The 1991 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

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 Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...

. The Hurricanes were led by third-year head coach

Dennis Erickson Dennis Brian Erickson (born March 24, 1947) is an American football coach who most recently served as the head coach for the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football league. He was also the head coach at the University of Idaho ( ...

and played their home games at the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

. 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

where they defeated

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, 22–0. The Hurricanes were named as

national champions National champions are corporations which are technically private businesses but due to governmental policy are ceded a dominant position in a national economy. In this system, these large organizations are expected not only to seek profit but als ...

by the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

, the program's fourth national championship. The

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac- ...

, who also finished 12–0 overall, were named as champions by the

Coaches Poll The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officially ...

Personnel

Coaching staff

Support staff

Roster

Schedule

Rankings

Season summary

Arkansas

Houston

Tulsa

Gino Torretta Gino Louis Torretta (born August 10, 1970) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons. He played college football at the University of Miami, won the Heisman Trophy in 1992, and w ...

20/33, 327 Yds *

Lamar Thomas Lamar Nathaniel Thomas (born February 12, 1970 in Ocala, Florida) is a former American football Wide Receiver and current Wide Receivers coach for the Orlando Guardians of the XFL. College career Thomas played college football and college bas ...

5 Rec, 106 Yds

Oklahoma State

Penn State

*First meeting between the two schools since

1987 Fiesta Bowl The 1987 Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game that served as the final game of the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Part of the 1986–87 bowl game season, the 1987 Fiesta Bowl also served as the National Championship Game, between ...

*Fans watching on television outside of Florida missed two scores when the network switched to

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

nominee

Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 199 ...

testifying before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

Horace Copeland Horace Cornellius Copeland (born January 2, 1971) is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for seven seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders. Copeland was drafted in the 4th ro ...

5 Rec, 106 Yds

Long Beach State

Arizona

West Virginia

Florida State

Boston College

San Diego State

vs. Nebraska (Orange Bowl)

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 The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

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 John Joseph Harding (January 4, 1898 – February 24, 1963) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at St. Thomas College—now the University of ...
University of Miami MVP Award

*Carlos Huerta, K

Other notable players

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...

, DT *

Finesse Mitchell Alfred Langston "Finesse" Mitchell (born June 12, 1972) is an American actor, author and stand-up comedian. From 2003 to 2006, he was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live''.Jinelle Shengulette"Comedian Finesse Mitchell to perform at the Comedy ...

*Russell Sapp, RB

1992 NFL Draft

References

{{College Football National Champion navbox

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Miami Hurricanes football seasons College football national champions Orange Bowl champion seasons College football undefeated seasons

Miami Hurricanes football The Miami Hurricanes football team represents the University of Miami in college football. The Hurricanes compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Coastal Division of the Atlanti ...