Happy at home
’Canes know OB matchup can be a possible stepping stone
Hurricanes get last hurrah at Hard Rock Stadium.
“It’s huge. It’s absolutely huge.” Kc McDermott, UM lineman on getting a chance to play another game at Hard Rock Stadium this season.
CORAL GABLES — As he walked off the field at Hard Rock Stadium after the Hurricanes’ win over Virginia last month, Kc McDermott tried to soak in the moment.
It had been Miami’s final home game of the season, a 44-28 victory that McDermott believed was the last time he’d wear Miami’s orange and green on the field where he’d played so many games as a Hurricane.
It turns out he and the rest of Miami’s seniors will get one last hurrah at Hard Rock Stadium, as the Hurricanes prepare to close out an already-memorable season there with Saturday’s showdown against Wisconsin in the Orange Bowl.
No, this won’t be the typical bowl trip for Miami. There won’t be any water cannon salute when they land at an airport, no out-of-town sightseeing. But there will be the opportunity to try to snap a two-game losing streak, finish the season on a high note and do it all in front of the fans who have been there as Miami went undefeated at home this season.
“It’s huge. It’s absolutely huge,” McDermott said of the chance to play one more game at Hard Rock as a Hurricane. “Leaving there after the Virginia game I thought it was going to be the last time. I’m blessed to get one more opportunity, and it’s going to be a fun one. I can’t wait for it.”
Added fellow senior Chad Thomas: “It means a lot. Playing at that stadium, that’ll probably be my last football game, I don’t know. Playing there, playing with my team-
mates … I grew up going to Dolphins games and UM games there. Now I get to play there and it’s my last game to play there. I’ve lived my dream out through college.”
McDermott and Thomas aren’t the only ones excited about the opportunity that lies ahead for Miami. The Hurricanes haven’t played in any of the New Year’s Six bowl games since their forgettable 40-3 loss to LSU in the 2005 Peach Bowl. They haven’t played in the Orange Bowl since 2003, when they edged rival Florida State 16-14 in Miami’s final game as a Big East program.
Since those two games, the Hurricanes have endured a spate of mediocre seasons, three coaching changes, a self-imposed two-year bowl ban in the wake of the Nevin Shapiro scandal and a handful of bowl appearances in places like Boise, Shreveport, El Paso and Orlando.
Miami (10-2) went a decade without a bowl win, a 10-year stretch that ended last December when the Hurricanes closed out Mark Richt’s first season as coach with a 31-14 win over West Virginia in the Russel Athletic Bowl.
That win helped the Hurricanes close out the 2016 season with a fivegame winning streak and a No. 20 ranking the final AP Top 25. It gave Miami something to build on heading into this season, and the Hurricanes capitalized. Miami won 10 more games, clinched its first Coastal Division crown and rose to No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings before a surprising 24-14 loss at Pittsburgh, followed by a 38-3 loss to defending national champion Clemson in the ACC Championship.
That has set the stage for this moment, with the Hurricanes knowing a win over No. 6 Wisconsin (12-1) will, again, give them something to build on going into spring football and the 2018 season.
“Miami hasn’t been [in the Orange Bowl] in a while, so we have a lot of pride about going in there and doing well,” defensive tackle Kendrick Norton said. “It gives [younger players] a floor, something to shoot for and make the new standard around here. … If we get a win, we’ll be the first team to win the Orange Bowl in a while. That’ll be something to hang our hats on.”
For other players, there’s another motivating factor, especially with the Hurricanes playing at Hard Rock, where they’ve won nine consecutive games dating back to last season.
“For me personally, I think a lot about the seniors and how they’re feeling about things,” sophomore linebacker Zach McCloud said. “I know if I were a senior and this was my last time putting on the ‘U’ on the side of my helmet, it’d be kind of like an honor to be able to finish this way, in the Orange Bowl, in front of all our fans. For that, it’s a big deal to me, to be able to know those guys have that last game to put it away.”