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UM defense plays a numbers game

And so far they don't add up, but Miami's leading tackler says don't be fooled.

By JOE FRISARO

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 26, 2000

CORAL GABLES -- On paper, the numbers didn't add up for Miami linebacker Dan Morgan.

Despite having three preseason All-America candidates and a handful of All-Big East prospects, the Hurricanes headed into West Virginia on Saturday with the conference's worst defense. After two games, they ranked last in total defense (380 yards a game) and second to the bottom in scoring (24 points).

"At team meetings, that didn't set well, seeing us ranked last in all those categories," Morgan said.

Miami's defense worse than Rutgers? It didn't compute, in Morgan's mind. Against West Virginia, Miami's defense improved its standing by shutting down the Mountaineers 47-10. Punctuating the blowout, UM had three defensive touchdowns. The key play was cornerback Leonard Myers' 25-yard interception return that tied the score at 7 in the first quarter.

"We got on a roll," Myers said. "It trickled down to the offense. Everybody was down on us, but we never got down on ourselves."

The game turned with Myers' pick. At halftime, UM led 21-10. "That was huge," Morgan said. "Any time you can create turnovers and put it in the end zone, that just shows what a big-time defense we have."

In the second half, linebacker Howard Clark scored on a 29-yard interception return and defensive back Phillip Buchanon returned a fumble 77 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

It's the first time Miami has scored three defensive touchdowns in a game.

"The whole scenario (at West Virginia) was set up defensively," coach Butch Davis said. "We made it viciously tough for them to go a long way."

The Mountaineers' only touchdown came one play after UM's Santana Moss fumbled a punt on the Miami 1.

Technically, Miami's defense still rates at or near the bottom of the Big East. UM is second to last in total defense (359 yards) and fifth in scoring (19 points). But some of those numbers are misleading. West Virginia piled up 317 yards, but most of that came after the game was of hand.

Morgan said the defense has held its own, even in the 34-29 loss at Washington on Sept. 9. And the team is dismissing its season-opening performance against Division I-AA McNeese State, which rolled up 409 yards in a 61-14 UM rout.

"McNeese State was really hard to tell," Morgan said. "We didn't really want to show anything. We were pretty vanilla. At Washington, we just had some third-down penalties that killed us."

Missed tackles and blown coverages marred the performance, too. A mounting number of mistakes put the Hurricanes in a 21-3 hole at halftime.

"I thought we were playing good throughout the Washington game," Morgan said. "We had a few missed assignments that they got a couple of touchdowns off of. And a few penalties killed us."

Three UM defenders are All-America candidates: Morgan, defensive tackle Damione Lewis and safety Al Blades.

With Lewis commonly facing double teams, Morgan has been making a bulk of the tackles. The senior middle linebacker has 43 -- four for losses -- two sacks, one interception, three passes broken up, one fumble recovery and four quarterback hurries.

Morgan has been a standout since switching from outside linebacker to middle. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound senior filled the void left when Nate Webster, now with the Bucs, left early for the NFL draft.

Morgan is in the running for the Butkus Award, given to the nation's top linebacker. No Hurricane has won the honor. He said he wouldn't mind being the first.

Miami's defense will have to keep improving if Morgan hopes to achieve any honors.

"We know how good we are," he said. "It's just a matter of time before we come together.

"I think this last game is really going to make us better for the rest of the season."

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