National Experts proclaim 2001 Miami football best of last 21 years

The latest offseason list was by ESPN “Ranking the 21 championship teams since the BCS era began.” The 2001 Miami football team finished third. That caused an uproar on social media and on the national debate shows.

The consensus stated UM’s 2001 team should be first. The 2001 Miami football team has been widely regarded as the best in college football history. Only two teams ahead of the 2001 Hurricanes on the ESPN list. Texas 2005 team led by Vince Young and Florida’s 2008 team with Tim Tebow.

Texas’ 2005 team at least went undefeated. The 2008 Gators had some impressive numbers led by Head Coach Urban Meyer and Tebow at quarterback. What they did not have was an undefeated season. The Gators lone loss was at home to a 9-4 Mississippi team led by Houston Nutt.

The findings were based on analytics and not chosen by a human panel. When the College Football Playoff was created for the 2014 season a selection committee like the NCAA Tournament was chosen to select the four teams that would participate in the playoffs.

That ended the 16 year Bowl Championship Series National Championship game that was chosen by a computer. Many believe that the 2000 and 2002 Miami football teams were just as good as the 2001 National Champions.

It’s also been widely viewed that the Hurricanes were snubbed from the 2000 National Championship game. The 2002 team was robbed of a national championship after a whistle that was blown so late that the referee’s hair turned from black to gray in the interim.

Florida State who Miami defeated in 2000 finished slightly ahead of the Hurricanes in the BCS Standings received one of the two spots in BCS Championship game. They lost 13-2 to Oklahoma in a dominating defensive performance by the Sooners.

Courtesy of the Buckeye 50 Yard line

The Seminoles only points came late in the game on a safety from an errant snap on an Oklahoma punt. At the time the game was said to be the worst National Championship game.