1981 Miami Hurricanes football team

The 1981 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Hurricanes' 56th season of football. The Hurricanes were led by third-year head coach Howard Schnellenberger and played their home games at the Orange Bowl. They finished the season 9–2 overall.

1981 Miami Hurricanes football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 8
Record	9–2
Head coach	Howard Schnellenberger (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Kim Helton (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Tom Olivadotti (1st season)
Base defense	5–2
Home stadium	Miami Orange Bowl
Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 3 Penn State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Miami (FL)		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
No. 17 West Virginia		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Colgate		–		–				7	–	3	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Navy		–		–				7	–	4	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Florida State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Holy Cross		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Tulane		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
UNLV		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
Temple		–		–				5	–	5	–	0
Boston College		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Louisville		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Richmond		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Army		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
North Texas State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	No. 17 Florida		Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)		W 21–20	73,817	[1]
September 19	Houston	No. 16	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 12–7	32,586	[2]
September 26	at No. 4 Texas	No. 14	Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX		L 7–14	74,653	[3]
October 3	Vanderbilt	No. 17	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 48–16	27,694	[4]
October 17	at No. 16 Mississippi State	No. 13	Scott Field Starkville, MS		L 10–14	33,225	[5]
October 24	at East Carolina		Ficklen Memorial Stadium Greenville, NC		W 31–6	20,323	[6]
October 31	No. 1 Penn State		Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	ABC	W 17–14	32,117	[7]
November 7	at No. 14 Florida State	No. 13	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)	ABC	W 27–19	52,685	[8]
November 14	Virginia Tech	No. 12	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)		W 21–14	22,257	[9]
November 21	at NC State	No. 11	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC		W 14–6	36,500	[10]
November 27	Notre Dame	No. 9	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)	ABC	W 37–15	50,681	[11]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[12]

Game summaries

Penn State

See also: 1981 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Penn State	0	0	0	14	14
Miami (FL)	6	8	0	3	17

Game information

MIA - Miller 28 yard field goal MIA - Miller 42 yard field goal MIA - Brodsky 80 yard pass from Kelly (pass good) MIA - Miller 23 yard field goal PSU - McCloskey 13 yard pass from Blackledge (pass failed) PSU - Williams 26 yard pass from Blackledge (pass good) Penn State Blackledge 26/41, 358 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT Meade 11 Rush, 40 Yds Williams 8 Rec, 119 Yds, TD Miami (FL) Kelly 13/25, 220 Yds, TD Roan 16 Rush, 50 Yds Brodsky 2 Rec, 100 Yds, TD

Penn State Nittany Lions at Miami (FL) Hurricanes

at Orange Bowl • Miami, Florida

• Date: October 31
• Game attendance: 32,117
• ^[13]

At Florida State

See also: 1981 Florida State Seminoles football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Miami (FL)	3	7	3	14	27
Florida St	6	7	0	6	19

Game information

First quarter FSU – Tony Johnson 12-yard pass from Rick Stockstill (kick blocked), 10:38. Florida St 6–0. Drive: MIA – Dan Miller 32-yard field goal, 4:42. Florida St 6–3. Drive: Second quarter MIA – 1-yard run (Dan Miller kick), 12:46. Miami (FL) 10–6. Drive: FSU – Greg Allen 2-yard run (Mike Rendina kick), 5:43. Florida St 13–10. Drive: Third quarter MIA – Dan Miller 57-yard field goal, 7:38. Tie 13–13. Drive: Fourth quarter MIA – Smokey Roan 6-yard run (Dan Miller kick), 10:47. Miami (FL) 20–13. Drive: MIA – Speedy Neal 23-yard pass from Jim Kelly (Dan Miller kick), 8:54. Miami (FL) 27–13. Drive: FSU – Sam Childers 7-yard pass from Rick Stockstill (pass failed), 6:46. Miami (FL) 27–19. Drive: Top passers MIA – Jim Kelly – 22/41, 273 yards, TD FSU – Rick Stockstill – 17/36, 173 yards, 2 TD, INT Top rushers MIA FSU – Greg Allen – 23 rushes, 109 yards, TD Top receivers MIA FSU – Tony Johnson – 4 receptions, 53 yards, TD

