Miami football 2017 named one of CFB biggest one hit wonders

Whenever the Miami football team gets off to a good start to begin a season the question is always is the U back. The Hurricanes began the 2017 season 10-0 and rose to as high as second in the fourth week of the College Football Playoff rankings. Miami lost three straight games to end the 2017 season.

The Hurricanes lost at Pittsburgh on Black Friday the day after Thanksgiving, were blown out 38-3 to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte and lost 34-24 to Wisconsin in the Orange Bowl. The Hurricanes were defeated by the Badgers after holding a 14-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The 2017 Miami football team was the only one in the last 17 seasons the Hurricanes reached 10 victories. Miami won at least 10 games in 14 of the 21 seasons between 1983 and 2003. Five straight Miami coaches led 10 win teams during their tenure between 1983 and 2003. Since then only one in four has.

Mark Richt made an impact on and off the field during his three seasons from 2016-2018 but retired after Miami fell to 7-6 in 2018. Manny Diaz led Miami to an 8-3 2020 season after the Hurricanes were 6-7 in his inaugural campaign in 2019. The 2017 Hurricanes were labeled one of College Football’s biggest one-year wonders.

"2017 MIAMI HURRICANES“Before 2017, the Miami Hurricanes — long one of the most dominant programs in college football — hadn’t won 10 games or more since the 2003 season.So it was only natural for the country to declare that The U was “back” when the Hurricanes, under second-year coach Mark Richt, entered Thanksgiving Weekend at 10-0, ranked No. 2, and looking like a legitimate threat to Clemson’s quest of an ACC three-peat.What followed was a three-game losing streak to end the year: An upset loss to Pitt on Black Friday, a 38-3 embarrassment vs. Clemson in the ACC title game and finally a loss to Wisconsin in the Orange Bowl.2018 then brought a 7-6 record to Coral Gables before Richt suddenly retired, and by the time the ‘Canes capped off a 6-7 2019 season with a shutout loss to Louisiana Tech, any talk of Miami finally returning to prominence in November 2017 seemed as distant as the decades where The U was indeed the program to beat.”"

The list by Dean Straka of 247 Sports placed Miami as one of 10 teams named as one of 10 “College football’s biggest one-hit wonder teams since 2000.”  All 10 teams named were from Power Five conferences. Miami was the only team from the ACC named as one of the biggest one-hit wonders.

With 19 starters returning in 2021, Miami is projected to challenge North Carolina to win the ACC Coastal Division title. The Hurricanes and Tar Heels will play on October 16 in Chapel Hill. Miami opens the season on September 4 in Atlanta against Alabama. The 2021 season can be a special one for Miami.