1979 Miami Hurricanes football team

The 1979 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Hurricanes' 54th season of football. The Hurricanes were led by first-year head coach Howard Schnellenberger and played their home games at the Orange Bowl. They finished the season 5–6 overall.

1979 Miami Hurricanes football
Conference	Independent
1979 record	5–6
Head coach	Howard Schnellenberger (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Kim Helton (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Rick Lantz (3rd season)
Home stadium	Miami Orange Bowl (Capacity: 80,045)

1979 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 6 Florida State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 7 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
UNLV		–		–				9	–	1	–	2
No. 17 Temple		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
Tulane		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				7	–	3	–	1
No. 20 Penn State		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Navy		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				6	–	4	–	1
Syracuse		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Colgate		–		–				5	–	4	–	1
Boston College		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Holy Cross		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Memphis		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Miami		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
North Texas State		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Villanova		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Louisville		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
William & Mary		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Army		–		–				2	–	8	–	1
Air Force		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Richmond		–		–				0	–	11	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 15	Louisville	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 24–12	41,129
September 22	at No. 14 Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)		L 23–40	47,679
September 29	Louisiana Tech	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 6–0	20,069
October 6	at Florida A&M	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL		L 13–16	34,743
October 13	at San Diego State	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA		L 20–31	40,126
October 20	Boston College	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 19–8	15,013
October 27	at Syracuse	Rich Stadium Orchard, Park, NY		L 15–25	7,729
November 3	at No. 19 Penn State	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 26–10	77,532
November 17	at No. 1 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	ABC	L 0–30	54,500
November 24	vs. Notre Dame	Korakuen Stadium Tokyo, Japan (Mirage Bowl)		L 15–40	62,674
December 1	Florida	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)		W 30–24	28,051
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[1]

Roster

1979 Miami Hurricanes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 13 Jim Joiner Jr QB 12 Jim Kelly Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 31 Fred Marion So DT 91 Bob Nelson So DB 11 Mark Smith Jr DB 2 John Swain Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Howard Schnellenberger Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Alabama

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miami (FL)	0	0	0	0	0
Alabama	10	0	7	13	30

at Bryant–Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

• Date: November 17, 1979
• Game attendance: 54,500
• TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels and Frank Broyles
• Recap

Game information

Scoring ALA: James Haney TD run Passing MIA: Mike Rodrique 4/13, 37 yards, 2 INT, Jim Kelly 2/15, 10 yards, 3 INT ALA: Steadman Shealy 9/15, 187 yards Rushing MIA: Chris Hobbs 9–44, Gary Breckner 3–22, Mike Rodrique 3–21 ALA: Steve Whitman 11–70, Steadman Shealy 14–28, Mitch Ferguson 4–27, Major Ogilvie 9–26, TD Receiving MIA: Larry Brodsky 1–15, Jim Joiner 2–10, Andy Baratta 1–9, Chris Hobbs 1–9 ALA: Keith Pugh 7–126, Tim Travis 1–56

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Miami (FL) Alabama 1 Alabama Tim Travis 56-yard touchdown reception from Steadman Shealy, Alan McElroy kick good 0 7 1 Alabama 24-yard field goal by Alan McElroy 0 10 3 Alabama Major Ogilvie 1-yard touchdown run, Alan McElroy kick good 0 17 4 Alabama 25-yard field goal by Alan McElroy 0 20 4 Alabama 40-yard field goal by Alan McElroy 0 23 4 Alabama James Haney 5-yard touchdown run, Alan McElroy kick good 0 30 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 0 30

Statistics

Passing

Player	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	INT
Rodrique	94	201	1,197	2
Kelly	48	104	721	5

Rushing

Player	Att	Yds	TD
Hobbs	105	406
Roan	97	307
Breckner	47	179

Receiving

Player	Rec	Yards	TD
Brodsky	30	495
Walker	24	625
Joiner	24	293

[2]

References

1. College Football @ Sports-Reference.com
2. Broyles, Bob and Paul Guido. 50 Years of College Football: A Modern History of America's Most Colorful Sport.