To commemorate the 150th anniversary of college football, ESPN put together a list of the top 150 college football teams of all time.
The Miami Hurricanes were well represented on the list with eight teams making the list.
The highest ranked Miami team, of course, was the 2001 National Championship team that went 12-0 while beating opponents by an average of 32 points per game.
Where that 2001 Miami team was ranked on the list, however, was a bit of a head scratcher. That Hurricanes team ranked as the No. 7 team all-time.
The list was put together by a panel of 150 media members, athletic administrators, and former players and coaches. They selected from a list of 210 finalists.
ESPN college football expert Kirk Herbstreit, however disagrees with the list. He would have ranked the 2001 Miami Hurricanes as the best team of all time.
“I would put I between [1995 Nebraska], [2001 Miami] and [2009 Alabama] and I’d probably pull the trigger on [Miami 2001],” Herbstreit said on Sports Center. “They had a lot of great players on that team and great leadership from Ken Dorsey and Ed Reed. Athletes like Andre Johnson. They just walked into that National Championship and blew out Nebraska. Think about that backfield with Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, and Frank Gore. Jeremy Shockey at tight end.”
LINK: View the eight Miami teams that made ESPN’s Top 150 list here.
The 2001 Hurricanes had six players who were All-Americans in safety Ed Reed, left tackle Bryant McKinnie, tight end Jeremy Shockey, right tackle Joaquin Gonzalez, punt returner Phillip Buchanon, and kicker Todd Sievers.
The other stars on the 2001 Miami team were quarterback Ken Dorsey, running backs Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, Najee Davenport, and Frank Gore, wide receiver Andre Johnson, defensive linemen Jerome McDougle, William Joseph, and Vince Wilfork, linebackers Jonathan Vilma and D.J. Williams, and defensive backs like Mike Rumph in addition to Reed and Buchanon.
The back-ups on that team included NFL players like Antrel Rolle, Sean Taylor, and Kellen Winslow Jr.
Overall, 38 players from that Miami team were drafted by the NFL with 17 of those selections being first round picks.
“They were loaded with NFL players and NFL talent,” Herbstreit said.
The 2001 Miami Hurricanes played with an edge because they felt like they were slighted by the BCS formula in 2000. The Hurricanes finished third in the BCS standings in 2000, behind No. 2 Florida State, who Miami beat head-to-head. Both Miami and FSU had one loss on the season.
UM’s one loss that season was at the hands of No. 4 Washington.
Oklahoma went on to beat FSU in the National Championship Game by a score of 13-2.
The Hurricanes had plenty of veterans—like safety Ed Reed—who decided to come back to Miami for their senior seasons to chase a National Championship in 2001.
“At that point they were out to prove a point,” Herbstreit said. “That Miami 2001 team wanted to prove a point, so it was a dangerous team.”