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Miami-Cal 1990...

k9cane

k9cane

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I have very few regrets in life, not going to Miami vs Cal in 1990 in Berkeley is one of them. Because our guys put on a show that began the movement for the 'Miami Rule' (which was cemented after the Cotton Bowl that season)

This was after the shocking loss to BYU in Provo, and our players got an earful from the likes of Michael Irvin and Jerome Brown how they didn't play 'Hurricane Football' (which meant not just dominating, but celebrating and getting buck wild). So yeah, this game they did everything from the 'George Jefferson' to 'the Humpty Hump' and 'Troop. It was actually where I think Dennis Erickson started to kinda understand how tough this job was

He got called into the principals office by Tad Foote and Co, after that game and was told to control the guys -- and quite frankly he really never could. So the next game vs a good Iowa team at the Orange Bowl, our guys would do fake high-fives, shake hands after first downs(right in front of Erickson, too), to mock this edict, LOL. Yeah, our guys were renegades -- but funny ones. But I remember watching clips of that Erickson press conference where he had to say he was curbing the dancing and taunting. It was a sad day in American history.

I had a high school classmate who didnt even really like football who attended Cal-Berkeley, on the first trip back home for Thanksgiving I see him and he says something to the effect: "Holy shhhh, Miami, those guys are crazy. Especially that (Randall) Hill guy." He was laughing because he was thoroughly entertained, probably the only football game he has ever remembered, I bet

Anyways, that 90 team should've won it all. Claude Jones told me it was still the most talented team he was on at Miami but he said something was just off that whole season. Im still in disbelief they lost twice. They were the best squad in the country.

But here's the full game link (I couldn't find the shortened version I had seen years ago). Don Cornelius would've given our whole team the game ball with the stuff we were doing. Back then, Miami was more than just great football. They were sports and entertainment at it's finest:

 
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Remember watching and forgetting all about the BYU game. was present for the Iowa game and the OB was buzzing. And if it hadn't of been for that Rocket Ismail kick return we'd have played for the title.
 
rok said:
Remember watching and forgetting all about the BYU game. was present for the Iowa game and the OB was buzzing. And if it hadn't of been for that Rocket Ismail kick return we'd have played for the title.
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IIRC, we were up 10-0 on Notre Dame before the Rocket housed it. That loss(which ended the series) still hurts...
 
I was 12 when we lost to Byu, I remember watching in disbelief. I was like how is this team of Mormons and this little , weak armed qb lighting our asses up? I couldn’t recall a time where the d got lit up like that by the pass in previous years. My mouth was sitting wide open from shock.
 
Cribby said:
I was 12 when we lost to Byu, I remember watching in disbelief. I was like how is this team of Mormons and this little , weak armed qb lighting our asses up? I couldn’t recall a time where the d got lit up like that by the pass in previous years. My mouth was sitting wide open from shock.
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I've heard Mike Barrow talk about that BYU game, and he claims that he could not see his cleats because the grass was so long.
 
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Cribby said:
I was 12 when we lost to Byu, I remember watching in disbelief. I was like how is this team of Mormons and this little , weak armed qb lighting our asses up? I couldn’t recall a time where the d got lit up like that by the pass in previous years. My mouth was sitting wide open from shock.
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Erickson was outcoached...Plain & Simple...
 
I went with family and friends To some place in downtown Miami where they showed the Cal game on a big projection screen. There were other fans there.

It is bittersweet watching games from years like 1990 when we should’ve won the NC.
 
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SWFLHurricane said:
Erickson was outcoached...Plain & Simple...
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I think that was a part of it, but I also Craig Erickson still had some lingering issues from his broken finger the previous year, and his accuracy suffered. There were passes that came out of his hand that were just knuckleball floaters. And he had one of the stronger arms in program history. He had an absolute whip of a delivery
 
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I don’t know if it’s what’s happened the last 18 years, or the fact that Bama is winning so many titles, but these losses from the dynasty period still hurt.

This team in particular is sandwiched in between the ‘89 and ‘91 NC teams, which are my picks for the best Canes teams of all time. Every time there was supposed to be a coronation of a 1970’s UCLA basketball type dynasty, and win like 7 or 8 out of 10 titles.

Edit: It was still great times. Lol
 
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bestever1991 said:
I don’t know if it’s what’s happened the last 18 years, or the fact that Bama is winning so many titles, but these losses from the dynasty period still hurt.

