Temple University Athletics
OWLS FALL TO TOP-RANKED MIAMI, 38-0
11.3.01 | Football
Miami (7-0, 4-0 Big East Conference) recorded the win it needed to remain unbeaten heading into the toughest stretch of its 2001 schedule. In their final four games, the Hurricanes will square off with Boston College, Syracuse, Washington and Virginia Tech seeking a berth in the BCS National Championship game at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 3. Temple (2-6, 1-4) will look to end a three-game drought and post its second Big East Conference win at home against Virginia Tech next Saturday.
For the game, Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey was an efficient if not spectacular 16-of-24 passing for 175 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite target was tight end Jeremy Shockey, who hauled in six passes for 93 yards. The 'Canes also got a strong performance from junior tailback Clinton Portis, who rushed for a team-high 117 yards, scored once and went over the 2,000-yard mark for his Miami career. The Owls struggled offensively, as freshman quarterback Mike McGann could manage to complete six-of-14 passes for just 34 yards and had one interception. Sophomore running back Makonnen Fenton was the Owls' top ground gainer with 61 yards on just six carries.
Miami opened the scoring on a 15-yard pass from Dorsey to Kevin Beard with 8:27 remaining in the first quarter. The touchdown pass was the 49th of Dorsey's Hurricane career, a new school record surpassing the previous mark of 48 held by Steve Walsh (1986-88) and Vinnie Testaverde (1982-86). The score capped a short two-play drive, that was set up by a 17-yard punt return by the Hurricanes' Phil Buchanon. At the end of the runback, Buchanon was hit hard and stripped of the ball by Troy Bennett, but the ball bounded forward another 15 yards and was recovered by the 'Canes' Al Marshall at the Owl 22.
Temple made three first downs to the Hurricanes' two and outgained Miami, 39 yards to 35, and hold its own through the first period. The key defensive play came at the 3:43 mark, when Temple's Raheem Brock threw Clinton Portis for a one-yard loss on fourth and one at the Owl nine yard line. The Owls trailed 7-0 when the teams changed sides.
Miami had to wait until its second possession of the second quarter to increase its lead, as Dorsey engineered a nine-play, 72-yard drive that culminated with a seven-yard touchdown run off right tackle by Portis. During the drive, Temple's Jairo Almonte was credited with a 19-yard sack of Dorsey on first-and-10 at the Owl 24. It was the first sack sustained by the Hurricanes all season and, in fact, the first in a total of 845 snaps from scrimmage dating back to the Temple-Miami game of Oct. 21, 2000, when the Owls' Akeiff Staples caught Dorsey behind the line in Philadelphia. Two plays later, however, Dorsey passed 23 yards to Beard at the Owl seven, setting up Portis's run. Temple responded with its best offensive possession of the half, which consumed over three minutes and kept the Miami lead 14-0 at intermission.
Miami came to life in all phases of the game during in the third period, to more resemble the form of the nation's No. 1-ranked team. The Hurricanes scored three times in the quarter, beginning with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Dorsey to Andre Johnson, capping a nine-play, 78-yard drive on their first possession. An eight-play, 66-yard scoring drive, ending with a 13-yard run by Frank Gore at the 6:06 mark of the third quarter ran the lead to 28-0. Miami closed out the period with a sensational 52-yard punt return by Buchanon for a touchdown that ran the margin to 35-0. The Hurricanes' final tally was a 37-yard field goal by Todd Sievers with 6:05 remaining in the game.
Temple's last effort to score ended on a third-and-seven at the Miami 27 yard-line, when McGann and tailback Lester Trammer combined to fumble an exchange with just 2:07 left to play. The Owls finished with three turnovers for the game, while Miami had one.
