Ghosts of the Orange Bowl

Better late than never? The University of Missouri has officially claimed the 1960 national championship after the U.S. Senate in August 2026 unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the title. The Tigers, coached by Dan Devine, finished the season with a 10-1 record, including a 21-14 victory over Navy in the Orange Bowl. Their lone loss was a 23-7 defeat to Kansas. The Jayhawks used an ineligible player named Bert Coan during that game. The conference ordered Kansas to forfeit the win. This change gave Missouri an official 11-0 record.The university plans to formally honor the 1960 team during halftime of their September 19, 2026 game against Troy.

September 1, 2007: On this day 19 years ago, the Miami Hurricanes defeated the Marshall Thundering Herd 31-3 in their final season opener at the Orange Bowl. The was the first game of the Randy Shannon era as head coach of the Canes. Running back Javarris James (pictured below) rushed for two touchdowns. The Canes defense recorded six sacks. It was the first meeting between the two schools.

Happy 69th birthday to singer Gloria Estefan. Born in Cuba, Estefan grew up in Miami and attended Our Lady of Lourdes Academy and is a 1979 graduate of the University of Miami with a B.A. degree in Psychology. Gloria started her music career as the lead singer of a group called the Miami Latin Boys, which later became the Miami Sound Machine, where she met her husband Emilio Estefan. Gloria later became one of the most successful pop singers of the 1980s and 90s.

Happy 52nd and 53rd birthdays to Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas. The two Miami Dolphin hall of famers not only share the same birthday, they were also brothers-in-law. Taylor was married to Zach's younger sister Katina Taylor. Although neither played any games at the Orange Bowl, they did participate in multiple scrimmages at the stadium in the late 1990s. Thomas and Taylor rank arguably as the two greatest individual defensive players in Miami Dolphins franchise history. Taylor is currently coaches defensive ends at the University of Miami.

Happy 40th birthday to former University of Miami and Miami Dolphins defensive end Calais Campbell. A native of Denver, Campbell is the last former UM player currently active in the NFL who played all of his home games at the Orange Bowl. At 6'8 and 280 pounds, Campbell was an imposing figure and outstanding pass rusher. He was a first team All ACC selection in 2006 as a redshirt sophomore with 10.5 sacks. He left Miami after his junior year to enter the 2008 NFL Draft. Selected in the second round by the Arizona Cardinals, Campbell has been a consistent standout for 17 seasons with the Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins. Campbell has recently returned to the Ravens where he will play this season. He's a 4-time Pro Bowl selection. He was the recipient of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year in 2019 for his charity work off the field. Photo by JC Ridley.

Happy 45th birthday to former University of Miami and NFL running back Clinton Portis. Born in Mississippi, Portis grew up and attended high school in Gainesville, FL. Despite coming from the heart of Gator Country, the University of Florida showed little interest in Portis. Head coach Steve Spurrier recruited him as a defensive back. Portis chose Miami for the chance to play running back right away. From the time he arrived in Coral Gables, Portis made an immediate impact, setting a then UM freshman record with 839 yards. After playing behind James Jackson as a sophomore, Portis became the full time starter in 2001 and rushed for a career high 1,200 yards to help the Canes win their fifth national title. Portis went on to play 9 seasons in the NFL with the Broncos and the Redskins while racking up 9,923 yards and 75 touchdowns in his career. His son Camdin Portis is a freshman safety at the University of Miami.

Happy 46th birthday to former University of Miami offensive lineman Sherko Haji-Rasouli. Haji-Rasouli was a part of the most dominant offensive lines in University of Miami history. Born in Iran, Haji-Rasouli moved around the world. His family moved from Iran to Germany and Argentina before finally settling in Toronto, where he first started playing football. At 6'6 and 325 pounds, he was a starter on the 2001 national championship team along with fellow offensive linemen Bryant McKinnie, Joaquin Gonzalez, Brett Romberg and Martin Bibla. After a fine college career, Haji-Rasouli went on to play 8 seasons in the Canadian Football League.

The late Beano Cook was born 95 years ago. Born Carroll Hoff Cook, he was a longtime college football commentator and historian. Known as the "Pope of College Football", Cook is most remembered as a colorful college football studio analyst working with ABC and ESPN from the 1980s through the early 2000. Before his days working in TV, Cook had worked a variety of different jobs. He was a longtime sports information director at the University of Pittsburgh. Football fans in Florida may remember him as a writer with the St. Petersburg Times in the early 1970s. He also worked as PR Director for the Miami Dolphins from 1974 to 1977.

But it was as a TV analyst where Cook really made his name. He was an encyclopedia of college football who could rattle off names of players and coaches from the early days of the sport at the drop of a hat. Cook was known as a staunch supporter of the old guard of college football. He was particularly partial when it came to the old school powerhouse programs like Notre Dame, Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan. He wasn't a fan of the Florida schools---particularly the Miami Hurricanes.

When Miami began to emerge in the 1980s and started beating the traditional powers, he saw the Hurricanes as a threat to the college football establishment. Cook was particularly critical of Miami's swaggering style. Whenever the Hurricanes would play a big game against an old school power, he rarely if ever picked Miami to win. In 1992, the Hurricanes had played back-to-back games against Florida State and Penn State. Both times Cook picked against the Hurricanes. Both times, Miami won. After the Canes beat Penn State in 1992, an exasperated Cook finally gave Miami some praise proclaiming the Hurricanes as "the greatest dynasty since Caesar".

Cook was known for making bold and outlandish predictions. His most infamous was when he said Notre Dame quarterback Ron Powlus would win two Heisman trophies. Cook was also a frequent guest on Hank Goldberg's radio show making college football picks. Beano Cook passed away on October 11, 2012. He was 81.

They're #1! Congratulations to Fort Lauderdale's St. Thomas Aquinas High School who are now the #1 ranked high school football team in the nation according to Max Preps, ESPN and USA Today. The Raiders' next game will be this Friday night against Miami's Columbus High School--the same team that beat the previous #1 Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas.