Miami Hurricanes 2005 Football Schedule Released

Jan. 20, 2005

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Atlantic Coast Conference released the 2005 football schedule for its 12 member schools today, with the Miami Hurricanes getting their first look at their road to the ACC championship and hopefully their fifth BCS bowl game in the last six years.

The 2005 Hurricanes will face one of the toughest schedules in the nation in their second season in the ACC, including games with six teams that played in bowl games after the 2004 season. Six home games are on tap over the course of the 11-game regular season. (All dates are subject to change, and game times have yet to be announced.)

The Hurricanes, annually one of college football’s top television ratings draws, have two games already penciled in for national telecasts (last year, 10 of Miami’s 12 games ended up being nationally televised). The Hurricanes once again open the season with a nationally televised game on Labor Day night against archrival Florida State in Tallahassee on ABC. The Hurricanes’ Nov. 17 Thursday night game at Wake Forest will be televised on ESPN.

Miami will open the 2005 season with two road games, at Florida State and Clemson (with an open date in between), and then play at the Orange Bowl five of the next six weeks.

“This is our second year in the ACC and again the schedule is very challenging,” said Hurricanes head coach Larry Coker. “We open at Florida State on Labor Day night, which is a great event for college football. Then we go to Clemson and come back with Colorado at the Orange Bowl in a non-conference game. They played in the Big 12 championship game last year and have the majority of their team back, so that’ll be a very challenging game on a national level between two great football programs. We’re looking forward to a great second year in the ACC.”

Miami opens the 2005 schedule on the road under the lights at Florida State in the second straight Monday night national telecast on Sept. 5. The Hurricanes and Seminoles will meet for the 50th time in another edition of one of the nation’s top football rivalries. Last season, Miami defeated Florida State 16-10 in overtime at the Orange Bowl on Sept. 10, a date that was moved back four days because of Hurricane Frances. In the all-time series, Miami holds a 29-20 lead, with six consecutive victories. In games played at Tallahassee, the Hurricanes are 12-6. Both teams finished 9-3 in 2004, with the Seminoles placing second in the ACC, just ahead of the Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes will have an open date on Sept. 10. Then, Miami returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 17 with their first-ever road trip to Clemson, beginning a streak of eight consecutive Saturday games. The Hurricanes will try to make amends for one of their three 2004 losses. Last season, the Tigers upset the Hurricanes 24-17 in overtime at the Orange Bowl on the way to a 6-5 season (4-4 in the ACC). Clemson and Miami have played six times, with Miami winning four games.

Colorado comes to Miami on Sept. 24 for a game at the Orange Bowl. The Hurricanes and Buffalos will meet for the first time since 1993, reviving a series in which Colorado holds a 5-2 advantage. Miami and Colorado have played only once since the 1970s (the Hurricanes won 35-29 in 1993). Last season, the Buffalos were 8-5 overall. They finished first in the Big 12 North and played Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game, losing 42-3. Colorado finished its season with a 33-28 win over Texas-El Paso in the Houston Bowl. The Buffalos have had winning seasons 17 of the last 20 seasons, going to 16 bowl games in that time and winning the 1990 national championship.

On Oct. 1, the Hurricanes will play South Florida at the Orange Bowl in the first-ever meeting of the two schools. The game will be the first of a two-game series between the Hurricanes and the Bulls (Miami will visit USF at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on a date to be determined). In 2004, the Bulls had their first losing season ever, finishing 4-7 and tied for sixth in Conference USA. However, in eight seasons since starting football in 1997, the Bulls have won 55 of 88 games, including a 21-game home winning streak.

The only new ACC team on the 2005 schedule is Duke, whom the Hurricanes did not play in 2004. The Blue Devils travel to Miami for a game on Saturday, Oct. 8 at the Orange Bowl. Duke was 2-9 last season, 1-7 in the ACC. This will mark only the third meeting between the two schools, with each team having one victory. The last meeting was in Miami’s first national championship season of 1983, a 56-17 Hurricanes victory.

The Hurricanes’ only non-conference road game will be Oct. 15 when they play Temple at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, the new stadium that opened in 2003. The Owls were 2-9 in 2004, seventh in the Big East Conference. Former rivals in the Big East, the Hurricanes and Owls have played 13 times, with Miami winning the 12 games played from 1992-2003.

