CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -Back when Randy Shannon played at Miami, a 9-3 season would probably be cause for embarrassment.
Times have changed.
The 9-3 record that Miami capped Saturday with a win over South Florida isn’t what Shannon aspires to as a coach. But after the 5-7 debacle in 2007 and the three-game losing streak that brought 2008 to a disappointing close, it’s clear the Hurricanes are getting closer to that championship level again.
They jumped two spots to No. 17 in Sunday’s AP poll.
“We’re on the right track,” Shannon said. “We’re showing improvement every time that we step on the football field and every year, we’ve improved. And the more that we keep improving, the better this football team’s going to be.”
ing.
They could know as early as next Sunday which bowl has extended an invitation, with the most logical possibilities including the Chick-fil-A, Gator and Champs Sports bowls, although the Bowl Championship Series hasn’t officially said the Hurricanes are out of consideration for an at-large spot there, either.
“You’d always want a shot at the BCS bowl opportunity,” Shannon said Sunday. “Like I tell the guys, it’s out of our hands. We’ve got to just look at whatever falls in our lap and take that next step. Be proud of what you guys have done, accept whichever bowl that you have and go represent the University of Miami wherever you’re at.”
There wasn’t much pride evident at the end of the 2007 or ’08 seasons.
Among the trends for the Hurricanes in Shannon’s first two seasons as head coach at his alma mater were end-of-season swoons. Miami lost four straight and six of its last seven two years ago, then three straight including an Emerald Bowl loss to California to cap last season.
This season, Miami won four of its final five games, and it’ll go down as the first time since 2005 that the Hurricanes never had a multi-game losing streak.
Plus, the Hurricanes are one of only five teams nationally so far this season with at least three wins over ranked teams. Alabama is 4-0 against teams in the Top 25, Stanford is 3-0, Miami and Oregon are 3-1 and USC is 3-2 in that situation.
good signs, the Hurricanes insist, that a true championship run isn’t far off.
“Coach Shannon has really taken the time to put a lot on this team and he’s progressed since he’s been here the past three years,” Miami quarterback Jacory Harris said. “We’re just going out there and having fun every day. Practice, weight room, on the field, wherever we’re at, we’re just having fun and that’s the reason we’re 9-3. That’s the reason we’ve had such a successful season.”
Only 13 teams have won more games so far this season than the Hurricanes. Two years ago, 73 teams won more than Miami; last year, that number was 41.
“Feels a whole lot better now,” cornerback Brandon Harris said. “We’re one game closer to that 10-win season. Get that 10-win season, momentum is back on our side as a football team and as a program, and we go into next season with pretty high expectations.”
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