2001 Miami Hurricanes football | |
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Conference | Big East Conference |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 1 |
AP | No. 1 |
Record | 12–0 (7–0 Big East) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Rob Chudzinski (1st season) |
Offensive scheme | Pro-style |
Defensive coordinator | Randy Shannon (1st season) |
Base defense | 4–3 Cover 2 |
Home stadium |
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 1 Miami (FL) $# | 7 | – | 0 | 12 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 14 Syracuse | 6 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 18 Virginia Tech | 4 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 21 Boston College | 4 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pittsburgh | 4 | – | 3 | 7 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Temple | 2 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
West Virginia | 1 | – | 6 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rutgers | 0 | – | 7 | 2 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2001 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Miami Hurricanes' 76th season of football and 11th as a member of the Big East Conference. The Hurricanes were led by first-year head coach Larry Coker and played their home games at the Orange Bowl. They finished the season 12–0 overall and 7–0 in the Big East to finish as conference champion. They were invited to the Rose Bowl, which served as the BCS National Championship Game, and defeated Nebraska, 37–14, to win the school's fifth national championship.
Eventually producing a record 38 NFL Draft picks, the 2001 Hurricanes are considered by many to be the best college football team of all time. [1] [2] [3]
In 2000, Miami was shut out of the Orange Bowl BCS National Championship Game by the BCS computers. Despite Miami beating Florida State head-to-head that season and being higher ranked in both human polls, it was Florida State, and not Miami, that BCS computers selected to challenge the Oklahoma Sooners for the national championship (Oklahoma would win, 13–2). This was because Miami had lost to No. 15 Washington 34–29 on the road, while the Seminoles' lone loss was on the road to the #7 team in the country by 3. Nevertheless, Miami was left with a bitter sense of disappointment, believing they had been deprived of a shot at a potential national championship. That off-season, the team resolved to take the matter entirely out of the discretion of the computers by going a perfect 12–0. However, they had to do so under a new head coach, Larry Coker, who was named to the post after Butch Davis left to become head coach of the NFL's Cleveland Browns.
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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September 1 | 8:00 pm | at Penn State * | No. 2 | ABC | W 33–7 | 109,313 | |
September 8 | 4:00 pm | Rutgers | No. 1 | ESPN+ | W 61–0 | 39,804 | |
September 27 | 7:30 pm | at Pittsburgh | No. 1 | ESPN | W 43–21 | 57,224 | |
October 6 | 12:00 pm | Troy State * | No. 1 |
| ESPN+ | W 38–7 | 36,617 |
October 13 | 12:00 pm | at No. 13 Florida State * | No. 2 | ABC | W 49–27 | 82,836 | |
October 25 | 7:00 pm | West Virginia | No. 1 |
| ESPN2 | W 45–3 | 44,411 |
November 3 | 12:00 pm | Temple | No. 1 |
| ESPN+ | W 38–0 | 31,128 |
November 10 | 12:00 pm | at Boston College | No. 1 | ABC | W 18–7 | 44,500 | |
November 17 | 3:30 pm | No. 15 Syracuse | No. 1 |
| ABC | W 59–0 | 52,896 |
November 24 | 8:00 pm | No. 11 Washington * | No. 1 |
| ABC | W 65–7 | 78,114 |
December 1 | 1:00 pm | at No. 14 Virginia Tech | No. 1 | ABC | W 26–24 | 53,662 | |
January 3 | 8:15 pm | vs. No. 4 Nebraska * | No. 1 | ABC | W 37–14 | 93,781 | |
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Week | |||||||||||||||||
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
AP | 2 (33) | 2 (33) | 1 (37) | 1 (40) | 1 (39) | 1 (34) | 2 (23) | 1 (48) | 1 (47) | 1 (55) | 1 (55) | 1 (44) | 1 (52) | 1 (71) | 1 (72) | 1 (72) | 1 (72) |
Coaches Poll | 2 (15) | 2 (16) | 2 (22) | 1 (29) | 1 (34) | 1 (35) | 1 (25) | 1 (48) | 1 (47) | 1 (46) | 1 (41) | 2 (28) | 1 (33) | 1 (59) | 1 (59) | 1 (60) | 1 (60) |
BCS | Not released | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Not released |
Led by quarterback Ken Dorsey, free safety Ed Reed, running back Clinton Portis, wide receiver Andre Johnson, tight end Jeremy Shockey, offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie, and linebacker Jonathan Vilma, Miami won the 2001 national championship.
