1983 Miami Hurricanes football team

1983 Miami Hurricanes football
1983 Miami Hurricanes football
Consensus national champion; Orange Bowl champion
Orange Bowl, W 31–30 vs. Nebraska
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	11–1
Head coach	Howard Schnellenberger (5th season);
Offensive coordinator	Gary Stevens (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Tom Olivadotti (3rd season)
Base defense	5–2
MVP	Glenn Dennison
Home stadium	Miami Orange Bowl
	Seasons ← 1982 1984 →

1983 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Miami (FL)		–		–		11	–	1	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–		9	–	2	–	0
No. 19 Boston College		–		–		9	–	3	–	0
No. 16 West Virginia		–		–		9	–	3	–	0
No. 20 East Carolina		–		–		8	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Pittsburgh		–		–		8	–	3	–	1
Florida State		–		–		8	–	4	–	0
Penn State		–		–		8	–	4	–	1
Southern Miss		–		–		7	–	4	–	0
Memphis State		–		–		6	–	4	–	1
Notre Dame		–		–		7	–	5	–	0
Syracuse		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
South Carolina		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
Cincinnati			–			4	–	6	–	1
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–		4	–	6	–	0
Temple		–		–		4	–	7	–	0
Tulane		–		–		4	–	7	–	0
Louisville		–		–		3	–	8	–	0
Navy		–		–		3	–	8	–	0
Rutgers		–		–		3	–	8	–	0
Army		–		–		2	–	9	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1983 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their 58th season of football, the independent Hurricanes were led by fifth-year head coach Howard Schnellenberger and played their home games at the Orange Bowl.

Unranked, Miami lost their opener at Florida by 25 points, but finished the regular season at 10–1, ranked fifth, and were invited to the Orange Bowl. Playing at home on January 2, the underdog Hurricanes upset top-ranked Nebraska 31–30, denying a two-point conversion attempt with less than a minute remaining.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] They climbed to first in the major polls to win the school's first national championship.^[5]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3		at No. 16 Florida		Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		L 3–28	73,907	^[6]
September 10		at Houston		Houston Astrodome Houston, TX		W 29–7	20,000	^[7]
September 17		Purdue		Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 35–0	34,557	^[8]
September 24	9:00 pm	No. 13 Notre Dame		Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)	CBS	W 20–0	52,480	^[9]
October 1	3:50 pm	at Duke	No. 15	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	ABC	W 56–17	28,750	^[10]
October 8		Louisville	No. 12	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)		W 42–14	30,073	^[11]
October 15		at Mississippi State	No. 10	Scott Field Starkville, MS		W 31–7	29,456	^[12]
October 22		at Cincinnati	No. 8	Riverfront Stadium Cincinnati, OH		W 17–7	14,163	^[13]
October 29		No. 12 West Virginia	No. 7	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 20–3	63,881	^[14]
November 5		East Carolina	No. 5	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 12–7	39,225	^[15]
November 12	7:00 pm	at Florida State	No. 6	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)	WSVN	W 17–16	57,333	^[16]
January 2, 1984	8:00 pm	No. 1 Nebraska	No. 5	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (Orange Bowl) (rivalry)	NBC	W 31–30	72,596	^[17]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

At Florida

Miami (FL) at Florida

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Hurricanes	0	0	0	3	3
• No. 16 Gators	13	0	12	3	28

Date: September 3
Location: Florida Field • Gainesville, Florida
Game attendance: 73,907

At Houston

Purdue

Purdue Boilermakers at Miami (FL) Hurricanes

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Purdue	0	0	0	0	0
Miami (FL)	7	21	7	0	35

at Orange Bowl • Miami, Florida

Date: September 17
Game attendance: 34,557

Game information

Purdue

Everett
16/22, 186 Yds, 2 INT
Hawthorne
12 Rush, 37 Yds
Griffin
5 Rec, 64 Yds

Miami (FL)

Kosar
12/20, 182 Yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
Bentley
15 Rush, 78 Yds
Shakespeare
4 Rec, 68 Yds, 2 TD

^[18]

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	PUR	MIA
1					Miami (FL)	Kosar 1-yard touchdown run, Davis kick good	0	7
2					Miami (FL)	Shakespeare 35-yard touchdown reception from Kosar, Davis kick good	0	14
2					Miami (FL)	Vanderwende 1-yard touchdown run, Davis kick good	0	21
2					Miami (FL)	Shakespeare 12-yard touchdown reception from Kosar, Davis kick good	0	21
3					Miami (FL)	Griffin 17-yard touchdown reception from Kosar, Davis kick good	0	28
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							0	28

Notre Dame

At Duke

Louisville

At Mississippi State

At Cincinnati

West Virginia

East Carolina

At Florida State

Jeff Davis game-winning 19-yard field goal as time expired ^[19]

Orange Bowl (vs Nebraska)

#1 Nebraska at #5 Miami (FL)

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No.1 Cornhuskers	0	14	3	13	30
• No. 5 Hurricanes	17	0	14	0	31

Date: January 2
Location: Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
Game start: 8:05 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 72,596
Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C), partly cloudy, Wind N 10 mph (16 km/h)
Referee: Jimmy Harper (SEC)
TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and John Brodie

Source: Box Score Archived 2019-08-22 at the Wayback Machine

^[20]^[21]

Personnel

1983 Miami Hurricanes football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
OL	`73`	David Alekna	Fr
RB	`21`	Jimmy Austin	So
RB	`16`	Albert Bentley	Sr
OL	`79`	Paul Bertucelli	Fr
RB	`5`	Mel Bratton	Fr
WR	`40`	Eddie Brown	Jr
OL	`53`	Rob Canei	Fr
OL	`69`	Juan Comendeiro
TE	`86`	Glenn Dennison	Sr
OL	`68`	Andy Dickerson	Jr
RB	`44`	Keith Griffin	Sr
RB	`21`	Mike Griffin	Fr
OL	`52`	David Heffernan	Jr
OL		Chris Hembrough
RB	`30`	Alonzo Highsmith	Fr
WR		David Kintigh	Fr
QB	`20`	Bernie Kosar	RFr
OL		Mike Moore
RB	`38`	Speedy Neal	Sr
OL	`77`	Paul O’Connor
RB	`37`	Darryl Oliver	Fr
WR	`8`	Kenny Oliver	So
OL	`74`	Gregg Rakoczy	Fr
WR	`6`	Stanley Shakespeare	Jr
OL	`76`	Ian Sinclair
WR	`7`	John Smatana
RB	`46`	Todd Stanish	Fr
QB	`14`	Vinny Testaverde	Fr
WR		Lawrence Thompson	Sr
QB		Kyle Vanderwende	So
OL	`72`	Alvin Ward

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`4`	Rodney Bellinger	Sr
LB	`54`	Jay Brophy	Sr
DL	`41`	Danny Brown	Sr
DT	`98`	Jerome Brown	Fr
DB	`2`	Ken Calhoun
DL	`64`	Dallas Cameron	Jr
LB	`99`	Julio Cortes
DB	`15`	Dave Ditthardt	Jr
DT	`95`	Kevin Fagan	So
LB	`51`	Jack Fernandez	Sr
DL	`62`	Tony Fitzpatrick
LB	`58`	Bruce Fleming	So
LB	`17`	Fred Foster
DB	`27`	Greg Jones	Jr
DL		Joe Kohlbrand
DB	`31`	Matt McCloskey	Fr
DB	`43`	Doug McFadden	Fr
DL	`93`	John McVeigh	So
LB	`92`	Winston Moss	Fr
DL		Fred Robinson
LB	`36`	Ken Sisk	Sr
DB	`1`	Reggie Sutton	Fr
DB	`83`	John Ungham	Fr
DB		Keith Walker
DB	`29`	Eddie Williams	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`3`	Jeff Davis
P		Steve Minie	Jr
P	`12`	Rick Tuten

Head coach

Howard Schnellenberger

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Hubbard Alexander (TE)
Harold Allen (DL)
Mike Archer (DB)
Joe Brodsky (RB)
Tom Olivadotti (DC/LB)
Gary Stevens (OC/WR)
Marc Trestman (QB)
Bill Trout (DE)
Chris Vagotis (OL)
Ray Ganong (Str + Cond)
Art Kehoe (GA)
Bob Maddox (GA)
George Halas (GA)
Mike Rodriguez (Volunteer)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Awards and honors

All-Americans

Jay Brophy, LB
Glenn Dennison, TE

Jack Harding University of Miami MVP Award

Glenn Dennison, TE

References

↑ "Miami topples No. 1 Nebraska". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 3, 1984. p. 13.
↑ Smizik, Bob (January 3, 1983). "Miami claims No. 1 after beating Nebraska". Pittsburgh Press. p. D1.
↑ "Hurricanes say there's no doubt". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. January 3, 1984. p. 1D.
↑ Underwood, John (January 9, 1984). "No team was ever higher". Sports Illustrated. p. 14.
↑ Finder, Chuck (January 1, 1987). "Miami's '83 champions: Where are they now?". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 37.
↑ "For Gators, a Peace-full victory". St. Petersburg Times. September 4, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Hurricanes leave Houston tattered 29–7". Tallahassee Democrat. September 11, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Hurricanes race past Purdue 35–0 behind defense, Kosar's passing". News-Press. September 18, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Miami of Florida shocks Irish". Evansville Courier & Press. September 25, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Devils swept away by Miami". The Rocky Mount Telegram. October 2, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Hurricanes route Cards". The Salisbury Post. October 9, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Hurricanes breeze 31–7". The Palm Beach Post. October 16, 1983. Retrieved November 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Strange doings don't stop Miami, 17–7". The Orlando Sentinel. October 23, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Hurricanes blow past West Virginia". The Grand Island Independent. October 30, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Hurricanes survive East Carolina, 12–7". The Orlando Sentinel. November 6, 1983. Retrieved March 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Miami tips FSU with FG on last play of game". Fort Pierce Tribune. November 13, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Hurricanes hope to blow right in to No. 1 ranking". The Kansas City Star. January 3, 1984. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ Gainesville Sun. September 18, 1983.
↑ "100 Greatest Plays in Miami History: #9-Game Winning Field Goal vs FSU 1983". August 14, 2019.
↑ Wilbon, Michael (January 3, 1984). "Nebraska Falls, 31-30, On Day of Upsets". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
↑ "MIAMI IS CHOSEN AS NO. 1 AFTER UPSET OF NEBRASKA". The New York Times. January 4, 1984. Retrieved August 21, 2019.

