Kelly. Ultimately, Schnellenberger chose Bernie Kosar as the team's starting quarterback over fellow redshirt freshman Vinny Testaverde. 1983 season and first national championship The 1983 Miami Hurricanes started the season unranked and lost 28–3 at Florida in their first game, though Kosar tied George Mira's single-game school record of 25 pass completions. The Hurricanes rallied by winning their next 10 games, including a 20–0 early-season shutout of Notre Dame, and earned a berth to the 1984 Orange Bowl to play the undefeated, top-ranked Nebraska team that had both Mike Rozier and Turner Gill. The Orange Bowl-berth was Miami's first since 1951, but the program's first national championship remained a long shot, as the Hurricanes entered the game ranked fifth. Miami got much needed help early on New Year's Day when second-ranked Texas, the nation's other undefeated team, lost in the Cotton Bowl Classic and fourth-ranked Illinois lost in the Rose Bowl. Behind Kosar's passing, Miami jumped out to a 17–0 lead, but Nebraska battled back and cut Miami's lead to 31–24 in the fourth quarter. With 48 seconds remaining, Nebraska scored a touchdown to make it 31–30 and, being the number one-ranked team in the nation, needed only to kick the extra point to tie the game and put itself in position to win the national championship. Nebraska head coach Tom Osborne elected to go for the win and attempt a two-point conversion instead. On the ensuing play, Miami safety Kenny Calhoun tipped away Gill's pass to receiver Jeff Smith in the end zone, saving the game and winning Miami the national championship when it leap-frogged No. 3 Auburn to finish first in the final polls. Although Schnellenberger had made good on his five-year plan to win a national championship, he left after the season to accept a head coaching position in the USFL. Jimmy Johnson era (1984–1988) Two weeks later, athletic director Sam Jankovich hired Oklahoma State head coach Jimmy Johnson to fill the vacancy. One of Jimmy Johnson's immediate priorities upon taking over as Miami head coach was to switch to a 4–3 defense. Johnson wanted to implement the change for his first season, but lacking the time, personnel, and staff, he decided to postpone the switch and kept Schnellenberger's 5–2 defensive package for the 1984 season. The team struggled to an 8–5 record in Johnson's first season, losing a number of noteworthy games. In the next-to-last game