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Is this what Miami football is supposed to look like?

Go Canes!! said:
This team doesn’t have the overwhelming talent top to bottom that’s some of our great teams have had.

But I don’t care about the past anymore. The game is completely different than it once was.

I just want to enjoy today, and this team is **** good with a chance to be very special
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Hard to say at this point. I think in the trenches, this might be as good as some of our NC teams (just praying for no serious injuries). But At RB and WR, I don't see a Johnson, Santana, McGahee calibre player.
 
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It's really important to separate what 2025 looks like versus what the state of the program is. You're not going to win a national championship every year. But the combination of 2024 and what we've seen so far means that, if it continues, Miami will compete the way they used to year in and year out.
 
It's close to what it looked like when we were good. We have a lot of undeveloped young talent for depth, playing now. The biggest difference is, we have 5*'s behind Mesi and Bain and they are not even close to their level. If 1 goes down, it's a big drop off. We simply can't afford to lose 1 of them. They are both as important as Beck. In our glory days, we didn't have that big drop-off in depth. We are still building, but roster turnover (portal, NIL) has changed the game.
 
It’s early, & in my years of being a Canes’ fan, well this new era of Canes’ football, I never get, too, high or low this early in the season. There’s been a lot of chest pumping & thumping after 3 games vs. teams that are now a combined 2-6 on the season.

The ? posed the OP was “Is This What Miami Football Supposed to Look Like?” The real answer is as of 09/16/2025, yes.

Let’s look at the last 3 seasons:

2023 after 3 games 3-0. Notable victory? #23 Texas A&M
2024 after 3 games 3-0. Notable victory? Road game v. UF
2025 after 3 games 3-0. Notable victory? #6 ND

Team Stats After 3 Games:
2023:
Scoring Offense: 17th
Total Offense: 14th
Passing Offense: 15th
Team Passing Efficiency: 9th
Rushing Offense: 40th
Sacks Allowed: 54th
TFLs Allowed: 21st
Scoring Defense: 29th
Total Defense: 28th
Passing Defense: 68th
Def Passing Efficiency: 49th
Rushing Defense: 9th
Sacks: 55th
TFLs: 34th

2024:
Scoring Offense: 5th
Total Offense: 3rd
Passing Offense: 2nd
Team Passing Efficiency: 3rd
Rushing Offense: 33rd
Sacks Allowed: 29th
TFLs Allowed: 13th
Scoring Defense: 15th
Total Defense: 7th
Passing Defense: 13th
Def Passing Efficiency: 5th
Rushing Defense: 12th
Sacks: 3rd
TFLs: 8th

2025:
Scoring Offense: 26th
Total Offense: 22nd
Passing Offense: 21st
Team Passing Efficiency: 17th
Rushing Offense: 58th
Sacks Allowed: 43rd
TFLs Allowed: 2nd
Scoring Defense: 28th
Total Defense: 38th
Passing Defense: 65th
Def Passing Efficiency: 69th
Rushing Defense: 15th
Sacks: 69th
TFLs: 51st

Opponents Combined Record After 3 Games:
2023 - (5-4)
2024 - (4-5)
2025 - (2-6)

Opponents Raw Stat Rankings After 3 Games:
2023:
Miami (OH): 2-1
Total Offense: 98th
Total Defense: 117th

Texas A&M: 2-1
Total Offense: 27th
Total Defense: 38th

BCU: 1-2
FCS Total Offense: 115th
FCS Total Defense: 104th

2024:
UF: 1-2
Total Offense: 72nd
Total Defense: 106th

FAMU: 2-1
FCS Total Offense: 60th
FCS Total Defense: 77th

BSU: 1-2
Total Offense: 126th
Total Defense: 129th

2025:
ND: 0-2
Total Offense: 80th
Total Defense: 108th

BCU: 0-3
FCS Total Offense: 53rd
FCS Total Defense: 113th

USF: 2-1
Total Offense: 86th
Total Defense: 119th

Stats never tell the full story b/c it’s nuanced. However, stats usually give a starting point or a guideline, which is y I tried to be as detailed as possible pertaining to our team stats over the past 3 yrs. It’s been feeling “different” for the past 3 seasons at this juncture. The fact is, we don’t nor will we know until October - November rolls around. The stats show thus far that we’ve improved in some areas, while declining in others.

The argument can be made that we started the season off with better opponents in Notre Dame & USF, but even then that’s left to be determined. USF beat a UF team that was clearly overhyped & now has a dead man walking as a coach, while also defeating a Boise State team that looks to be a shell of its former self w/o its uber star RB.

Notre Dame has taken a precipitous step back on Defense, & Carr looks to be a promising young player, but lacks the veteran leadership and knack that Riley brought.

So we don’t know, & even after we throttle UF this Saturday, the real test won’t come until we play our first road game vs. a revamped FSU team. Let’s talk then.
 
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The first Cane game I ever watched was the 1981 victory over Notre Dame. Jim Kelly and being from SFLA, was the reason I became a Cane fan and have been one since.

I feel bad for the Cane fans that didn’t experience the 80’s and early 90’s. Some of those teams had holes, but the expectation of winning was so high and they had so much heart, it didn’t matter.

