2008 Miami Hurricanes football team

The 2008 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Hurricanes' 83rd season of football and 5th as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Hurricanes were led by second-year head coach Randy Shannon and played their home games at Dolphin Stadium. They finished the season 7–6 overall and 4–4 in the ACC to finish in a tie for third place in the Coastal Division. They were invited to the Emerald Bowl where they lost to California, 24–17.

2008 Miami Hurricanes football
Emerald Bowl, L 17–24 vs. California
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Division(Coastal)
Record7–6 (4–4 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorPatrick Nix (2nd season)
Offensive schemePro-style, spread
Defensive coordinatorBill Young (1st season)
Base defense4–3, zone blitz
Home stadiumDolphin Stadium
(Capacity: 74,916)
Seasons
← 2007
2009 →
2008 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Atlantic Division
Boston College xy   5 3     9 5  
No. 21 Florida State x   5 3     9 4  
Maryland   4 4     8 5  
Wake Forest   4 4     8 5  
Clemson   4 4     7 6  
NC State   4 4     6 7  
Coastal Division
No. 15 Virginia Tech xy$   5 3     10 4  
No. 22 Georgia Tech x   5 3     9 4  
North Carolina   0 4     0 5  
Miami (FL)   4 4     7 6  
Virginia   3 5     5 7  
Duke   1 7     4 8  

Championship: Virginia Tech 30, Boston College 12
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • North Carolina vacated 8 wins, including 4 ACC wins
Rankings from AP Poll

Before the season

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Roster changes

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University of Miami safety Kenny Phillips and defensive end Calais Campbell made the decision to forgo their senior years and declare for the NFL Draft. Phillips was drafted in the first round, No. 31 overall by the New York Giants. Campbell was drafted in the second round, No. 50 overall to the Arizona Cardinals. Linebacker Tavaris Gooden was also drafted in the third round, No. 79 overall to the Baltimore Ravens. Senior quarterback Kirby Freeman, who split time with now undrafted free-agent Kyle Wright in 2007, was informed by the University of Miami coaching staff that he would begin the year third on the depth chart, behind redshirt freshman Robert Marve and true freshman Jacory Harris. Shocked at this news, Freeman decided to transfer, going back to his native Texas at Baylor University.[1][2] Freshman Doug Wiggins, rated the nation's thirty-third best player coming out of high school by Rivals.com, transferred to Western Michigan. The reasons for the move were unclear but reports eventually surfaced that Wiggins had had trouble adjusting to his backup role.[3] Freshman Chris Perry transferred to Texas Tech University after redshirting his freshman year at UM.[4] Junior DajLeon Farr, previously a top tight end recruit out of high school, transferred to the University of Memphis.[5] Daren Daly, a former walk-on kicker who previously attended Florida State University, also decided to transfer and faced his former Hurricanes team as a member of the UCF Golden Knights. Other transfers included George Robinson, George Timmons, Jerrell Mabry, Charlie Jones, Demetri Stewart, and Luqman Abdallah. Junior defensive end Courtney Harris suffered an Achilles injury and was out for the season.[6]