Miami’s final five games of the 2005 season will be ACC contests. That stretch begins on Saturday, Oct. 22, when the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets come to Miami. They are one of only two ACC schools that hold a series lead over Miami. Georgia Tech is 6-4 vs. Miami, but the Hurricanes won 27-3 in Atlanta a year ago. Georgia Tech is coming off a successful 2004 season that was capped by a 51-14 victory over Syracuse in the Champs Sports Bowl. The Yellow Jackets finished the season 7-5 (4-4 in the ACC).

On Saturday, Oct. 29, the Hurricanes will try to avenge their first loss of the 2004 season when they host North Carolina at the Orange Bowl. Last October 30, the Tar Heels upset the Hurricanes 31-28 on a last-second field goal. North Carolina is one of only two ACC schools with a winning record vs. Miami, holding a 5-3 edge in eight games played in the series. The Tar Heels had a resurgent season in 2004, finishing 6-5 (5-3 in the ACC) and playing in the Continental Tire Bowl.

The Hurricanes will travel to Blacksburg, Va. to face Virginia Tech on Saturday, Nov. 5 in a game a game that figures to be a crucial one between a pair of perennial national powers. The Hokies won the ACC last season after beating the Hurricanes 16-10 last Dec. 4 in Miami and dashing the Hurricanes’ hopes of playing in a fifth straight BCS bowl game. Virginia Tech were 10th in the final polls of both AP and ESPN/USA Today after losing to undefeated Auburn in the Sugar Bowl. They finished the year 10-3 (7-1 in the ACC). A long-time nemesis from the Big East, the Hokies have played the Hurricanes 22 times, with Miami holding a 15-7 lead in the series. Virginia Tech has won four of the last five games in Blacksburg.

Miami takes the Nov. 12 weekend off before resuming action with a road contest in Winston-Salem, N.C. and a nationally televised clash against Wake Forest on Thursday, Nov. 17. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. Miami defeated the Demon Deacons 52-7 last Nov. 20 at the Orange Bowl in their last regular-season victory. Wake Forest was 4-7 in 2004 (1-7 in the ACC). It will be the eighth game between Miami and Wake Forest and only the second one played in Winston-Salem.

Miami will close out the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 26 by hosting Virginia, which is the highest-ranked 2004 team that will visit the Orange Bowl in 2005. Virginia ranked 23rd in final polls by both the AP and ESPN/USA Today. The Hurricanes defeated the Cavaliers 31-21 in Charlottesville in 2004. The two schools have played only two times, both of them Hurricanes victories. Virginia finished 2004 with a record of 8-4 (5-3 in the ACC) and beat Fresno State in the MPC Computers Bowl.

The six bowl teams from 2004 on Miami’s schedule are: Virginia Tech (Sugar Bowl), Florida State (Gator Bowl winner), Georgia Tech (Champs Sports Bowl winner), Virginia (MPC Computers Bowl), Colorado (Houston Bowl winner) and North Carolina (Continental Tire Bowl winner). In addition, Clemson finished the season 6-5 and would have been invited to a bowl game but a brawl in the Tigers’ season finale against South Carolina led both schools to turn down the opportunity of postseason play. In their first two seasons in the ACC, Miami will have played every school with the exception of Maryland and Boston College (the former Big East foe who is joining the ACC this year). Both schools are on Miami’s schedule for the 2006 season.

Miami finished the 2004 season with a record of 9-3. The Hurricanes were 5-3 and in third place in their first season in the ACC. The Hurricanes defeated Florida 27-10 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

In 2005, for the first time, the ACC will use a division format, with the two winners meeting in the ACC Conference Championship Game to be played on December 3 at ALLTEL Stadium in Jacksonville in a nationally televised game on ABC. The division breakdown is as follows:

Season tickets can be purchased online at www.hurricanesports.com or by calling 305-284-CANE in Miami-Dade County or 1-800-GO-CANES elsewhere. Renewals for season ticket holders will be mailed in the next few weeks.

2005 Miami Hurricanes Football Schedule

Home games in CAPS. ACC games designated by *. Dates are tentative and subject to change. Game times are not yet available.