# 1989 Miami Hurricanes football team

The 1989 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Hurricanes' 64th season of football. The Hurricanes were led by first-year head coach Dennis Erickson and played their home games at the Orange Bowl. They finished the season 11–1 overall. They were invited to the Sugar Bowl where they defeated Alabama, 33–25, to win the school's third national championship.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 9 | at Wisconsin | No. 3 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | ABC | W 51–3 | 38,646 |
| September 16 | California | No. 3 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL | ESPN | W 31–3 | 56,931 |
| September 23 | at Missouri | No. 2 | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | Prime | W 38–7 | 43,293 |
| September 30 | at Michigan State | No. 2 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | ABC | W 26–20 | 76,217 |
| October 7 | Cincinnati | No. 2 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL | | W 56–0 | 48,597 |
| October 14 | San Jose State | No. 2 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL | | W 48–16 | 45,122 |
| October 28 | at No. 9 Florida State | No. 2 | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL (rivalry) | ESPN | L 10–24 | 62,602 |
| November 4 | East Carolina | No. 7 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL | | W 40–10 | 35,159 |
| November 11 | at No. 14 Pittsburgh | No. 7 | Pitt StadiumPittsburgh, PA | CBS | W 24–3 | 52,528 |
| November 18 | San Diego State | No. 7 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL | | W 42–6 | 42,362 |
| November 25 | No. 1 Notre Dame | No. 7 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL (rivalry) | CBS | W 27–10 | 81,634 |
| January 1 | vs. No. 7 Alabama | No. 2 | Louisiana SuperdomeNew Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl) | ABC | W 33–25 | 77,425 |
| HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game |||||||

## Personnel
### Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Seasons | Alma Mater |
| Dennis Erickson | Head coach | 1st | Montana State (1969) |
| Bob Bratkowski | Offensive coordinator/wide receivers | 1st | Washington State (1978) |
| Sonny Lubick | Defensive Coordinator/defensive backs | 1st | Western Montana (1960) |
| Gregg Smith | Offensive line | 1st | Idaho (1969) |
| Dave Arnold | Special teams/tight ends | 1st | |
| Bob Karmelowicz | Defensive line | 1st | Bridgeport (1972) |
| Art Kehoe | Assistant offensive line | 5th | Miami (1982) |
| Ed Orgeron | Defensive line | 1st | Northwestern State (1984) |
| Tommy Tuberville | Linebackers | 1st | Southern Arkansas (1976) |
| Alex Wood | Running backs | 1st | Iowa (1978) |

### Support staff

| Name | Position | Seasons | Alma Mater |
| Brad Roll | Strength & Conditioning | 1st | Stephen F. Austin (1980) |
| Carmen Grosso | Graduate Assistant | | |
| Ronnie Lee | Graduate Assistant | | |
| Scott Runyan | Graduate Assistant | | |
| Pete Savage | Graduate Assistant | | |
| Dan Werner | Volunteer Assistant | 3rd | Western Michigan (1983) |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 4 (4) | 3 (4) | 3 (5) | 2 (3) | 2 (3) | 2 (3) | 2 (4) | 2 (3) | 2 (3) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 (3) | 2 (4) | 2 (4) | 1 (38) |
| Coaches | 5 (1) | 5 (1) | 2 (2) | 2 (3) | 2 (4) | 2 (2) | 2 (5) | 2 (5) | 2 (3) | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 (3) | 2 (4) | | 1 (36) |

## Game summaries
### At Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Hurricanes | 13 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 51 |
| Badgers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |

### California

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Bears | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Hurricanes | 0 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 31 |

### At Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Hurricanes | 7 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 38 |
| Tigers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### At Michigan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Hurricanes | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 26 |
| Spartans | 3 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 20 |

### Cincinnati

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bearcats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Hurricanes | 7 | 35 | 7 | 7 | 56 |

### San Jose State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Spartans | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 16 |
| • Hurricanes | 10 | 7 | 17 | 14 | 48 |
Backup Gino Torretta, making his second consecutive start for the injured Craig Erickson, threw for a school-record 468 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Hurricanes picked up their 48th win in 49 games.

