5t. Matt Walters/Ed Reed INT return for TD vs. Boston College (2001): 17 years after Hail Flutie, the 7-0 Hurricanes visited Boston College to continue their run towards a possible 5th national title. Despite failing to score a touchdown and possibly the worst game of Ken Dorsey’s career, Miami led 12-7 and was running the clock out late in the 4th quarter. Frank Gore’s fumble with 2:09 left, however, changed all that. BC took over and drove down the field. Eagles QB Brian St. Pierre completed a pass to Dedric Dewalt to bring the Eagles to the Miami 9 to set up a 1st and goal with 40 seconds remaining. St. Pierre dropped back on first down and fired a ball towards Ryan Read. The pass was too far in front of Read, however, and instead deflected off CB Mike Rumph’s knee and was sent directly towards Matt Walter who secured the interception. Walter starts to take off and ten yards later safety Ed Reed comes by and strips his teammate of the ball. Reed would take it the rest of the way for the score to give Miami a misleading 11 point win. The Canes would never look back. They would win out the remainder of their regular season games and throttle Nebraska in the Rose Bowl for their fifth school championship. Without that bit of luck in Chestnut Hill, the Canes likely have one less national title.
5t. Dorsey to Shockey (2000): After leading for most of the game, Miami found itself down by 4 with under two minutes to go against #1 Florida State. Sophomore quarterback Ken Dorsey engineers what is now known as ‘The Drive.’ Hitting 5 of 6 passes, he brings the offense to the FSU 8 yard line. A false start penalty moves it back to the 13 and with 46 seconds left, Dorsey hits Jeremy Shockey over the middle on a tight end curl for the go ahead touchdown. The catch and ensuing 27-24 victory assured everyone that Miami was back on the national scene.
4. Al Hudson’s 89 yard INT return for a TD (1945): Miami was a fledgling program, returning to play in the Orange Bowl game for the first time since losing to Bucknell, 26-0, in 1934. They faced the Holy Cross Crusaders, led by quarterback Gene DeFilippo. With the game tied at 6-6 and seconds remaining, Holy Cross was driving at midfield. DeFilippo heaved a bomb towards the end zone that was deflected and landed in the arms of Miami’s Al Hudson. Hudson took off for pay dirt, crossing the Holy Cross 35 as the clock ticked to zero. He made it all the way to the end zone for the winning score giving Miami its first Orange Bowl victory.
3. Randall Hill 3rd and 43 (1989): This night game versus Notre Dame was simply one of the most electric games in the history of the Orange Bowl. Up 17-10 in the 3rd quarter, a series of penalties put Miami in a unique 3rd and 43 situation from deep in their own territory. Quarterback Craig Erickson drops back and hits a streaking Randall Hill, who was able to get behind the Irish secondary. The result was a 44 yard completion that put Miami in Notre Dame territory and led to a 27-10 victory. No other play is as associated with the UM swagger as this one.
2. Michael Irvin’s 73 yard TD catch vs. FSU (1987): Miami was seeking redemption after losing the national title game to Penn State a year earlier. Having beaten #20 Florida and #10 Arkansas, the third ranked Hurricanes came into Tallahassee to face the #4 Seminoles. FSU jumped out early and took a 19-3 lead late into the third quarter. Touchdowns by Melvin Bratton and Irvin tied the game at 19. The stage was set. With the game tied, Miami found itself with the ball at its own 27 yard line. It is 3rd and 7; less than three minutes remain in the game. Steve Walsh approaches the line of scrimmage, only to notice that one of the FSU safeties is cheating ever so slightly and calls an audible to Irvin. Streaking down the sideline, Irvin catches Walsh’s pass in stride as he gets behind the defense. Irvin’s touchdown catch capped off one of the greatest comebacks in school history and put the Hurricanes in prime position to win their second national title.
1. Kenny Calhoun pass deflection vs. Nebraska in Orange Bowl (1984): No play in the history of Miami Hurricane football had as much of an impact on the program as this failed two point conversion. Nebraska was undefeated, ranked #1 in the nation heading into this game. The Canes were ranked fifth in the AP poll and fourth in the UPI poll. #2 Texas had lost earlier in the day to Georgia. Third ranked Auburn – who already had a loss – won in unimpressive fashion earlier in the day (a 9-7 victory over 
Michigan). Now pan to Jeff Smith’s touchdown with 48 seconds left, pulling the Huskers within one point at 31-30. It’s quite simple. All Osborne has to do is kick the extra point for the tie (there was no overtime in college football at the time), and Nebraska is declared the national champion. That decision is quite debatable and one has to wonder what the Miami program would be like if Osborne did not elect to go for two. As QB Turner Gill rolled out, he rushed a pass in Smith’s direction that was deflected by Kenny Calhoun’s outstretched arms. The ball fell to the ground incomplete. Coach Howard Schnellenberger had made good on his promise to bring Miami a national championship within five years and this win – more specifically, this play – ushered in a new era of dominance on the college football landscape for years to come.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
How can you leave out the Craig Erickson pass to Randal Hill on 3rd down and 43 against Notre Dame in 1989? Take out the Gerry Thomas in the original Wide Right. That was was more of a bad play by FSU rather than a great play by the Canes.
To be honest, we have it at #6 (Dorsey to Shockey at #7)…we were looking more at plays that had an impact on the program. Miami was up 17-10 in the 3rd quarter when that play happened. If Thomas makes that kick, we don’t have our 4th title in 9 years.
Fair enough. But converting on 3rd and 43 is extremely rare. I can’t remember another situation similar to that one. However, missed field goals happen all time. Hell, there have been 3 different Wide Rights and one Wide Left. Sorry. But I gotta disagree with you. The 3rd and 43 play is much better than Gerry Thomas’s miss. By far.
I had Dorsey to Shockey in the Top 5. BIG turning point for the program, not just the game itself. It legitimized Miami again on a national stage. They beat a top ranked in-state rival who had beaten UM 5 years in a row. Beat a Heisman-winning QB in Weinke. @MSP – agree with you on the Wide L/R’s. I got out-voted.
Alright, alright…no more emails on 3rd and 43 being omitted. The fans have spoken. We’ll have a revote on the top plays and we’ll look into having a separate Top 5 for Most Influential Plays in Hurricanes History. I’d like to see Barrow’s hit on Vanover on a list somewhere, too.
Great list. I’d have Shockey a spot or two higher.
Good picks and of course the Calhoun tip belongs there, but let me point out that there were still 38 seconds left and Miami had two timeouts. Even if NU had converted the two (or kicked for the tie), I still think Kosar would have driven the team into FG range in the last 38 seconds and Jeff Davis would have won the game.
Patrick – good point. Kosar said himself that he almost wanted Nebraska to convert as he was very confident that he could drive the offense down the field for the game winning FG. One thing to note is that Davis just missed a 42 yard field goal in the 4th quarter that would have given Miami a 10 point lead.
T. Mack’s blocked punt v. WVU
T Mack’s blocked punt was a great play and should certainly be in a Top 10, but we thought that the game itself wasn’t as meaningful as the others on this list. Remember, even though West Virginia was 7-0 at the time, Miami had already had two losses entering that game.
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