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2001 Miami Hurricanes football team

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Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1

The 2001 Miami Hurricanes football team were the national champions of the 2001 college football season. The team is considered the greatest in college football history. [1]

Pre-season motivation

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). The experience led to alterations in the BCS rankings system to ensure that the situation would not repeat itself in the future. Nevertheless, Miami was left with a bitter sense of disappointment, believing they had been deprived of a national championship, and stewed over an early-season loss at Washington, 34-29, that was their only slipup in an 11-1 campaign. 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.

Schedule & Results

Date Result Miami Rank# (Rank#)Opponent Stadium · City Coverage
Sat, September 1, 2001* W 33-7 #2 @ Penn State Beaver Stadium - State College, PA ABC
Sat September 8, 2001 W 61-0 #1 Rutgers Miami Orange Bowl - Miami, FL
Thu, September 27, 2001 W 43-21 #1 @ Pitt Heinz Field - Pittsburgh, PA ESPN
Sat, October 6, 2001* W 38-7 #1 Troy Miami Orange Bowl - Miami, FL ESPN Plus
Sat, October 13, 2001* W 49-27 #2 @ #15 Florida State Doak Campbell Stadium - Tallahassee, FL ABC
Thu, October 25, 2001 W 45-3 #1 West Virginia Miami Orange Bowl - Miami, FL ESPN
Sat, November 3, 2001 W 38-0 #1 Temple Miami Orange Bowl - Miami, FL
Sat, November 10, 2001 W 18-7 #1 @ #21 Boston College Alumni Stadium - Chestnut Hill, MA ABC
Sat, November 17, 2001† W 59-0 #1 #14 Syracuse Miami Orange Bowl - Miami, FL ABC
Sat, November 24, 2001* W 65-7 #1 #19 Washington Miami Orange Bowl - Miami, FL ABC
Sat, December 1, 2001 W 26-24 #1 @ #18 Virginia Tech Lane Stadium - Blacksburg, VA ABC
Thu, January 3, 2002*ǃ W 37-14 #1 #8 Nebraska Rose Bowl - Pasadena, CA ABC
*Non-Conference Game †Homecoming ǃBCS National Championship Game #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game.

Season Recap

File:LarryCoker2.jpg
University of Miami head coach Larry Coker hoisting the 2001 AFCA National Championship Trophy, marking Miami's fifth national championship in a span of 18 years.

Led by quarterback Ken Dorsey, running back Clinton Portis, free safety Ed Reed, wide receiver Andre Johnson, tight end Jeremy Shockey, and offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie, Miami dominated the 2001 season from start to finish.

The Hurricanes began the season with a nationally televised primetime rout of Penn State in Beaver Stadium. After the Hurricanes put together a 30-0 halftime 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 blowout wins over Rutgers, Pitt, and Troy State University. After building up a 4-0 record, the 'Canes thumped Florida State in Doak Campbell Stadium, 49-27, ending the Seminoles' 54-game home unbeaten streak and 37-game home winning streak. The 'Canes then defeated West Virginia, 45-3, and Temple, 38-0, before heading to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College.

Miami was put to the test by BC. After jumping out to a 9-0 lead over the Eagles, 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. 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, icing an 18-7 victory for the Hurricanes.

After surviving the scare from Boston College, Miami played inspired and utterly dominating football, demolishing #14 Syracuse, 59-0, and #12 Washington, 65-7, in consecutive weeks. The combined 124-7 score is an NCAA record for largest margin of victory over consecutive ranked opponents.

The final hurdle to the Rose Bowl BCS National Championship Game was at Virginia Tech. Miami jumped on Virginia Tech, leading 20-3 at halftime, 23-10 after three, and 26-10 midway through the fourth quarter. Virginia Tech added a couple of late touchdowns, but it was not enough against a stifling Hurricane defense and an offense that outgained Virginia Tech by 134 yards, gained 12 more first downs, and controlled the ball for nearly 10-minutes more than the Hokies. Miami's 26-24 victory earned the top-ranked Hurricanes an invitation to the Rose Bowl to take on BCS #2 Nebraska for the national championship.

Nebraska proved to be no competition for Miami. Miami roared to a 34-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 37-14 rout of the Huskers to capture Miami's fifth national championship and put the finishing touches on a perfect 12-0 season. Dorsey passed for 362-yards and 3 touchdowns, while receiver Andre Johnson caught 7 passes for 199 yards and 2 touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Miami defense shut down Heisman-winner Eric Crouch and the Huskers offense, holding Nebraska 200-yards below its season average. Dorsey and Johnson were named Rose Bowl co-MVPs.

Legacy

The 2001 Miami Hurricanes scored 512 (42.6 ppg) points while yielding only 117 (9.75 papg). The Hurricanes 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). The offense set the school scoring record, while the stout defense led the nation in scoring defense (fewest points allowed), pass defense, and turnover margin. Additionally, the Hurricane D 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: Dorsey; running backs Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, Najeh Davenport, and Frank Gore; tight end Jeremy Shockey; wide receiver Andre Johnson; tackles Bryant McKinnie and Joaquin Gonzalez; 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 Eric Winston. In all, an extraordinary 16 players from the 2001 Miami football team were drafted in the first-round of the NFL Draft (5 in the 2002 NFL Draft: Buchannon, McKinnie, Reed, Rumph, and Shockey; 4 in 2003: Johnson, Joseph, McDougle, and McGahee; 6 in 2004: Carey, Taylor, Vilma, Wilfork, Williams, and Winslow; and 1 in 2005: Rolle).

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 pitted against 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 '01 Hurricanes are held in the college football world.[2]

Starting Lineup

Offense

Position Name
QB Ken Dorsey
FB Najeh Davenport
HB Clinton Portis
TE Jeremy Shockey
SE Andre Johnson
FL Kevin Beard
LT Bryant McKinnie
LG Sherko Haji-Rasouli
C Brett Romberg
RG Martin Bibla
RT Joaquin Gonzalez

Defense

Position Name
RE Jerome McDougle
DT Matt Walters
DT William Joseph
LE Andrew Williams
WLB D.J. Williams
MLB Jonathan Vilma
SLB Chris Campbell
RCB Mike Rumph
FS James Lewis
SS Ed Reed
LCB Phillip Buchanon

Special Teams

Position Name
K Todd Sievers
P Freddie Capshaw
KR Andre Johnson
KR Frank Gore
PR Phillip Buchanon

Awards & Honors

First Team All-Americans

  • Phillip Buchanon, PR
  • Joaquin Gonzalez, RT
  • Bryant McKinnie, LT (consensus)
  • Ed Reed, SS (consensus)
  • Jeremy Shockey, TE
  • Todd Sievers, K

All-Conference Selections (First Team)

  • Martin Bibla, LG
  • Phillip Buchanon, CB
  • Freddie Capshaw, P
  • Ken Dorsey, QB
  • Joaquin Gonzalez, RT
  • Jerome McDougle, DE
  • Bryant McKinnie, LT
  • Clinton Portis, RB
  • Ed Reed, SS
  • Brett Romberg, C
  • Jeremy Shockey, TE
  • Todd Sievers, K
  • Jonathan Vilma, MLB

Awards Finalists

Bold indicates winners

Jack Harding University of Miami MVP Award

  • Ken Dorsey, QB and Ed Reed, SS

Template:Miami Hurricanes Football National Championships Template:BCSChamps

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