Recruiting class of 2008

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Name Pos Ht Wt Hometown High School/Prep School/Junior College
Travis Benjamin WR 5-11 160 Belle Glades, Florida Glades Central HS
Arthur Brown LB 6-2 210 Wichita, Kansas Wichita East HS
Ramon Buchanan LB 6-1 195 Melbourne, Florida Palm Bay HS
LaRon Byrd WR 6-4 205 Boutte, Louisiana Hahnville HS
John Calhoun FB 6-3 235 Micco, Florida Sebastian River HS
Thearon Collier WR 5-9 163 Miami, Florida Booker T. Washington HS
Taylor Cook QB 6-7 230 Eagle Lake, Texas Rice Consolidated HS
Marcus Forston DT 6-2 305 Miami, Florida Northwestern HS
Jordan Futch LB 6-3 202 Hollywood, Florida Chaminade Madonna College Prep
Gavin Hardin LB 6-5 240 Jackson, Tennessee Jackson Central-Merry High School
Antonio Harper LB 6-4 220 Memphis, Tennessee Melrose HS
Brandon Harris CB 5-11 185 Miami, Florida Booker T. Washington HS
Jacory Harris QB 6-4 172 Miami, Florida Northwestern HS
Patrick Hill FB 5-11 248 Torrance, California El Camino Comm. College
C.J. Holton S 6-2 195 Crawfordville, Florida Wakulla HS
Chris Jhon S 6-0 200 Weston, Florida Cypress Bay HS
Aldarius Johnson WR 6-2 200 Miami, Florida Northwestern HS
Davon Johnson WR 5-11 170 Miami, Florida Booker T. Washington HS
Ben Jones OT 6-6 280 Miami, Florida Northwestern HS
Zach Kane FB/LB 6-3 220 Toms River, New Jersey Toms River North HS
Jeremy Lewis DT 6-3 295 West Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach Lakes HS
Brandon Marti LB 6-0 196 Miami, Florida Gulliver Prep
C.J. Odom S 6-0 210 Ft. Myers, Florida Ft. Myers HS
Micanor Regis DT 6-3 300 Pahokee, Florida Pahokee HS
Marcus Robinson LB 6-2 210 Homestead, Florida Homestead HS
Andrew Smith DE 6-3 240 Coconut Creek, Florida Monarch HS
Cannon Smith QB 5-11 200 Chatham, Virginia Hargrave Military Academy
Sean Spence LB 6-1 200 Miami, Florida Northwestern HS
Tommy Streeter WR 6-6 200 Miami, Florida Northwestern HS
Vaughn Telemaque S 6-2 190 Long Beach, California Long Beach Poly HS
Kendall Thompkins WR 5-10 165 Miami, Florida Northwestern HS
Brandon Washington G 6-4 315 Miami, Florida Northwestern HS
Jake Wieclaw PK 6-2 180 New Lenox, Illinois Lincoln Way Central HS
Joe Wylie S 6-2 172 Lauderdale Lakes, Florida Boyd Anderson

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 287:30 pmCharleston Southern*ESPN360W 52–748,119
September 68:00 pmat No. 5 Florida*ESPNL 3–2690,833
September 203:30 pmat Texas A&M*ABCW 41–2384,165
September 2712:00 pmNorth Carolina
  • Dolphin Stadium
  • Miami Gardens, FL
ESPN2L 24–2835,830
October 43:30 pmFlorida State
  • Dolphin Stadium
  • Miami Gardens, FL (rivalry)
ABCL 39–4165,786
October 113:45 pmUCF*
  • Dolphin Stadium
  • Miami Gardens, FL
ESPNUW 20–1440,011
October 183:30 pmat DukeESPNUW 49–3132,011
October 2512:00 pmWake Forest 
  • Dolphin Stadium
  • Miami Gardens, FL
ESPNUW 16–1041,208
November 112:00 pmat VirginiaRaycomW 24–17 OT53,308
November 137:30 pmVirginia Tech
  • Dolphin Stadium
  • Miami Gardens, FL (rivalry)
ESPNW 16–1446,838
November 207:30 pmat Georgia TechNo. 23ESPNL 23–4149,335
November 2912:00 pmat NC StateRaycomL 28–3856,329
December 278:00 pmvs. California*ESPNL 17–2442,268

Game summaries

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Charleston Southern

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1 2 3 4 Total
Charleston Southern 0 0 7 0 7
Miami 21 7 14 10 52

The game was the first time the Hurricanes played Charleston Southern. It was also the first home game for the Hurricanes in Dolphin Stadium with an attendance of 48,119.[7]

Florida

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1 2 3 4 Total
Miami 0 3 0 0 3
#5 Florida 7 2 0 17 26

The Hurricanes had not lost to the Gators since 1985, owning six consecutive victories in the series. Overall, the Hurricanes leads the series 28–26. The game was the third-most watched game in ESPN history.[8]

Texas A&M

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1 2 3 4 Total
Miami 14 10 17 0 41
Texas A&M 10 0 7 6 23

This game was played on September 20, 2008, at College Station, Texas, before a Kyle Field crowd of 84,165. The two schools had been against each other twice before: the Aggies won 70–14 in 1944, with Miami winning 34–17 in 2007.[9]

