Miami Madness: The Champion
UPDATE: The 2002 Rose Bowl, where Miami captured its fifth national championship in dominating fashion with a 37-14 win over Nebraska, has been crowned the champion of our Miami Madness bracket. In the final, it defeated the Hurricanes’ 2017 over Notre Dame in Hard Rock Stadium. Below is the preview story heading into the final.
Thanks to all of you who took this trip down memory lane with us and cast your votes throughout the tournament!
Truth be told, when we decided to build these brackets to determine the greatest games in Canes football history one game was pretty much penciled in for the title tilt.
The team that Miami put on the field at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on the night of January 3, 2002, is considered by many to be the greatest ever assembled. The Hurricanes raced out to a 34-0 lead over Nebraska en route to UM’s fifth national championship. Three months later, five players on that team were first-round NFL draft picks. Over the next two drafts, 10 more players were first-rounders.
So, yes, it comes as no surprise that the 2002 Rose Bowl has made it to this final, dispatching several worthy foes along the way.
The finalist on the other side of the bracket isn’t one of Miami’s other national championship triumphs. It was a regular season game played just a few seasons ago, seventh-ranked UM’s win over No. 3 Notre Dame at Hard Rock Stadium in 2017. It defeated the Hurricanes’ first two national championship victories – the 1984 and 1988 Orange Bowls – to get here. That is quite a surprise.
Counterpoint: It isn’t.
We love sports because of the passionate, visceral emotions that accompany it. If you were at Hard Rock Stadium on the night of November 11, 2017, you can vouch for that sensation. Heck, even if you weren’t there, you could feel it through your television. Notre Dame didn’t stand a chance from the opening kick. The crowd lifted the Hurricanes on its collective shoulders from start to finish, creating an electric atmosphere that still gives us chills to this day.
And after all, isn’t that what we’re missing right now?
So now Miami Madness is down to one matchup between two games. One featuring quite possibly the best collection of Hurricanes on a football field. The other featuring quite possibly the best night for Hurricanes fans in a football stadium. The head versus the heart. It should bring back fond memories whichever way you vote.
The Miami Madness Championship has been set!
2002 Rose Bowl recap: https://t.co/ZyfYbfvTpu
2017 vs. Notre Dame recap: https://t.co/kOCYhJ2GVS— Canes Football (@CanesFootball) April 6, 2020
