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'Canes have little to gain, much to lose

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 6, 2001

CORAL GABLES -- Intimidation won't win this afternoon at the Orange Bowl -- talent will.

That's why talk and cliches about how anyone can win mean even less this week. No. 1 Miami (3-0) hosts Troy State (1-2), a I-AA powerhouse before moving to Division I-A this season, and this could be a long day for the Trojans.

Miami coach Larry Coker has said all the right things.

"I don't think they'll be intimidated coming into the Orange Bowl playing us," Coker said. "It will be a great challenge for them playing on television. There are a lot of things we'll have to be alert for. I'm not trying to say Troy State is a Florida State or Penn State."

No one is suggesting Miami should take Troy State lightly. The Trojans opened the season at Nebraska and trailed by a touchdown at the half before falling 42-14.

"I don't think Nebraska tried intimidation," Troy State coach Larry Blakeney said. "They do intimidate you, but they don't mean to. These guys in Miami, they have probably as much or more capability than anybody we'll face to intimidate you on the field."

The Hurricanes haven't faced a team capable of competing with, let alone beating, them. That isn't going to change before the Oct. 13 meeting with Florida State in Tallahassee.

As a Division II program, the Trojans won national titles in 1984 and '87 before moving to Division I-AA, where they made the playoffs in seven of eight seasons and won three Southland championships, including last year's.

But that means little at the Orange Bowl.

Keeping focused on this game -- and not next week's -- could be Miami's biggest challenge.

"I'm giving you a lot of rhetoric," Coker said. "They will come here, ready to fight. I know it's hard to sell a game like this. They have to understand what's at stake. We have a lot at stake. ... If we lose to Troy State, then Florida State won't mean a whole lot."

Troy State's biggest strength is its spread offense, led by quarterback Brock Nutter (44-for-87 for 524 yards, 5 touchdowns, 3 interceptions) and tailback Demontray Carter, an Auburn transfer. But Miami is leading the Big East in most offensive categories, including averaging more than 45 points. Troy State is giving up 461 yards a game.

"For us it's an important game," Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey said. "We've got to put together a full game. We haven't done that yet."

Miami won't learn how good it is against Troy State, but a lethargic effort might cause the 'Canes to lose a few first-place votes in the polls.

"Certainly we do have some tougher teams coming up, with Washington, Florida State, Boston College," Coker said. "Nothing has changed. The thing is that we're pleased with where we are. We know where we are and where we need to go. I felt like if we went through the first four games undefeated, then we'd be tough to beat. I still think we'll be tough to beat. But if you look at those first four games now, the Penn State game doesn't have the luster that it did in preseason. The Pittsburgh game maybe didn't have the luster. But maybe we are that good."

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