UM’s defense real star in pasting of UNC, 47-10
Redshirt freshman quarterback’s first start aided by three return touchdowns in conference opener.
N’Kosi Perry got a lot of help in his debut at quarterback from a defense that made three return TDs and forced six turnovers.
MIAMI GARDENS — Miami quarterback N’Kosi Perry had a lot of help in his starting debut Thursday night ... from his defense.
The Hurricanes defense accounted for three touchdowns and forced six turnovers in a 47-10 victory over North Carolina at Hard Rock Stadium as No. 16 Miami (4-1) got off to a strong start in ACC play.
Perry, a redshirt freshman, replaced redshirt senior Malik Rosier, a movethat came as nosurprise despite coach Mark Richt’s attempt to keep everybody in the dark all week.
Perry got off to a good start before looking more like a freshman in the second half. He completed 8 of 12 passes for 125 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Perry, though, lost a fumble on Miami’s first series of the second half and was intercepted when Miami got the ball back. Perry threw two passes in
the second half.
“The second half, with the big lead, trying to slow the game down a little bit, play conservatively, (we were) not very good at that,” Richt said. “I think you just got to evaluate the first half in how well he played. He put the ball on the money, made good decisions. Overall, I think he played well.”
The defense, though, stole the spotlight, its six turnovers leading to 24 points. That defense gave Miami a cushion in the first half with two touchdowns, including a 9-yard fumble return by Lake Worth’s Jon Garvin and a 42-yard interception return by Joe Jackson. Garvin also recovered a fumble in the second half.
Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said he has never been part of a team that scored three defensive touchdowns.
“I don’t remember that even as a fan watching a game seeing the defense score three touchdowns,” Diaz said. “It’s like a JV game or something. “
Romeo Finley also returned an interception 83 yards for a score with 14:47 to play in the game. The three defensive touchdowns equal a school record set Sept. 23, 2000, at West Virginia.
Here are our five takeaways:
Move to Perry no surprise. While Richt attempted to keep a shroud of secrecy around the quarterback position, all signs pointed toward Perry starting. The crowd cheered when Perry walked onto the field and was even happier when he completed his first pass to Michael Hart- ley for 28 yards. Perry was on target on his first five passes and his lone touchdown pass came late in the second quar- ter, a 5-yard toss to Darrell Langham. Perry was told a couple of days ago he was starting and team found out Thursday during the walk- through.
“I was ready for it,” he said. “I felt like there was a chance I could have been the starter so I was prepar- ing for it all week. I just had to keep my composure, get my mind ready.”
Defense gets offensive. The defense took a lot of pressure off the offense with its three touchdowns. Garvin got it started with a scoop and score after linebacker Shaq Quarterman sacked Nathan Elliott with 4:32 to play in the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, quar- terback Chazz Surratt was pressured and threw the ball right into Jackson’s gut, who ran untouched for the score. Finley’s score came on the first play of the fourth quar- ter and made it 40-10. But the defense did more than score. Already leading the country in tackles for loss with 11.5 per game, it had 14 tackles for loss Thursday.
“It was a sight to see,” Diaz said. “We always say turnovers seem to come in bunches. Once the first one came out, we just got pouncing and making plays. And the fact we could turn defense into offense on those was a sight to see.”
Running game boosts offense. With the Hurricanes jumping out to a 33-10 lead at the half, Richt turned to the running game, and in particular, DeeJay Dal- las. Dallas finished with a career-high 114 yards, surpassing his previous high of 110 yards at Toledo two games ago. He also scored UM’s first touchdown. West Palm Beach’s Travis Homer chipped in with 88 yards, 56 of those coming on the second-longest run of his career in the first quarter that set up Dallas’ touch- down. Miami finished with 229 rushing yards.
“Travis is my mentor,” Dallas said. “I really look up to Travis because he does everything right. It’s really just a vet and a semi-vet trying to become a vet. That’s how we complement each other. He leads me and I just lead the other guys.”
Quarterman on the shelf. Quarterman hob- bled off the field twice and did not return after leav- ing less than a minute into the second half. Quarterman sprained his right ankle with 1:03 remaining in the first half and was helped off the field. He had the ankle wrapped at halftime, came back into the game and after the Tar Heels’ first play, once again needed assistance to get off the field. He went to the locker room and had an X-ray, which showed noth- ing but a sprain. Quarter- man’s backup, Mike Smith, was also injured in the second half and did not return.
“There’s nothing there but a sprain,” Richt said of Quarterman. “Some of them are more severe than others. We’re not going to do a whole (lot) for awhile so by the time we do go out again, he may be able to practice, I don’t know. Nothing serious.”
Noles on deck. The Hurricanes snapped a seven-game losing streak to Florida State with a 24-20 victory in Tallahassee last season and now Miami should be a heavy favorite to make that two in a row when they host the Seminoles on Oct. 6 at Hard Rock Stadium. Miami, which has not defeated FSU at home since 2004, enters the game on a four-game winning streak, while the Seminoles (2-2) have had a rough start to the Willie Taggart era. The Seminoles play at Louisville today.