1989 McMNC: Miami-FL Hurricanes

AP Top 10: Final Record -- Key Bowl Results

1. Miami-FL: 11-1-0 -- W, Sugar, 33-25
2. Notre Dame: 12-1-0 -- W, Orange, 21-6
3. Florida State: 10-2-0 -- W, Fiesta, 41-17
4. Colorado: 11-1-0 -- L, Orange, 6-21
5. Tennessee: 11-1-0 -- W, Cotton, 31-27
6. Auburn: 10-2-0 -- W, Hall of Fame, 31-14
7. Michigan: 10-2-0 -- L, Rose, 10-17
8. USC: 9-2-1 -- W, Rose, 17-10
9. Alabama: 10-2-0 -- L, Sugar, 25-33
10. Illinois: 10-2-0 -- W, Citrus, 31-21

Well, back to chaos, sort of.

Maybe.

Please?

A lot of teams with impressive resumés: Miami, Notre Dame and Tennessee have one loss, while Florida State, Auburn, USC and Illinois have two losses.

Time to shake it out!

Start with the also-rans:

Florida State has two losses to go with their outstanding 61% SOS rating. But one loss was to 5-6 Southern Mississippi, which means no way. The Seminoles beat Miami by 14 points at home in October, but it was too little, too late. Auburn lost to Florida State by eight points on the road, and if FSU is out, then Auburn is out, too. Illinois didn't win the Big Ten; they lost to Michigan by 14 points at home in November, so thanks for playing. USC won the Pac-10, but they lost to Illinois and Notre Dame, so ... not going to happen. Notre Dame lost to Miami by 17 points on the road in the last regular season game of the year (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw1zUKJVEw8), so they're out.

Which leaves us with Tennessee and Miami. The SEC was clusterfuck in 1989: there was a three-way tie for the title, between Alabama, Auburn and the Vols. The Tide beat Tennessee and lost to Auburn; the Tigers beat the Tide and lost to the Vols; Tennessee beat Auburn and lost to Alabama. A perfect circle, people. The Tide ended up going to the Sugar Bowl, however, where they lost to Miami.

So what about the Vols?

Tennessee has a 57% SOS rating, including wins over unranked 8-4 Duke (the Ol' Ball Coach!) at home, #7 Auburn at home, 6-4-1 Akron, unranked 8-4 Mississippi at home, 6-5 Kentucky on the road, and AP #13 Arkansas (10-2) in the Cotton Bowl.

Miami has a 55% SOS rating, including wins over AP #16 Michigan State (8-4) on the road, 6-5 San Jose State at home, AP #17 Pittsburgh (8-3-1) on the road, 6-5-1 San Diego State at home, #2 Notre Dame at home and #9 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

The Vols have a better overall SOS, because Miami played 1-9-1 Cincinnati and some major conference lowlifes (2-9 Wisconsin, 4-7 California, 2-9 Missouri). The worst teams Tennessee played were 1-10 Vanderbilt and 3-7-1 UCLA.

Miami has more impressive wins, however including three wins over ranked teams in virtual road games. That's enough to compensate for the Vols' slight edge in SOS rating.

McMNC Revisions
1. Miami
2. Tennessee
3. Notre Dame
4. Colorado
5. Florida State

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, =1989
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, =1988