[ppgmwn-1] "Miami topples No. 1 Nebraska". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 3, 1984. p. 13.

[ppres-2] Smizik, Bob (January 3, 1983). "Miami claims No. 1 after beating Nebraska". Pittsburgh Press. p. D1.

[hstndt-3] "Hurricanes say there's no doubt". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. January 3, 1984. p. 1D.

[sivhth-4] Underwood, John (January 9, 1984). "No team was ever higher". Sports Illustrated. p. 14.

[wartnw-5] Finder, Chuck (January 1, 1987). "Miami's '83 champions: Where are they now?". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 37.

[6] "For Gators, a Peace-full victory". St. Petersburg Times. September 4, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[7] "Hurricanes leave Houston tattered 29–7". Tallahassee Democrat. September 11, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[8] "Hurricanes race past Purdue 35–0 behind defense, Kosar's passing". News-Press. September 18, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[9] "Miami of Florida shocks Irish". Evansville Courier & Press. September 25, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[10] "Devils swept away by Miami". The Rocky Mount Telegram. October 2, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[11] "Hurricanes route Cards". The Salisbury Post. October 9, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[12] "Hurricanes breeze 31–7". The Palm Beach Post. October 16, 1983. Retrieved November 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[13] "Strange doings don't stop Miami, 17–7". The Orlando Sentinel. October 23, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[14] "Hurricanes blow past West Virginia". The Grand Island Independent. October 30, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[1983Miami1-15] "Hurricanes survive East Carolina, 12–7". The Orlando Sentinel. November 6, 1983. Retrieved March 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[16] "Miami tips FSU with FG on last play of game". Fort Pierce Tribune. November 13, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[17] "Hurricanes hope to blow right in to No. 1 ranking". The Kansas City Star. January 3, 1984. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[18] Gainesville Sun. September 18, 1983.

[19] "100 Greatest Plays in Miami History: #9-Game Winning Field Goal vs FSU 1983". August 14, 2019.

[20] Wilbon, Michael (January 3, 1984). "Nebraska Falls, 31-30, On Day of Upsets". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 21, 2019.

[21] "MIAMI IS CHOSEN AS NO. 1 AFTER UPSET OF NEBRASKA". The New York Times. January 4, 1984. Retrieved August 21, 2019.

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Q1	9:18	MIA	Dennison 2-yard pass from Kosar (Davis kick)	MIA 7–0

Q1	4:51	MIA	Davis 45-yard field goal	MIA 10–0

Q1	1:08	MIA	Dennison 22-yard pass from Kosar (Davis kick)	MIA 17–0

Q2	8:54	Neb	Steinkuhler 19-yard fumble return (Livingston kick)	MIA 17–7

Q2	2:17	Neb	Gill 1-yard run (Livingston kick)	MIA 17–14

Q3	13:09	Neb	Livingston 34-yard field goal	Tied 17–17

Q3	9:37	MIA	Highsmith 1-yard run (Davis kick)	MIA 24–17

Q3	4:44	MIA	Bentley 7-yard run (Davis kick)	MIA 31–17

Q4	6:55	Neb	Smith 1-yard run (Livingston kick)	MIA 31–24

Q4	0:48	Neb	Smith 24-yard run (Gill pass to Smith failed)	MIA 31–30

v t e Miami Hurricanes football
Venues	University Stadium (1926–1929) Moore Park (1930–1934) Miami Stadium (1935–1936) Miami Orange Bowl (1937–2007) Hard Rock Stadium (2008–present)
Bowls and rivalries	Bowl games Florida Cup Florida Florida State Louisville Nebraska Virginia Tech
Culture & lore	History (1926 to 1978) 1998 UCLA game 2011 athletics scandal Band of the Hour Catholics vs. Convicts FIU–Miami brawl Hail Flutie Miami 4–3 defense Quarterback U Sebastian the Ibis Whammy in Miami Wide Right I Wide Right II Confusion Bowl Catholics vs. Convicts The U
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 2023 2024 2025 2026
National championship seasons in bold

v t e 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 (AFCA) 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
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: Auburn (BR, NYT) / Miami (FL) (AP, Coaches) 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)