A step in the right Direction: Miami routs Georgia Tech 33-17.

Last Thursday night, the University of Miami’s football team showed it was taking a gigantic step forward in its pursuit to return to their elite status that they had once held before.
In the 1980’s, the University of Miami was a dominant power when it came to college football. They appeared in the top ten numerous times, demolished their competition, and won 3 NCAA championships in a span of 7 years (’83,’87, and ’89). They continued that success into the mid-1990’s, winning a share of another national championship (’91 with the University of Washington) as well as playing in two other championship games (’92 and ’94). Miami would temporarily fall off the radar for the remainder of the 90’s, however, failing to win 10 games in a season from 1995-99, including one losing season (they achieved a record of 5 wins and 6 losses in the 1997 season). They would, however, undergo a brief period of renaissance in the early 2000’s, winning 4 conference titles from 2000-03 and played in two national championship games (’01 and ’02), winning one of them (’01); they also won at least 11 games in a season during this four year stretch. Since moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference, however they have yet to produce such results, once again failing to win 10 games in a season, suffering another losing season (a record of 5 wins and seven losses) in the 2007 season), and getting humiliated by the University of Virginia in their last home game in the Orange Bowl by a demoralizing score of 48-0.
That atmosphere changed last Thursday as they took the field to play a home game against Georgia Tech University. That night, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were ranked 14th in the nation with a record of two wins and no losses. The Miami Hurricanes was ranked 20th in the nation and sported a record of 1 win and no losses. After winning a thrilling game against their heated rivals, Florida State University, Miami was ready to take the next step. The game started with Georgia Tech receiving the ball first in which they executed their offensive plays quite well. They marched deep into Miami territory before being stopped and having to settle for a field goal. That was the only time Tech would lead as Miami took control of the game, leading by as much as 33-10 in the fourth quarter. Despite giving up a late touchdown, Miami had successfully shut down Tech’s offense, an offense that was said to be one of the best in the country. The Hurricanes were the victors in this match-up by a decisive score of 33-17. They are now ranked 9th in the nation with a record of 2 wins and 0 losses and will play my school, Virginia Tech (ranked 11th with a record of 2 wins and 1 loss).
Winning this game clearly shows that Miami is becoming a force to be reckoned with. There are other big games in this season where they will be able to prove themselves including games against the University of Oklahoma and Virginia Tech. At least one win against those teams could show how far they’ve come and how high they will soar. That’s just my guess, we just have to wait and see what happens.