[2] Part of the 1984–85 bowl game season, it matched the fourteenth-ranked UCLA Bruins of the Pacific-10 Conference, and the #13 Miami Hurricanes, an independent.
On November 10 at the Orange Bowl, the Maryland Terrapins defeated the Hurricanes with the largest (at that time) comeback in college football.
[6] The next week at Orange Bowl, the Hurricanes faced the Boston College Eagles in a nationally televised game that has become known as "Hail Flutie."
[7] 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.
Later in the quarter, All-American wide receiver Eddie Brown fielded a punt, and took it 68 yards for a Hurricane touchdown, giving Miami a 14–7 lead.
In the second quarter, quarterback Bernie Kosar threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brian Blades to increase Miami's lead to 21–7.
Bruin quarterback Steve Bono found wide receiver Mike Sherrard for a ten-yard touchdown pass to reclaim the lead for UCLA, 29–24.
BYU of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) was the lone undefeated team and was ranked first in the final AP poll, after handing unranked Michigan its sixth loss of the season in the Holiday Bowl on December 21.