Miami (FL) Hurricanes at Florida State Seminoles

at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida

• Date: November 7
• Game attendance: 52,685
• Recap/Box

Personnel

Roster

1981 Miami Hurricanes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class C 61 Don Bailey So TE Andy Baratta OL Clem Barbarino WR 20 Rocky Belk Jr RB 16 Albert Bentley So RB Gary Breckner WR Larry Brodsky OT 53 John Canei Jr WR 19 Keith Cleveland So OT 78 Mark Cooper Jr WR David Deakins TE 86 Glenn Dennison So OL Frank Frazier RB Keith Griffin FB Chris Hobbs QB 12 Jim Kelly Jr OL Mike Moore FB Speedy Neal QB 9 Mark Richt Jr RB Smokey Roan WR Mike Rodrique RB Mark Rush OL Dave Stewart RB Lawrence Thompson	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB Jamie Boone LB Jay Brophy DL Danny Brown LB Greg Brown DB Ken Calhoun DT 71 Tony Chickillo Jr DB Dave Ditthardt DL Tim Flanagan DB David Jefferson CB 17 Ronnie Lippett Jr DB 31 Fred Marion Sr DT 91 Bob Nelson Sr LB Scott Nicolas DL Isaiah West DL Lester Williams	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Dan Miller	Head coach Howard Schnellenberger Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Starters

Offense

POS	Name	Name
QB	Jim Kelly
HB	Smokey Roan	Keith Griffin
FB	Chris Hobbs	Speedy Neal
WR	Larry Brodsky
WR	Mike Rodrique
TE	Glenn Dennison	Mark Cooper
T	Dave Stewart	Bill Welch
G	Mike Moore
C	Don Bailey
G	Clem Barbarino
T	John Canei	Frank Frazier

Defense

POS	Name	Name
DL	Isaiah West
DL	Lester Williams
DL	Bob Nelson
DL	Tony Chickillo
DL	Tim Flanagan	Danny Brown
LB	Scott Nicolas	Greg Brown
LB	Jay Brophy	Joe Walker
DB	Dave Ditthardt	Angelo Holmes
DB	Ronnie Lippett
DB	David Jefferson	Jamie Boone
DB	Fred Marion	Ken Calhoun

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Coaching staff

Name	Position	Seasons	Alma mater
Howard Schnellenberger	Head coach	3rd	Kentucky (1957)
Kim Helton	Offensive coordinator/offensive line	3rd	John Carroll (1965)
Tom Olivadotti	Defensive coordinator/linebackers	2nd	Upsala (19##)
Gary Stevens	Wide receivers	2nd	John Carroll (1965)
Hubbard Alexander	Tight ends	3rd	Tennessee State (1962)
Joe Brodsky	Running backs	4th	Florida (1956)
Harold Allen	Defensive line	17th	Miami (1953)
Chris Vagotis	Defensive ends	2nd	Alabama (19##)
Earl Morrall	Quarterbacks	3rd	Michigan State (1956)
Bill Trout	Defensive line	6th	Miami (19##)
Mike Archer	Defensive backs	2nd	Miami (1976)

Support staff

Name	Position	Seasons	Alma mater
Ray Ganong	Strength & conditioning	3rd	Miami (1977)
Mike Rodriguez	Volunteer assistant	3rd
Marc Trestman	Volunteer assistant	1st	Minnesota (1979)

^{[citation needed]}

Statistics

Passing

Player	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	INT
Jim Kelly	168	285	2,403	13	14

Rushing

Player	Att	Yards	TD
Smokey Roan	111	388
Chris Hobbs	75	295
Speedy Neal	58	209

Receiving

Player	Rec	Yards	TD
Larry Brodsky	37	631
Mike Rodrique	29	478
Glenn Dennison	29	270

References

1. "Miami stuns No. 17 Florida". The Journal News. September 6, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Miami nips Houston, 12–7". Mount Vernon Argus. September 20, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Little's catch sparks UT past Miami". Bryan-College Station Eagle. September 27, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Miami rips Vanderbilt 48–16". The Palm Beach Post. October 4, 1981. Retrieved November 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Second-quarter outburse sparks Mississippi State". Wisconsin State Journal. October 18, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Richt sparks Miami to 31–6 victory". The Palm Beach Post. October 25, 1981. Retrieved December 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Miami upsets Penn State, 17–14". Sunday News. November 1, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "'Canes kick Seminoles 27–19". Tallahassee Democrat. November 8, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "'Canes hang on when it counts". St. Petersburg Times. November 15, 1981. Retrieved December 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Convincing win for Hurricanes". St. Petersburg Times. November 22, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "UM goes out in style, 37–15". The Miami Herald. November 29, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "1981 Miami (FL) Hurricanes Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
13. Ocala Star-Banner. 1981 Nov 01. Retrieved 2019-Feb-16.
14. Broyles, Bob and Paul Guido. 50 Years of College Football: A Modern History of America's Most Colorful Sport.