Some of the greatest teams in college football history have also been among the most disliked.
In a recent feature, 247Sports’ Brad Crawford ranked the top 10 “most hated” college football teams of all-time. At the top of the list was the 1986 Miami Hurricanes.
Back then, “The U” was the most dominant program in the country, posting a 52-9 overall record under Jimmy Johnson from 1984-88. The ‘Canes, who cultivated a rebellious image throughout their run, won the national title in 1987 and again in 1989 under Johnson’s successor, Dennis Erickson.
But it was the 1986 team that earned the ire of a significant number of college football fans as it went 11-0 in the regular season before stumbling in the Fiesta Bowl.
“On a team loaded with future NFL talent, Johnson basically didn’t believe in suspensions and handled all disciplinary action in-house,” Crawford writes. :That included several slap-on-the-wrist penalties for alleged shoplifting and fraud infractions. Miami’s swag wasn’t enough in the national championship game against Penn State after the Hurricanes infamously stepped off the plane in military fatigues. Heisman-winning Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde threw five interception and the Hurricanes fell, 14-10, for their only loss of the season.”
As Miami legend Michael Irvin said in ESPN’s incredible 30 for 30 on the ‘Canes of that era: “We were bad boys.”
They just don’t make teams like that in college football these days.