For over 20 years The Miami Hurricanes were the gold standard for what a
dominant division one football program should be. The Hurricanes had a
pipeline to The National Football League which included players such as
Warren Sapp, Michael Irvin, and Devin Hester. The Hurricanes were
constantly ranked in the top ten and they were consistently playing in
bowl games on New Year’s Day. From 1983 to 2002 The Hurricanes played
for the national championship eight times and won five times. All of
this has fallen by the wayside since Miami left The Big East Conference
in 2004.
The Hurricanes left The Big East in favor of The Atlantic Coast
Conference and they have not won a conference crown since making the
jump. The Hurricanes were members of The Big East from 1991 to 2003 and
in that time they won The Big East Title nine times. The ACC decided to
expand as they went from nine teams to twelve teams in order to be
eligible for a conference title game. The Hurricanes and their rival The
Florida State Seminoles were placed in separate divisions in the hope
of both teams playing for the conference crown. The ‘Canes have never
won The Coastal Division of The ACC and they have not made it back to a
New Year’s Day bowl game since leaving The Big East.
The Hurricanes were once one of the most dominant programs in
college football and teams were afraid to play them. In the glory years
of the program, The Hurricanes dominated historical powerhouses such as
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and The Oklahoma Sooners. In-state rivals
such as The Seminoles were second-class citizens compared to The ‘Canes.
When opponents entered The Orange Bowl Stadium, they would see The
Hurricanes enter the field through a cloud of white smoke and the crowd
was ready to cheer on the hometown team. Now The Hurricanes themselves
have been stuck a smoke cloud themselves.
Miami has had to sit back and see in-state rival The Florida Gators
win two BCS Championships since 2006 while they have taken up residence
in mediocrity which included them losing at home last year to The South
Florida Bulls which cost head coach Randy Shannon his job.
Miami has fallen behind The Gators and The ‘Noles as far as
recruiting and popularity in The Sunshine State. The Hurricanes
currently play their home games at Sun Life Stadium which is also home
to The Miami Dolphins. The Orange Bowl was torn down a few years ago to
make way for a baseball stadium for The Miami Marlins. The Hurricanes
need a stadium for themselves as they are lacking that true home field
advantage. The ultimate slap in the face for The Hurricanes will be in a
few days when The Dolphins honor The Gators at Sun Life Stadium for
winning The BCS Championship.
Head coaches generally don’t last long for The Hurricanes whether it
has been to pursue opportunities in The NFL or that they were
dismissed. The last two head coaches in Shannon and Larry Coker were
shown the door after subpar seasons. Current head coch Al Golden is the
man in charge of fixing the ship in Miami and going back to The Big East
would be a great move. The Big East didn’t provide the best competition
for Miami, but they thrived. Miami president Donna Shalala was looking
for a payday like all schools do when The ‘Canes jumped conferences and
now Miami is just another program in The ACC. The Syracuse Orange and
Pittsburgh Panthers are leaving The Big East and are coming to The ACC.
This will give the conference 14 teams which is an even deeper shuffle
for The Hurricanes to get lost in. These two teams departing also leaves
The Big East with a larger void to fill for football than they had when
Miami along with The Virginia Tech Hokies and Boston College Eagles
bolted for The ACC.
The Hurricanes can go back to The Big East and assume control as the
big dogs in the conference with the likes of The West Virginia
Mountaineers. The Big East still receives an automatic bid to a BCS bowl
game for the conference champion which is a huge incentive for Miami.
The Hurricanes also need to go back to the old uniforms from the
1980’s and early 90’s that they had so much success in. The white pants
white the basic orange jersey was iconic for “The U”. When I think of
those uniforms I think of dominating teams where players such as
Edgerrin James were unstoppable. Nike has messed up a beautiful thing in
altering The Hurricane uniform so many times and with that the team’s
success has been altered as well. Miami deserves to be viewed as more
than just another college football team. Swagger in college football
comes from Miami and college football needs a villain. We had if for a
moment with The USC Trojans several years ago, but when The ‘Canes are a
national powerhouse with that “Us against the world” mentality, it is
great for college football.
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