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Washington wrecked UM's title hopes in 2000. The rematch is Saturday.
By MICHAEL SNYDER
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 21, 2001
CORAL GABLES -- It was a miserable flight, and the Miami Hurricanes remember it well.
"Long, dreadful, quiet," linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. "(It was) real quiet."
"It was not a fun ride," coach Larry Coker said.
The tedious cross-country trek -- at 3,033 miles the longest Division I trip in the continental United States -- was a perfect metaphor for what had transpired on Sept. 9, 2000. The Hurricanes lost 34-29 to Washington. They fell behind big early, came back to make a game of it, and wound up on the wrong end of the scoreboard anyway.
Miami hasn't lost since that cool, damp day in the Pacific Northwest. But that one loss was enough to keep it out of the championship picture. The consolation prize was a trip to the Sugar Bowl and a victory over Florida.
A year later, the top-ranked Hurricanes (9-0) are in position to play for the national championship. Those hopes again could be derailed by the No. 12 Huskies (8-2), who visit the Orange Bowl at 8 p.m. Saturday in front of an expected sellout crowd.
Miami will be looking for its 20th straight victory.
"It was just a bad feeling because it gave us time to sit there for six hours, to sit there and think about why we didn't win, why we didn't play harder, why we didn't practice harder," Vilma said. "All of those things just kept running through your mind. (This time) let them think about how they lost and how we felt last year."
A victory against Washington, and in the season finale at Virginia Tech on Dec. 1, would send the 'Canes to the national championship game at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 3.
"Of course there's bitter feelings," tailback Clinton Portis said after Saturday's 59-0 thrashing of Syracuse. "We lost, and that cost us a chance for a national championship. We can't let them keep us away from that (again)."
Coker repeatedly has said he won't get drawn into a debate on the fine points of revenge.
"If the revenge factor helps motivate players, that's fine," Coker said. "The revenge thing, that's not going to change the score from last year."
Last year, the story line was different -- not to mention the expectations. Miami was viewed as a question mark. Not this time.
"It's so hard to do what we're doing," Coker said. "What's got our fans spoiled ... they just assumed we're going to be in Pasadena. They assumed it from August. They don't know how difficult it is, and how much these players have invested, and how hard it is to make that run."
Coker, then the offensive coordinator, took a lot of heat for the play-calling in last year's loss. He has done plenty of second-guessing since.
"I don't think I called a good game in the first half against Washington, and that hurt our team," Coker said. "I came down pretty hard on myself."
Led by quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo, now a backup with the Oakland Raiders, Washington took a 21-3 lead in front of a raucous crowd. Miami's Ken Dorsey was rattled early in his first big game as a starter on the road. The Huskies sacked him five times and hurried him into several bad throws.
"That game means a lot not only from last year, but for this year," Dorsey said. "They were taking a lot of shots at me. They had the home-field advantage working. ... When you hand the ball off and they hit you, that's a late hit, and they didn't call that up there."
Miami is coming off its best game of the year, a performance Coker termed "scary." But the Huskies have confidence based on last year's result and are buoyed by their victory over Washington State on Saturday. Sophomore quarterback Cody Pickett went 25-for-38 for 371 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His favorite target has been freshman phenom Reggie Williams, who has 888 yards in receptions.
But Pickett hasn't faced a defense the caliber of Miami's. The 'Canes are tops in the NCAA in fewest points allowed, giving up a touchdown or less in seven of nine games.
The last time the Huskies played in the Orange Bowl was 1994, and they ended UM's NCAA-record 58-game home winning streak.
"I don't think for us it's a payback," Dorsey said. "It's the next step to the national championship, the next round of the playoffs. One way or another, we have to win this game."