West Virginia 27–3" . The Palm Beach Post . November 10, 1991. Retrieved February 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ 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" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
Venues Bowls and rivalries Culture and lore Documentaries People Early years (1926 to 1978) Seasons National championship seasons in bold
1936–1949 1950s 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 1980–1991