The Last Season Miami Hurricanes Football Placed No. 2 In AP Rankings
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It's been eight seasons since the Miami Hurricanes were a top-two team in college football. After placing No. 2 after the September 21 AP poll and sliding back to No. 3 during the first bye week, they've solidified their spot as one of the two best teams in college football.
In 2025, Hurricanes fans are enjoying a running back duo that exhausts opposing defenses with every bruising run. They're enjoying a gun-slinging championship-winning Carson Beck at quarterback along with a monstrous defense led by probable top-5 NFL draft pick Rueben Bain Jr.
Hurricanes faithful feels secure with their lead communicator and head coach Mario Cristobal. With wins against the Florida Gators and the Florida State Seminoles in their rearview, the 2025 Hurricanes have a schedule filled with teams currently unranked. This could all be signs of truly remarkable things to come for the Hurricanes. However, there was a time in Hurricanes history where fans might've had more optimism about their teams' potential playoff success than the optimism they have in Cristobal's squad currently.
Miami was ranked No. 2 in 2017
The day is November 11th, 2017. No. 7 Miami is slated to face the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish led by quarterbacks Brandon Wimbush and Ian Book along with running back Josh Adams. Wide receivers Equanimeous St. Brown and Chase Claypool rounded out Notre Dame's offensive arsenal.
On Notre Dame's defensive side, eventual Super Bowl champion linebacker Drue Tranquill and current Seattle Seahawks safety Julian Love led their position units. The Fighting Irish were coming off an electric 48 to 37 win against Wake Forest to continue a seven-game win streak. With a single one-point loss to the Georgia Bulldogs early in the season and current LSU head coach Brian Kelly at the helm, Notre Dame went into the Hurricanes game with national championship ambitions.
The No. 9 Hurricanes enjoyed an important 28 to 10 win against No. 13 Virginia Tech in the week prior to their matchup against Notre Dame. This win convinced AP voters to raise the Hurricanes up to No. 7 before their clash with the Fighting Irish.
Quarterback Malik Rosier commanded Miami's offense. Running backs Travis Homer and Mark Walton along with a receiving core of Braxton Berrios, Jeff Thomas, Ahmon Richards, and tight end Christopher Herndon IV. Linebacker Shaq Quarterman, tackle Gerald Willis III, and defensive back Jaquan Johnson led their position units on defense.
This was the cast of stars who led the 2017 Hurricanes into battle against a threatening No. 3 Notre Dame team.
Miami destroys Notre Dame to become No. 2
The Fighting Irish were understandably favored to beat the Hurricanes in this game. The Hurricanes undefeated record wasn't enough to sway voters that they were better than the one-loss Fighting Irish.
Las Vegas had absolutely nothing on the Miami Hurricanes that November night inside Hard Rock Stadium. The Hurricanes rolled through Notre Dame for a shocking 41 to 8 victory in front of the home crowd.
Rosier did everything he was asked to do en route to 137 passing yards with one passing touchdown and zero interceptions. It was running backs Travis Homer and Deejay Dallas that ran the life out of Notre Dame's national championship hopes. Homer blitzed the Fighting Irish for 18 carries and 146 yards while Dallas racked up 53 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Miami Hurricanes were ranked No. 2 for the first time since 2003 the following morning and the skies had never been so sunny over Hard Rock Stadium.
The collapse
The No. 2 Hurricanes proceeded to lose every game for the rest of the season.
The Hurricanes shocked the college football world again the very next week. This time, it was for all the wrong reasons. The No. 2 Hurricanes were defeated by the unranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in week eleven of the regular season 24 to 14.
Coach Mark Richt's team fell back to No. 7 just before a matchup against the No. 1 Clemson Tigers. There was no redemption arc in store after this game. The Tigers smelled blood in the forest and took advantage. The Hurricanes fell to the Tigers 38 to 3 in the ACC championship. As the No. 11 team in the country now, Miami qualified for the Orange bowl against No. 6 Wisconsin.
This Orange bowl was set to take place in Miami as it always is. It's rare that a team gets lucky enough to qualify for a bowl game taking place in their home stadium. The Hurricanes jumped to a 14 to 3 lead in the first quarter against Wisconsin but tragically allowed a comeback to conclude a deflating three-game loss streak to finish the season.
The 2025 Hurricanes
The 2025 Hurricanes currently stand with the No. 16 defense in all of college football. The offense sits ranked No. 45 after six weeks. While both teams may have similar identities and philosophies, there's one true component that unifies them: the expectations.
This Mario Cristobal-led team arguably has more talent than Richt's team. With the rest of the season still ahead of Miami, they look to remain disciplined and focused after their second bye week coming up.
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