Gators gather the courage to face the Hurricanes

By Alex Guzman  |   Tuesday, February 28, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Miami Hurricanes
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A former state rival of the University of Miami finally came to terms with a home and home series. The University of Florida will host the Canes on September 6, 2008 while the Gators travel to Miami September 7, 2013. It took about a year of negotiations to set these dates.

UM and UF used to be annual rivals until 1987, when Florida refused to continue playing a program that was beginning to dominate college football. Since then, Miami has beaten the state university from Gainesville on four consecutive occasions - including bowl games to end the 2000 and 2004 seasons. In all, the U has won six straight dating back to 1986. Overall, the series stands 28-25 in favor of the Canes.

This bit of news comes on the heels that another old rival - the Oklahoma Sooners - agreed to face the program based in Coral Gables. The Sooners, who haven't played the Hurricanes since losing the National Championship game at the Orange Bowl to end the 1987 season, will welcome the Miami to Norman, Oklahoma on September 8, 2007. OU comes down to South Florida September 12, 2009.

The Canes beat the Sooners three straight times, starting in 1985 and culminating in Miami's second national championship. The 1985 game was memorable in that UM's Jerome Brown (May he rest in peace) broke QB Troy Aikman's leg during a sack. Aikman subsequently transferred out of Oklahoma's wishbone offense to UCLA's pro-style offense and the rest is history.
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About Alex Guzman

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