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

GAME 12 - NOV. 29, 2008MIAMI VS. NC STATEGEORGIA TECH GAME RECAPMIAMI VS. GEORGIA TECH NOTESSTART IT UP… Miami’s offensive starters tonight were:Aldarius Johnson (WR), Laron Byrd (WR), AJ Trump (RG),Xavier Shannon (C), Orlando Franklin (LG), ChrisRutledge (RT), Dedrick Epps (TE), Jason Fox (LT), RobertMarve (QB), Patrick Hill (FB) and Graig Cooper (HB). Foxreturned to the starting lineup after missing his first start inthree seasons last week against Virginia Tech. Byrd madehis second career start. Miami’s defensive starters were:Chavez Grant (LCB), JoJo Nicolas (S), Sean Spence(WLB), Steven Wesley (LE), Dwayne Hendricks (RT), JoeJoseph (LT), Marcus Robinson (RE), Romeo Davis (SLB),Glenn Cook (MLB), Bruce Johnson (RCB) and AnthonyReddick (S). Robinson started for the second straightgame and third time this season. Davis started for the thirdstraight game.BIG DEFICIT… Miami’s 21 point deficit at halftime wasthe second time the Hurricanes trailed by that margin athalftime this season. UM trailed Florida State, 24-3, backon Oct. 4. The last time the Hurricanes trailed by 20 ormore points on the road was at North Carolina last season.UM trailed that game 27-0 at halftime.ROBINSON STRIKES AGAIN… Freshman defensiveend Marcus Robinson picked up his fourth sack in the lasttwo games when he sacked Georgia Tech’s Josh Nesbittin the first quarter.FOR THE LONGEST… The Hurricanes have 22 playsof 30-or-more yards this season, including Dedrick Eppscareer-long 30-yard catch in the third quarter against theYellow Jackets.THROUGH THE AIR… Miami’s 283 passing yardstonight was a season-high. The previous high was 266set at Duke on Oct. 18.DON’T BLINK… Twenty-one of Miami’s 32 offensivetouchdowns this season have come on drives of threeminutes or shorter with nine of those 32 touchdowns comingunder a minute. Miami’s final scoring drive of tonight’sgame was lasted only 1:43 but was UM’s longest of theseason in terms of yardage (98).THE SERIES… With tonight’s loss, Miami dropped itsfourth straight contest to Georgia Tech.RUN DEFENSE… The 472 rushing yards by GeorgiaTech were the second-most rushing yards ever given upby the Hurricanes. The last time Miami allowed at least400 rushing yards in a game was against Notre Dame onDec. 1, 1973 when UM allowed 448 rushing yards.MORE EPPS… Junior tight end Dedrick Epps caught acareer-high four passes for 57 yards and his firsttouchdown of the season. He became the 18th differentHurricane to score a touchdown this season. Tiedwith Georgia and Troy for the most players with a touchdowncoming into the game (17), the Hurricanes nowlead the country in this statistic heading into this weekend’sgames.CAREER HIGHS… Safety JoJo Nicolas recorded acareer-high seven tackles (six solo) while MarcusRobinson tied a career-high with seven (set last week vs.Virginia Tech).GAME 11 - GEORGIA TECH 41, MIAMI 23THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2008 - BOBBY DODD STADIUM, ATLANTA, GA.ATTENDANCE: 49,335ATLANTA, Ga. (AP) - Georgia Tech piled up 472 yards on the ground - the second-most ever allowed by theHurricanes - in a 41-23 rout Thursday night.Jonathan Dwyer ripped off 128 yards with just 10 carries in the first half, including a 58-yard touchdown on a playthat typified a Miami defense that looked as though it had never even seen film on Georgia Tech's unique, run-orientedscheme. Two linebackers got caught of position and Dwyer was off to the end zone.By the end, the Hurricanes (7-4, 4-3) could do little more than huddle around heaters on a chilly night in Atlanta,totally outclassed in their first game as a ranked team in more than two years.The five-time national champs, who had a losing record in 2007 but came into the game with five straight wins,could have clinched at least a tie for first in the Coastal Division with a win. And there was the possibility of wrappingit up Saturday if some other ACC games went their way.Now, the race is more confusing than ever.Georgia Tech (8-3, 5-3) takes over first in the convoluted Coastal, but the Yellow Jackets will need some helpbecause three other contenders would win on a tiebreaker. Still, it was an impressive display by the triple-optionoffense, which piled up the most rushing yards ever on the Hurricanes other than a 536-yard effort by Auburn in 1944.Dwyer scored again on his last play of the night, a 6-yard run in which he dragged along a couple of defendersand bounced off another, twisting his left knee. He spent much of the second half on a sideline exercise bike, theYellow Jackets seeing no need to put him back in with a big game looming against rival Georgia on Nov. 29.And maybe another game the following week - the ACC championship in Tampa, Fla.Georgia Tech piled up the fifth-most rushing yards in school history with its most prolific effort in 30 years. Twoother players, wingback Roddy Jones (97) and quarterback Josh Nesbitt (93), just missed giving the Yellow Jacketsthree 100-yard rushers. Lucas