record in 1965. 1966 brought the arrival of defensive end Ted Hendricks, the only three-time All-American in school history, and the Hurricanes won eight games, earning a trip to the Liberty Bowl, where they defeated No. 9 Virginia Tech, 14–7. In December 1966, the program was integrated when African-American wide receiver Ray Bellamy signed a letter of intent to play football at the university. Miami returned to bowl play in 1967, dropping the Bluebonnet Bowl to Colorado, 31–21. The Hurricanes had a 5–5–0 season in 1968 and 4–6–0 in 1969. 1970 to 1978 Tate resigned as head coach two games into the 1970 season, later citing burn out and fatigue from "fighting the money battle and other battles" as the basis for his decision. Walt Kichefski, an assistant on Tate's staff, was elevated to head coach in the wake of Tate's resignation and coached the team to a 3–8 record in 1970. He was not retained the following season. On December 20, 1970, Fran Curci, a former All-American quarterback for the Hurricanes under Andy Gustafson, was named as the program's new head coach. Curci's 1971 team improved by a game, but rival Florida Gators defeated Miami in a game that came to be known as "the Gator Flop." The Gators led throughout the game and were up 45–8 when John Reaves threw an interception to Miami's defense with little time left in the fourth quarter. Reaves needed just 15 more passing yards to break the NCAA record for career passing yards. But with time winding down and Miami driving in Florida territory, there was a good chance the Gators offense would not get the ball back. After the Miami snap at the Florida 8 yard line, nearly all the Gators defensive players "flopped" down on the field. Miami quarterback John Hornibrook walked in untouched for a touchdown. A few minutes later, Reaves got his record as time expired. Curci called the incident "the worst thing I have ever seen in football." 1972 brought another memorable finish for Miami, when the inadvertent gift of a "fifth down" by officials enabled the Hurricanes to edge Tulane in the waning moments of the game for a 24–21 win. Curci left the program at the conclusion of the season and was replaced by Pete Elliot. Elliot, in turn, lasted two seasons and stepped down in 1975 to become Miami's athletic director. Offensive coordinator Carl