CLO4LEAF's blog: "Miami Hurricanes 2007 Season"

MIAMI (AP) -Kyle Wright threw an 80-yard pass to Lance Leggett for Miami's longest offensive score in nearly two years, and the Hurricanes beat Florida International 23-9 Saturday. Darnell Jenkins had a career-high 108 yards receiving, Javarris James ran for 92 yards and Kenny Phillips and Chavez Grant had interceptions for Miami (2-1). The Hurricanes held a 428-264 edge in total yards, sending the Golden Panthers (0-3) to their 15th straight loss. Wright finished 10-of-19 for 224 yards, and Francesco Zampogna kicked three field goals for Miami. Wayne Younger threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Trenard Turner midway through the final quarter and A'mod Ned rushed for 87 yards for FIU, which lost 35-0 last season to its foe from the campus 9 miles away. Michael Dominguez and Anthony Gaitor had interceptions for FIU. Younger ran for 66 yards and threw for 105 more. Miami took control late in the third when Wright found Leggett down the right sideline for a 23-3 lead. Leggett got separation by stiff-arming FIU's Lionell Singleton after the catch and sprinted to the end zone. FIU got within 14 points when Younger found Turner for the Golden Panthers' lone touchdown, but the outcome was never in doubt. Miami missed some opportunities. The Hurricanes' first two possessions started in FIU territory, and resulted in no points after a missed field goal and an interception by the Golden Panthers' Anthony Gaitor. The third possession also began on FIU's side of the field, and Graig Cooper came through. He carried the ball on all four plays for 33 yards, the last a 3-yard run for a 7-0 lead. Zampogna added field goals of 27 and 24 yards to send Miami into halftime with a 13-0 lead. FIU got within 10 when Chris Abed kicked a 24-yard field goal in the third, and Zampogna answered with another 27-yarder.

MIAMI (AP) - For one night, everything worked for the Miami Hurricanes, who finally got that signature win the program has craved for a couple of years. Kyle Wright threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns, Graig Cooper scored twice and the Hurricanes stymied No. 20 Texas A&M's high-powered offense in a 34-17 victory Thursday night. The win was only Miami's second in its last nine games against a ranked opponent dating to the end of the 2005 season. And it was never in doubt. The Hurricanes (3-1) held the Aggies (3-1) to 38 yards in the first half yards in taking a 24-0 lead, ensuring their final Thursday night game at the venerable Orange Bowl would be a memorable one. "It was a Thursday night game, prime time, so the nation got to come out and see what we really have as a University of Miami football team," Hurricanes coach Randy Shannon said. "I'm pleased with the victory, but I just said in the locker room ... we'll come back Sunday and get ready for our next opponent, which is Duke." Wright completed 21 of 26 passes, finding Cooper with one scoring throw and Chris Zellner with another late in the third quarter to push the lead to 31-0. Sam Shields had six catches for 117 yards for Miami, which had three scoring drives take a combined 1 minute, 9 seconds. Stephen McGee had a 1-yard touchdown run with 8:03 left for Texas A&M, and backup quarterback Jerrod Johnson threw a 33-yard scoring pass to tight end Martellus Bennett with 5 seconds left. The Aggies entered averaging 46.3 points, scoring at least 38 in every game. Those numbers plummeted against the Hurricanes, who said a spotlight national TV game like this represented the perfect chance to make a statement. It came through loud and clear. Texas A&M's three leading rushers - McGee, Mike Goodson and Jorvorskie Lane - came into the game averaging a combined 235 yards, a big reason why the Aggies' were ranked fifth nationally in rushing offense with nearly 300 yards per outing as a team. That trio rushed for 21 first-half yards and 69 for the game. Lane had no carries in the first half, and the Aggies didn't get on the board until Matt Szymanski's 32-yard field goal with 11:40 left. By then, the outcome was decided, and the Miami mood was so joyous that university president Donna Shalala was posing for photos with smiling guests on the sideline as the clock ticked down. "We just got beat, got beat by a better team," Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione said. Miami scored 10 points off three Texas A&M turnovers in the final 3:40 of the half - more