1983 National Champion: And Who Else Claims It

MULTIPLEDISPUTED

Miami beat Nebraska 31-30 in the Orange Bowl for the school's first national championship and was the consensus pick of every major selector, including its first MacArthur Bowl from the NFF.

The case for each side

Miami (FL)

11-1

Recognized byAPConsensusFWAARecognizedNFFRecognizedUPIConsensusUSA/CNNConsensus· claimed by the program

11-1, beat No. 1 Nebraska 31-30 in the Orange Bowl; consensus national champion by AP, UPI, FWAA, and NFF (MacArthur Bowl), and also topped the USA Today/CNN poll, a distinct selector from UPI through the 1990 season.

Miami (FL)’s 1983 schedule

Auburn

11-1

Claimed by the program: no recognized selector picked them

The school claims the title, but no major selector named them champion this season.

Auburn’s 1983 schedule

No national title game was played after the 1983 season: before 1998 there was no mechanism to play one, which is why so many of these seasons were settled by vote instead.