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The No. 1 team in the country tries to prove it's just that in rolling over the Mountaineers 45-3 on a sloppy field.
By MICHAEL SNYDER
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 26, 2001
MIAMI -- The bottom line, as it always is, was found on the scoreboard.
Miami again routed a much weaker college football foe.
But will No. 1 Miami's 45-3 victory Thursday night against West Virginia before 44,411 waterlogged fans at the Orange Bowl help in its bid to move up from No. 4 in the Bowl Championship Series standings? "It may be kind of a subtle motivation," Miami coach Larry Coker said of the BCS slight. "We don't talk about it as being a motivation. If you've got to motivate yourself playing for some computer it wears off very fast. . . . We should have won the game tonight. We had better talent, we were playing at home."
Quarterback Ken Dorsey was 16-for-27 for 192 yards and two touchdowns, which gave him 48 for his career to tie Vinny Testaverde and Steve Walsh for the all-time Miami lead.
"Those guys are not only great players but friends of mine so to be mentioned in the same sentence as them is a great honor," Dorsey said.
Freshman Frank Gore rushed six times for 124 yards and scored on runs of 45 and 49 yards in the second half.
West Virginia had six turnovers.
But much like UM's recent win over Florida State, the Hurricanes at times didn't look overly impressive despite winning by an impressive margin.
Miami's powerful offense couldn't run against a Mountaineer squad that entered giving up 246 rushing yards a game. But West Virginia showed it could run against the Hurricanes. Avon Coburne, the second-leading rusher in the Big East, had 87 yards on eight first-quarter carries. UM had 15 yards rushing in the quarter. Often times, Coburne barely was touched until he had gained 10 yards.
Todd Sievers' 32-yard field goal put Miami ahead 3-0 on its first possession. But aided by Coburne runs of 17 and 20 yards, West Virginia tied it on a 26-yard field goal by Brenden Rauh.
But after that, the superior Miami talent came out, dominating West Virginia despite a rainstorm for almost three quarters.
UM's defense knocked out West Virginia QB Brad Lewis when Vince Wilfork pancaked him late in the first quarter. His replacement, Derek Jones, appeared lost as he threw three first-half interceptions. Ed Reed had two and James Lewis returned an interception 74 yards for a TD, giving UM a 17-3 lead at the half.
Dorsey, who threw a touchdown for a record 22nd consecutive game, had put the 'Canes ahead for good. After Reed's interception, he connected with his favorite target, tight end Jeremy Shockey, for a 6-yard touchdown. Shockey, with two defenders on him, extended the ball over the goal line as he was being tackled from behind.
The second half was all Miami as the 'Canes poured on the points.
"We wanted to make a statement tonight on defense and I think we did," Reed said.
Clinton Portis (21 carries, 76 yards) scored on a 4-yard run to cap a 10-play drive and put UM ahead 24-3. A few minutes later Gore, who starred at nearby Coral Gables High, broke free from 45 yards.
Dorsey threw a 14-yard score to Andre Johnson early in the fourth before heading to the bench. He's the only starting QB in the nation who has not been sacked.
Gore's 49-yard score was the longest of the season for a Miami back and pushed the lead to 45-3 as UM outgained West Virginia 282-78 in the second half.
"We just wanted to get the win. I feel we did enough to impress the country," Dorsey said. "There's still a long way to go. Even if we're not No 1, if we drop to No. 2 or God knows where else, we still have five weeks to prove ourselves."
The win was UM's 13th straight in the Big East dating to a loss at Virginia Tech in 1999.
The first BCS rankings were released with Miami -- first in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls -- behind Oklahoma, Nebraska and UCLA.
If the winner of Saturday's Big 12 showdown, between Oklahoma and Nebraska, and the Bruins win the remainder of their games, it's likely the 'Canes won't get a chance to play for the national championship Jan. 3 in the Rose Bowl even if they win their remaining games.
"The pressure's on Oklahoma and Nebraska," Coker said. "I told our team the championship was tonight. (If) we lose to West Virginia then a lot of these things are null and void. It's almost a playoff system every week."