Three Miami football players named top 50 in 21st Century

The College Football site for FanSided earlier this week published a list of the top 50 Players of the 21st Century. Three Miami football players made the list. Can you figure out who they were? Which Hurricanes were left off the list? Should more Canes have been named?

The Miami football program was dominant in the first half-decade plus of the 21st century. From 2000 through 2005 Larry Coker led the Hurricanes to a 64-10 record. The first four of those seasons were special. Miami went 46-4 between 2000 and 2003.

The Hurricanes opened the 21st Century and first decade of the new millennium with an 11-1 record. They narrowly and controversially were left out of the Bowl Championship Series title game in 2000.

Florida State had a slim advantage in the computer to gain the bid to face Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl for the National Championship. The Miami football team had about the best consolation game a team could expect. Any let down that was expected from the Hurricanes was alleviated when they destroyed Florida in the Sugar Bowl.

Ken Dorsey and Clinton Portis staked their claims to be included in the top 50 players of the 21st Century with excellent performances versus the Gators. Dorsey was 22 of 40 for 270 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. It was the first of three stellar performances in Bowl games from the All-Time great QB.

Sharing the backfield with James Jackson and Najeh Davenport, Portis ran for 97 yards on 18 carries. A year later in Miami’s Rose Bowl rout of Nebraska, Portis ran for 104 Yards in 20 carries and a touchdown. That’s an average of 5.3 yards per carry in his two career bowl games.