Plays under further review

5) Men’s and women’s tennis squads ranked

The University of Miami is just one of 12 programs in the nation with both their tennis programs ranked in the top 25. The men are ranked No. 7. The team returns with seven players after a run to the sweet 16 last year. The women are ranked No. 21. They return five of their six starting position players.

4) Under the knife

Senior offensive tackle Jason Fox missed the Champs Sports Bowl because of knee surgery. Fox was named Co-MVP and had 47 starts which is the third most all-time by a UM player. His presence was missed when UM’s offensive line gave up five sacks to Wisconsin. Junior running back Graig Cooper tore his ACL on the final play of the first half as he was returning a kick. The field conditions were awful at the Champs Sports Bowl. The turf was embarrassing. And if those two injuries were not bad enough, sophomore quarterback Jacory Harris had offseason surgery to repair ligaments in his right thumb two weeks ago. Harris will likely miss the beginning of spring practice.

3) Wake up call

After much criticism for playing an easy nonconference schedule with teams like Florida Gulf Coast, Stetson and USC upstate, the UM men’s basketball team proved it could beat elite competition by knocking off Wake Forest on January 9, 67-66. Senior forward Dwayne Collins had 23 points and 11 rebounds. The win propelled UM into the top 25 Associated Press poll the following week.

2) Shocking the competition

The women’s basketball team has a new identity this year, and it’s all about winning. The Canes defeated arch rival No. 11 Florida State on January 10  78-70. It was the Canes’ first victory against a top 15 ranked team since 1991. The next day they were rewarded by being ranked in the Associated Press poll. It was the first time they were ranked in nearly six years. Fifth-year head coach Katie Meier has done a fantastic job turning this program around.

1) Champ Sports Bowl

The University of Miami football team lost to Wisconsin 20-14 December 29 in Orlando at the Champ Sports Bowl. The result left fans with many disappointing Facebook statuses and tweets. UM finished its season 9-4 overall. The orange and green have yet to win 10 games in a season since 2003. The Canes scored a touchdown in the first 23 seconds of the game, but the offense was stagnant the rest of the time. Junior kicker Matt Bosher recovered an onside kick of his own to give the Canes life with two minutes left, but the offense went four and out and could not sustain the drive.

Justin Antweil may be contacted at jantweil@themiamihurricane.com.