midweek magic for the Hurricanes, who won their final 10 Thursday games in the Orange Bowl. And Wright may have played the best game of his Miami career, too. On their first possession, Wright and the Hurricanes quickly set the tone. They had an 18-play, 80-yard drive, highlighted by Wright going 5-for-5 on third downs and took a 7-0 lead when Cooper took a direct snap and rumbled 7 yards for a score. The direct snap, a new Miami wrinkle for this game, had a big role in the Hurricanes' second score. "It's something we've had in our arsenal," Shannon said, noting Miami installed it during spring practice. Miami got inside the Texas A&M 10 on a fortunate bounce; Wright's pass hit off Darnell Jenkins' hands, caromed off Aggies' linebacker Mark Dodge, and landed on Jenkins - who was on the ground and made the catch. Indeed, it was that kind of night for Miami, which finished with a 402-240 edge in total yards. Wright was spread right like a wide receiver on third-and-2 and fourth-and-1 plays inside the Aggies' 5. Javarris James took both snaps, eventually got the first down, then scored from 1 yard out for a 14-0 lead. Miami missed a chance later in the half after Colin McCarthy intercepted McGee's pass and returned it to the Aggies 22, coming up empty when Francesco Zampogna missed a 36-yard field goal. But Goodson fumbled the ball away on the next possession. Calais Campbell recovered for Miami and the Hurricanes needed one play to go up 21-0. Wright hit Cooper with a screen pass and the freshman did the rest, barreling in from 12 yards out with 33 seconds left in the half. It got worse for Texas A&M. After a short kickoff, Cody Wallace - an offensive lineman - fumbled the ensuing return, the Hurricanes recovered again and Zampogna hit a 45-yarder as time expired in the half.

MIAMI (AP) - Kyle Wright returned from an injury to throw a game-sealing touchdown pass to DajLeon Farr with 2:15 left, and Miami escaped an upset bid by Duke for the second straight year by beating the Blue Devils 24-14 on Saturday. Wright was 19-of-23 for 230 yards and two touchdowns for the Hurricanes (4-1, 1-0), who won their Atlantic Coast Conference opener for the first time in three years. Thad Lewis completed 18 of 27 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns for Duke, which dropped a 20-15 decision to the Hurricanes last year - and gave Miami fits again, all the way to the final minutes. His 31-yard pass to Eron Riley got Duke (1-4, 0-2) within 17-14 with 9:46 left, and Duke was driving deep in Miami territory later in the final quarter. But Eric Moncur's sack - one of nine by Miami - ended a drive with three minutes left, and two plays later, the Hurricanes' offense sealed the win. Graig Cooper, who had a 2-yard TD run earlier in the fourth after a contested pass interference call, opened the drive with a 27-yard run. Wright, who left at the start of the fourth quarter with a cut inside his mouth, then found Farr with a 33-yard scoring pass on the next play. Cooper had 101 yards on 12 carries for Miami, which lost to Florida State each of the past two years to open league play, but hardly found things easy against lowly Duke. Leon Wright had two interceptions and Ronnie Drummond caught a screen pass and ran 40 yards for a touchdown for Duke, which is now 1-24 in its last 25 games - and has dropped 19 straight against ACC foes. Miami outgained Duke 430-302. The Hurricanes led 10-0 at halftime, meaning Miami still hasn't allowed a first-half point in four home games this season. Antonio Dixon sacked Lewis for a 12-yard loss on the game's first play, setting up a three-and-out, and Miami got the ball for the first time at the Duke 46. The Hurricanes needed eight plays to score from there, with Wright finding Kayne Farquharson for a 5-yard touchdown pass with 8:34 left in the opening quarter. It was only the second catch of the season for Farquharson, and it was a good one: He found a seam near the back of the end zone and stretched his 6-foot-2 frame high to grab Wright's hard-thrown pass. Francesco Zampogna's 47-yard field goal five minutes later made it 10-0, but the Hurricanes didn't score again in the half, even though Wright was 10-for-11 in the opening two quarters and Miami held a 200-112 lead in total offense