### At Florida State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Miami (FL) | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Florida St | 14 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida
* Date: October 28, 1989
* Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST
* Game attendance: 62,602
* TV announcers (ESPN): Ron Franklin and Kevin Kiley
* Recap/Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
FSU – Dexter Carter 37-yard run (Richie Andrews kick), 14:37. Florida St 7–0. Drive:
MIA – Randal Hill 8-yard pass from Gino Torretta (Carlos Huerta kick), 9:57. Tie 7–7. Drive: 80 yards.
FSU – Edgar Bennett 1-yard run (Richie Andrews kick), 5:11. Florida St 14–7. Drive: 82 yards.
MIA – Carlos Huerta 44-yard field goal, 1:09. Florida St 14–10. Drive:
Third quarter
FSU – Amp Lee 1-yard run (Richie Andrews kick), 2:20. Florida St 21–10. Drive:
Fourth quarter
FSU – Richie Andrews 41-yard field goal, 14:18. 'Florida St 24–10. Drive:
Top passers
MIA – Gino Torretta – TD, 4 INT
FSU – Peter Tom Willis – 7/20, 129 yards, INT
Top rushers
MIA –
FSU – Dexter Carter – 21 rushes, 142 yards, TD
Top receivers
MIA –
FSU – Ronald Lewis – 3 receptions, 77 yards :
Prior to the Miami-Florida State game, University of Miami mascot Sebastian the Ibis was tackled by a group of police officers for attempting to put out Chief Osceola's flaming spear. Sebastian was wearing a fireman's helmet and yellow raincoat and holding a fire extinguisher. When a police officer attempted to grab the fire extinguisher, the officer was sprayed in the chest. Sebastian was handcuffed by four officers but ultimately released. Miami quarterback Gino Torretta, who started the game in place of injured Craig Erickson, told ESPN, "Even if we weren't bad boys, it added to the mystique that, 'Man, look, even their mascot's getting arrested.'"

### At Pittsburgh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Hurricanes | 10 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 24 |
| Panthers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |

### Notre Dame

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Notre Dame | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Miami (FL) | 10 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 27 |
at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
* Date: November 25, 1989
* Game weather: Overcast, 77 °F (25 °C)
* Game attendance: 81,634
* Referee: Jimmy Harper
* TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz, Pat Haden, and John Dockery
* Recap/Box
Game information :
'First quarter
UM – Carlos Huerta 35-yard field goal, 9:41. Miami (FL) 3–0.
UM – Dale Dawkins 55-yard pass from Craig Erickson (Carlos Huerta kick), 0:04. Miami (FL) 10–0. Drive: 4 plays.
Second quarter
ND – Billy Hackett 22-yard field goal, 8:23. Miami (FL) 10–3.
ND – Ned Bolcar 49-yard interception return (Billy Hackett kick), 2:08. Tie 10–10.
UM – Stephen McGuire 5-yard run (Carlos Huerta kick), 0:24. Miami (FL) 17–10. Drive: 3 plays.
Third quarter
UM – Dale Dawkins 5-yard pass from Craig Erickson (Carlos Huerta kick), 4:13. Miami (FL) 24–10. Drive: 22 plays, 80 yards, 10:47.
Fourth quarter
UM – Carlos Huerta 32-yard field goal, 1:44. Miami (FL) 27–10.
Top passers
ND – Tony Rice – 7/15, 106 yards, 2 INT
UM – Craig Erickson – 16/26, 210 yards, 2 TD
Top rushers
ND – Tony Rice – 20 rushes, 50 yards
UM – Stephen McGuire – 21 rushes, 83 yards, TD
Top receivers
ND – Derek Brown – 2 receptions, 19 yards
UM – Dale Dawkins – 4 receptions, 123 yards, 2 TD :
The Hurricanes avenged a close loss from the previous year in South Bend. This game marked the seventh time in seven attempts that Miami defeated a #1 ranked team during the 1980s.

### Vs. Alabama (Sugar Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Hurricanes | 7 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 33 |
| Crimson Tide | 0 | 17 | 0 | 8 | 25 |

## 1990 NFL Draft

| Player | Position | Round | Pick | Team |
| Cortez Kennedy | Defensive tackle | 1 | 3 | Seattle Seahawks |
| Jimmie Jones | Defensive tackle | 3 | 64 | Dallas Cowboys |
| Bernard Clark | Linebacker | 3 | 65 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Willis Peguese | Defensive end | 3 | 72 | Houston Oilers |
| Greg Mark | Defensive end | 3 | 79 | New York Giants |
| Richard Newbill | Linebacker | 5 | 126 | Houston Oilers |
| Dale Dawkins | Wide receiver | 9 | 223 | New York Jets |
| Kenny Berry | Defensive back | 10 | 256 | San Diego Chargers |
| Bobby Harden | Defensive back | 12 | 315 | Miami Dolphins |