CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1986 Miami

11–⁠1, coached by Jimmy Johnson, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Miami in 1986, game by game: won at South Carolina 34–14; won at No. 13 Florida 23–15; won vs. Texas Tech 61–11; won vs. No. 1 Oklahoma 28–16; won vs. Northern Illinois 34–0; won at West Virginia 58–14; won at Cincinnati 45–13; won vs. No. 20 Florida State 41–23; won at Pittsburgh 37–10; won vs. Tulsa 23–10; won vs. East Carolina 36–10; lost vs. No. 2 Penn State 10–14+50−4Won 34–14 at South Carolina+20South CarolinaWon 23–15 at No. 13 Florida+8No. 13 FloridaWon 61–11 vs. Texas Tech+50Texas TechWon 28–16 vs. No. 1 Oklahoma+12No. 1 OklahomaWon 34–0 vs. Northern Illinois+34Northern Illino…Won 58–14 at West Virginia+44West VirginiaWon 45–13 at Cincinnati+32CincinnatiWon 41–23 vs. No. 20 Florida State+18No. 20 Florida StateWon 37–10 at Pittsburgh+27PittsburghWon 23–10 vs. Tulsa+13TulsaWon 36–10 vs. East Carolina+26East CarolinaLost 10–14 vs. No. 2 Penn State-4No. 2 Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atSouth CarolinaW 34–⁠1465%
Sep 6at13FloridaW 23–⁠1541%
Sep 13vsTexas TechW 61–⁠1183%
Sep 27vs1OklahomaW 28–⁠1655%
Oct 4vsNorthern IllinoisW 34–⁠093%
Oct 11atWest VirginiaW 58–⁠1473%
Oct 18atCincinnatiW 45–⁠1382%
Nov 1vs20Florida StateW 41–⁠2375%
Nov 8atPittsburghW 37–⁠1074%
Nov 15vsTulsaW 23–⁠1083%
Nov 27vsEast CarolinaW 36–⁠1095%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs2Penn StateFiesta BowlL 10–⁠1454%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Penn State 14–⁠10 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 10th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 96 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 3
  2. Wk 2: 2
  3. Wk 3: 2
  4. Wk 4: 2
  5. Wk 5: 1
  6. Wk 6: 1
  7. Wk 7: 1
  8. Wk 8: 1
  9. Wk 9: 1
  10. Wk 10: 1
  11. Wk 11: 1
  12. Wk 12: 1
  13. Wk 13: 1
  14. Wk 14: 1
  15. Final: 2

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1986.

Led the nationVinny Testaverde: passing touchdowns (26 TD), passer rating (165.8)

Heisman TrophyVinny Testaverde, QB; also the Maxwell, Walter Camp and Davey O’Brien

3 consensus All-AmericansVinny Testaverde, QB; Jerome Brown, DT; Bennie Blades, S

Walter Camp Coach of the YearJimmy Johnson, coach

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
—
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 1
Points
430–⁠150
Coach
Jimmy Johnson
Elo
1792 +139 this season
SP+ rating
31.9 No. 2 of 101; offense No. 2, defense No. 5
SRS
26.4 No. 2 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Gary Stevens
Defensive coordinator
Dave Wannstedt
Most valuable player
Vinny Testaverde
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1987

The 1987 draft
Rd 1Vinny Testaverde QBTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 1Alonzo Highsmith RBHouston Oilers
Rd 1Jerome Brown DTPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 2Gregg Rakoczy CCleveland Browns
Rd 2Winston Moss LBTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 5Paul O’Connor OGNew York Giants