2007 Miami Hurricanes football team The 2007 Miami Hurricanes football team was Randy Shannon ' s first as head coach of his alma mater . It also marked the last year that Miami played its home games in the Miami Orange Bowl . Miami was 5 – 7 for the season . Changes . The 2006 season saw Miami finish with a 7 – 6 record , their worst since 1997 ' s 5 – 6 campaign . Former head coach Larry Coker was fired , after continuous regression following a national championship his first season in 2001 . Following a brief coaching search , UM decided on Randy Shannon , previously the team ' s defensive coordinator . Since his hiring , Shannon has made several reforms . He has banned firearms , declaring any player carrying one will be dismissed from the team and the school . He also banned the use of cell phones during class , and anyone caught with them will lose them for two weeks . Further , he requires players maintain a 2 . 5 grade point average in order to live off campus , and any player who skips class faces extra conditioning as well as demotion on the depth chart . On July 24 , Shannon announced to the press that the Hurricanes were stripping the names on the back of their jerseys for the 2007 season , which is highly unusual in Division I football . " The Miami Herald " then somewhat labeled Miami a " no name offense and defense , " but the label has become more applicable as Miami progressed through an unimpressive 2007 season . Shannon has also cleaned house with his coaching staff , with six new assistants in the program , headlined by offensive coordinator Patrick Nix , who held the same position in 2006 with Georgia Tech . During meetings with the ACC media , Shannon boldly stated he believes Miami can bounce back and win the ACC , saying " I don ' t expect anything less . " Recruiting Class of 2007 . In the pre - season , ESPN listed incoming running back Graig Cooper as one of the top - 10 impact freshman for 2007 . Pre - season . Miami began the 2007 season unranked for the first time since 1998 . Three Hurricanes were selected to the ACC Pre - Season team : Senior G Derrick Morse , Junior DE Calais Campbell , and Junior S Kenny Phillips . On August 28 , 2007 , Head Coach Randy Shannon named Kirby Freeman the starting quarterback over Kyle Wright for the season - opening game against Marshall . Schedule . The schedule was ranked as the # 7 toughest road schedule . After this season , the Hurricanes moved their home games from Orange Bowl Stadium to nearby Miami Gardens and Dolphin Stadium . The Orange Bowl had served seven decades as the home of Miami ( Florida ) football . Game notes . Marshall ( 1 – 0 ) . Pregame Line : Miami - 18 . 5 Miami easily defeated Marshall in Randy Shannon ' s debut game , which was also the first - ever meeting of the two teams . The running backs provided the majority of the Hurricanes ' offense , as sophomore Javarris James and true freshman Graig Cooper combined for 215 yards on the ground with James scoring two touchdowns . Starting quarterback Kirby Freeman completed only 9 of 21 passes for 86 yards , but was praised by Shannon for " controlling the game . " Also , wide receiver Sam Shields sat out the game for violating team rules . Defensively , Miami made four interceptions , six sacks , and held Marshall to only 51 rushing yards . Following the win , James said , " We started off this year with a bang and hopefully we can continue . " # 6 Oklahoma ( 1 – 1 ) . Pregame Line : Miami + 11 . 5 The last time the Sooners and the Hurricanes met was in the 1987 Orange Bowl . Miami won 20 – 14 and earned its second national championship . The Sooners are 27 – 5 against current ACC members with three of those losses to the Hurricanes . The Sooners entered the game favored by between 10 to 11 points . The Hurricanes were within one score halfway into the third quarter , before the game , nationally televised on ABC , became a blowout for the Sooners . The Oklahoma defense was able to limit James and Cooper to a combined 54 yards . Freeman went 3 of 9 for only 17 yards before being benched in favor of former starter Kyle Wright , who led the Hurricanes on their only touchdown drive and completed 7 of 14 for 65 yards . Miami ' s defense was able to contain the Sooners , going into halftime with a 21 – 10 deficit , and scoring a field goal early in the third quarter to pull as close as 21 – 13 , but Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford launched an aerial attack that couldn ' t be stopped , going 19 of 25 for 205 yards and 5 touchdowns . The loss was Miami ' s most lopsided since 1998 , when they were routed by Syracuse 66 – 13 . Florida International ( 2 – 1 ) . Pregame Line : Miami - 31 . 