I would point to 1988. Played one of the toughest schedules ever, had holes at WR and not much depth at RB and yet Steve Walsh was so **** good, the only reason we didn’t win the NC was one of the worst officiating screwups in history.
 
Sebastian Font said:
While I talked to Cam from StateOfTheU during the USF game, something he said really struck me.

"This is what a Miami team is SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE"

In all honesty I just looked at him and went "Dude I have no clue what a Miami team is supposed to look like"

As a young Miami fan (19), I've only known the Canes as a "has-been" program. And while I absolutely love the players I grew up with (Duke, Kaaya, Perryman, Rambo), I can admit that it's a bit of a drop from your Ed Reed's, Sean Taylor's, and Michael Irvin's of the world. Yes I've watched highlights, yes I've heard the stories about the Orange Bowl, yes I've heard my mother's stories from when she was at the U during the late 80's run.

But I can't comprehend that given all I've ever experienced being November collapses and beatdowns by rivals.

And while I'm excited about this team (I have been since spring practices), I realize that my perception is based off of 19 years of disappointment. So I pose the question to y'all who've seen why the U holds weight.

Is this what a Miami team is supposed to look like?
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It’s getting there. Our defense is not yet as dominant or stacked as our legendary teams. Our offense is also not there yet. But let’s see how this season plays out. It’s definitely the best Canes team I’ve seen in the last 20 years.
 
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ShadowSpring said:
I'd say we haven't really ever been built quite like this. Mario's version is the best we've probably ever been on the OL except maybe 2001. We are also the most fyzical we've ever been from top to bottom. We just lack in some ways some skill position guys like Jeremiah....not sure we have any Pro Bowl type skill players.
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This OL is better than 2001. IMO this is the best OL we’ve ever had at Miami.

Also better than the 2001 line was the Stoutland line, can’t remember the year though.

We also have a better DL and QB than 2001.

Skill positions and secondary is where ‘01 was better
 
Shades of 1983. We are looking at what can be great but still have a lot to prove. If we win it all then 1984 team. We all know what happened from 84 -01.
 
I was born in 86 so I remember some of the glory days, especially the early 2000’s, I don’t think we’re quite at that level, but this is what a Miami team is supposed to look like
 
I miss the days of needing Central Michigan receivers dropping passes on a drive late in the 4th to seal a home win for us. Believe that was 2018 or 2019.
 
Almost. I remember the thrill ride of our 2000 season. It felt like we were back but there was still a tiny bit of doubt. Then we were crushing teams to start the 2001 season and the thought of losing never crossed my mind. For the next 2 seasons I felt like we would never lose a game. I have that 2000 feeling. It feels like we are back, we SHOULD win every game, but I want to curb my enthusiasm since I’ve been burned too many times before.
 
Squid Bumciorek said:
Almost. I remember the thrill ride of our 2000 season. It felt like we were back but there was still a tiny bit of doubt. Then we were crushing teams to start the 2001 season and the thought of losing never crossed my mind. For the next 2 seasons I felt like we would never lose a game. I have that 2000 feeling. It feels like we are back, we SHOULD win every game, but I want to curb my enthusiasm since I’ve been burned too many times before.
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This ☝️.
 
Just want to clear up the original point of my post a little here:

I'm not trying to compare the eras personally (It's only week 4 lets pump the brakes here), but as someone that is a "insider" it's a question I get a lot from Canes fans and can't really answer since I never lived it. So I wanted to get a bit of perspective so I can talk to that point more effectively.

Appreciate the insight from all of y'all 🙌
 
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Honestly, this power running offense is reminiscent of Scnellenbergers OG Canes team. Yes, he ran a pro-style passing attack. But this was the early 80's, and all pro-style meant was not running the ball 80% of the time. Pro style teams ran the ball A LOT more back in the day. Albert Bentley carried the mail for us in those days, mainly between the tackles.

Lot of young WR's on this team too.

The only WR that was a senior on the '83 team was Lawrence Thompson. (Stanley Shakespeare was a junior).
 
I've seen every NC we have and we are very close. This team can win it all. But Give Mario another 2 classes and this team will have the depth it had when it was winning NC's.
 
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RightSaidFred said:
This OL is better than 2001. IMO this is the best OL we’ve ever had at Miami.

Also better than the 2001 line was the Stoutland line, can’t remember the year though.

We also have a better DL and QB than 2001.

Skill positions and secondary is where ‘01 was better
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Didn't we have Jonathan Vilma on the '01 linebacking corps? Our dline in 01 had Wilfork, and Joseph. We had Mcdougale on one of the ends.

The offensive line had Carey, Bibla, and Mt. Mckinnie, and Joaquin.

Pump the brakes a *tiny* bit partner.
 
bear said:
Shades of 1983. We are looking at what can be great but still have a lot to prove. If we win it all then 1984 team. We all know what happened from 84 -01.
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Well 84-94 and 00-02.

The mid-late 90's were not very kind to 'Canes fan. Those were the probation years (when I became a fan), and they hurt. A lot, lol.
 
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