My Expectations Have Never Been Lower For a Miami Hurricanes Football Season

It’s so easy to get overexcited and drink the preseason kool-aid when you’re a fan of a big time college football program. I have been guilty of it MANY times with the Miami Hurricanes. This isn’t exclusive to fans either. Kirk Herbstreit picked the Canes to win the 2006 National Championship on the ESPN preseason show. I vividly remember Herbie saying he thought QB Kyle Wright and coach Larry Coker would figure it out and lead Miami back to the top. Oh, how wrong he was. Nothing against Kirk Herbstreit. He’s great.

Herbstreit wasn’t alone in 2006 by the way. I was in on that team. I was in on a couple Randy Shannon and Al Golden teams too. Oh, the regrets. Recently, I thought Miami was going to be really good in 2018 after the success achieved in the 2017 season. They were not. I had expectations for the 2021 Canes squad, even with the season opener against Alabama. Nope. 2021 reminded me of 2006: momentum from the previous season, seven wins, bad losses, and a coach being fired.

Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images

Where am I going with this? I expected there to be growing pains in Mario Cristobal’s first season. It only made sense. He installed a new coaching staff and overall philosophy for the program. But, he had TVD at quarterback, good running backs, and some talent on defense (not a lot, but some).

Then the season happened. The 5-7 record was depressing. The home losses were downright baffling: 45-31 vs Middle Tennessee State, 45-21 vs Duke, 45-3 vs FSU, 42-10 vs Pitt. Wow. I forgot how bad some of these scores were until looking them up for this article.

The disaster of the Middle Tennessee State game did provide me with the chance to write a funny article. Check it out!

For the 2023 season, there is nowhere to go but up for the Canes. Their offense and defense couldn’t have looked any worse last year. There were times when the team flat out quit. Again, I know it was Coach Cristobal’s first season. That said, it was about as bad of a first season as a coach could have.

I love the Miami Hurricanes football program more than any sports team on the planet, BUT I’m done drinking the kool-aid. I’m done getting excited about incoming transfers and freshmen. I’m done thinking how close we are to being back at the top of college football. I’ve been burned too many times. I know many of these burns came before Coach Cristobal. Whatever. I don’t care. It’s been a frustrating ride for Canes football fans since the early 2000s.

I have hopes for the 2023 season. Hopes, not expectations. I hope Miami wins the Texas A&M rematch. I hope Miami finally beats UNC. I hope Miami ends their two-game losing streak to FSU. I hope Miami beats Clemson for the first time since 2010. I hope Miami wins the ACC. I hope Miami goes undefeated. I think some of these season goals (let’s be real, just the first three) are possible. I think, but I don’t expect.

My biggest hope: Coach Cristobal can change my mind and make the Canes 2024 preseason kool-aid taste sweet again.

GO CANES!