Every college football fan has that one program they just can stand. Whether it be a rival school or that squad that just can’t seem to lose, the NCAA landscape is full of those teams we love to hate.
On Sunday, 247Sports analyst Brad Crawford took a deeper dive into why some programs just rub college football fans the wrong way — compiling a list of the top 10 most-hated teams of all-time.
Topping the list at No. 1? The Miami Hurricanes’ 1986 squad.
Especially for the time, this team of flamboyant bad boys at “The U” was just too much for college football fans to handle. With a roster full of gaudy trash-talking, touchdown-celebrating players like superstar wideout Michael Irvin, the Canes quickly gained a villain persona in the college football game.
Prior to an early season game against No. 1 Oklahoma, the Miami captains refused to shake hands with the Sooners during the opening coin toss — resulting in some aggressive pregame jawing between the two sides.
It wasn’t just the on-field antics that earned this reputation though. Several Miami players were involved in off-field criminal activity during the 1986 season. Handling punishments “in house,” then head coach Jimmy Johnson dealt with the situations without dealing out any suspensions for his players.
Stacked with future NFL talent, the Hurricanes went 11-0 through the regular season en route to a national championship appearance. Furthering their bad boy persona, the team infamously stepped off the plane wearing Army fatigues before their 14-10 Fiesta Bowl loss to Penn State.
The hatred for Miami continued on well after 1986. After claiming a national title in 1987, the Hurricanes squad took on Notre Dame in the classic “Catholics vs. Convicts” game in 1988 — featuring a pregame brawl between the bitter rivals.
While they may have been hated, there’s no questioning the greatness of this 1986 team. With 15 players that would go on to play in the NFL, this team will go down as one of the greatest squads to not win a national title.
The post College Football Analyst Names Most ‘Hated’ Team Of All-Time appeared first on The Spun.
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