The Hurricanes were led by fifth-year head coach Larry Coker and played their home games at the Orange Bowl.

Miami dropped its first game of the season at archrival Florida State, 10–7, when punter/holder Brian Monroe fumbled the snap on a 28-yard game-tying field goal attempt by kicker Jon Peattie with 2:16 left to play in the fourth quarter.

The Miami offense, which had problems all season, sputtered badly against Georgia Tech and quarterback Kyle Wright was booed continuously during the second half of the game by the Orange Bowl crowd for his ineffective play.

Miami finished the regular season at 9–2 (6–2 ACC), ranked #9 in both polls, and received an invitation to return to the Peach Bowl to face the 10th-ranked LSU Tigers.

[2] Kehoe's firing was particularly controversial,[3] as he had been with the program as a player and then a coach for over 25 years and took part in all five of Miami's national championships.