Miami entered the following season as the number one team in the country , but a 28 – 21 upset loss to Ty Detmer and No. 16 BYU in the opener derailed both the team 's national championship chances and Craig Erickson 's nascent Heisman campaign . Later in the year , the Hurricanes lost to Notre Dame 29 – 20 in a game dubbed the " Final Conflict " , as Notre Dame had decided to discontinue the 27-game rivalry , feeling the intensity of the series had reached an unhealthy level . Miami ended the season with a 46 – 3 Cotton Bowl Classic victory over No. 3 Texas in the 1991 Cotton Bowl Classic in which the team was penalized a bowl - and school-record 16 times for 202 yards , including nine unsportsmanlike conduct or personal foul penalties . On one play , Randal Hill scored on a 48-yard touchdown reception and continued to sprint out of the end zone and up the Cotton Bowl tunnel , where he then pretended to shoot at the Longhorns with imaginary pistols . The program was widely criticized for its conduct , with Will McDonough of the '' Boston Globe '' likening the Cotton Bowl Classic display to a " wilding " and Bill Walsh calling it " the most disgusting thing he 'd ever seen in college sports . " After the season , the NCAA responded with the so-called " Miami Rule " , which made it a 15-yard penalty to engage in excessive celebration or flagrant taunting . Also during the off-season , Miami ended its 48-year status as an independent and joined the Big East Conference
Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Miami Hurricanes football