For the Hurricanes, Robert Marve completed 16 of his 22 passes, for a total of 212 yards; he threw two touchdown passes, and suffered one interception. Graig Cooper ran for a career-best 128 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Hurricanes compiled 398 yards of offense for the game. The 18-point margin was Texas A&M's worst in a non-conference home contest since losing 30–10 to Alabama in 1988.[10]

North Carolina

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1 2 3 4 Total
North Carolina 0 7 7 14 28
Miami 14 3 0 7 24

The two schools played for the fifth straight year, and the Tar Heels owned a 6–5 lead in the series heading into the game. UNC now leads the series 7–5.

Florida State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Florida State 7 17 10 7 41
Miami 0 3 19 17 39

The Hurricanes and Seminoles will meet for the 53rd time, last season, the Hurricanes defeated FSU 37–29 in Tallahassee and now holds a 30–22 lead in the series. The only time the two schools have met at Dolphin Stadium, UM won 16–14 in the 2004 Orange Bowl Classic.

1 2 3 4 Total
UCF 0 7 0 7 14
Miami 10 0 0 10 20

This game, played on October 11, 2008, in Miami, was the first between the two schools, with Central Florida having joined Division I-A in 1996. For the Hurricanes, Graig Cooper ran for 90 yards and the game-winning touchdown on a career-high 23 attempts. The Hurricanes forced the Knights into punting 12 times, and limited their offense to a total of 78 yards (74 yards gained via the pass, and 4 yards on the ground). Despite the Hurricanes' defensive effort, the game remained close as UCF scored on an interception return of 62 yards, and on a 91-yard kickoff return.[11]

Duke

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1 2 3 4 Total
Miami 7 7 21 14 49
Duke 0 17 7 7 31

Miami had a 4–1 lead in the series and had won three straight games since joining the ACC and four in a row altogether.

Wake Forest

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1 2 3 4 Total
Wake Forest 7 3 0 0 10
Miami 3 0 10 3 16

The only times the two teams have played in ACC action, the Hurricanes won both games by a combined score of 99–24, and UM held a 5–3 lead in the series.

Virginia

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1 2 3 4OT Total
Miami 7 3 0 77 24
Virginia 10 7 0 00 17

This was the sixth game between the two schools, and the fifth straight year the two schools had met.

Virginia Tech

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1 2 3 4 Total
Virginia Tech 0 7 0 7 14
Miami 7 0 6 3 16

Despite losing the last two games to VT, the Hurricanes still held a 16–9 lead in the series. Frank Beamer's Hokies were 11–3 the previous year and were the ACC champions. They lost the Orange Bowl to Kansas, where new Hurricanes defensive coordinator Bill Young held that position for the Jayhawks.

Georgia Tech

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1 2 3 4 Total
#23 Miami 0 3 7 13 23
Georgia Tech 3 21 17 0 41

Georgia Tech's triple option offense ran for 472 yards against the Hurricanes. The Jackets scored three second-quarter touchdowns and reached a 24–3 halftime lead. After that, the Hurricanes got no closer than 27–10 as Georgia Tech were successful. Late in the game, Georgia Tech ran the ball half-heartedly on 4th down to avoid scoring and avoid insulting the Hurricanes by either kneeling, kicking a field goal, or scoring a touchdown. The score was 41–10 at one point.

North Carolina State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Miami 7 7 7 7 28
North Carolina State 7 10 11 10 38

North Carolina State won 38–28.

Emerald Bowl

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Hurricanes' quarterback looks to pass at the 2008 Emerald Bowl
1 2 3 4 Total
Miami 0 7 7 3 17
California 14 0 3 7 24

The Hurricanes accepted an invitation to the 2008 Emerald Bowl in San Francisco to face California in what was essentially a home game for the Bears. Freshman quarterback Jacory Harris started at quarterback after Marve was suspended for academic reasons. Four other players were suspended for violating team rules and not allowed on the trip.[12]

The Bears reached an early 14–0 lead, but Harris was able to lead the Hurricanes back with touchdown passes in the second and third quarter while the Hurricanes' defense was able to shut out the Cal offense in the second quarter and limited them to a field goal in the third. The go ahead score came late in the fourth quarter when Bears linebacker Zack Follett forced a fumble in the backfield by Harris that the Bears recovered and were able to convert into a touchdown. The game marked the third consecutive loss for the Hurricanes, while the bowl win was the end of Cal's season with three wins in a row.

