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Looking Back — Michigan Football Season Openers – 1984 Miami

Looking Back is a Special Feature by Jeff Cummins

In 1984 the national economy was roaring as hiring and production were both rising quickly. The United States of America was experiencing a new, flashy style, as boutique TV networks MTV and ESPN served specific segments of the marketplace.

The Miami Hurricanes represented that flashy new style as well as any team in college football. The Hurricanes had won the the national championship the year before, and they possessed speed and a high-powered offense, along with the attitude to go with it.

Sometimes, though, attitude can get you in trouble. The defending national champion Hurricanes brought an undefeated record into Michigan Stadium, along with a lot of swagger. Some players had Walkmans with them during warmups, and there were reports of players lying down on the brick wall surrouding the field, making sure they got some sun.

The Miami Hurricanes soon learned that teams should never enter Michigan Stadium expecting a day at the beach.

While Miami’s players warmed up at a leisurely pace, Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler approached the warmups with his traditional rigor, putting the first-string players against each other, and hitting at full speed. Once the game began, the swagger that Miami carried as defending national champions was eliminated pretty quickly. The great irony is that Miami quarterback Bernie Kosar, a native son of the midwest, hailing from Boardman, Ohio, was interceptepted three times by Michigan defensive back Rodney Lyles, a native of Miami, Fla. By the end of the game, the Wolverines had intercepted Kosar six times, sacked him five times, and forced two fumbles en route to a 22-14 Michigan victory. Despite all of Miami’s star power, the game had come down to fundamentals and intensity, and Schembechler outcoached Jimmy Johnson all day long.

As alway, neither I nor umgoblue.com profit in any way from this blog post, and we thank YouTube, Katz Sports, and YouTube poster Football Fury for the video below.

About Jeff Cummins

Jeff Cummins has written about football since 1998, including nine years with The Record of Hackensack, N.J. He frequently contributes feature stories to Touchdown Illustrated, an insert in the national college football game program, published by University Sports Publications, and he has also written the official pregame stories for the game programs of the Rose Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Gator Bowl, and the BCS National Championship game. He has written the preview story for the official program for the NHL Winter Classic at MIchigan Stadium, and numerous college basketball feature stories for College Hoops Illustrated, another game program insert published by University Sports Publications. In addition, he has written stories about theater, music, physical therapy, and newsletter marketing. He’s an avid Michigan football fan and long-time New York Jets season ticket holder, and he can be reached at jeffcummins@optonline.net.

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