Remembering 1984 Miami football victory over Auburn and Pat Dye
The Miami football team began the 1984 college football season and Jimmy Johnson era with a victory over number one Auburn and Pat Dye. Dye passed away on Monday at the age of 80.
The Miami football program entered the 1984 season ranked 10th after an improbable national championship in 1983. Jimmy Johnson coached his first game with the 10th ranked Hurricanes in the Kickoff Classic at Giants Stadium against top-ranked Auburn and head coach Pat Dye. Dye passed away on Monday at 80.
The Auburn-Miami football matchup was the second Kickoff Classic. In 1983, top-ranked Nebraska, who the Hurricanes defeated later that season in the Orange Bowl to win the national championship and defending national champion Penn State played in the inaugural Kickoff Classic.
Dye passed away from kidney problems and had recently tested positive for Covid-19. Dye was the head coach at East Carolina from 1974-79 and Wyoming in 1980 before being hired at Auburn for the 1981 season. The Tigers were 25-10 in Dye’s first three seasons that included victories in the Tangerine and Sugar Bowls.
The game was an iconic matchup after Miami passed Auburn over in the final standings in the 1983 season to win the national championship. Auburn entered their Sugar Bowl game against Michigan ranked third in the country. Miami was fifth in the final polls of the regular season.
The Tigers defeated the Wolverines 9-7 in the Sugar Bowl. The Hurricanes outlasted top-ranked Nebraska 31-30, who many claimed was the best team in college football history entering bowl season. After offseason talk of who deserved the national championship, the teams had a chance to meet on the field.
Miami returned redshirt sophomore Bernie Kosar at quarterback and Auburn had future superstar Bo Jackson at running back. Jackson became the first pick of the 1986 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but decided to play baseball instead. Miami upset Auburn 20-18. Neither team lived up to its preseason ranking.
Auburn lost their second game of the season to fourth-ranked Texas who also figured prominently in the outcome of Miami winning the 1983 National Championship. The Tigers suffered losses later in the 1984 season to 13th ranked Florida and unranked Alabama in the Iron Bowl. Miami finished the 1984 season 8-5.
Miami Hurricanes Football
Miami defeated Florida 32-20 five days after the victory over Auburn. The Gators were 17th when they lost to the Hurricanes. Miami started1984 8-2 with losses to Michigan and Florida State. Shocking losses to Maryland and Boston College and to UCLA in the Fiesta Bowl concluded Johnson’s first season with three straight defeats.
Miami had chances to put the game away against Auburn. The Hurricanes failed to convert on fourth down twice inside the Tigers 15 yardline.
Two Greg Cox field goals in the fourth quarter gave Miami the victory. A Julio Cortes fumble recovery of Auburn RB Brent Fullwood clinched the victory for the Hurricanes.
Kosar threw for 329 yards, Alonzo Highsmith ran for 140 on 21 carries, Eddie Brown had eight receptions for 157 yards and Stanley Shakespeare had two touchdown receptions. Miami held Jackson to 96 rushing yards on 20 carries in the Auburn option attack. The win extended Miami’s winning streak to 10 games.
Next. Jimmy Johnson HoF presenter to have Miami twist. dark
Auburn had a 10 game winning streak snapped in the loss. Prior to becoming a head coach, Dye was an All-Amerian at Georgia, played two seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Edmonton Eskimos and was the linebackers coach and assistant head coach at Alabama under Bear Bryant from 1965-73.