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The Hurricanes began the season with a nationally televised primetime win over Penn State in Beaver Stadium. With a 30-0 halftime Miami lead, Coker pulled his starters and Miami cruised in the second half to a 33–7 victory. The 26-point margin tied for Penn State's worst home loss under Joe Paterno.
Miami followed up the victory with wins over Rutgers, [5] Pitt, [6] and Troy State. [7]
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After building up a 4–0 record, Miami won over Florida State in Doak Campbell Stadium, 49–27, [8] ending the Seminoles' 47-game home unbeaten streak.
The Hurricanes then defeated West Virginia, 45–3, [9] and Temple, 38–0, [10] before heading to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College (BC).
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Miami started with a 9–0 lead over the Boston College Eagles, but Miami's offense began to sputter as Dorsey struggled with the swirling winds, throwing four interceptions. The Hurricane defense picked up the slack by limiting BC to just seven points. However, in the final minute of the fourth quarter, with Miami clinging to a 12–7 lead, BC quarterback Brian St. Pierre led the Eagles from their own 30-yard line all the way down to the Hurricanes' 9-yard line. With BC on the verge of a momentous upset, St. Pierre attempted to pass to receiver Ryan Read at the Miami 2-yard line. However, the ball ricocheted off the leg of Miami cornerback Mike Rumph, landing in the hands of defensive end Matt Walters. Walters ran ten yards with the ball before teammate Ed Reed grabbed the ball out of his hands at around the Miami 20-yard line and raced the remaining 80-yards for a touchdown. Miami won 18–7. [11]
After the close win over Boston College, Miami went on to win over #14 Syracuse, 59–0, [12] and #12 Washington, 65–7, [13] in consecutive weeks in the Orange Bowl. The combined 124–7 score is an NCAA record for largest margin of victory over consecutive ranked opponents.
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The final hurdle to the Rose Bowl BCS National Championship Game was at Virginia Tech. Miami jumped on Virginia Tech early, leading 20–3 at halftime, and 26–10 in the fourth quarter. But despite being outgained by the Hurricanes by 134 yards and being dominated in time-of-possession, the Hokies never quit. After a Virginia Tech touchdown and two-point conversion cut Miami's lead to 26–18, the Hokies blocked a Miami punt and returned it for another score, cutting Miami's lead to just two points. But with a chance to tie the game with another two-point conversion, Virginia Tech sophomore Ernest Wilford dropped a pass in the endzone. Still, the resilient Hokies had one more chance to win the game late, taking possession of the ball at midfield and needing only a field goal to take the lead. But a diving, game-saving interception by Ed Reed sealed the Miami victory, 26–24. [14] Defeating Virginia Tech earned the top-ranked Hurricanes an invitation to the Rose Bowl to take on BCS #2 Nebraska for the national championship.
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Nebraska proved to be no competition for Miami, which opened up a 34–0 halftime lead en route to a 37–14 final score. [15] Miami won its fifth national championship in the last 18 years, and put the finishing touches on a perfect 12–0 season. Dorsey passed for 362 yards and 3 touchdowns, while wide receiver Andre Johnson caught 7 passes for 199 yards and 2 touchdowns. Meanwhile, the stifling Miami defense shut down Heisman-winner Eric Crouch and the Huskers vaunted option offense, holding Nebraska 200 yards below its season average. Dorsey and Johnson were named Rose Bowl co-Most Valuable Players.
The 2001 Miami Hurricanes are considered by some experts and historians to be one of the greatest teams in college football history. [1] The Hurricanes scored 512 (42.6 points per game) points while yielding only 117 (9.75 points allowed per game). Miami beat opponents by an average of 32.9 points per game, the largest margin in the school's history, and set the NCAA record for largest margin of victory over consecutive ranked teams (124–7), though they struggled to defeat #14 Virginia Tech, and an unranked Boston College. [17] The offense set the school scoring record, while the defense led the nation in scoring defense (fewest points allowed), pass defense, and turnover margin. [17] Additionally, the Hurricane defense scored eight touchdowns of its own. Six players earned All-American status and six players were finalists for national awards, including Maxwell Award winner, Ken Dorsey, and Outland Trophy winner, Bryant McKinnie. Dorsey was also a Heisman finalist, finishing third.
