The 2001 Sugar Bowl was a 2000–01 BCS game played on January 2, 2001. This 67th edition to the Sugar Bowl featured the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

, and the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

, in an in-state rivalry game. Miami came into the game ranked 3rd in the BCS, 2nd in both the Coaches and AP Poll, at 10–1, whereas Florida came into the game ranked 7th in the BCS at 10–2. Sponsored by

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

, the game was officially known as the Nokia Sugar Bowl.

Teams

The Sugar Bowl during the BCS era usually selected the SEC champion, meaning that the winner of the SEC in 2000,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

received an invitation to the Sugar Bowl. Their opponent would be

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

champion

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, re-igniting a

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

between the two teams, who hadn't faced off since 1987, when their annual series was ended due to an increase in conference games for the Gators.

Miami Hurricanes

Miami went undefeated in

conference play to win the conference title and earn a BCS berth as their conference's champion. The Hurricanes were seen as contender to play

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

for the national title, however

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, a team Miami had defeated in the regular season, was selected leading to controversy over the BCS ranking system. Miami entered the bowl with a 10–1 record (7–0 in conference).

Florida Gators

Florida defeated Auburn in the 2000 SEC Championship Game to earn a berth in the Sugar Bowl as their conference's champion. Florida entered the bowl with a 10–2 record (7–1 in conference).

Game summary

Florida started the scoring with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Florida quarterback

Rex Grossman Rex Daniel Grossman III (born August 23, 1980) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, most notably with the Chicago Bears. Grossman played college football for ...

to tight end Kirk Wells. Miami responded with a 44-yard Todd Sievers field goal to trim the lead to 7–3. Later in the quarter, quarterback

Ken Dorsey Kenneth Simon Dorsey (born April 22, 1981) is an American professional American football, football Coach (sport), coach and former quarterback who is the passing game specialist for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). Dorse ...

fired an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end

Jeremy Shockey Jeremy Charles Shockey (born August 18, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, earning first-team All-American hon ...

, and Miami took a 10–7 lead after 1 quarter. Todd Sievers kicked a 29-yard field goal in the second quarter to extend the lead to 13–7. Florida kicker

Jeff Chandler Jeff Chandler (born Ira Grossel; December 15, 1918 – June 17, 1961) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Cochise in '' Broken Arrow'' (1950), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting ...

kicked a 51-yard field goal before halftime to get the Gators to 13–10. In the third quarter, running back Earnest Graham rushed 36 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, and Florida took a 17–13 lead. Ken Dorsey later fired a 19-yard touchdown pass to running back D.J. Williams, and Miami reclaimed the lead, 20–17. A Ken Dorsey touchdown later in the quarter increased the lead to 27–17. Florida got within 27–20 following a Jeff Chandler field goal, but Miami scored the game's final 10 points to close the scoring. The game featured a rare penalty incurred by a

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

Sebastian the Ibis Sebastian the Ibis is the mascot for the Miami Hurricanes of University of Miami. He is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic American white ibis, white ibis with a Miami Hurricanes football Jersey (clothing), jersey, number 0. History The ibis ...

received an

unsportsmanlike conduct Unsportsmanlike conduct (also called untrustworthy behaviour, ungentlemanly fraudulent, bad sportsmanship, poor sportsmanship or anti fair-play) is a foul or offense in many sports that violates the sport's generally accepted rules of sportsmans ...

penalty for excessive celebration when he celebrated a Miami touchdown with Najeh Davenport. Many believe the Hurricanes were worthy of a national title shot against Oklahoma. After all, the Canes did defeat the Noles earlier in the season and the debate was a serious discussion. Ultimately, Miami would have their day going on to win the title the following season. They had a shot at a repeat in the 2002–03 season, but lost in a classic double overtime thriller against Ohio State.

Scoring summary

Statistics

References

{{Miami Hurricanes bowl game navbox

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

Sugar Bowl Florida Gators football bowl games Miami Hurricanes football bowl games

2000s in New Orleans