On November 11, 2017, the Miami Hurricanes boat raced the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on ABC, part of the College Gameday feature package shown in front of millions of people from South Beach to South Bend, from Fifth Avenue to Rodeo Drive, all of whom thought “The U” was “back.” This was the latest chapter in “The U is back” storybook, but unlike all those other times, this one seemed to be for real, as recruiting, program culture, and rivalry momentum seemed to finally be on the right track.
412 days later, the same program laid an egg in the Bronx, losing 35-3 to the Wisconsin Badgers.