2001 Miami Hurricanes Record: 12-0, national champions Players: Bryant McKinnie, Jeremy Shockey, Ed Reed, Clinton Portis, Phillip Buchanon, Sean Taylor, Jonathan Vilma, D.J. Going into the locker room after the win at Virginia Tech, it was special. I put my heart in this (expletive) dog. [17] Additionally, the Hurricane defense scored eight touchdowns of its own. 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. It really gave the players and the coaching staff somebody to rally behind. How about 2013 Florida State, a team so loaded with talent all 22 of its offensive and defensive starters that year ended up on an NFL roster? Payton ran for 985 yards and 7 touchdowns as a senior and averaged 5 yards per carry over his career. In the NFL he ran for 8,474 yards and 65 touchdowns over his career. Reed The knee injuries couldnt hold Gore back as hes still running the rock in the NFL today. 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, 132). Jump inside of it. 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. When Butch left, we were kinda stuck, and I remember we all went upstairs to talk to Mr. Dee, myself, Bryant McKinnie, Ed Reed, Ken Dorsey and a couple more guys. We were bad that day. Williams, Antrel Rolle, Vince Wilfork, Frank Gore, Willis McGahee, Chris Myers, Andre Johnson No other team is even in the conversation. We were mentally driven. Three trades in a chaotic top five, The new law changing service academy football, and the coaches pushing back, Realignment chatter: How the Pac-12 holds the key to it all. I went to a JUCO in Scranton, Penn. Some of our most beloved Canes shared a meeting room in 2001. Former Heisman Trophy Award winner Eric Crouch led the Nebraska Cornhuskers into the Rose Bowl to face the Miami Hurricanes in the 2001 national championship game.. Coker After an interception, Ed Reed strips the ball from his teammate and takes it for a touchdown to seal Miami's win vs. Boston College during the 2001 season. He didn't want it to be close at all. Do you have a blog? McGahee also was a consensus All-American in 2002. Employment That truly goes to show how much trust we had, for him to hear my voice and give me the ball. Jan 7, 2009. We go to the sideline, and Randy Shannon, after the first series he's like, "Hey, how do they look?" The leadership. They thought that we looked like a high school team. You had Sean Taylor behind him. So I continue to stick with Miami as the greatest team of all time. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. You're gonna communicate and you're gonna stay together, or you've got to go. When it came time for the 2001 Miami Hurricanes to do their summer workouts, they had one plan in mind: Make it as grueling as possible. "It was literally, you're doing the same thing that I'm doing. That [last] interception was by Ed Reed. [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. In doing so, Portis ran for 1,200 and 10 touchdowns with a 5.5 yards per carry average for the Canes. They hated to lose. The 2001 roster was loaded from top to bottom all over the field with names like Bryant McKinnie, Andre Johnson, and Jeremy Shockey as just the tip of the ice berg. And that kind of stuck with me. I don't want to sound disrespectful, but we were five steps faster than them, 10 pounds hungrier, much more violent, which is a different style of football. They were big boys, all positions, not just the offensive line. Download Our App. Sports. Single Game Season Group. When he spoke, the team listened. Mission Statement Gore has been named to five Pro Bowl rosters and has ran for 14,028 yards over his career. BC was certainly a good team, and it looked like we weren't supposed to win it, but somehow we did. 15 Washington 3429 on the road, while the Seminoles' lone loss was on the road to the #7 team in the country by 3. I was tired. I helped cover that team, too. Vilma got into a debate several years ago with former USC running back Reggie Bush when the two played for the New Orleans Saints. Williams Former Miami Dolphin and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jason Taylor and defensive ends coach Rod Wright talk on the field during practice at Greentree . Dorsey I think also, what rattled them was how much fun we had while being violent and being intense. It was one of those games where the score just got run up. But I remember a few days before the game we did a two-minute drill, our No. We probably could have scored 80 points. Vilma What I remember most, though, is the sheer dominance. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Vince Wilfork, Frank Gore, Kellen Winslow, Sean Taylor -- they were all NFL first-rounders and they were all back-ups on that team. Larry Coker knew that once that baton got handed off, he wasn't changing anything. "But it was crucial to never show how much pain we were in. While the 2001 squad only won a single national championship; they had NFL legends, All-Americans and Pro Bowlers in their film sessions. After building up a 40 record, Miami won over Florida State in Doak Campbell Stadium, 4927,[8] ending the Seminoles' 47-game home unbeaten streak. Overall, 38 members of the team would be selected in the NFL Draft. The dominance on the field and at the next level was unparalleled throughout the century-plus existence of our version of the sport. 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The one newspaper that I still love to this day is the New York Times because they picked us as national champions at the end of the season. Miami hasn't won a title since 2001, although the Hurricanes have cause for debate about the next season's Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State. I mean, he was pretty much automatic for them. As I went to the NFL, we'd always find those Miami guys on the other team and you knew they were going to be the most competitive guys. LB Jonathan Vilma Nevertheless, Miami was left with a bitter sense of disappointment, believing they had been deprived of a shot at a potential national championship. Dorsey You may win one, but we're gonna win 20 of them, and it's not gonna stop.'". When I caught it, I wasn't thinking about running it back for a touchdown. [15] Miami won its fifth national championship in the last 18 years, and put the finishing touches on a perfect 120 season. I don't know if this ever got released to the media, but Kenny [Dorsey] got hit and took a hard shot to the ribs. Happy to be here, want to high-five everybody, and from the moment I walked into the locker room, it was you're gonna work. