The Miami Hurricanes athletic department tried to keep their home winning streak intact by listing the Orange Bowl loss to Wisconsin as a neutral site game. The NCAA channeled Lee Corso and said not so fast.
Entering the Orange Bowl the Miami Hurricanes had won nine straight games at Hard Rock Stadium. The winning streak stretched from the final two games of the 2016 season and seven games at the Rock this season.
The Hurricanes in the past had counted wins at the Orange Bowl in the Orange Bowl game as part of a home winning streak. Miami won the 1984, 88, 92 and 2004 Orange Bowls. They also lost to Nebraska in the 1995 game following the 1994 season.
The 1988, 89 and 92 games were part of a 58 game Miami Hurricanes home winning streak from 1985-94. That set the record for the longest home winning streak in college football history. Without the wins in the Orange Bowl games, Miami’s streak would be just the third longest in history.
The 1988 and 92 games capped off undefeated National Championship seasons. Those were the Miami Hurricanes second and fourth national championships.
Miami was not the only team to play a home game in a bowl this season. Florida Atlantic, Memphis and Navy also played postseason games in their home stadiums. Only the Tigers lost their bowl game.
Miami has played in the Orange Bowl game ten times. They have won six and lost four. The Hurricanes had won five of their last six appearances in the Orange Bowl before losing to Wisconsin.
According to an Associated Press article posted on ESPN.Com because it is listed as a home game, Miami does get to count the attendance for the season. The Orange Bowl had an attendance of 65,032. That boosted attendance for Miami Hurricanes games to 469,454 in eight games this season. That beat the Miami record of 417,233 set during the 2002 season at the Orange Bowl.
Next: Time for Miami Hurricanes, ACC to end games against FCS teams
The Hurricanes have six home games scheduled for the 2018 season. The home opener is September 8 against Football Bowl Championship Division Savannah State. The Tigers finished 3-8 in 2017.