It was the Hurricanes' 86th season of football and 8th as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Hurricanes were led by first-year head coach Al Golden and played their home games at Sun Life Stadium.

The Hurricanes served a self-imposed bowl ban due to an ongoing NCAA investigation.

The Hurricanes faced adversity even before the first down of football as twelve players were forced to pay restitution and eight players were suspended for accepting money and gifts from former booster Nevin Shapiro, a convicted Ponzi schemer serving a 20-year prison sentence.

[5] On November 20, Miami announced it was withdrawing from bowl consideration due to an ongoing NCAA investigation into the Shapiro affair.