Today, in 1973, No. 14 Houston beat No. 15 Miami in the Orange Bowl, 30-7. It was UH’s 10th straight win, tying a school record.
The game was on a rainy Friday, the effects of Tropical Storm Gilda, which threatened South Florida before wandering into the Atlantic. Miami was a stormy mess all day but cleared before game time.
The teams were tied 7-7 at halftime before UH ripped off two scores in the span of 20 seconds. Running back Reggie Cherry caught a deflected pass for an eight-yard TD. After Tommy Kaiser recovered a fumble on Miami’s kickoff return, D.C. Nobles hit Bryan Willingham for a 20-yard pass down to the one-yard line before Leonard Parker bullied his way into the end zone. Cherry sprinted to a 66-yard touchdown in the 4th quarter for his second score. He ran for 104 yards in the game.
Miami had beaten #6 Texas to start the season and took #6 OU to the wire two weeks later. UH struggled out of the game, going over 20 minutes without a first down. “It’s the best defense we’ve faced all season,” Nobles said. “They played a heck of a game no matter what the score said.”
AD Harry Fouke said the Miami game was “our biggest win since we beat Michigan State” (1967). Head coach Bill Yeoman said he tended to agree. “All things considered, it may be our biggest win since then,” he said.
Even trainer Tom Wilson got in on the excitement. In the locker room following the game, Wilson belted, “This win was no damn accident. We trained to beat them this bad!”
