Randy Shannon's Hurricanes showed improvement in the 2009 season, in which the Canes finished with a record of 9–4. The Canes were the first college football team in nine years to face four consecutive ranked teams to start the season. They surpassed expectations by going 3-1 in those games, including wins over No. 19 Florida State, No. 13 Georgia Tech, and No. 8 Oklahoma. The Hurricanes went 6-2 over the remainder of the regular season, then lost 20-14 against No. 22 Wisconsin in the Citrus Bowl. Miami finished the season ranked No. 19 in the country. It marked the second consecutive year that Shannon's team had shown a two-win improvement.