Miami Hurricanes return to Cotton Bowl in search of another legendary performance

With every passing game, the Miami Hurricanes hit a new high under Mario Cristobal. It is no secret that this program has been mediocre (or worse) over the majority of the last quarter century, but things are going in a positive direction with this CFP run.

If you’re looking for hope for the future, a great place to look is into the past. That’s just what we’re going to do today.

Miami has played in the Cotton Bowl exactly once previously, but it’s a game I’m sure you have heard of or remember. Even if you’re a younger fan/reader, you know the game I’m talking about: the 1991 Cotton Bowl against the Texas Longhorns.

We wrote about this game in our Miami Hurricanes Games We Love feature back in the summer of 2018, and everything we said about that game still stands. This game was a tour-de-force, a true destruction of epic proportions by the Hurricanes against an overmatched and under talented Longhorns team.

In the 1990 regular season, Miami was coming off their 2nd national championship in 3 years. They’d just won a ring in head coach Dennis Erickson’s first season, and were ranked #1 heading into the year, with tons of talent returning and 3 titles in the previous 7 seasons. This was absolutely a championship caliber team….but things didn’t work out like that.

Miami lost the opener to massive underdogs BYU, and dropped another game midway through the year to Notre Dame. They won the remainder of their games, including a 31-22 win over #2 Florida State (lol, suckers), and ended the regular season at 9-2. The Canes were passed over for an Orange Bowl berth in favor of Notre Dame (who beat Miami, so they had a legit claim to be there. SOUND FAMILIAR?!), and thus wouldn’t be in the conversation for another national championship.

As a consolation, Miami was placed in the Cotton Bowl against Texas. The Longhorns entered at 10-1, with their only loss coming against a Colorado Buffaloes team that would split the National Championship with Georgia Tech. With Miami ranked 4th and Texas ranked 3rd, this matchup in the Cotton Bowl was as big a bowl game as you could have, even if it wouldn’t decide the National Championship.

The game was over before it started. Robert Bailey knocked out the Texas returner on the opening kickoff, and it was a landslide from there. Miami would win 46-3 in the biggest blowout ever in the Cotton Bowl.

That was hardly the story, however. Miami, angered by their snub from the Orange Bowl, let their emotions and personality flow with regularity. The Canes celebrated every single play they made on the day, and rolled up 16 penalties for 202 yards, a record that stands to this day.

The NCAA, which hated (and hates) Miami and their brash attitude which was breaking the longtime CFB establishment, instituted a new rule penalizing celebrations and other “unsportsmanlike acts”. This was known as the Miami Rule, and it still lives in the NCAA rulebook. See any player penalized for celebrating? That’s the Miami Rule in action to this day.

So, the first and only time Miami played in the Cotton Bowl, they left their top-5 competition hurt, humiliated, and humbled. As Miami returns to the Cotton Bowl game (not the stadium), they look to do something similar against Ohio State.

No, I’m not predicting a 46-3 blowout Miami victory (although I’d surely take one!) in this game, the stage is set for the Canes to make another major statement in a game that helped cement their status as the bad boys of college football.

Then, Miami faced the #3 team in the country. Now, they face the #2 team in the country. Then, they played Texas, a national brand with championship aspirations. Now, they play Ohio State, a national brand that are the defending National Champions and are looking to repeat.

And the one thing standing in the way of both of them at the Cotton Bowl are the Miami Hurricanes.

There’s already been one legendary performance that will stand the test of time delivered by the Miami Hurricanes in the Cotton Bowl. Here’s hoping for another one in 2 days time.

Go Canes