5 Last season was the first - ever football game between the two cross - town schools . Miami won 35 – 0 , but the game was most notable for its on - field brawl . Both teams hired new head coaches in the off - season ; FIU was led by Mario Cristobal , who was previously Miami ' s offensive line coach . The Hurricanes made some changes following the Oklahoma defeat for the FIU game , the most noticeable of which was Shannon ' s decision to rename Kyle Wright , who was the starter last season before falling to injury , the starting quarterback . Wright went 10 of 19 for 224 yards , while Javarris James rushed for 92 yards as the Hurricanes won 23 – 9 , extending FIU ' s losing streak to 15 . # 16 Texas A & M ( 3 – 1 ) . Pregame Line : Miami - 3 This was the second - ever meeting between the Aggies and the Hurricanes , the Aggies having won the 1944 game . The game was the final nonconference game of the season for both teams . Despite being unranked , Miami entered the game three - point favorites over the undefeated 16th - ranked Aggies . Played before a near - capacity crowd in the Orange Bowl and a national television audience on ESPN , Miami dominated the Aggies for much of the game , as the Hurricane offense exploded . By the time Aggies kicker Matt Szymanski put the first Texas A & M points on the board by way of a field goal in the fourth quarter , Miami had already scored 31 and the romp was well underway . Kyle Wright led an effective passing attack , finishing 21 – 26 for 275 yards , and showing an ability to lead the Hurricane offense , which wrapped up a total 402 yards to A & M ' s 240 , down the field in a reversal of their early season woes . Defensively , Miami shut down the Aggie ' s leading rushers Stephen McGee , Mike Goodson , and Jorvorskie Lane to 38 combined rushing yards in the first half and 98 yards overall – well under their previous combined game average of 235 yards . Miami DE Calais Campbell , whose fumble recovery in the second quarter lead to a field goal that put Miami up 24 – 0 going into halftime , said of the statement victory : " Knowing this is the last year in the Orange Bowl , we want to make history here . " Duke ( 4 – 1 ) . Pregame Line : Miami - 24 Duke entered the game with the 47th ranked pass offense in the nation , led by former Miami - area quarterback Thaddeus Lewis . Lewis threw for 241 yards , two touchdowns , and no interceptions against Miami , getting within a field goal in the fourth quarter . However , Miami ' s defense sacked Lewis nine times , helping Miami win the game 24 – 14 . Calais Campbell was named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week as he totaled 16 tackles , including 2 . 5 sacks , 3 . 5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles against Duke . He now places seventh in the conference in sacks , fourth in tackles for loss , and is tied for third in fumbles forced . Graig Cooper ran for 101 yards and a touchdown in only twelve carries . He also caught a pass for 25 yards , in an effort that earned him ACC Rookie of the Week honors . Miami leads the overall series 4 to 1 . North Carolina ( 4 – 2 ) . Pregame Line : Miami - 7 The first meeting between North Carolina head coach Butch Davis and his former team turned out to be a tale of two halves . Miami began the day clumsily ; the first half included two Kyle Wright interceptions , six plays allowed for 18 yards or more , and a short missed field goal attempt . The Tar Heels ' first half domination even included a blocked punt that eventually led to a touchdown , and added to the 27 – 0 score at halftime . The second half was mostly controlled by Miami , who scored 27 points of their own – including a 97 - yard touchdown catch by senior Darnell Jenkins . However , two North Carolina field goals in the fourth quarter and an errant Wright pass intercepted at the North Carolina 3 - yard line ( his fourth interception of the game ) were too much for the ' Canes to overcome . Georgia Tech ( 4 – 3 ) . Pregame Line : Miami - 2 . 