1978 Miami Hurricanes football team

1978 Miami Hurricanes football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–5
Head coach	Lou Saban (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Rick Lantz (2nd season)
Home stadium	Miami Orange Bowl

1978 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Penn State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
North Texas State		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Navy		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 7 Notre Dame		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Florida State		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Temple		–		–				7	–	3	–	1
Pittsburgh		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Holy Cross		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Louisville		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
UNLV		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				6	–	4	–	1
Georgia Tech		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Hawaii		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
William & Mary		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Villanova		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Army		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Memphis State		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Tulane		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Air Force		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Colgate		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Richmond		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Boston College		–		–				0	–	11	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1978 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami as an independent during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Lou Saban in his second and final year as head coach, the Hurricanes played their home games at the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. Miami finished the season with a record of 6–5.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16		at Colorado	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		L 7–17	44,714
September 23		No. 13 Florida State	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)	ABC	L 21–31	25,003
September 30		at Kansas	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS		W 38–6	36,372–47,420
October 7		at No. 19 Auburn	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL		W 17–15	55,136
October 14		at Georgia Tech	Grant Field Atlanta, GA		L 19–24	29,695
October 21		Utah State	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 17–16	25,702
October 28	2:30 p.m.	at No. 19 Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		L 0–20	59,075
November 4		at Tulane	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA		L 16–20	20,045
November 18		San Diego State	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 16–14	17,468
November 25		Syracuse	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 21–9	15,793
December 2		at Florida	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		W 22–21	47,815
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1978 Miami Hurricanes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class FB, RB 47 Ottis Anderson Sr WR 17 E.J. Baker Sr OT, G 58 Clem Barbarino Fr WR 43 Larry Brodsky Fr TE, P 85 Mark Cooper Fr RB, FB 40 Chris Hobbs So WR 13 James Joiner So QB 7 Jim Kelly  Fr QB 15 Kenny McMillian So QB 18 Mark Richt Fr FB 49 Mark Rush Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class ILB 57 Mozell Axson So MG 83 Jim Burt So DB 31 Fred Marion Fr ILB 66 Scott Nicolas Fr DB 37 Rick Valerio Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 1 Danny Miller Fr	Head coach Lou Saban Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Florida State

#13 Florida State Seminoles (2–0) at Miami (FL) Hurricanes (0–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida St	0	14	7	10	31
Miami (FL)	7	7	0	7	21

at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

• Date: September 23, 1978
• Game weather: Cloudy, 83 °F (28 °C)
• Game attendance: 25,003
• Box Score

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida St	Passing	Jimmy Jordan	8/12, 83 Yds, TD, INT
	Rushing	Homes Johnson	23 Rush, 90 Yds
	Receiving	Mark Lyles	5 Rec, 58 Yds, TD
Miami (FL)	Passing	Mark Richt	5/11, 74 Yds, TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Ottis Anderson	15 Rush, 137 Yds, TD
	Receiving	Mark Cooper	3 Rec, 48 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP FSU UM 1 9:27 1 80 0:15 Miami (FL) Ottis Anderson 80-yard touchdown run, Danny Miller kick good 0 7 2 12:57 Florida St Blocked punt returned 48 yards for touchdown by Mark Macek, Dave Cappelen kick good 7 7 2 9:25 2 52 0:19 Miami (FL) James Joiner 48-yard touchdown run, Danny Miller kick good 7 14 2 2:49 13 76 6:36 Florida St Jackie Flowers 4-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Jordan, Dave Cappelen kick good 14 14 3 8:15 7 41 3:44 Florida St Wally Woodham 1-yard touchdown run, Dave Cappelen kick good 21 14 4 6:58 4 -3 0:52 Florida St 26-yard field goal by Dave Cappelen 24 14 4 4:27 5 65 2:31 Miami (FL) E.J. Baker 27-yard touchdown reception from Mark Richt, Danny Miller kick good 24 21 4 1:14 4 31 0:42 Florida St Mark Lyles 22-yard touchdown reception from Wally Woodham, Dave Cappelen kick good 31 21 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 31 21