1981 Miami Hurricanes football team

1981 Miami Hurricanes football
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
APNo. 8
Record9–2
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorKim Helton (3rd season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorTom Olivadotti (1st season)
Base defense5–2
MVPJim Kelly
Home stadiumMiami Orange Bowl
1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
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

The 1981 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami as an independent during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by third-year head coach Howard Schnellenberger, the Hurricanes compiled a record of 9–2. The team played home games at the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 5No. 17 Florida
W 21–2073,817[1]
September 19HoustonNo. 16
  • Miami Orange Bowl
  • Miami, FL
W 12–732,586[2]
September 26at No. 4 TexasNo. 14
L 7–1474,653[3]
October 3VanderbiltNo. 17
  • Miami Orange Bowl
  • Miami, FL
W 48–1627,694[4]
October 17at No. 16 Mississippi StateNo. 13
L 10–1433,225[5]
October 24at East Carolina
W 31–620,323[6]
October 31No. 1 Penn State
  • Miami Orange Bowl
  • Miami, FL
ABCW 17–1432,117[7]
November 7at No. 14 Florida StateNo. 13
ABCW 27–1952,685[8]
November 14Virginia TechNo. 12
  • Miami Orange Bowl
  • Miami, FL (rivalry)
W 21–1422,257[9]
November 21at NC StateNo. 11
W 14–636,500[10]
November 27Notre DameNo. 9
  • Miami Orange Bowl
  • Miami, FL (rivalry)
ABCW 37–1550,681[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
Penn State Nittany Lions at Miami (FL) Hurricanes
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Penn State 0 0 01414
Miami (FL) 6 8 0317

at Orange Bowl • Miami, Florida

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

At Florida State

See also: 1981 Florida State Seminoles football team
Miami (FL) Hurricanes at Florida State Seminoles
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Miami (FL) 3 7 31427
Florida St 6 7 0619

at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida

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

Personnel

Roster

1981 Miami Hurricanes football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
C 61 Don Bailey So
TE 84 Andy Baratta Jr
OL 58 Clem Barbarino Sr
WR 20 Rocky Belk Jr
RB 16 Albert Bentley So
RB 45 Gary Breckner Jr
WR 43 Larry Brodsky Sr
OT 53 John Canei Jr
WR 19 Keith Cleveland So
OT 78 Mark Cooper Jr
WR 25 David Deakins Jr
TE 86 Glenn Dennison So
OL 79 Frank Frazier Sr
RB 44 Keith Griffin So
FB 33 Chris Hobbs Sr
QB 12 Jim Kelly Jr
OL 67 Eric Larkin So
OL 50 Mike Moore So
FB 38 Speedy Neal So
QB 9 Mark Richt Jr
RB 46 Smokey Roan Sr
WR 6 Mike Rodrigue Sr
RB 49 Mark Rush Jr
OL 60 David Stewart Sr
WR 22 Lawrence Thompson So
OL 72 Alvin Ward Fr
OT 63 Bill Welch Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 4 Rodney Bellinger So
DB 14 Jamie Boone Jr
LB 54 Jay Brophy So
DT 80 Willie Broughton Fr
DE 41 Danny Brown So
LB 93 Greg Brown Jr
DB 2 Ken Calhoun Fr
DT 64 Dallas Cameron Fr
DT 71 Tony Chickillo Jr
DB 15 Dave Ditthardt Fr
DE 87 Leon Evans Jr
DE 90 Tim Flanagan Sr
DE 57 Ron Harris Fr
DB 37 David Jefferson Sr
DB 27 Greg Jones Fr
DB 17 Ronnie Lippett Jr
DB 31 Fred Marion Sr
DT 91 Bob Nelson Sr
LB 66 Scott Nicolas Sr
DE 55 Isaiah West Jr
DT 73 Lester Williams Sr
LB 65 Greg Zappala Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 3 Jeff Davis Jr
P 5 Greg LaBelle Jr
K 1 Dan Miller Sr
Head coach
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

[14]

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 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

1982 NFL draft

Main article: 1982 NFL draft
Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Lester Williams Defensive tackle 1 27 New England Patriots
Fred Marion Defensive back 5 112 New England Patriots
Bob Nelson Defensive tackle 5 120 Miami Dolphins
David Jefferson Defensive back 9 228 Seattle Seahawks
Larry Brodsky Wide receiver 10 268 Kansas City Chiefs
Dan Miller Kicker 11 281 Washington Redskins
Scott Nicolas Linebacker 12 310 Cleveland Browns
Mike Rodrigue Wide receiver 12 331 Miami Dolphins

[15]

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.
  15. ^ "1982 NFL Draft". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2025. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
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