Among the numerous stars on the 2001 Miami squad were: quarterback Ken Dorsey; running backs Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, Najeh Davenport, and Frank Gore; tight end Jeremy Shockey; wide receiver Andre Johnson; offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie; defensive linemen Jerome McDougle, William Joseph, and Vince Wilfork; linebackers Jonathan Vilma and D.J. Williams; and defensive backs Ed Reed, Mike Rumph, and Phillip Buchanon. Additional contributors included future stars Kellen Winslow II, Sean Taylor, Antrel Rolle, Vernon Carey, and Rocky McIntosh. In all, an extraordinary 17 players from the 2001 Miami football team were drafted in the first-round of the NFL Draft (5 in the 2002 NFL draft: Buchanon, McKinnie, Reed, Rumph, and Shockey; 4 in 2003: Johnson, Joseph, McDougle, and McGahee; 6 in 2004: Carey, Taylor, Vilma, Wilfork, Williams, and Winslow; 1 in 2005: Rolle; and 1 in 2006: Kelly Jennings).
Overall, 38 members of the team would be selected in the NFL Draft. As of 2013, they had earned a combined total of 43 trips to the Pro Bowl: Ed Reed (9), Andre Johnson (7), Frank Gore (5), Vince Wilfork (5), Jeremy Shockey (4), Jonathan Vilma (3), Willis McGahee (2), Chris Myers (2), Clinton Portis (2), Antrel Rolle (2), Sean Taylor (2), Bryant McKinnie (1), and Kellen Winslow II (1). In addition, Vilma, Shockey, Wilfork, Joseph, Rolle, McKinnie, and Reed have won the Super Bowl. It has been estimated that the 2001 Hurricanes would cost nearly $120 million as an NFL team as early as 2009.
Prior to the 2006 Rose Bowl, ESPN's SportsCenter ran a special in which the 2005 USC Trojans, led by stars Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, and LenDale White, were compared with the greatest college teams of the past 50 years, as picked by sports fans voting on ESPN.com, to determine their place in history. The 2001 Miami Hurricanes were the only team picked by fans to defeat the '05 Trojan squad, reflecting the esteem with which the 2001 Hurricanes are held by fans. However ESPN analyst Mark May placed the 2005 Trojans only behind 1995 Nebraska. Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated later observed that, although the 05 team "may have had the greatest set of skill players in history," "ESPN spent the better part of Christmas season comparing that Trojans squad to some of the most acclaimed teams of all time only to find out that they weren’t even the best team that season [18]
The team's first-, second- and third-string running backs all later became running backs with a start in the NFL, a feat only done five other times. It has only been achieved by the 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Alabama Crimson Tide football teams. They remain the only team to have its first-, second-, third- and fourth-string running backs all later become running backs to start in the NFL.
2001 Miami Hurricanes football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
| Defense
| Special teams
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Position | Name |
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QB | Ken Dorsey |
HB | Clinton Portis |
HB | Najeh Davenport |
TE | Jeremy Shockey |
WR | Andre Johnson |
WR | Kevin Beard |
LT | Bryant McKinnie |
LG | Sherko Haji-Rasouli |
C | Brett Romberg |
RG | Martin Bibla |
RT | Joaquin Gonzalez |
Position | Name |
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RE | Andrew Williams |
DT | Matt Walters |
DT | William Joseph |
LE | Jerome McDougle |
OLB | D.J. Williams |
MLB | Jonathan Vilma |
OLB | Chris Campbell |
RCB | Mike Rumph |
FS | Ed Reed |
SS | James Lewis |
LCB | Phillip Buchanon |
Position | Name |
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K | Todd Sievers |
P | Freddie Capshaw |
KR | |
PR | Phillip Buchanon |
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(From 1937 to 2001, bowl games did not count towards season statistics)
Bold indicates winners
Eric Eugene Crouch is an American former college football player who was a quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He won the Heisman Trophy, Walter Camp Award, and Davey O'Brien Award in 2001. Running Nebraska's option offense that year, he completed 105 of 189 passes for 1,510 yards and seven touchdowns, while also rushing for 1,115 yards and 18 touchdowns. He had brief stints playing professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and United Football League (UFL).
Willis Andrew McGahee III is an American former football running back. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, earning consensus All-American honors. McGahee was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2003 NFL draft. In addition to his time with the Bills, he played for the Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, and Cleveland Browns.
The 2004–05 NCAA football bowl games were a series of 32 post-season games played in December 2004 and January 2005 for Division I-A football teams and their all-stars. The post-season began with the New Orleans Bowl on December 14, 2004, and concluded on January 29, 2005, with the season-ending Senior Bowl.