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. They're driving to win, the whole stadium thought they were about to win. . You were getting into a street fight when you went and played those guys. Its game at Florida State on Oct. 13 took on even greater meaning after what happened in 2000. I'd feel good about our team against anybody. "I said, 'Our difference is, we were gonna try to outhit you.' After the close win over Boston College, Miami went on to win over #14 Syracuse, 590,[12] and #12 Washington, 657,[13] in consecutive weeks in the Orange Bowl. On Sept. 27, Miami returned to play at Pitt with a determination to press forward, resulting in a 43-21 win. Dorsey If you didn't put in the work, there was somebody behind you ready to take over. They beat us 59-0 and we finished that season with 10 wins. DT Matt Walters They finished the season 120 overall and 70 in the Big East to finish as conference champion. Soldinger I got you over the top." / "I mean, football, no question, I don't think anybody in college football could play with us. We [were] truly a team. The guys suffer their worst loss of the season, but can still win the ACC. Vilma played for the 2001 Hurricanes; Bush played for the 2004 Trojans, widely regarded as two of the most talented teams ever assembled. $400,000 was initially raised to endow the scholarship, the only undergraduate award presented by the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame. But I feel like if you look at the history, every team that's won a national title has had a game like that, where it comes down to the last minute and if you lose, your season's over. Maybe Alabama last year. They were invited to the Rose Bowl, which served as the BCS National Championship Game, and defeated Nebraska, 3714, to win the school's 5th national championship. We spread the ball around to a lot of different guys because, at that time, Andre Johnson wasn't a proven commodity -- or Ethenic Sands or Kevin Beard. We had a player [backup LB Marlin Barnes] murdered on campus. Don't ask me if I'm alright. . That gave us a chance. We didn't want to have to change and have to learn a new offense, defense, or anything. To solidify going to a national championship without having to worry about if somebody else was going to lose -- that was special. I didn't know at the time that this would be talked about as one of the best teams in college football. The atmosphere was too much for them. Williams; and defensive backs Ed Reed, Mike Rumph, and Phillip Buchanon. Purchase Tickets. We knew when I was there, but in 2001, it became reality. Anybody who could block kicks like that, he was a fan of. There was a rumor that we were going to get that coach from Wisconsin, Barry Alvarez, and we were like, "We don't want him. I don't know a single person that wasn't pissed headed into that game. Gore finished his Miami career with 1,975 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground. / '", Added former Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni: "That team was so talented, so explosive, so good on defense. I tried to display that my senior year, 'cause I could have left my junior year. And they had a great defense. ", Rumph But a diving, game-saving interception by Ed Reed sealed the Miami victory, 2624. Coach had taught me for four years to get my hands down, get on his helmet and push his head down on the ground so that he doesn't get to your legs. Privacy Policy Dorsey Brown, who played for the Hurricanes' baseball team from 1998-2001, is the No . People always say the great teams have to overcome a scare along the way. Coker They beat us 47-0, and I remember walking off the field and everyone was celebrating and he said, "As long as I have something to do with it, I will never be embarrassed by Florida State again." Quarterbacks We knew what route was coming on that play. The 2001 team featured six All-Americans, and Dorsey was a Heisman Trophy finalist. But when you play a team like that, you can't turn the ball over, and I think we ended up throwing four interceptions. We all felt that that Sugar Bowl game against Florida, we knew that we should have been playing for a national title. Here's a look at 2001 Miami and 2017 . Miami won 187.[11]. That felt good for all of us. But nobody wanted to waste the opportunity in front of them, either: A shot at the school's first national championship in 10 years. there was no mention of GOATs or legacies, just one line at the bottom that noted: "This UM team has joined elite company.". We knew what we had on paper, but to see how we were dominating, and the energy we produced in such a hostile environment, it was like, "OK, wow, we are who we think we are.". Miami has two games remaining before the postseason begins and winning out has big implications for their place in the programs best all-time regular seasons. ", Reed The motivation of being upset and disappointed, that played a huge role in going to the Sugar Bowl and what we did against Florida to make a statement that we probably should've been the champs. Barry Jackson. 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 (1247). "Because you're trying to recruit the foundation of what's to come for the next four years. I had to challenge them, because if not, they're looking at you like, "What is this?" 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