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Canes Put Stamp On Orange Bowl

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 8, 2007

Layer by layer, the Orange Bowl has unraveled.

The Miami Dolphins fled after the 1986 season.

Even the Orange Bowl game itself packed up following the 1995 contest on New Year's Day.

Those memories have faded.

Saturday night, it becomes sobering reality - and sobering finality. That's when the Miami Hurricanes turn out the lights at 1501 NW Third St. The Orange Bowl stadium, built in 1937, hosts its final UM game when Miami, a non-vintage 5-4 team just hoping for a bowl bid, faces the Virginia Cavaliers. (Although very technically, there is a Florida Atlantic-Florida International game Nov. 24, but will anybody shed tears after that one?)

You can write sonnets about the 17-0 Dolphins, Lynn Swann's great catches, Kellen Winslow's singular effort and, of course, Joe Willie Namath. But the stadium's NFL games are long gone. The Orange Bowl, more than ever before, is about the Canes, a brash team running through the pregame smoke, the huge games, the whole joint rocking on a Saturday night and the three UM national championships clinched on that field.

The Hurricanes may be getting a new house - Dolphin Stadium - but they are abandoning a historic home. Yes, it became a dump beyond repair, but it also endured as one of the great big-game venues in all of sports.

Here are some of UM's most memorable moments at the Orange Bowl:

1. THE MIRACLE IN MIAMI

Miami 31, Nebraska 30 (Jan. 2, 1984): UM's first national title. With 48 seconds remaining, Coach Tom Osborne went for two. Turner Gill's pass was batted away by Kenny Calhoun. Howard Schnellenberger's Hurricanes were No. 1. And the unbeatable Cornhuskers had somehow been beaten in the season's final bowl game.

2. HAIL FLUTIE
Boston College 47, Miami 45 (Nov. 23, 1984): One day after Thanksgiving, Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie sent up a prayer on the game's final play. His arching spiral flew deep into the night, through winds that were gusting up to 30 mph, and incredibly, into the arms of wide receiver Gerard Phelan for a 48-yard touchdown. Flutie, the Heisman Trophy winner, had 472 yards passing.

3. HISTORIC COLLAPSE

Maryland 42, Miami 40 (Nov. 10, 1984): The No. 6-ranked Hurricanes had to feel safe with a 31-0 halftime lead against the unranked Maryland Terrapins. Oops. Maryland quarterback Frank Reich led what was then the greatest comeback in NCAA history.

4. WIDE RIGHT III

Miami 27, Florida State 24 (Oct. 7, 2000): The Hurricanes ended a five-game losing streak at the hands of rival Florida State. Miami sophomore quarterback Ken Dorsey led a 73-yard drive that culminated with a 13-yard pass to tight end Jeremy Shockey. The Seminoles rallied into position for a tying 49-yard field-goal attempt by Matt Munyon on the final play of regulation, but the kick sailed wide right (just as two other FSU kicks had done in game-winning or game-tying situations in the previous decade).

5. WIDE LEFT

Miami 28, Florida State 27 (Oct. 12, 2002): The defending national champion Hurricanes carried a 27-game winning streak into the game, but needed a furious fourth-quarter rally. And even then, it was left for a final-play field-goal attempt by Florida State's Xavier Beitia, who misfired from 43 yards. This time, it was wide left.

6. THE FLORIDA FLOP

Florida 45, Miami 16 (Nov. 27, 1971): Florida led 45-8 with 1:20 left, but Gators QB John Reaves needed 14 yards to break Jim Plunkett's all-time NCAA career passing record. Under orders from Gators coach Doug Dickey, all Florida defenders (except for defensive end John Clifford) dropped to their bellies and allowed Miami quarterback John Hornibrook to score. The Gators recovered an onside kick by Miami, now determined to halt the record attempt, and Reaves completed a 15-yard pass to Carlos Alvarez, giving him a total of 7,549 yards.

7. THIRD-AND-FOREVER

Miami 27, Notre Dame 10 (Nov. 25, 1989): The Hurricanes, clinging to a 17-10 lead against the No. 1-ranked Fighting Irish, were faced with third-and-44 on their 3-yard line. Craig Erickson's sideline bomb to Randal Hill gained ... 44 yards. It spurred a 22-play TD drive that required 10 minutes, 47 seconds. ND was finished. Miami was on its way to another national title.

8. BEATING THE BOZ

Miami 28, Oklahoma 16 (Sept. 27, 1986): In one of this generation's most hyped showdown games, the No. 2-ranked Hurricanes, behind QB Vinny Testaverde, shut down the No. 1 Sooners, led by flamboyant LB Brian Bosworth. UM strolled to an 11-0 regular season, but lost to heavy underdog Penn State at the Fiesta Bowl.

9. THE STREAK ENDS

Washington 38, Miami 20 (Sept. 24, 1994): UM's NCAA-record streak of 58 consecutive home victories comes crashing down as the Hurricanes taste Orange Bowl defeat for the first time since the 1985 opener against Florida.

10. MAKING A STATEMENT

Miami 31, Florida State 0 (Sept. 3, 1988): With the atmosphere at its rollicking best, and the freshly minted No. 1-ranked Seminoles seeking revenge for a one-point defeat at Tallahassee in the previous season, the Canes put down the hammer - decisively.

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353 or jjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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