A couple of weeks after leaving Temple and being named coach of the University of Miami in December 2010, Al Golden watched the Hurricanes play for the first time at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
Observing from the press box, it’s a wonder Golden didn’t hightail it on the first flight back to Philadelphia. Love at first sight it surely wasn’t.
Appearing uninterested, unprepared and overmatched, the Hurricanes fell behind Notre Dame 27-0 in the first half on the way to an embarrassing 33-17 defeat.
“I just remember us being cold, we got our butt whips and it wasn’t a real good feeling,” said fullback Maurice Hagens, a freshman in 2010.
Fast forward 22 months and UM (4-1) looks like a far different team heading into Saturday night’s showdown with No. 9 Notre Dame (4-0) at Soldier Field.
Golden was hesitant this week to recollect his thoughts of the 2010 Sun Bowl beatdown by the Irish and the turmoil that surrounded the Hurricanes.
“It was a tough time for everybody that was associated with the game,” Golden said. “It was a different time and place.”
It was certainly a time that UM fans would rather forget. The Hurricanes began 2010 ranked No. 13 and looked like an ACC contender before unraveling. A couple of hours after finishing the regular season at Sun Life Stadium with a 23-20 overtime loss to South Florida, coach Randy Shannon was fired.
UM hired Golden on Dec. 13 but allowed offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland to serve as interim coach for the Hurricanes on New Year’s Eve in the Sun Bowl. UM folded almost immediately to Notre Dame, falling behind 21-0 early in the second quarter.
“It was the end of a frustrating process,” said junior safety A.J. Highsmith. “That game signified what was going on here and what needed to change.”
What needed to change, Golden said, was the team’s toughness and conditioning. He questioned both during a news conference days after the Sun Bowl.
“It’s like medicine,” senior cornerback Brandon McGee said of hearing Golden’s criticisms. “It doesn’t taste good, but it will make you better.”
That UM’s toughness — both mental and physical — and conditioning are better now was apparent in the Hurricanes’ most recent victories against Georgia Tech and North Carolina State.
In the 42-36 overtime thriller against Georgia Tech, Miami overcame a 17-point deficit late in the third quarter to win. It marked UM’s biggest comeback in a game since 2003.
Last week against N.C. State, the Hurricanes blew a 16-point lead but maintained their poise and captured a 44-37 victory with a 62-yard touchdown pass from Stephen Morris to Phillip Dorsett with 19 seconds to play.
They were the kind of victories — earned despite adverse circumstances — that were unlikely in recent seasons for UM.
“We never get down on ourselves and throw in the towel,” Highsmith said. “We’re willing to fight. That’s what we changed most of all.”
What’s also changed are the Hurricanes’ fortunes. Picked to finish fifth in the ACC’s Coastal Division, the Hurricanes are currently leading the division and have won three games in a row for first time since 2009.
A victory tonight against the Irish would probably leapfrog Miami into the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2010. But it won’t be easy.
Notre Dame boasts one of the nation’s best defenses. Led by linebacker and Heisman Trophy candidate Manti Te’o, the Irish have allowed only 36 points in their first four games.
That provides an interesting matchup against a UM offense that is averaging nearly 36 points per game and generated 1,260 yards of combined total offense against Georgia Tech and N.C. State. No other FBS team has accumulated more yards than the Hurricanes the past two weeks.
Miami and Notre Dame are playing in the regular season for the first time since 1990, but its the Sun Bowl in 2010 where the best comparisons will be drawn.
Like UM, Notre Dame has improved considerably since that game was played. The Irish are 4-0 for the first time since 2002 and are coming off back-to-back wins against Michigan State and Michigan, who were each ranked in the Top 25.
“Are we ready for this challenge? We’ll find out,” Golden said. “But I know we’ve climbed a couple rungs since then.”
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