Swagger, Bravado, the U Logo. All are iconic and come to mind when thinking about the dominant Miami Hurricanes teams. What does the U need to accomplish to get the U back?
Sports Illustrated pondered that question in an article titled “Miami Is Halfway to Becoming a Team That Deserves the Old Miami’s Hype?”
Hiring Mark Richt was the first step towards returning the Miami Hurricanes among the nation’s elite programs. Sports Illustrated’s take is that it will take a National Championship before the talk about the U being back can return.
It’s tough to claim a program that has won one Bowl game in the last 12 seasons can be back. The Miami Hurricanes haven’t had a ten win season or finished a season in the top ten since 2003.
Richt has done an incredible job in less than two seasons at his alma mater to get the U back on the right track. In less than two years on the job, Richt has re-instilled confidence in the program. Confidence that seemed lost under Al Golden and Randy Shannon.
Sports Illustrated acknowledges that Richt has Miami on the right track back to greatness. They mention the five-game winning streak to finish the 2016 season. Miami won all five of those games by double digit points. That included a 31-14 thrashing of 10-2 number 14 West Virginia in the Russell Athletic Bowl.