1987 McMNC: Miami-FL Hurricanes

AP Top 10: Final Record -- Key Bowl Results

1. Miami-FL: 12-0-0 -- W, Orange, 20-14
2. Florida State: 11-1-0 -- W, Fiesta, 31-28
3. Oklahoma: 11-1-0 -- L, Orange, 14-20
4. Syracuse: 11-0-1 -- T, Sugar, 16-16
5. LSU: 10-1-1 -- W, Gator, 30-13
6. Nebraska: 10-2-0 -- L, Fiesta, 28-31
7. Auburn: 9-1-2 -- T, Sugar, 16-16
8. Michigan State: 9-2-1 -- W, Rose, 20-17
9. UCLA: 10-2-0 -- W, Aloha, 20-16
10. Texas A&M: 10-2-0 -- W, Cotton, 35-10

There really isn't much to discuss here: Miami-FL went undefeated, and they beat #2 Florida State by a point, and they beat #3 Oklahoma by six points. The only team with a shot? Syracuse, left out of the fray despite being undefeated at the end of the regular season. Oklahoma and Miami-FL were chosen to duke it out in the Orange Bowl, while the Orangemen were relegated to the Sugar Bowl. I am not sure what Syracuse's motivation would have been, knowing they could win and still not be the MNC champion.

However, the debate doesn't go very far. Winning your bowl game has been a firm requisite of the McMNC since 1936. Tying your bowl game? Never a consideration. But in the end, Syracuse had a 49% SOS rating to Miami's 55% SOS rating, so there's not even an outside shot. The Orangemen didn't beat a ranked team all season, and their best wins were over unranked 8-4 Penn State and 8-4 Pittsburgh. Miami's best wins? Uh huh.

Case closed, in perhaps the easiest McMNC discussion to date.

McMNC Revisions
1. Miami
2. Syracuse
3. Florida State
4. Oklahoma
5. LSU

RUNNING SCORECARD:
USC: -1962, =1967, +1969, =1972, +1978, +1979
Pittsburgh: +1936, -1937, =1976, +1980
Tennessee: +1938, +1942, +1950, -1951
Penn State: +1977, +1981, =1982, =1986
UCLA: +1965
Arkansas: +1964
Mississippi: +1962
Washington: +1960
Iowa: +1956
Georgia Tech: +1952
Illinois: +1951
Michigan: +1947, =1948
Purdue: +1943
Stanford: +1940
California: +1937
Nebraska: =1970, =1971
BYU: =1984
Syracuse: =1959
LSU: =1958
Texas A&M: =1939
Auburn: -1957, +1983
Georgia: +1946, -1980
Michigan State: -1952, +1953
Ohio State: -1942, +1944, =1954, =1968
Oklahoma: +1949, -1950, =1955, -1956, +1957, =1975, =1986
TCU: -1938
Maryland: -1953
Clemson: -1981
Miami-FL: -1983, =1987
Texas: =1963, -1969
Army: -1944, -1945
Minnesota: -1936, -1940, =1941, -1960
Alabama: +1945, =1961, -1964, -1965, -1978, -1979
Notre Dame: -1943, -1946, -1947, -1949, =1966, =1973, -1977