1983 Miami Hurricanes football team

1983 Miami Hurricanes football
Consensus national champion
Orange Bowl champion
Orange Bowl, W 31–30 vs. Nebraska
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
Record11–1
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGary Stevens (1st season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorTom Olivadotti (3rd season)
Base defense5–2
Home stadiumOrange Bowl
Seasons
← 1982
1984 →
1983 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
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]

  1. ^ "Miami topples No. 1 Nebraska". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 3, 1984. p. 13.
  2. ^ Smizik, Bob (January 3, 1983). "Miami claims No. 1 after beating Nebraska". Pittsburgh Press. p. D1.
  3. ^ "Hurricanes say there's no doubt". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. January 3, 1984. p. 1D.
  4. ^ Underwood, John (January 9, 1984). "No team was ever higher". Sports Illustrated. p. 14.
  5. ^ Finder, Chuck (January 1, 1987). "Miami's '83 champions: Where are they now?". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 37.