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP23
Coaches26
HarrisNot released26Not released
BCSNot released23Not released

Statistics

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Team

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Team Opp
Scoring 352 314
  Points per Game 27.1 24.2
First Downs 220 214
  Rushing 89 109
  Passing 119 82
  Penalty 12 23
Total Offense 4238 4127
  Avg per Play 5.1 5.0
  Avg per Game 326.0 317.5
Fumbles-Lost 11-5 30-11
Penalties-Yards 74-605 63-537
  Avg per Game 46.5 41.3
Team Opp
Punts-Yards 69-2714 72-2736
  Avg per Punt 39.3 38.0
Time of Possession/Game 29:28 30:32
3rd Down Conversions 64-189 66-182
4th Down Conversions 13-19 8-217
Touchdowns Scored 42 39
Field Goals-Attempts-Long 18-20-52 13-20-51
PAT-Attempts 40-40 37-37
Attendance 277792 365981
  Games/Avg per Game 6/46299 6/60997
1/42268

Scores by quarter

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1 2 3 4OT Total
Miami 90 53 108 947 352
Opponents 65 98 69 820 314

Offense

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Rushing

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Name GP-GS Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G
Graig Cooper 13-11 171 888 47 841 4.9 4 51 64.7
Javarris James 9-1 68 299 13 286 4.2 4 13 31.8
Robert Marve 11-11 59 236 117 119 2.0 2 43 10.8
Lee Chambers 5-0 18 119 3 116 6.4 0 25 23.2
Derron Thomas 10-0 31 130 19 111 3.6 1 34 11.1
Jacory Harris 13-2 45 218 117 101 2.2 2 30 7.8
Shawnbrey McNeal 7-0 13 62 0 62 4.8 2 31 8.9
Travis Benjamin 12-5 5 42 0 42 8.4 1 18 3.5
Matt Bosher 13-13 1 9 0 9 9.0 0 9 0.7
Jason Fox 12-12 1 5 0 5 5.0 1 5 0.4
Davon Johnson 11-1 1 3 0 3 3.0 0 3 0.3
Cannon Smith 1-0 1 2 0 2 2.0 0 2 2.0
Thearon Collier 12-3 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0
Total 13 426 2013 333 1680 3.9 17 51 129.2
Opponents 13 493 2444 470 1974 4.0 21 58 151.8

Passing

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Name GP-GS Effic Att-Cmp-Int Pct Yds TD Lng Avg/G
Robert Marve 11-11 107.19 213-116-13 54.5 1293 9 69 117.5
Jacory Harris 13-2 125.76 194-118-7 60.8 1195 12 41 91.9
Graig Cooper 13-0 858.40 1-1-0 100.0 51 1 51 3.9
Travis Benjamin 12-0 242.80 1-1-0 100.0 17 0 17 1.4
Cannon Smith 1-0 116.80 1-1-0 100.0 2 0 2 2.0
TEAM 10-0 0.0 1-0-0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0
Total 13 117.88 411-237-20 57.7 2558 22 69 196.8
Opponents 13 117.37 336-172-4 51.2 2153 15 74 165.6