Cox broke off a 32-yard touchdown and finished with 78 yards rushing.Nesbitt dove over from the 1 on a fourth-down play with just over 4 minutes left in the third quarter, stretching thelead to 34-10 and finishing off the Hurricanes. Miami had several defensive players who went against a similar offensein high school, but they had never seen anything like this.The Hurricanes' offense wasn't much better. Robert Marve and Jacory Harris both got time at quarterback, butneither had much success. Each threw an interception, and Marve's pick was returned 26 yards for Georgia Tech'sfirst touchdown by defensive end Michael Johnson.Georgia Tech outgained Miami in total yards 518-388, and it really wasn't that close. The Hurricanes trailed 27-3before finally reaching the end zone midway through the third quarter, and they added a meaningless touchdown withjust over a minute remaining.Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 ScoreMiami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . 13 . . . . . . . . . 23Georgia Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . 21 . . . . . . . 17 . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . 41SCORING SUMMARY:Qtr Time Team Scoring play Conversion Plays-Yds TOP UM GT1st 05:53 GT S. Blair 21 yd field goal 10-81 5:21 0 32nd 13:28 GT M. Johnson 26 yd interception return (S. Blair kick) 0 102nd 06:19 UM Matt Bosher 24 yd field goal 9-53 3:52 3 102nd 06:01 GT J. Dwyer 58 yd run (S. Blair kick) 1-58 0:11 3 172nd 01:59 GT J. Dwyer 6 yd run (S. Blair kick) 5-75 2:28 3 243rd 10:10 GT S. Blair 30 yd field goal 10-60 4:45 3 273rd 07:46 UM Dedrick Epps 18 yd pass from Robert Marve (Matt Bosher kick) 7-66 2:16 10 273rd 04:08 GT J. Nesbitt 1 yd run (S. Blair kick) 7-73 3:33 10 343rd 02:07 GT L. Cox 32 yd run (S. Blair kick) 3:34 0:52 10 414th 10:22 UM L. Hankerson 13 yd pass from Jacory Harris (Harris pass failed) 8-66 3:32 16 414th 01:18 UM K. Farquharson 25 yd pass from Jacory Harris (Matt Bosher kick) 5-98 1:43 23 41Stadium: Bobby Dodd Stadium Attendance: 49335Kickoff time: 7:45 PM End of Game: 10:55 PM Total elapsed time: 3:10Officials: Referee: Ron Cherry; Umpire: Tom Laverty; Linesman: John Busch;Line judge: Todd LaPenta; Back judge: Pat Ryan; Field judge: Jeff Heaser;Side judge: Michael Triana;Temperature: 48 deg Wind: WNW 5 Weather: Clear and ColdTEAM STATISTICS UM GTFIRST DOWNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18RUSHES-YARDS (NET) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25-105 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56-472PASSING YDS (NET) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46Passes Att-Comp-Int . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38-23-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-4-0TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63-388 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63-518Fumble Returns-Yards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0-0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0-0Punt Returns-Yards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0-0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-10Kickoff Returns-Yards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-130 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-56Interception Returns-Yards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0-0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-33Punts (Number-Avg) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-32.8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-36.0Fumbles-Lost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-1Penalties-Yards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-40Possession Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27:19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32:41Third-Down Conversions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 of 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 of 10Fourth-Down Conversions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 of 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 of 2Red-Zone Scores-Chances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-5Sacks By: Number-Yards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-11INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING: Miami (Fla.)-Cooper, G. 10-44; Harris, J. 3-35; James, J. 7-30; Marve,R. 5-minus 4. Georgia Tech-Dwyer, J. 10-128; Jones, R. 7-97; Nesbitt, J. 15-93;Cox, L. 8-78; Shaw, J. 10-47; Thomas, D. 1-14; Booker, C. 2-8; Peeples, E. 1-6;Walls, L. 1-2; TEAM 1-minus 1.PASSING: Miami (Fla.)-Marve, R. 10-20-1-121; Harris, J. 13-18-1-162. GeorgiaTech-Nesbitt, J. 3-6-0-24; Thomas, D. 1-1-0-22.RECEIVING: Miami (Fla.)-Epps, D. 4-57; Johnson, A. 3-35; Collier, T. 3-27;Cooper, G. 3-16; Farquharson, K. 2-36; James, J. 2-29; Shields, S. 1-23; Byrd,L. 1-22; Gordon, R. 1-15; Hankerson, L. 1-13; Zellner, C. 1-6; Johnson, D. 1-4.Georgia Tech-Thomas, D. 2-17; Cox, L. 1-22; Earls, C. 1-7.PAGE 31MIAMI FOOTBALL GAME NOTES