Seniors upbeat about program Freshman sets rushing record
MIAMI GARDENS They arrived in Coral Gables full of high hopes, confident that a Miami program preparing for its first full season free from the cloud of a lengthy NCAA investigation was poised to make a jump forward.
That leap had to wait bit.
Instead, Braxton Berrios, Kc McDermott, Chad Thomas, Michael Badgley and a core of other current seniors experienced a 6-7 season that ended in misery with a 24-21 loss to South Carolina in Shreveport at the Duck Commander Independence Bowl.
A year later, things got uglier. They endured a 58-0 loss to Clemson, the worst loss in program history and watched as Al Golden, the coach who recruited them to Miami, was fired before season’s end.
Things seemed as dark in Coral Gables as they had in years. But, things have changed. Miami’s seniors finally got to experience the kind of season they envisioned when they began their Miami careers.
Saturday night, the Hurricanes’ 10 seniors had the chance to play one last game at Hard Rock Stadium, taking the field in the Orange Bowl against Wisconsin. Many of them were key contributors throughout a 10-win season, helping lead Miami to its first appearance in one of the modern-era New Year’s Six bowl games for the first time since 2003.
And in the days leading up to that game, several of them said they were at peace, knowing that through ups and downs, they were leaving the Hurricanes program in better shape than they found it.
“We went from 6-7 to 8-5 to 9-4 and hopefully, 11-2 and I think that speaks for itself,” said Berrios, who entered the Orange Bowl as Miami’s leading receiver with 634 yards and nine touchdowns.
“In the middle of that was the whole coaching change. We had a lot of things that we went through and like I said, we started at 6-7 and I told the guys, I think that’s why we’re one of the best classes in the last decade and a half. Each year we were here, we got better. I don’t think anybody can take that away from us. Everything they do from here on is all theirs, but, it feels good to know we laid some of that foundation.”
Added McDermott, “It’s been a long four years and to finally reach this point. … This is something that if we didn’t get [to the title game], we definitely wanted to come here. When you think of the Orange Bowl, you think of the University of Miami.”
On the game’s opening drive, Miami’s Jaquan Johnson forced Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor to fumble, with Dee Delaney picking up the loose ball.
Delaney’s Turnover Chain celebration was delayed as the play was reviewed by officials. Once the fumble was confirmed, Delaney got the chain and immediately mugged for cameras and the cheering Hurricanes fans.
The turnover did not lead to any points, though with Miami’s Michael Badgley missing a 53-yard field goal on the ensuing drive.
MIAMI GARDENS Remember how great Adrian Peterson’s freshman season at Oklahoma was in 2004?
Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor surpassed his Football Bowl Subdivision freshman record for rushing yards in a season against Miami in the Orange Bowl on Saturday night.
With a six-yard plunge early in the second quarter, his 10th carry of the night, Taylor reached the 79 yards needed to eclipse the 1,925-yard mark Peterson set with the Sooners.
But then he took a circuitous route in holding onto the record — in fact he got to break it twice. His next carry went for a loss of 2, so he was back below the mark, but a 4-yard pitch to the left got him back over the necessary yardage. The drive ended up resulting in Wisconsin taking a 17-14 lead on an Alex Hornibrook touchdown pass to A.J. Taylor.
The Doak Walker Award finalist and Big Ten Freshman of the Year had accumulated 1,847 yards and 13 touchdowns through 12 regular-season games and the Big Ten Championship entering Saturday.
Among the Salem, N.J. native’s standout performances: 249 yards at Nebraska, 219 yards against Purdue and 223 against FAU.
A four-star running back out of high school, he was also recruited by Yale and Harvard and gave those Ivy League offers some thought before deciding Madison would be his destination.