12 -NC State game notes-ROB.qxp - University of Miami Athletics

GAME 12 - NOV. 29, 2008MIAMI VS. NC STATE2008 GAME NOTESCOACHES SHOWUM’s coaches show, “Hurricane Game Day With RandyShannon” airs twice weekly on CSS, at 4 p.m. Fridays and 11a.m. Saturdays. The show is hosted by Joe Zagacki and DonBailey and features Hurricanes players as coach Shannon’sguests.2008 HURRICANES RADIO NETWORKMiami football games can be heard throughout the state ofFlorida on the Hurricane Sports Network, anchored byWQAM (560 AM). The games are also broadcast in Spanishon 1450 ESPN Deportes (1450 AM).FLAGSHIP STATIONSMiami/Fort LauderdaleUniversity of MiamiWQAM (560 AM)WVUM (90.5 FM)AFFILIATESDaytona BeachWPUL (1590 AM)Ft. Myers/NaplesWWCN (770 AM)Jacksonville ESPN (1460)JupiterESPN Radio (760 AM)Key WestWKWF (1600 AM)LakelandWWAB (1330 AM)Live OakWLVO (106.1 FM)MarathonWFFG (1300 AM)MelbourneESPN Radio (1060 AM)OrlandoWAMT (1190 AM)StuartWSTU (1450 AM)TallahasseeESPN Radio (1410 AM)TampaWHBO (1470 AM)West Palm BeachESPN Radio (760 AM)MIAMI MEDIA POLICIESReleases Available Via E-MailMedia members interested in receiving Miami footballreleases via e-mail should send requests to Football SIDKerwin Lonzo at klonzo@miami.edu.Game Day Press PoliciesOnly working press will be admitted to the Dolphin Stadiumpress box. Seats will be issued according to the followingcriteria:1. State newspapers by circulation, wire services, nationalpublications, newspapers from opponent’s area, and studentnewspapers from UM and opponent’s schools.2. Other daily newspapers, with preference to those thatregularly cover UM.3. Radio and television personnel not broadcasting, butconsidered reporting.4. Non-daily newspapers, with preference to those whichregularly cover UM.5. Scouts. Freelance and/or non-daily writers may be askedto produce copies of actual publications in which their workhas appeared. In some cases, these materials will berequired as verification of the writers’ status.Conference Road Game CredentialsWriters covering UM on a regular basis should make allrequests for conference road credentials directly with thehome team.Non-Conference Road Game CredentialsWriters covering UM on a regular basis may make requestsfor non-conference road credentials with the UM SportsInformation Office. Credential requests are faxed to theopponent school by Monday two weeks prior to the contest.RIGHT BETWEEN THE NUMBERSFreshman wide receiver/return man Travis Benjamin’s 968 all-purpose yards through 11 games is themost by a Hurricane since Frank Gore had 971 all-purpose yards heading into the 12th game of the 2004season.Miami leads the nation in number of different players that have scored a touchdown this season (18)as well as the number of freshmen that have reached paydirt (8).UM’s five-game winning streak from Oct. 11 to Nov. 13 was the first winning streak of such kind since2005 when the Hurricanes won eight straight games from Sept. 27 to Nov. 12.With Miami’s win over Virginia Tech, the Hurricanes improved to 12-3 since the turn of the century ingames following a bye week. UM is 2-0 this year after a bye week, beating Texas A&M and VT.With UM’s 24-17 overtime win at Virginia on Nov. 1, the Hurricanes qualified for a bowl game for the23rd time in the last 26 seasons.Nine UM receivers have double-digit catches through the season’s first 11 games with LeonardHankerson recording his 10th catch against Georgia Tech. Last year, UM had seven all season.Sophomore kicker Matt Bosher has scored 18 more points this season through 11 games (85) thanboth of UM’s kickers (Francesco Zampogna and Daren Daly) combined for all of last season (67).Despite having 11 underclassmen listed on its defensive depth chart, three of UM’s top four tacklersthis year (Glenn Cook, Anthony Reddick and Darryl Sharpton) have been at UM for a combined 15 years.Miami has kept its opponents under 20 points in four of its last six games. During the team’s five-gamewinning streak, the Hurricanes are out-scored their opponents by an average of 25.0-to-17.2.The Hurricanes are out-scoring opponents 94-55 in the third quarter this season. That differential is 88points higher than in the second quarter, where UM is being out-scored 88-to-39.Only four Hurricanes (Glenn Cook, Steven Wesley, Bruce Johnson and Xavier Shannon) have startedall 11 games so far this season.Miami is 34-18-1 all-time against teams from the state of North Carolina, with its last win coming againstthe state earlier this season when Miami beat Wake Forest, 16-10, in Miami.The Hurricanes have converted on their last 25 red zone attempts and 39 of 41 overall attempts(95.1%) this season. UM has 25 touchdowns and 14 field goals in its 41 red zone appearances.Miami is 6-1 when it rushes for at least 120 yards this season. The only time UM lost when it ran forover 120 yards was the Sept. 27 loss to North Carolina, when UM had 135 yards on 33 carries.Eight different players have either led or tied for the team-lead in receptions in a game this season.Thearon Collier, Kayne Farquharson, Graig Cooper, Aldarius Johnson and Dedrick Epps have all led morethan once.Defensive Ends Allen Bailey and Marcus Robinson currently lead the team with four sacks apiece whileAdewale Ojomo and Spencer Adkins each have three.Miami has only allowed three second-half touchdowns in its last four games and over that span, it isout-scoring its opposition 58-24 after halftime.COOP AND JJSo much of Miami’s success offensively comes from the running back tandem of sophomore GraigCooper and junior Javarris James. In the rushing duo’s time together at UM, the Hurricanes have a 6-2record when the two combine to get at least 25 carries and a 3-7 record when they both play and areunder the 25-carry mark. In 2007, reaching this mark was extremely important to the team’s success asall five of UM’s victories came when the two combined to reach the 25-carry mark. This year, James hasmissed the better part of five games with a high ankle sprain, but since his return, the pair combined for33 carries and 186 yards in a come-from-behind-victory at UVa two weeks ago. It was the only time thisseason that the two have combined for 25 or more carries.REVOLVING RECEIVERSTwo Miami players - Freshmen Laron Byrd and Aldarius Johnson - have caught a pass in 10 of UM’s11 contests thus far.Johnson leads the team with 30 receptions thus far, while running back Graig Cooper ranks secondwith 22, despite not recording a catch in the first three games of the season.Following Johnson and Cooper, Thearon Collier ranks third with 21 receptions, while Dedrick Epps andKayne Farquharson are tied for fourth with 18 catches apiece. Following that group, freshmen TravisBenjamin and Laron Byrd have 16 and 15 respectively, while junior Sam Shields has 11 and LeonardHankerson has 10 to give the Hurricanes nine players with at least 10 catches.Four other UM players have at least four catches (Javarris James, Davon Johnson, Derron Thomasand Chris Zellner). Aldarius Johnson leads the team in receiving yards (321) while Benjamin, Johnson andFarquharson are tied with a team-high three receiving touchdowns.Benjamin also leads the team with a 17.2 yards per catch average.Johnson’s eight receptions against Duke was the most receptions in a game for a UM player sinceGreg Olsen had eight receptions against North Carolina on Oct. 7, 2006.PAGE 3MIAMI FOOTBALL GAME NOTES