BRISTOL, Connecticut -- No. 12 Miami still wants to
play in the Fiesta Bowl on January 8. But the Hurricanes'
national championship hopes may have come to a disappointing end
more than four months early.
The Hurricanes' offense was inconsistent in the first half and
nonexistent in the second half in a season-opening 13-10 defeat
to 11th-ranked Florida State.
Miami held a 10-3 lead at halftime but was unable to crack the
scoreboard after intermission en route to its second straight
loss in the series. The Hurricanes had won six straight
meetings with the Seminoles prior to their current skid.
Playing in a steady drizzle for a majority of the game, the
teams combined for a stunning total of only three rushing yards
and 310 total yards of offense. Florida State was 4-of-15 on
third down, while Miami was 5-of-16. Both teams fumbled three
times - each of which was recovered by the offense - and both
quarterbacks threw an interception.
"This was a game of field position," Florida State coach Bobby
Bowden said. "In the second half, we gained (the field
position) back and were able to get our points. And once we got
that field position, I don't think we gave it back."
Miami coach Larry Coker opted to put a more positive spin on the
contest.
"We have very evenly matched teams," he said. "Both teams
played very good defense tonight. These have been great
defensive games in the past and I think we saw that tonight."
Florida State forged a 10-10 tie on the first play of the fourth
quarter as Joe Surratt scored on a one-yard TD run. Gary
Cismesia added a 33-yard field goal just under seven minutes
later to cap the scoring.
Drew Weatherford rebounded from a slow first half to direct both
scoring drives. The sophomore finished 16-of-32 for 175 yards
and an interception but still improved to 2-0 against Miami in
his career.
"I wish I could say I settled down a little bit, but I didn't
play a sound game as a quarterback," Weatherford said. "I had
two fumbled snaps and I threw an interception. Really, all the
credit goes to the offensive line, the receivers and the backs."
Kyle Wright went 18-of-27 for 132 yards for the Hurricanes. He
was sacked three times and threw an interception on Miami's
final drive, sealing the disappointing setback.
"You never want to start the season with a loss," Wright said.
"We have to make the necessary steps to improve. As the season
goes on, we will improve."
On Sunday, Louisville paid a heavy price for a season-opening
victory over cross-state rival Kentucky, losing running back
Michael Bush for the rest of the season.
Bush rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns in the first half
before breaking his leg in 13th-ranked Louisville's 59-28
victory.
Bush, who led the nation with 24 touchdowns last season - more
than 12 Division I schools - was carted off the field early in
the third quarter after taking a pitch and being dragged down as
he attempted to run around the left end. He finished with 129
yards on 17 carries.
Top-ranked Ohio State and No. 3 Texas each looked impressive
entering their high-profile matchup in Austin next weekend.
Troy Smith threw three touchdowns as the Buckeyes beat Northern
Illinois, 35-12, while Colt McCoy - making his first start in
place of the departed Vince Young - tossed three TDs and ran for
another to lead the defending national champion Longhorns to a
56-7 rout of North Texas.
Second-ranked Notre Dame rallied past Georgia Tech, 14-10, in
the first game of its second season under Charlie Weis. The
Fighting Irish next will play No. 19 Penn State, which defeated
Akron, 34-16.