Receiving

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Name GP Rec. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/G
Aldarius Johnson 12 31 332 10.7 3 29 27.7    
Graig Cooper 13 29 113 3.9 1 11 8.7    
Thearon Collier 12 26 324 12.5 2 43 27.0    
Dedrick Epps 12 22 304 13.8 2 69 25.3    
Laron Byrd 13 21 228 10.9 4 26 17.5    
Travis Benjamin 12 18 293 16.3 3 51 24.4    
Kayne Farquharson 12 18 280 15.6 3 37 23.3    
Chris Zellner 13 14 91 6.5 1 12 7.0    
Leonard Hankerson 8 11 140 12.7 2 41 17.5    
Sam Shields 13 11 124 11.3 0 23 9.5    
Javarris James 9 11 118 10.7 0 20 13.1    
Davon Johnson 11 5 71 14.2 1 18 6.5    
Khalil Jones 8 5 39 7.8 0 11 4.9    
Derron Thomas 10 4 35 8.8 0 19 3.5    
Patrick Hill 13 4 17 4.2 0 10 1.3    
Richard Gordon 12 3 24 8.0 0 15 2.0    
Kendal Thompkins 2 2 4 2.0 0 6 2.0    
Jacory Harris 13 1 17 17.0 0 17 1.3    
Lee Chambers 5 1 4 4.0 0 4 0.8    
Total 13 237 2558 10.8 22 69 196.8    
Opponents 13 172 2153 12.5 15 74 165.6    

Defense

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Name GP Tackles Sacks Pass Defense Interceptions Fumbles Blkd
Kick
Solo Ast Total TFL-Yds No-Yds BrUp QBH No.-Yds Avg TD Long Rcv-Yds FF
Total

Special teams

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Name Punting Kickoffs
No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd No. Yds Avg TB OB
Matt Bosher 66 2659 40.3 76 3 24 19 2 69 3956 57.3 6 2
TEAM 3 55 18.3 31 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Total 69 2714 39.3 76 3 24 19 3 69 3956 57.3 6 2
Name Punt Returns Kick Returns
No. Yds Avg TD Long No. Yds Avg TD Long
Travis Benjamin 16 181 11.3 0 44 22 496 22.5 0 57
Thearon Collier 8 35 4.4 0 10 0 0 0.0 0 0
Graig Cooper 3 90 30.0 1 66 4 89 22.2 0 26
Richard Gordon 1 13 13.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0
Brandon Harris 0 0 0.0 0 0 13 274 21.1 0 41
Ryan Hill 0 0 0.0 0 0 8 91 11.4 0 29
Darryl Sharpton 0 0 0.0 0 0 3 18 6.0 0 9
Patrick Hill 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 9 9.0 0 9
Kylan Robinson 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 8 8.0 0 8
TEAM 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0.0 0 0
Sam Shields 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 35 0.0 0 35
Total 28 319 11.4 1 66 53 1020 19.2 0 57

Coaching staff

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Position Name Yrs. in Current Pos.
Head Coach Randy Shannon 2nd
Offensive Coordinator Patrick Nix 2nd
Defensive Coordinator Bill Young 1st
Special Teams / TEs Joe Pannunzio 3rd
Quarterbacks Patrick Nix 2nd
Running Backs Tommie Robinson 2nd
Wide Receivers Aubrey Hill 1st
Offensive Line Jeff Stoutland 2nd
Defensive Line Clint Hurtt 3rd
Linebackers Michael Barrow 2nd
Defensive Backs Wesley McGriff 2nd
Strength & Conditioning Andreu Swasey 7th

References

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  1. ^ Jackson, Barry (December 28, 2007). "QB Freeman Requests Release from Scholarship, Kirby Freeman Plans to Leave UM, Meaning the Canes Would Have No Experienced Quarterbacks Next Season". The Miami Herald. p. D1. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  2. ^ Hill, Jerry (December 29, 2007). "Freeman Confirms Transfer Plans". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved December 29, 2007.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Scout.com Article
  4. ^ Scout.com Article
  5. ^ Scout.com Article
  6. ^ "UM's Hernandez Set to Start Friday". The Miami Herald. June 4, 2008. p. 7D. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  7. ^ "Title Unknown". NCAA.org. Archived from the original on May 25, 2009. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
  8. ^ Miller, Susan (September 11, 2008). "UM-Florida Game Draws Large Rating for ESPN". The Miami Herald. p. D7. Retrieved September 11, 2008.
  9. ^ University of Miami 2009 Football Media guide, past game results, pp. 190–195
  10. ^ University of Miami 2009 Football Media Guide, game #3 summary, page 113
  11. ^ University of Miami 2009 Football Media Guide, game #6 summary, page 114
  12. ^ "Miami snapper is 5th Hurricane suspended for bowl". Yahoo! Sports. December 25, 2008. Archived from the original on December 28, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2009.