The OB:Greatest Moments in Orange Bowl History-"The Comeback"

Recap:
5.The 1995 Orange Bowl
4.Hail Flutie

1984 was a changing year in College Football. Starting from the 1984 Orange Bowl and concluding with the 1985 Orange Bowl, things were changing in College Football and one of those changes was teams. In the early 80's Miami's football program was brought from the dead and became a dominant power through the 80's and into the Mid-90's. As Miami was rising, another school, Maryland, was falling. In the 1950's Maryland was a dominant power in College Football winning the 1st ACC Championship and named 1953 National Champions.

However, following the 1955 Orange Bowl, Maryland collapsed and didn't reach another bowl until the 1973 Peach Bowl. It was at that time Maryland experienced a resurgance under Coach Jerry Claiborne. In 1976, Claiborne and the Terps reached their peak going 11-0 entering the 1977 Cotton Bowl. Unfortunately for Claiborne and the Terps, a National Championship would not come true as they fell to Houston, 30-21. Maryland continued to play consistently but Terrapin fans knew time was running out. As always, Maryland fans hoped for a National Championship. But Maryland started out 0-2 and all seemed loss.

However, in Week 3, Maryland turned things around with a thrilling victory over West Virginia and the ship seemed sailed for the right course. After losing close to Penn State, Maryland bounced back and won 3 in a row entering their November 10th showdown with the defending National Champions. For Miami, 1984 was a bleak contrast to 1983. Once they were champions; now they were hoping to even get in a bowl. Everything was on the line for both squads and hopes of being somewhere warm for the Holidays.

Things did not look good, however for the Terps as Miami led 31-0 at halftime. However, Maryland and Quarterback Frank Reich did not surrender as 31-0 became 31-7 which became 31-14 towards 31-21 and finally 31-28 entering the 4th Quarter. In the final 15, Miami scored early to make it 34-28, but there was no stopping Maryland and Reich as the Terrapins took their first lead at 35-34 and Kosar's pick six led to a 42-34 Terps lead. Miami would score once more but the 2-point conversion would not happen as Maryland won 42-40. It was, at the time, the biggest comeback in College Football history. For the rest of the season, Maryland went unbeaten concluding the '84 season with a 28-27 win over Tennessee in the Sun Bowl.

As for Miami, the Canes would lose 2 weeks later in another epic game at home against Boston College. However, despite the 8-4 record, Miami qualified for a Bowl Game only to lose to UCLA 39-37 in the Fiesta Bowl. However, the years afterwards would be quite different for both squads. Miami lost their home opener to Florida in 1985, but would not lose again at home until 1994(an NCAA record)and became a major dynasty in the 80's and 90's winning the National Title in 1987(20-14 vs Oklahoma),1989(33-25 vs Alabama), and 1991(22-0 vs Nebraska). The Canes would not have a losing season until 1997(5-6) and won another National Title in 2001(37-14 vs Nebraska). Meanwhile, Maryland would begin a downward spiral.

Maryland was successful in 1985 going 9-3. Following the Cherry Bowl win over Syracuse, however, the team went downhill not having another winning season until 1990(which ended in a 34-34 tie in the Independence Bowl) and got in worse shape as the 90's went on. The "Decade of Disaster" featured only 2 seasons of being over .500(6-5-1 in 1990 and 6-5 in 1995), a combine d record of 43-71-1, No ACC titles, and humiliating losses to Louisville in 1995, Ohio in 1997, and close losses to James Madison and Temple before bouncing back in 2001 under current coach Ralph Friedgan. Both squads have faced off 3 times since the game(1985, 1987, and 2006) with Miami beating Maryland in '85 and '87(29-22 and 46-16) while Maryland won last year 14-13 in Byrd Stadium.

As for Frank Reich he would go on to lead another comeback 9 years later as his Buffalo Bills trailed the Houston Oilers(Tennessee Titans) 35-3 at halftime to comeback and win 41-38 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs. As a bonus I present to you the final 6 minutes of this classic in 2 videos.