“4’s Up Flashbacks” is a mini-series on all seasons ending with a four. 2014, 2004, 1994, 1984 and 1974 will all be covered in the series.
“4’s Up Flashbacks” is a mini-series on all seasons ending with a four. The 2014, 2004, 1994, 1984 and 1974 seasons will be covered in the series.
Welcome to the third installment of the “4’s Up Flashbacks” series- the 1994 season. The 1994 Hurricanes were led by Dennis Erickson, the second Championship coach in the series (Larry Coker being the other, so far).
Erickson had a stunned record as the head coach at The U. In his previous five seasons in Coral Gables, Erickson had a record of 53-7 with two National Championship rings to boot (1989, 1991).
Erickson’s ‘Canes had been decimated by Hurricane Andrew, injuries, and the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 1993 Sugar Bowl and that was the early signs of leaks having sprung in the hull of the Miami boat.
The ‘93 ‘Canes struggled on offense with multiple QB’s and finished 9-3 with losses to FSU, West Virginia, and Arizona. However, Miami did beat ranked opponents in Colorado and Boston College with freshman linebacker Ray Lewis making his presence known in college football.
Miami started the ‘94 season 2-0 before Washington ended the Hurricanes 58 game home winning streak with a 38-20 final. Miami didn’t have the same fight they’d shown in previous years and the writing was on the wall for Erickson’s time at Miami.
The ‘Canes with Frank Costa at QB and Jonathan Stewart at RB managed to run off eight straight wins including over no. 3 FSU, no. 13 Virginia Tech, no. 10 Syracuse, and no. 25 Boston College. A competitive Big East schedule would be a thing of the past by the 2001 season but in ‘94 the league was tough.
Miami’s offense scored 29 points per game (23rd in FBS) while Stewart, Danyell Ferguson and Larry Jones combined for 1500 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns. Costa threw 15 TD’s with 15 INT’s, and Chris T. Jones caught six touchdowns. Miami’s defense was the key to their success allowing only 9.9 PPG which was the best in FBS in ‘94.
The defense was loaded with future NFL players and even a pair of Hall of Famers in Ray Lewis and Warren Sapp. Sapp would go on to win the 1994 Outland Trophy. They were joined by future pros in CJ Richardson, Carlos Jones (team leading five INT’s), Kenard Lang, Kenny Holmes, Patrick Riley, Earl Little, Twan Russell, and James Burgess. Oh- and they played alongside some guy named Dwayne Johnson who had a short CFL career before heading off into obscurity.
By the time Miami faced the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the 1995 Orange Bowl Classic, the ‘Canes were 10-1 while the Huskers were 12-0 and scoring 33 PPG even without starting QB Tommie Frazier for most of the season.
Frazier started the game after being out with blood clots for much of the season. After a rocky start he was replaced by backup Brooks Berringer. The ‘Canes jumped out to an early lead, actually up 17-7, before Costa was sacked for a safety.
Nebraska knew that Miami was down to a pair of defensive tackles because of injuries to Johnson and Riley and picked on Warren Sapp who dominated early but wore down over the game. NU decided to hit FB Cory Schlesinger on their trap series and he ripped off two 4th quarter touchdown runs, along with a 2-point conversion pass from Frazier, to hold off the ‘Canes.
After the Orange Bowl loss Dennis Erickson packed his bags to return to the Pacific Northwest and the Seattle Seahawks, and Miami hired Dallas Cowboys DC Butch Davis to clean up the aftermath of NCAA Sanctions during the Erickson Era. Tom Osborne went on to win three national titles in four seasons to end his career on the NU sidelines.
Flashback Recap
The top song of 1994 was “The Sign” by Ace of Base. The highest rated movie at the box office was “The Lion King” (the most perfect movie ever made). “Schindler’s List” won the Oscar for best picture. Seinfeld was the highest rated TV show in ‘94 leaving us to ask, “What’s the deal with The U?!” since around Halloween of 2004.
Nintendo’s Gameboy was the best selling video game console, while Street Fighter II was the highest grossing game in the US. The New York Times best seller in 1994 was The Chamber by John Grisham.
Chlamydia wins again for the most common STD in the United States in ‘94. The Dan Marino and Don Shula led Miami Dolphins finished 10-6, ended Joe Montana’s career in the playoffs, and eventually lost to the San Diego Chargers in the Divisional Round. Shula would guide the Dolphins for one more season before retiring.
The ‘Canes baseball team made the trip to Omaha for the College World Series. They were lead by future head coach JD Arteaga as well as Danny Graves, Alex Cora, Ryan Grimmett, Rick Gama and managed by Jim Morris. The men’s basketball team finished 15-13 under Leonard Hamilton.
The Miami Heat were a mess with Glenn Rice and Grant Long as their star players, the Florida Marlins were on strike, the Florida Panthers were still really bad, and I was just a Pop Warner slappy playing a little O-Line and D-Line while enjoying Bill Walsh College Football on SEGA to pass the time.
The average home price in Miami in 1994 was “around” $200K per the internet. A slow increase to $279K in 2004, $227K in 2014, and a HUGE increase to $660K in ‘24. The Federal Minimum wage in 1994 was around $4.50 compared to $6.15 in 2004, $7.93 in 2014 and $13 in 2024.
I hope y’all have enjoyed this little flashback to 1994. Next week: the 1984 season!