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CORAL GABLES — It hasn’t been the season any of the Hurricanes expected, least of all seniors such as Jaquan Johnson and Michael Jackson, who weighed bypassing their senior years in Coral Gables to enter the NFL draft.
In July, when Johnson detailed his dreams of playing for a conference and national title, the Hurricanes were the overwhelming favorite to repeat as the ACC’s Coastal Division champions. Expectations were that Miami would be a force in the conference and maybe, just maybe, it could work itself back into the national conversation after rising as high as No. 2 in last season’s College Football Playoff rankings.
But with the end of the regular season now upon them, Miami’s players and coaches have had to deal with the reality that there will be no championship — division or otherwise — for the Hurricanes, who this year have endured not only a four-game losing streak, but plenty of offfield drama.
Some of that drama came to a head earlier this week when Miami lost its top receiver and punt returner, Jeff Thomas. The school says the sophomore was dismissed, though Thomas has stated otherwise. What is certain is that one of the Hurricanes’ biggest offensive playmakers won’t be there when Miami closes out the regular season Saturday afternoon against No. 24 Pittsburgh at Hard Rock Stadium.
“We’ve tried to build a team that is united. … Usually, when you go through hard times, it reveals whether you have unity or you don’t,” Miami coach Mark Richt said this week before Thomas’ departure. “You don’t usually all of a sudden call a meeting and everybody gets united in tough times. You figure out if you’re strong or not.”
With the Hurricanes (6-5, 3-4) now finding themselves needing to navigate another tough situation, the hope is that motivation can be found in other places.
Players say they want to honor seniors such as Johnson, Jackson, defensive tackle Gerald Willis and the rest of Miami’s senior class, who will be playing their final home games at Hard Rock Stadium. There’s the opportunity, too, for the Hurricanes to improve their bowl stock and play themselves into a more desirable game.
There’s also, no doubt, thoughts of avenging last year’s loss to Pittsburgh.
Last November, then secondranked Miami arrived at Heinz Field riding a 15-game win streak and having already clinched the first division title in program history. Its day-after-Thanksgiving game against the struggling Panthers was expected to be a mere pit stop on the Hurricanes’ wait to an ACC Championship Game showdown with Clemson.
Pittsburgh, of course, saw things differently, and behind strong performances from running back Qadree Ollison and then-freshman quarterback Kenny Pickett, who was making his first career start, the Panthers’ upset the Hurricanes 24-14.
A year later, the two teams have just about traded places.
Miami is struggling while Pittsburgh, with Ollison and Pickett back, comes in as the newly crowned Coastal Division champions. Miami has struggled over the course of the last month, while Pittsburgh (7-4, 6-1) has won four straight. And Miami, who in August was a preseason top-10 team, is unranked, while Pittsburgh is a Top 25 team.
It’s no wonder the Hurricanes say they’d like to do to Pittsburgh what the Panthers did to them last time the two met.
“They were able to beat us and take away an undefeated season for us. We definitely remember that. That’s nothing something we’re never going to forget,” center Tyler Gauthier said. “So, it’s definitely something on our minds and it’s something that we’ll say every now and then, too.”