Richt’s ’Canes learning, and expecting, to win

CORAL GABLES — It is a topic that is seemingly debated nationwide every time the Hurricanes win a big game. Is the program that once won five national titles in the span of 20 years back?

There is no consensus for what “back” seems to mean to college football pundits and fans nationwide. Is it winning a national championship? A conference title? A division championship?

Ask Hurricanes coach Mark Richt about it, and he’ll point out Miami doesn’t yet have the depth to compete an elite level. And he has, since his arrival in Coral Gables nearly two years ago, had to consistently implore fans to come to games at Hard Rock Stadium and support the program financially as it works to continue raising funds for its much-needed indoor practice facility.

Although the coach and his staff will concede there is still much work to be done to make Miami the national powerhouse it once was, there is no doubt that in 18 games under Richt, the Hurricanes have made progress.

The Hurricanes have the nation’s second-longest win streak at 10 games, dating back to last season. They are 3-0 in conference play for only the fourth time since joining the ACC in 2004. They won their first bowl game in a decade with their 31-14 Russell Athletic Bowl victory over West Virginia last December, and they snapped a seven-game losing streak to rival Florida State on Oct. 7. And this weekend, after their second straight last-second thriller, the Hurricanes regained their status as a top-10 team, moving to No. 8 in the AP Top 25.

Those are all positive steps in moving the program forward. But as Miami prepares to host a Syracuse squad on Saturday that is looking for its second straight upset of a top-10 team after beating Clemson last week, Richt says the Hurricanes are far from finished.

“First of all, you’re not a top-10 program unless at the end of the year you’re a top-10 program. We were ranked 10th last year and lost four in a row, so we became unranked. We were happy to be ranked at the end of the year. We ended up around 20th, so we were top-20 a year ago. We were at least a little bit relevant,” Richt said. “We finished with five wins and a bowl win, which was big. But we’re not at the point where we can just line up and impose our will on people. … We’re not lining up and just whipping people and having these margins of victory that are really comfortable. We have to battle every week. We know it.

“The beauty of football is, whether you win by one or by 20, it’s a win. It’s the same thing with a loss. I’ve said it before, I do think we’re moving in the right direction. I think we’re getting where we need to be. But we need to recruit well. Without getting great players in here, year in and year out. It’s going to continue to be a battle.”

For now, that recruiting seems to be going well. The Hurricanes signed a top-15 recruiting class in February. Their current class is ranked third in the nation by 247Sports.com and top prospects are paying attention to Miami. Getting those players on campus will only add that depth the Hurricanes know they need to take the next step forward.

For now, though, they — and several other programs across the ACC and nationwide — are reveling in their renaissance under a second-year coach.