Once Again, The Hurricanes Allowed Inferior Teams To Ruin Their Season

In sports, I’m fine if you lose to a team that’s clearly better than you. Well I'm not fine, but I understand a little more. When the Hurricanes lost to the Florida Gators on August 24th of last year, of course I was upset, because losing to UF stinks, losing stinks, but I couldn’t be that mad because they were a top-10 team, and we...weren’t. I walked out of that stadium in Orlando that night with my head held fairly high, because we played a very good squad right down to the very second.

Now let me tell you what grinds my gears, what infuriates me and every other Miami Hurricanes fan out there, it’s when UM loses to teams that they’re supposed to beat. It’s when they’re favored by 18 points against a team that shouldn’t even be on the same field as the Canes, and somehow end up losing.

2019 told this story several times for Miami, with losses to Georgia Tech, FIU, Duke, Louisiana Tech. Four games that UM should've won going away, instead they found a way to lose, as the Hurricanes once promising season, ended with a 6-7 record.

This isn’t the first year this has happened, oh no, not even close. As the Miami Hurricanes have slumped to become an average program (sometimes, at best) throughout the last 15-plus years, those seasons are riddled and tattooed with losses coming at the hands of inferior teams.

Growing up as a kid in the Orange Bowl in the mid-2000’s, I saw it first hand. 2005, the #3 Canes were upset by Georgia Tech, at home in Miami, 14-10. A win that night in November would’ve been almost all the Canes needed to play in the ACC Championship. But alas, it didn’t happen.

In 2007, I was in attendance when the 3-5 NC State Wolfpack shocked Miami, 19-16 in overtime, in what was the second-to-last game at the OB.

From 2008 to 2018, the Hurricanes lost 10 games to unranked opponents, when they themselves were ranked.

It’s not even games when Miami was ranked, it’s losing to Duke two years in a row, and no disrespect to the Blue Devils but the Hurricanes have more talent. There’s no reason UM should lose to Duke in football, EVER.

Or even a game where they beat Central Michigan, it felt like a loss. When you’re at home, and you’re 30-point favorites, you’re supposed to win in a fashion that leaves absolutely no doubt. You’re not supposed to squeeze out a narrow 17-12 victory.

This past year in 2019, those four losses I mentioned above, might've been the worst collection of defeats this program has seen in years, perhaps ever. Georgia Tech came into their game against Miami with a 1-5 record, and the Canes were 18-point favorites, oh and UM was at home. 28-21 loss in overtime, with Miami missing two field goals under 30 yards.

The FIU game, I don't think there was a single Canes fan on this earth, that even remotely thought Miami could lose that night. Then the game actually started, and it was basically a visual representation of the last decade. Hurricanes lose, 30-24. Oh, and Miami was 20.5-point favorites going in.

Duke and Louisiana Tech, those games shouldn’t even count. The FIU loss was so traumatic, it was hard to believe Miami had to play another game a week later. Still, the Canes had no excuse, they were better than both teams. Motivation clearly wasn’t there, and they lost both games. By the way, Duke was 4-7 going into their game with Miami, and I'll also add that the Hurricanes were 7.5-point favorites.

I don't know why this problem is a recurring one for the Hurricanes, and I don't know why it’s continuing to plague this program, but 2020 has to be the year where it comes to an end. If Miami would just take care of business against the teams they’re supposed to beat, the program wouldn’t be coming off a 6-7 season.