# 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.

## Schedule

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

## Game summaries
### Penn State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Penn State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| Miami (FL) | 6 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
at Orange Bowl • Miami, Florida
* Date: October 31
* Game attendance: 32,117
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 :

### At Florida State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Miami (FL) | 3 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 27 |
| Florida St | 6 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 19 |
at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida
* Date: November 7
* Game attendance: 52,685
* Recap/Box
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 :

## Personnel
### 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 |

### 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) |

## Statistics
### Passing

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

### Rushing

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

### Receiving

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