Larry Edward Coker is a former American football coach and player. He served as the head football coach of the University of Miami from 2001 to 2006 and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) from 2011 to 2016.
Mark Allan Richt is a retired American football coach, former player, and television analyst. He was the head football coach at the University of Georgia for 15 years and at the University of Miami, his alma mater, for three. His teams won two Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships, five SEC division titles, and one Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) division title. He was a two-time SEC Coach of the Year, the 2017 ACC Coach of the Year, and the winner of the national 2017 Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award. On January 10, 2023, he was inducted into College Football Hall of Fame as part of the 2023 class.
Kenneth Simon Dorsey is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, where he won the national championship and the Maxwell Award in 2001. He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2003 NFL Draft, later playing for the Cleveland Browns and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL), before retiring in 2010.
The Miami Hurricanes football team represents the University of Miami in college football. The Hurricanes compete in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of collegiate football in the nation. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, one of the five Power Five conferences in college football. The program began in 1926. Since then, it has since won five AP national championships in 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, and 2001.
Bryant Douglas McKinnie is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, twice earning All-American honors.
Christopher Myers Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, and was selected by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL draft. He also played for the Houston Texans. He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection with the Texans.
The 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first college football season of the 21st century. It ended with the University of Miami winning the national title for the fifth time.
The 2003 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game that was the designated Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship Game for the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season, taking place on January 3, 2003 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The Ohio State Buckeyes, co-champions of the Big Ten Conference, defeated the heavily favored Miami Hurricanes, defending national champions and champions of the Big East Conference, in double overtime by a final score of 31 - 24. The game was only the second overtime result in either the BCS or its predecessors, the Bowl Alliance and Bowl Coalition, following the 2000 Orange Bowl between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Michigan Wolverines. By virtue of their victory, Ohio State won its first consensus national title since 1968 and became the first team in college football history to finish a season with a 14-0 record.
Brett Christopher Romberg is a Canadian former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, earned consensus All-American honors, and won the Rimington Trophy. He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2003, and also played for the St. Louis Rams and the Atlanta Falcons.
Robert Matthew Chudzinski is an American football coach who is currently the associate head coach on offense for the Boston College Eagles. Chudzinski was the offensive coordinator for several National Football League (NFL) teams and was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns during the 2013 NFL season.
Joaquin Antonio Gonzalez is a former professional National Football League offensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns and the Indianapolis Colts. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2002 NFL Draft.
The 2001 Sugar Bowl was a 2000–01 BCS game played on January 2, 2001. This 67th edition to the Sugar Bowl featured the Florida Gators, and the Miami Hurricanes, in an in-state rivalry game. Miami came into the game ranked 3rd in the BCS, 2nd in both the Coaches and AP Poll, at 10–1, whereas Florida came into the game ranked 7th in the BCS at 10–2. Sponsored by Nokia, the game was officially known as the Nokia Sugar Bowl.
The 2002 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Hurricanes' 77th season of football and 12th as a member of the Big East Conference. The Hurricanes were led by second-year head coach Larry Coker and played their home games at the Orange Bowl. They finished the season 12–1 overall and 7–0 in the Big East to finish as conference champion. They were invited to the Fiesta Bowl, which served as the BCS National Championship Game, and lost against Ohio State, 31–24, in double overtime.
The 2008 season was the Baltimore Ravens' 13th in the National Football League (NFL), their 1st under head coach John Harbaugh, and their 7th season under general manager Ozzie Newsome.
The Florida State–Miami football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Florida State Seminoles football team of Florida State University and Miami Hurricanes football team of the University of Miami. Since the late 1980s, one or both squads have been highly ranked entering the game, adding national championship implications to an already heated rivalry. Field goal and PAT kicks have played an important role in the series with many wide right, wide left, blocks and other mistakes occurring with the game in the balance. Miami leads the series 35–33 through the 2023 season.
In college football, the Black 41 Flash Reverse Pass is a play that the Nebraska Cornhuskers used against the Oklahoma Sooners and became one of the signature plays in quarterback Eric Crouch’s Heisman Trophy-winning season.
The 2000 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Hurricanes' 75th season of football and tenth as a member of the Big East Conference. The Hurricanes were led by sixth-year head coach Butch Davis and played their home games at the Orange Bowl. They finished the season 11–1 overall and 7–0 in the Big East to finish as conference champion. They were invited to the Sugar Bowl where they defeated Florida, 37–20.