Hollywood, FL– The Miami Hurricanes didn’t finish the 2017 season the way they had hoped. A flutter of a finish put a bit of a damper on a 10-0 start. Yet, they did accomplish some key goals and propelled the program back into the national spotlight once again after decades of average football play.
The biggest accomplishment was winning the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal Division, the first time it had been done in program history.
Miami had failed to make the ACC Championship game in each of the years it has belonged to the conference since 2004. Upon originally joining the ACC, it was thought that they’d be a fixture in the championship game. But after wallowing in mediocrity, the Hurricanes look to be headed back to their ‘top tier’ status in year three of head coach Mark Richt’s return to Coral Gables.
As a former player at Miami, Richt knew the formula for success because he was a part of teams that served as the precursor to eventual National Champions. The first in Miami’s history was in 1983, the year just after Mark Richt graduated.
In 2017, a magical season, a ‘turnover chain’ and a head coach with leadership and the recruiting prowess is what it took to get the University of Miami program back to the top. And the turnover chain was the talk of the town at ACC Media Days this week in Charlotte.
Richt’s response when asked about its impact on the program made news all over the college football world.
“It’s the greatest thing since sliced bread,” said Richt of the turnover chain.
“People ask me about that — first of all, I didn’t know about the turnover chain until the first game. Coach Diaz is like, hey, Coach, by the way, we’ve got this chain, in case we get a turnover we’re going to put it on their neck. I don’t even think I touched it until the season was over. That thing is about six pounds. I mean, it is a thick, Cuban link chain with that big U. It is gaudy and it’s beautiful. But like I’ve said all year long, or since the season ended, if we got three turnovers last year, it would have been mocked. It would have been laughed at. But when you get 31 turnovers or whatever it was, maybe there’s something to it.”
There was absolutely something to the turnover chain and combined with Richt’s coaching and it translated to success. The magic ended against Pittsburgh when the Canes began to limp to the end of the season with a surprise loss to the Panthers on the road. Then a disappointing blowout loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship game sent Miami to the Orange Bowl instead of the College Football Playoffs, where they’d lose to Wisconsin by 10 points.
The Hurricanes would finish the season with three consecutive losses and a record of 10-3.
Nevertheless, the team was encouraged by the season and the fanbase was excited by winning and a big piece of jewelry.
“It did create an awful lot of excitement for our team. It created an awful lot of excitement for our fans, not just at the games but around the country. It was a special thing.”
Now fans are wondering just how special the 2018 season will be.
To keep track of how each team progresses during the season, this page on the national championship odds of each team breaks it down by conference.
Find out where the University of Miami Hurricanes are slated and gauge their chances to win the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2018.
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