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -Butch Davis' latest reclamation project took a major step in the right direction. Brandon Tate scored on a long end-around in a spurt of 27 points to start the game and Connor Barth kicked four field goals to help North Carolina hold off Miami 33-27 on Saturday, giving Davis his first ACC win against a program he once built into a national champion. Anthony Elzy ran for 95 yards and a score for the Tar Heels (2-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who turned in a dominating performance to take a 27-0 lead at halftime then hung on as the Hurricanes (4-2, 1-1) twice rallied to within a touchdown in the second half. Davis had played down his first game against the Hurricanes earlier in the week and said after the game that beating Miami didn't make the victory anymore special. "Winning the game is the most important thing for this football team," he said. "My total focus is on the University of North Carolina football team and I'm just proud of the way our kids performed." Finally finishing off an opponent made Davis' day. "You have to trust each other and believe in each other and respond in a way to overcome that adversity," Davis said. "We knew we were going to get a shot from them, and these are the lessons as a young football team that you like to learn. You certainly like to learn them when you win a game as opposed to losing a game." The Tar Heels had struggled to do that this season, from a 34-31 loss on a final-play field goal at East Carolina to a 22-20 loss to Virginia and last week's 17-10 loss at Virginia Tech. This time, they put together big plays when they needed them in the second half: a punt-forcing sack from Hilee Taylor to end a Miami drive near midfield late in the third quarter; a 49-yard catch-and-run from Tate on the ensuing possession; and two fourth-quarter field goals from Barth that kept Miami in catch-up mode. "Basically, we showed that we can finish," freshman defensive tackle Marvin Austin said. Davis took over at Miami in 1995 and inherited a program hindered by NCAA sanctions that limited scholarships for his first three seasons. He gradually brought the Hurricanes back to the prominence they had enjoyed under Jimmy Johnson, going 51-20 over six seasons, while winning three Big East Conference titles and four bowl games. His last team went 11-1 and finished ranked No. 2 nationally in 2000 after winning the Sugar Bowl. Then, after Davis left to coach the NFL's Cleveland Browns, his former players went unbeaten in 2001 and won a national title under Larry Coker. Davis' new team got off to a fast start against Miami and Shannon, who was a player and an assistant under Davis. But Miami did everything it could to get back in the game, with Darnell Jenkins scoring on a 97-yard touchdown catch that made it 27-20 late in the third quarter and Javarris James scoring on a short run to set up an onside kick with about a minute left. But the Hurricanes couldn't overcome the halftime deficit or four interceptions from Kyle Wright - including one at North Carolina's 3-yard line with about 6 minutes left and Miami trailing 33-20. "We need to make sure that we are able to run the ball and protect the football and we didn't protect the football," Miami coach Randy Shannon said. "We talk about it and we keep talking about it, but it's a process. I still do believe this is a good football team. Everybody may say, 'Coach it's not,' but I believe in my heart." North Carolina played as close to perfect as it possibly could in the opening half. Elzy ran past and through Miami defenders. Barth, who kicked the winning field goal on the final play to upset fourth-ranked Miami here as a freshman in 2004, nailed a pair of kicks, including a 51-yarder. The Tar Heels' special teams came up with a blocked punt that led to a touchdown, and Tate scored on a 54-yard run down the left sideline - thanks to Hakeem Nicks blocking two defenders - for the 27-0 lead with 9:59 left in the half. "We just came in with confidence," Elzy said. "We were so sure that we had their defense down to a T." The Tar Heels ultimately hung on by holding off several Miami spurts, including Jenkins' long TD catch from Wright that was the second-longest in Miami history and the longest allowed by North Carolina in its history. But Barth kicked 20- and 35-yard field goals, setting a school record with 19 consecutive made kicks, that pushed the lead to 33-20 with 10:55 left. North Carolina finished with a season-high 183 yards rushing, with quarterback T.J. Yates adding a touchdown on a keeper in the second quarter. Yates threw for 218 yards.