2000 Miami Hurricanes football team

2000 Miami Hurricanes football
Big East champion Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 37–20 vs. Florida
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
2000 record	11–1 (7–0 Big East)
Head coach	Butch Davis (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Larry Coker (6th season)
Defensive coordinator	Greg Schiano (2nd season)
Home stadium	Miami Orange Bowl (Capacity: 74,476)

The 2000 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 2000 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Hurricanes' 75th season of football and 10th 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.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	7:30 PM	McNeese State*	No. 5	Miami Orange Bowl • Miami, FL		W 61–14	48,111
September 9	3:30 PM	at No. 15 Washington*	No. 4	Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA	ABC	L 29–34	74,157
September 23	3:30 PM	at West Virginia	No. 12	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV	CBS	W 47–10	63,735
September 30	7:30 PM	at Rutgers	No. 10	Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	ESPN+	W 64–6	23,782
October 7	12:00 PM	No. 1 Florida State*	No. 7	Miami Orange Bowl • Miami, FL (rivalry)	CBS	W 27–24	80,905
October 21	12:00 PM	at Temple	No. 4	Veterans Stadium • Philadelphia, PA	ESPN+	W 45–17	28,351
October 28	6:00 PM	Louisiana Tech*	No. 4	Miami Orange Bowl • Miami, FL	ESPN+	W 42–31	46,617
November 4	12:00 PM	No. 2 Virginia Tech	No. 3	Miami Orange Bowl • Miami, FL (rivalry)	CBS	W 41–21	77,410
November 11	12:00 PM	Pittsburgh	No. 2	Miami Orange Bowl • Miami, FL	ESPN2	W 35–7	47,520
November 18	6:30 PM	at Syracuse	No. 2	Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY	ESPN	W 26–0	49,327
November 25	3:30 PM	Boston College	No. 2	Miami Orange Bowl • Miami, FL	CBS	W 52–6	49,715
January 2	8:00 PM	vs. No. 7 Florida*	No. 3	Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	W 37–20	64,407
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

Season summary

The 2000 University of Miami Hurricanes football season added to the legendary and controversial lore of one of the most hated and celebrated teams in NCAA college Football history. This was widely considered the best University of Miami football team not to compete in a national championship game. The 2000 Season returned the Hurricanes to elite college football status after being penalized with NCAA scholarship restrictions due to the results of NCAA violations from the Jimmy Johnson-Dennis Erickson eras. The 2000 Miami team was coached by Butch Davis, who returned to Miami in the 1995 season after coaching the defensive line and as Defensive Coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys. Davis was also a one time assistant coach under Jimmy Johnson at Miami.

Memorable games in the 2000 season included beating top ranked FSU for the first time since 1994 in the "Wide Right 2" game. In the game, FSU had a chance to tie the game on last second field goal. Miami CB Mike Rumph sprinted off the line untouched and came within 1 foot of blocking the kick, causing the FSU kicker to adjust and kicking the field goal "Wide Right". This was the third game in the Miami/FSU rivalry where FSU had missed a game ending field goal "Wide Right". Up to this point, this was the most important win in the Butch Davis-coached Miami U teams, proving that Miami could beat a #1 ranked team again.

Another highlight of the 2000 season was beating second-ranked Virginia Tech, led by future NFL starter Michael Vick. The lowest-point of the season was the second game loss at the Washington Huskies. This was the game that ultimately cost Miami a chance to play in the BCS National championship game. The 2000 Miami Hurricance finished the season by soundly beating the University of Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

Controversies

Despite beating the Number 1/2 ranked football teams during the 2000 season and losing only 1 game, the BCS computer model (which chose the two finalist for the NCAA college football season) chose FSU ahead of University of Miami to play in the National Championship game. The BCS computer model was solely based on Washington Huskies final ranking and amount of loss point differential despite Miami beating FSU. Most college football pundits felt the BCS model was wrong since in head to head meeting Miami beat FSU. This season was one of the deciding factors in ultimately doing away with the BCS computer only model for choosing the National Championship teams.

During the week of the Sugar Bowl, University of Miami and University of Florida Football teams engaged in an infamous street fight in New Orleans, dubbed the "Bourbon Street Brawl", which was the end result of several Florida players engaging in trash talk with Miami University DB Al Blades at a night club. The argument spilled out onto the street with several University of Miami players leaving other bars to support Blades including hulking 300 pound plus freshmen Vince Wilfork, Bryant McKinnie, and Jonathan Vilma. Up to 25 players engaged in a street brawl on Bourbon Street with the New Orleans Police being called to break up the fight. Several University of Florida football players showed signs of the fight with bruises on their faces in PR leading up to the game. No arrests were made.

After the Sugar bowl, head coach Butch Davis accepted the head coaching position for the NFL Cleveland Browns. This was a shock to the entire University Miami program as Davis had told the team and 2001 recruits that he would be returning to the team.

With their core 2000 roster intact, including Heisman candidates Ken Dorsey and Clinton Portis; Miami would start the 2001 season ranked Number 1. The 2000 team was featured in the ESPN 30 for 30 documentaries "U part 2" and in "U Reloaded".

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Roster

References