NO. 8 ’CANES IMPROVE TO 6-0
Rosier completes 26 of 42 for 344 yards and 2 TDs
MIAMI GARDENS — After relying on fourthquarter comebacks against Florida State and Georgia Tech, the Miami Hurricanes found themselves on the other side of that equation Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.
On this day, the Hurricanes (6-0, 3-0 ACC) didn’t quite start slow. But their offense sputtered too often and Syracuse (4-4, 2-2), fresh off its upset of defending national champion Clemson last week, refused to go away.
Though the Hurricanes never trailed, the Orange kept chipping at Miami’s lead, even pulling within one in the fourth quarter. Then, with 2:48 left, Travis Homer broke free on a 33-yard touchdown run that gave the Hurricanes some much-needed breathing room and eventually clinched No. 8 Miami’s 27-19 win over the Orange.
The victory — ugly as it was — extends the Hurricanes’ win streak to 11 games. That ties the nation’s longest active win streak held by USF, which was playing Tulane late Saturday.
More important, the win keeps Miami unbeaten in Atlantic Coast Conference play as the Hurricanes continue their push to try and win their first Coastal Division crown since joining the ACC in 2004.
“We, for some reason, can’t find a way to play really good on both sides of the ball at the same time,” Hurricanes coach Mark Richt said. “We kind of take turns. It’d be nice to be more consistent. You become consistent offensively when you throw and catch like you should. You become consistent when you can convert third downs a little bit better than we have been. We’ve just not been very good at all. We have to continue to work. I think a lot of the times we had opers to make plays and didn’t make them.”
Entering Saturday’s matchup, the Hurricanes — to a man — said putting an end to Miami’s slow starts would be a key point of emphasis. Against a fast-moving Syracuse team known for its uptempo style, falling behind as Miami did against both Florida State and Georgia Tech couldn’t happen.
And it didn’t. For the most part, early on, the Hurricanes played with that much-needed sense of urgency. Quarterback Malik Rosier’s passes were largely on target. The offense moved the ball. And Miami’s defense harassed Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey relentlessly, forcing four interceptions and sacking him twice in the first half.
The only problem for Miami was that two promising drives that should have ended in touchdowns instead resulted in field goals and steady-handed receivportunities — including Ahmmon Richards — dropped more than a handful of wellthrown passes from Rosier.
That issue emerged early, when on its opening drive, Miami had to settle for an 18-yard field goal from Michael Badgley, the kick capping a 13-play, 74-yard drive that took 5:31 off the clock.
On that drive, Miami converted on five firstdown opportunities. Rosier — who finished 26 of 43 for a career-high 344 yards and two touchdowns — completed five consecutive passes. But inside the Syracuse 5-yard line, three straight runs came up short.
Early in the second half there was more of the same for Miami, with the Hurricanes first two second-half drives ending in punts, the second one drawing a few boos from some of the 56,158 fans at Hard Rock.
“I was trying to keep the guys’ heads up,” Rosier said. “Tell them we have to keep driving, keep scoring, keep putting points on the board and help our defense out.”
Homer’s late score finally seemed to end the threat.
“It’s always a good feeling to win, but just seeing your team stay strong and pull through, it’s the best,” he said.