The Hurricanes were led by first-year head coach Jimmy Johnson and played their home games at the Orange Bowl.

They beat a ranked Notre Dame team in South Bend to return to the top 10.

On November 10, at the Miami Orange Bowl, Maryland defeated the Hurricanes with the largest comeback in college football history.

[3] Two weeks later at the Orange Bowl stadium, the Hurricanes faced the Boston College Eagles in a nationally televised game that has become known as "Hail Flutie".

[4] The game is most notable for a last-second Hail Mary pass from quarterback Doug Flutie to wide receiver Gerard Phelan to give Boston College the win.