5 The Hurricanes struck first with a 39 - yard run by freshman Shawnbrey McNeal and took a 7 – 0 lead into halftime . The second half , however , was mostly controlled by the Yellow Jackets , who outgained Miami 244 – 79 in the half . Georgia Tech was led by running back Tashard Choice , who ran for a career - high 204 yards on 37 carries . A fourth quarter touchdown pass from Kyle Wright to Sam Shields tied the game , but it was Travis Bell ' s 39 - yard field goal with 7 : 34 left that gave Georgia Tech the win . Georgia Tech became only the third team in the last 25 years to beat Miami in three consecutive seasons , joining Virginia Tech and Florida State ( both of whom accumulated the wins during the Hurricanes ' ) . All three Georgia Tech wins came by a touchdown or less . Florida State ( 5 – 3 ) . Pregame Line : Miami + 4 . 5 Florida State and Miami both entered this game unranked for the first time since 1977 . The teams exchanged turnovers ( nine total , five by FSU ) and scores , keeping things close for most of the game . With 5 : 29 left in the fourth quarter , the Hurricanes , trailing 29 – 24 , appeared to have lost their best chance to win when Kirby Freeman was stopped for no gain on a fourth - and - 1 at the Florida State 1 . But Freeman , who replaced injured Kyle Wright in the first half , drove Miami 83 yards in under two minutes to take the lead 30 – 29 on a 13 - yard pass to Dedrick Epps with 1 : 15 left . FSU quarterback Xavier Lee , who was intercepted twice , then fumbled after being hit by Miami ' s Teraz McCray , and Colin McCarthy ran it in for the clincher . This was the first game since 2001 that was decided by more than a touchdown . Miami now leads the all - time series of the storied rivalry , 30 – 22 . NC State ( 5 – 4 ) . Pregame Line : Miami - 11 Coming into this game , Miami held its destiny in its own hands . With Virginia and Virginia Tech both losing the week before , Miami was in a position to advance to the ACC Championship game . All it needed to do was win out . A win would also make Miami bowl eligible . Miami opened the game with a 22 yard field goal to give it a 3 – 0 lead . Then Miami took a 10 – 0 lead when quarterback Kirby Freeman completed his only pass of the game , an 84 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Darnell Jenkins . NC State then became the first visiting team this season to score in the first half against the Hurricanes when with 2 : 04 left until halftime , running back Daniel Evans took the ball in from one yard out to make the score 10 – 7 at the half . There was just one score in the 3rd quarter which was a 33 yard field goal by Miami . The score was then 13 – 7 going into the fourth quarter . In the 4th quarter NC State scored 3 field - goals on their first three fourth quarter drives to make it a 16 – 13 game . Miami got the ball with 6 : 55 left in the game and drove down to the NC State 10 yard line , all on 15 running plays . With 33 seconds left Miami then tried two pass plays to wide receiver Sam Shields , both of which were broken up in the endzone . Miami was then forced to kick a 27 yard field goal to send it into overtime . Miami got the ball first in overtime and chose 6 run plays to open . Miami then attempted another 27 yard field goal which sailed wide left . NC State then got the ball and kicker Steven Hauschka kicked a 42 yard field goal to win the game . This was NC State coach Tom O ' Brien ' s first ever win at the Orange Bowl . Miami quarterback Kirby Freeman , who was in for injured starter Kyle Wright , went just 1 – 14 with 84 yards and 3 interceptions . Miami rushed 60 times for 314 yards against the ACC ' s worst rush defense . Halfback Javarris James rushed for 103 yards . The loss dropped Miami to 5 – 4 overall and 2 – 3 in the ACC . # 21 Virginia ( 5 – 5 ) . Pregame Line : Miami - 3 . 5 The Miami Hurricanes lose to the Virginia Cavaliers 48 – 0 in the worst shutout in Orange Bowl history on the Hurricanes ' last game at the Miami Orange Bowl . This loss dropped the Hurricanes to 2 – 4 in the ACC and 5 – 5 total . Boston College ( 5 – 7 ) . Not only did Miami lose to Boston College for the 1st time since 1984 , they do not make a bowl game for the 1st time since 1997 . While the Miami defense slipped from previous years to finish 33rd in the nation , the offense finished 110th in the nation , their worst ranking for total offense in the modern era . Offseason . UM strong safety Kenny Phillips and defensive end Calais Campbell made the decision to forego their senior year and declare for the NFL Draft . Phillips was drafted in the first round No . 31 overall to the New York Giants while Campbell was drafted in the second round No . 50 overall . Linebacker Tevarris Gooden was also drafted in the third round No . 71 overall .