Miami-Cal 1990...

[ddann]

Detmer had an unbelievable game in ‘90. I’ve never seen a dude complete more passes while almost flat on his back than he did that day. So frustrating. And then, early in the Cal game it looked like their QB (Pawlawski?) was starting to do the same thing. But it didn’t last long.

 

[TheMatador]

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

Today, I guess Darren could have gotten out of the LOI on those grounds. We weren't honest with him, though. Even I knew we were playing him. He thought he was going to come to Miami to be a LB. JJ's intention was always to have him play with his hand on the ground. I was hearing that from my friends who were plugged in. The Erickson defensive staff agreed and Darren was switched. Whether he could have been a successful LB elsewhere, or in the pros, is doubtful. The Johnson staff knew he didn't have the hips to be true LB.

The FSU game, as I recall, we were starting a RS freshman QB, Torretta, because Erickson was out. Despite what somebody said in another post about Erickson being the most overrated QB in UM history--I don't know if I agree. Craig had a problem that he carried to the pros. He was terribly inconsistent. He could make some great plays and then he would make some not so great plays.

Interestingly, one of the best articles I ever read on college football was by a columnist, whose name I've long since forgotten, about that UM-Cal game in 1990. It was published in Football News, a now defunct but longtime print newspaper dedicated to college and pro football. I used to subscribe. The article was beautifully written, much better than typical sports journalism, and it was in praise of the extraordinary performance of Erickson, who I think threw something like 18 complete passes in that game. The author, who had spent many years, decades even, writing about college football, described it as one of the most extraordinary performances by a college QB that he had ever seen.

Now, I can't even find anything about Football News on the internet--no wikipedia, no archive, not even a mention. I did find some of its All-America teams posted in archives of other old newspaper articles. It was once a respected part of the sports journalism scene, along with Sporting News, Pro Football Weekly, and many others.

 

[bestever1991]

Craig Erickson was a great QB and was not overrated. I went to almost every one of his home games and let me tell you, he had a canon arm and was accurate. There were a lot of good teams we played in 1989 and Erickson came through every time, especially in the ND game. He also helped us win the NC in the Sugar Bowl, relatively handily beating a really good Alabama team on the road. He was the QB when we beat a relatively highly ranked Pitt team 24-3 on the road. They were a good team and I was worried about that game. In the 1990 season, his stats are phenomenal.

The BYU game is what cost us the NC. The ND game at least we played a great team. I'm still perplexed as to how the 1990 team didn't coast to the NC.

 

[bestever1991]

I've been meaning to mention that 1989 Michigan State game on the road. Craig Erickson got hurt I think when it was tied 20-20. Gino Torretta, forced into play as a freshman, did an amazing job driving the team in position for 2 Carlos Huerta FG's. That's one of the most memorable games for me. And Toretta played great for the most part the next 5 games. He tore up a lot of defenses some of those games at the OB. Erickson did too a year later. Those 2 years, '89 and '90, every home game the passing game was destroying defenses. There were a lot of 300 and 400 yard passing games and I think almost all of them were at the OB.

1989 was a monumental schedule. There were road games at FSU, Michigan State and Pitt. FSU finished 3rd. MSU and Pitt both finished in the top 20 that season. That's not even taking into account the ND game. They finished 2nd because of us! To win the NC with that schedule, that's why I think that Canes team could beat any team ever. That DL had not only Cortez Kennedy and Russell Maryland, but all sorts of great players like Jimmie Jones, Shane Curry, and Greg Mark. And we had to play a road game in the Sugar Bowl against a 1 loss Bama team which was on the rise. The night we won the NC I remember my dad set up 2 tv's to watch our game and the ND game. Still have a shirt with the next day's Miami Herald cover.

 

[LPK2006]

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.

While an amazing team, they were very ****y and were not prepared for BYU. Also, I think the altitude really got to them. None of those guys ever played above sea level.

 

[bestever1991]

I appreciate these days exponentially more than I did then, probably because of the last decade and a half. One game I remember well is the BC game that year. We were up only 14-12 at half time shockingly. But the offense caught fire and it ended up 42-12.

One thing that's baffling about the last decade and a half is that UM had better teams in the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's than the 2010's for instance. I once said to my grandmother, "the Hurricanes weren't great until the 1980's". She got upset for the only time in my life. She said that UM had great teams before the 1980's. And sure enough they did. In the 1950's and 1960's there were top ten finishes. The 1954 team finished 10th in the Coaches Poll (11th in the AP poll). In 1956 UM ended ranked 6th in the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. In 1966 UM finished 9th in the AP poll and 10th in the Coaches Poll.

You could go even further back to 1950, when UM went through the regular season undefeated and played in the Orange Bowl. That team finished 15th in the AP poll and 13th in the Coaches Poll. Even more, the 1945 team beat a ranked Holy Cross team in the Orange Bowl.

 

[k9cane]

I appreciate these days exponentially more than I did then, probably because of the last decade and a half. One game I remember well is the BC game that year. We were up only 14-12 at half time shockingly. But the offense caught fire and it ended up 42-12.

One thing that's baffling about the last decade and a half is that UM had better teams in the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's than the 2010's for instance. I once said to my grandmother, "the Hurricanes weren't great until the 1980's". She got upset for the only time in my life. She said that UM had great teams before the 1980's. And sure enough they did. In the 1950's and 1960's there were top ten finishes. The 1954 team finished 10th in the Coaches Poll (11th in the AP poll). In 1956 UM ended ranked 6th in the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. In 1966 UM finished 9th in the AP poll and 10th in the Coaches Poll.

You could go even further back to 1950, when UM went through the regular season undefeated and played in the Orange Bowl. That team finished 15th in the AP poll and 13th in the Coaches Poll. Even more, the 1945 team beat a ranked Holy Cross team in the Orange Bowl.

the question is -- will they ever be great again?

 

[bestever1991]

I think they can go undefeated at home this year. The goals should be to go undefeated at home and finish in the top 10. It's been 19 and 18 years respectively. Get a 10+ game home winning streak going for the first time in almost 20 years.