| Year: | 1985 |
| Team: | Miami Hurricanes |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Independent |
| Coachrank: | 8 |
| Aprank: | 9 |
| Record: | 10–2 |
| Head Coach: | Jimmy Johnson |
| Hc Year: | 2nd |
| Off Coach: | Gary Stevens |
| Oc Year: | 3rd |
| Off Scheme: | Pro-style |
| Def Coach: | Paul Jette |
| Dc Year: | 1st |
| Def Scheme: | 4–3 |
| Stadium: | Miami Orange Bowl |
| Bowl: | Sugar Bowl |
| Bowl Result: | L 7–35 vs. Tennessee |
The 1985 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Hurricanes' 60th season of football. The Hurricanes were led by second-year head coach Jimmy Johnson and played their home games at the Miami Orange Bowl. They finished the season 10–2 overall. They were invited to the Sugar Bowl, where they lost to Tennessee, 35–7.
| Player | Class | Pos | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vinny Testaverde* | QB | 216 Cmp, 352 Att, 3238 Yds, 21 TD | |
| Geoff Torretta | QB | 11 Cmp, 16 Att, 263 Yds, 3 TD | |
| Alonzo Highsmith* | RB | 117 Att, 451 Yds, 3.9 Avg | |
| Warren Williams* | RB | 89 Att, 522 Yds, 5.9 Avg | |
| Melvin Bratton | RB | 67 Att, 285 Yds, 4.3 Avg | |
| Darryl Oliver | RB | 66 Att, 264 Yds, 4.0 Avg | |
| J.C. Penny | RB | 21 Att, 181 Yds, 8.6 Avg | |
| Todd Stanish | RB | 11 Att, 31 Yds, 2.8 Avg | |
| Steve Staffier | RB | 2 Att, 8 Yds, 4.0 Avg | |
| Michael Irvin* | WR | 46 Rec, 840 Yds, 18.3 Avg | |
| Brian Blades* | WR | 30 Rec, 657 Yds, 21.9 Avg | |
| Brett Perriman | WR | 14 Rec, 263 Yds, 18.8 Avg | |
| Kenny Oliver | WR | 5 Rec, 125 Yds, 25.0 Avg | |
| Andre Brown | WR | 2 Rec, 23 Yds, 11.5 Avg | |
| Willie Smith* | TE | 48 Rec, 669 Yds, 13.9 Avg | |
| Charles Henry | TE | 4 Rec, 48 Yds, 12.0 Avg | |
| Alfredo Roberts | TE | 1 Rec, 4 Yds, 4.0 Avg | |
| Dave Alekna* | OL | ||
| Paul Bertucelli* | OL | ||
| Ed Davis* | OL | ||
| Paul O'Connor* | OL | ||
| Greg Rakoczy* | OL | ||
| John O'Neill | OL | ||
| Matt Patchan | OL | ||
| Jerome Brown* | DL | ||
| Kevin Fagan* | DL | ||
| Derwin Jones* | DL | ||
| John McVeigh* | DL | ||
| Victor Morris | DL | ||
| Dan Sileo | DL | ||
| Daniel Stubbs | DL | ||
| Rod Carter* | LB | ||
| Bruce Fleming* | LB | ||
| Randy Shannon* | LB | ||
| Winston Moss | LB | ||
| Tolbert Bain* | DB | ||
| Selwyn Brown* | DB | ||
| Donald Ellis* | DB | ||
| Darrell Fullington* | DB | ||
| Bennie Blades | DB | ||
| Jeff Feagles | P |
Jimmy Johnson and his staff had the key recruit in the 1985 class QB Steve Walsh Jimmy also continued collecting talent from Florida, "Ten of the 19 signees are from Florida. Last year, 18 of the 25 high school players who signed letters were from Florida (11 from Dade and Broward), and 19 of 26 who signed in 1983 were from Florida (nine from Dade and Broward)."[1]
| Name | Position | Seasons | Alma mater |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | 2nd | Arkansas (1965) | |
| Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks | 6th | John Carroll (1965) | |
| Paul Jette | Defensive Coordinator/defensive backs | 1st | Texas (1977) |
| Wide receivers | 7th | Tennessee State (1962) | |
| Joe Brodsky | Running backs | 8th | Florida (1956) |
| 2nd | Arkansas (1973) | ||
| Art Kehoe | 1st | Miami (1982) | |
| Don Soldinger | Tight ends | 2nd | Memphis (1967) |
| Tony Wise | 1st | Ithaca (1972) | |
| Mike Knoll | Linebackers | 2nd | Missouri Western State (1975) |
| Name | Position | Seasons | Alma mater | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Foran | 1st | Central Michigan (1977) | ||
| Tom Ciskowski | Volunteer assistant | |||
| Mark Gibson | Volunteer assistant |
See also: 1985 Florida Gators football team and Florida–Miami football rivalry.
See also: Rice Owls football.
See also: 1985 Boston College Eagles football team.
See also: 1985 East Carolina Pirates football team.
See also: Cincinnati Bearcats football.
See also: 1985 Oklahoma Sooners football team.
See also: 1985 Louisville Cardinals football team.
See also: 1985 Florida State Seminoles football team and Florida State–Miami football rivalry.
Despite being sacked seven times, Vinny Testaverde passed the Hurricanes to victory with 339 yards and four touchdowns.[4]
See also: 1985 Maryland Terrapins football team.
See also: 1985 Colorado State Rams football team.
See also: 1985 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team.
Miami scored the most points in a game since 1967. The Hurricanes scored on their first four possessions, the fifth was ended when time ran out at halftime, and then they scored the first four times they got the ball in the second half.[6]
See main article: 1986 Sugar Bowl.
See also: 1985 Tennessee Volunteers football team.
See main article: 1986 NFL draft.
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Defensive tackle | 4 | 102 | San Francisco 49ers | |
| Defensive back | 5 | 115 | New Orleans Saints | |
| Tight end | 10 | 265 | Cleveland Browns | |
| John McVeigh | Linebacker | 12 | 321 | Seattle Seahawks |