If you think winning a national championship in college football is hard, try winning back-to-back titles.

Since 1944, only six schools have finished No. 1 in the coaches and/or media poll in consecutive seasons. Army (1944-45), Notre Dame (1946-47), and Texas (1969-70) have done it. Oklahoma (1955-56, 1974-75) and Alabama (1964-65, 1978-79) have done it twice. Nebraska has also done it twice and is the last team to do it (1970-71, 1994-95).

The Miami Hurricanes, who destroyed Nebraska, 37-14 in the Rose Bowl last year to claim the school's fifth national title and first since 1991, will attempt to join the exclusive repeat club this season.

	Larry Coker and the 'Canes hope to hold the trophy again this year.

Step one for the 'Canes will be to forget last year. According to coach Larry Coker, they've done that.

"The thing that means a lot is our players have already set that tone that last year was last year. Great, we're glad that happened. It's a great championship, a tremendous year and all those things, but this is a new year," Coker said. "We're going to be remembered for what we do this year."

When Coker talked to Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan this summer about the difficulties of repeating, Shanahan said that in the NFL a tougher schedule and wearing the bulls-eye were the two main difficulties.

While winning a title in college football doesn't ensure a tougher schedule, Miami certainly has one. The 'Canes will travel to Gainesville to play instate rival Florida and to Knoxville to play Tennessee. If that's not daunting enough, Boston College and Virginia Tech, who both gave Miami a scare last year, and an angry Florida State team will come to the Orange Bowl.

"Any edge we can have this year is going to help," said quarterback Ken Dorsey, "because we are the defending national champions and we are Miami. With those two factors teams are going to love to give us their best games."

Dorsey looks forward to the matchup with the Vols. "Any time you can play in front of a sold-out crowd that hates you, it's going to be interesting. Tennessee doesn't love us, they're already starting to talk. They got flags hanging over our stadium or whatever. (Someone hung a Tennessee flag on a crane at a construction site on the Miami campus.) They don't like any team that's not from Tennessee," Dorsey said. "It's gonna be a lot of fun and we're looking forward to the challenge."

	“	The pressure is still the same. Especially at Miami, you have the expectation of getting to a national championship every year. That is always the goal for us. ”
		— QB Ken Dorsey

Another challenge will be to replace the talented players that left for the NFL -- guys like TE Jeremy Shockey, TB Clinton Portis, OL Bryant McKinnie and DBs Edward Reed, Mike Rumph and Phillip Buchanon. Nine Miami players have been drafted in the first round of the last two NFL Drafts.

Having to replace talented players is nothing new at Miami nor is the speculation that the losses will prove too much to overcome.

Dorsey bristles at the suggestion that the 'Canes lost too much talent.

"Same thing every year, everybody says that every year," he said. "After my sophomore year we lost Santana (Moss), Reggie (Wayne) and all those guys, we weren't supposed to do anything that year. Our receiving corps was supposed to be awful last year. It's nothing new to us, we're used to the scrutiny. We have guys returning in important positions, and we've got guys who no one has heard about that are gonna make a lot of plays."

Miami has to replace three starters on an offensive line that gave up only four sacks all year, but four returnees do have significant game experience. Kellen Winslow Jr. has the potential to be a fine replacement for Shockey, and Rose Bowl co-MVP Andre Johnson will headline Dorsey's receiving corps. With projected starter Frank Gore out with a knee injury suffered in spring practice, the 'Canes will look to Willis McGahee at the running back position.

The defense, especially the front seven, should be dominating. Tackle William Joseph, end Jerome McDougle and LBs Jonathan Vilma and D.J. Williams will ease the replacement of the entire secondary.

The final key to repeating will be the pressure, which may be somewhat more on the players this year, said Coker. The questions will be asked several times "Can you repeat? Can you do it again?"

The pressure will be no greater than any other year, said Dorsey. "The pressure is still the same. Especially at Miami, you have the expectation of getting to a national championship every year. That is always the goal for us."

Miami has the talent to make a run at a repeat national championship. If they can forget last year, survive a brutal schedule, replace the departed talent and handle the pressure, the 'Canes will join the exclusive repeat club.

Tough job.

David Duffey is college sports editor at ESPN.com. He can be reached at david.duffey@espnpub.com.