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

[citation needed] In 1985, Miami finished the regular season 10–1, and had a chance to win the national title with Penn State's loss to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.

Led by Heisman Trophy-winner Vinny Testaverde, a record breaking offense, and the 5th-ranked defense in the country, #1 Miami was a prohibitive favorite heading into its Fiesta Bowl matchup against #2 Penn State.

Despite losing three key players (Testaverde, Alonzo Highsmith, and Jerome Brown) from the '86 squad who were selected within the first nine picks of the 1987 NFL draft, 1987 was expected to be somewhat of a reloading year for Miami, which began the season ranked 10th in the nation by the AP poll.

Under the direction of sophomore quarterback Steve Walsh and a defense that returned nine starters, Miami opened the regular season with a win over rival Florida, 31–4.

[8] [9][10][11] Miami's rigorous early season schedule continued the next week with a showdown with #4 Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.

Miami was forced to punt again, and a big return by FSU's Deion Sanders put Florida State in position to add another Schmidt field goal to make the score 19–3.

Spurred on by an impassioned speech from receiver Michael Irvin, the Hurricanes were able to keep their focus and climbed back into the game when Walsh found a streaking Melvin Bratton for a 49-yard touchdown.

Miami went for two, which they converted when Walsh was able to hook up with receiver Brian Blades, trimming the FSU lead to 19–11 heading into the fourth quarter.

With the game now tied at 19–19 and its 16-point lead evaporated, Florida State staged a drive of its own, taking the ball down to the Miami 17-yard line before quarterback Danny McManus fumbled the snap, which was recovered by Bennie Blades.

[citation needed] Walsh walked to the line, read the FSU defense, and called an audible for Irvin, who was appropriately nicknamed "The Playmaker" due to his penchant for making big plays.

Nevertheless, Bowden initially had decided to kick the extra point and settle for the tie, as he had stated[citation needed] when asked before the game what he would do if he found himself in this exact predicament.

Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz brought an upset minded Irish squad to the Orange Bowl, but they proved to be little match for Daniel Stubbs and a relentless Hurricane defense.

Oklahoma was a dominant force in college football, winning the national championship in 1985 and losing just one game in each of the preceding two years.

Johnson received a Gatorade bath, which messed his trademark impeccably coiffed hair, and was carried off the field, having finally won "the big one" at Miami.

Roster [citation needed] Bold indicates winners A total of 12 Hurricanes were selected by 10 different franchises in the 1988 NFL draft, including three wide receivers in the first 52 picks.