Like many other universities, Miami celebrated the one-hundredth anniversary of college football by donning a special "100" logo on the sides of their gold helmets that maintained the one-inch Kelly green center stripe. Looking forward to the '69 season, Hurricane fans were reminded of the let-down of 1963 when the George Mira contingent flirted with high pre-season rankings and then imploded. Tate was "really excited about" this team and stated that "we're liable to have a helluva football team." Tate severely overestimated his team's ability as the UM scored but five TD's in their first four outings and soph Kelly Cochrane finally was named the first-team starting QB. The 1-3 start to the season gave this touted team a 1-7 record extending from '68 and the wolves started howling. With but eighteen Floridians on the 1968 roster, a lot of ill will had built up towards Tate and his philosophy of recruiting out-of-state athletes and junior college players. There was no love lost between Tate and the state's high school coaches which put even more pressure on the staff to produce a winner in 1969. The slow start resulted in lost revenue as attendance dropped further, compounded by competition from the Dolphins. When the season ended at 4-6, no one was pleased and a number of players quit the squad in disgust. Future NFL coach Kurt Schottenheimer moved successfully from QB to DB but could do little to stem the tide of opponent scoring which averaged more than twenty-one points per game.