The 1986 Miami football team finished the regular season 11-0 and entered the Fiesta Bowl with the expectation of winning their second national championship in four seasons.
The 1986 Miami football team is one of the most talented in program and college football history. Heisman Trophy Winner Vinny Testaverde had Alonzo Highsmith at running back and Michael Irvin at wide receiver. The Hurricanes defense had Jerome Brown at defensive tackle and Bennie Blades at safety.
Miami entered the 1987 Fiesta Bowl as a 6.5 point favorite over Penn State. It’s debatable the spread should have been bigger. The Hurricanes dominated the Nittany Lions with a 445-162 margin in total offense. Five interceptions thrown by Testaverde and seven turnovers in all kept Penn State in the game.
The game was controversial for Miami getting off the airplane in Phoenix wearing combat fatigues. That was the beginning of the Miami football program being the team every college football fan who did not support the Hurricanes loved to hate. The Fiesta Bowl was supposed to be a Miami coronation.
By nearly every account, Miami should have crushed Penn State. The difference in total offense suggests that. The Miami defense did not deserve their fate in a 14-7 loss. The final blow for Miami came late in the game when Testaverde threw an interception in the end zone. That clinched Penn State’s second title in five years.
"10. 1986 Miami (11-1)Miami came out of nowhere to win the 1983 national title, but this was the Hurricanes’ first truly great team. The offense featured Heisman winner Vinny Testaverde throwing to Michael Irvin, Brett Perriman and Brian Blades.The defense boasted Bennie Blades and Bubba McDowell in the secondary and dual All-Americans Jerome Brown and Dan Sileo at tackle. Miami moved to No. 1 after a startlingly easy 28-16 win over top-ranked Oklahoma and dominated teams such as Florida State and West Virginia.This wasn’t the most challenging schedule, but they rolled. Until the Fiesta Bowl. In that famous 1987 Fiesta Bowl, the Hurricanes outgained No. 2 Penn State by a ridiculous 445-162 margin, but they somehow turned the ball over seven times when six would have probably provided a victory.Instead of going down as one of the greatest teams ever, they became vanquished villains, instead."
The 1986 Miami football team was named by ESPN the 10th best team in college football history not to win a national championship. Miami averaged 35.8 points per game which was third in the country and allowed 12.5 PPG which was fourth. By nearly every measure they were a great team.
Testaverde was the top pick in the 1987 NFL Draft, Highsmith went third and Brown ninth. Blades and Irvin were the third and 11th selections the following year. Amazingly the 1986 Miami team was the only one ranked in the ESPN top 25 teams to not win a national championship. Several other Miami teams should be listed.
The 1988, ’92, 2000 and 2002 Miami football teams were all in the mix for a national championship. The 1992 and 2002 Hurricanes played in the national championship game. If not for losing out by less than a point in the BCS computer the 2000 Hurricanes would have played for a national title in the Orange Bowl.
The 2002 team suffered the curse of the Fiesta Bowl (Miami is 0-4 all-time) with the egregious pass interference call that came about five seconds after the whistle in overtime. The game went to double overtime. Miami failed to score after the national championship was taken from them. That was Miami’s last chance at a title.