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'Canes wonder whether to pile up the points

Miami hosts Boston College as BCS dilemma weighs on coach.

By JOE FRISARO

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 25, 2000

MIAMI -- Taking the high road may cost the Hurricanes a trip to the national championship game.

For weeks, Miami coach Butch Davis has refused to run up the score on weaker opponents. Against Boston College today, he might not have any choice. From all indications, the Hurricanes' hopes of reaching the Jan. 3 Orange Bowl title game rest not only on beating the Eagles (6-4), but by how much.

Miami, 9-1 and ranked second in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls, is third in the BCS standings, 0.51 behind Florida State. The top teams in BCS play for the national championship.

Speculation about blowing out an opponent bothers Davis.

"The No. 1 goal is we've got to win, whether it's by one point or whatever," said Davis, who has benched his starters late in games rather than risk injury. "We've got to win the game. We've reconciled ourselves (that) there are some things that are entirely out of our control. We're going to play the best we can and have no regrets about it."

Outside influences could play a factor. Miami's wishes for a wipeout could be impacted by the weather. Forecasts for this afternoon call for rain.

But what if the opportunity presents itself to pour it on Boston College? "That's a coaching decision," sophomore running back Clinton Portis said. "I feel like our offense should be like the (St. Louis) Rams. But I don't think if we beat BC 70-0 it will have a bigger impact than if we beat them 28-0."

What makes the BCS confusing is no one can accurately say how big Miami's victory would need to be to jump over FSU into that No. 2 position. So much goes into the rankings process, including outcomes of other games, which weigh into a team's strength of schedule.

Davis admits he wasn't fully versed on all the technicalities of the BCS until recent weeks. In the past he didn't think he needed to know every detail because Miami wasn't in title contention.

But for weeks, he has immersed himself in the finer points of the BCS.

"It's kind of like BCS For Dummies," Davis said. "Now, I have a much better understanding of the computer rankings, and which ones worry about the scores and which ones don't worry about the scores. Those kinds of things."

Davis is getting no shortage of outside opinions. As of Monday, his office received 123 faxes from people around the country offering BCS advice.

"My secretary is about to quit," Davis joked.

One fax, Davis said, gave the long-term weather report for the Big 12 championship contest between Kansas State and No. 1 Oklahoma. "They said it's supposed to sleet and snow in Kansas City that day," Davis said, referring to the site of the game.

Even a rout today may not be enough for the Hurricanes to climb into the BCS championship.

"There's always a possibility, but the odds are certainly against them," said Richard Billingsley, whose computer poll is one of the rankings used by the BCS. "The only way for Miami to get in may be for Oklahoma to lose."

John Duck, a computer expert from Daytona Beach who runs the Dunkel Index (another BCS poll), publicly urged Davis to win big.

From a coaching standpoint, Davis has a tough time predicting the outcome. He says beating Boston College isn't automatic. Last year, Miami edged the Eagles 31-28 after falling behind 28-0 in the third quarter. It took a 24-point fourth-quarter rally to pull out the victory.

"Boston College has a powerful offense," Miami defensive tackle Damione Lewis said. "They have the best offensive line we'll probably face all year."

Led by quarterback Tim Hasselbeck, Boston College ranks 21st in the nation in total offense (427 yards per game) and 18th in scoring offense (34.1 ppg). Hasselbeck has thrown for 1,690 yards with 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Miami, meanwhile, is fifth in the nation in scoring offense (41.7 ppg).

If Miami beats Boston College but fails to overtake FSU, Davis said there is still hope for another national championship. Unlike the ESPN/USA Today poll, the AP poll of sports writers and broadcasters is not obligated to name the winner of the BCS title game as the national champion.

"(Florida State coach) Bobby Bowden was the first to actually bring it up," Davis said. "If we don't get the BCS, I guess we will just try to win the other national championship. If it's good enough for Bobby, then I guess it's good enough for us."

Boston College at No. 2 Miami

WHEN/WHERE: 3:30 p.m.; Orange Bowl.

TV/RADIO: Ch. 10; WQYK-AM 1010.

RECORDS: Boston College 6-4, 3-3 Big East; Miami 9-1, 6-0.

COACHES: Boston College -- Tom O'Brien (22-22, fourth season). Miami -- Butch Davis (49-20, sixth season).

LINE: Miami by 27.

BIG EAST ON THE LINE: At stake for Miami is the Big East championship. A victory gives UM the conference outright for the first time since 1994. ... Boston College is one of three schools never to beat the Hurricanes in conference play (Rutgers and Temple are the others). ... The Eagles last beat Miami 47-45 on Doug Flutie's touchdown at the Orange Bowl in 1984. ... The Big East champion gets an automatic berth to a Bowl Championship Series game. A win puts Miami, No. 3 in the BCS, in contention to play for the national title. A loss would knock the Hurricanes out of national championship consideration, but they still would play in a BCS game based on a tiebreaker advantage against Virginia Tech.

ON A ROLL: Senior tailback James Jackson has rushed for 100 yards or more in three of the last four games. In last week's win at Syracuse, he ran for 101 yards and one touchdown. It was the 11th 100-yard rushing game of his career, third all-time in school history. Jackson got off to a slow start this year, gaining 127 yards in the first three games. In his last seven, he has gained 813 yards -- 116 yards per game average on 21.3 carries. Jackson is 60 yards shy of 1,000. Miami's last 1,000-yard rusher was Edgerrin James with 1,416 in 1998.

HIGH-SCORING HURRICANES: Ken Dorsey leads the Big East in passing and total offense. The sophomore quarterback also is guiding the highest-scoring offense the school has ever had. For the season, Miami has 417 points, the most ever through 10 games. ... The Hurricanes enter today's game three points shy of school's regular-season scoring high set in 1986. Counting the bowl game, that team finished with 430 total points. ... In his first season as a starter, Dorsey averages 248.5 yards passing and has a passing efficiency rating of 147.9. Nationally, Dorsey is eighth in passing efficiency and 21st in total offense.

NO REGRETS: If a national championship is not meant to be for Miami, the Hurricanes will take solace with a Big East championship and a 10-1 record. "No matter what happens with the outcome of this season, nothing is going to detract from the accomplishments of this football team," Davis said. "We've had an outstanding season. We've beaten the No. 1 and the No. 2 football teams in the country. If we're fortunate enough to beat Boston College, we'll have beaten seven teams that qualify for bowls with six wins or more."

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