This team in particular is sandwiched in between the ‘89 and ‘91 NC teams, which are my picks for the best Canes teams of all time. Every time there was supposed to be a coronation of a 1970’s UCLA basketball type dynasty, and win like 7 or 8 out of 10 titles.

Edit: It was still great times. Lol
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From like 86 all the way to the 93 Sugar Bowl, Miami rarely lost. And when they did, they were generally VERY close, excruciating losses

When they got blown out by Bama, it just kinda felt like the end of that dynasty
 
I remember this game. Cal was pesky, especially their QB, especially after the previous week’s loss to BYU.

Thanks for posting!
 
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I've watched the ND games from '88-'90, and the '88 ND team is in my opinion the least talented of those teams. We were 2 TD's better than that team. I remember being at the 1988 Missouri game I think, and we were #1 and it was on a homestand right before the game at ND. And it was majestic. We were defending champions and #1. It's funny, I remember the stadium announcer I think celebrating our home winning streak, which was either 16 or 19. I think I remember hearing that.
 
bestever1991 said:
I've watched the ND games from '88-'90, and the '88 ND team is in my opinion the least talented of those teams. We were 2 TD's better than that team. I remember being at the 1988 Missouri game I think, and we were #1 and it was on a homestand right before the game at ND. And it was majestic. We were defending champions and #1. It's funny, I remember the stadium announcer I think celebrating our home winning streak, which was either 16 or 19. I think I remember hearing that.
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I dont disgree, 88 ND was talented, but many of their standouts were really young. The following two seasons they were more mature and added some more strong recruiting classes

that 89 Miami - ND on Thanksgiving weekend was like Ali-Frazier to me. Still in my Mt Rushmore of Hurricane victories
 
When you beat one of the greatest teams of all time in the regular season, people don't understand. The 1989 NC team crushed Notre Dame. The 1989 team with Craig Erickson could beat any team that ever played. The defensive line had Cortez Kennedy and Russell Maryland. And there's too many great players to even name.
 
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bestever1991 said:
When you beat one of the greatest teams of all time in the regular season, people don't understand. The 1989 NC team crushed Notre Dame. The 1989 team with Craig Erickson could beat any team that ever played. The defensive line had Cortez Kennedy and Russell Maryland. And there's too many great players to even name.
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Seriously, Ive said for years that our 89 team is the most underrated of all the title squads. Many folks dont realize just how loaded of a program Jimmy JOhnson left Erickson. I actually think Jimmy's most dominant years at Miami were ahead of him. But that 89 front four, Ive never seen one that could re-set the line of scrimmage the way they could

I mean, to me, one of the greatest compliments he ever got as a coach was that Darren Krein threatened to sue UM to get out of LOI because he left for Dallas

That one loss in 1989, I give Bowden credit. He called some perfectly timed draw plays. He was brilliant that night. But still, if we dont give the ball to Shannon Crowell, but Stephen McGuire in that game near the goal line, it's a whole different result in my view
 
k9cane said:
I dont disgree, 88 ND was talented, but many of their standouts were really young. The following two seasons they were more mature and added some more strong recruiting classes

that 89 Miami - ND on Thanksgiving weekend was like Ali-Frazier to me. Still in my Mt Rushmore of Hurricane victories
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One of the best non-championship wins in Miami history. #1 for me, was on my 25th birthday. God I suddenly feel old.

Others would be 1991 @FSU, 1981 vs Penn State, 1987 @FSU, 1988 @Michigan.

My Rushmore has 5.
 
SWFLHurricane said:
Erickson was outcoached...Plain & Simple...
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A friend of mine, a fellow who ran a sports equipment business and regularly sold to the athletic department, knew people in the Hecht Center very well. He also knew the football program very well. He blamed the BYU loss on Sonny, who was too conservative and didn't blitz Ty Detmer, who picked us apart with the short passing game. My recollection is that it was similar to the Sugar Bowl game loss to Tennessee at the end of the '85 season. It was probably Norm Chow, later a great OC for Pete Carroll at USC, who designed that BYU game plan and gave us fits. Chow was co-OC for BYU back then.

Sonny and JJ ran similar pressure defenses, but we always had some potential weaknesses that gave us problems.
 
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