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Friday, December 13, 2002
No. 3 Miami 41, No. 2 Virginia Tech 21
Associated Press
BOX SCORE
MIAMI -- Whether he was healthy or hurt, No. 3 Miami was ready for Michael Vick.
"We wanted to show him," linebacker Dan Morgan
said, "that he wasn't going to work his magic against
us."
|  | | Santana Moss is one of four Miami Hurricanes who could be picked in the first round. |
Hobbled by a sprained right ankle that limited him to
19 first-half plays, Vick sat on the bench with a white
towel draped over his head in the second half and
watched the Hurricanes beat No. 2 Virginia Tech
41-21 on Saturday.
"It was disappointing. This was a big game. It
determined our season," Vick said. "It hurt me inside
-- deep inside."
Ken Dorsey threw three long touchdown passes --
two to Santana Moss -- and James Jackson ran for
145 yards and a score as Miami (7-1, 4-0 Big East)
took a giant step toward playing for the national
championship back in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3.
Virginia Tech (8-1, 6-1) saw its 19-game regular-season winning streak end along with its
bid to return to the title game. The Hokies were beaten 46-29 by Florida State in last
season's championship game at the Sugar Bowl.
In ending a five-game losing streak to Virginia Tech, Miami is poised to replace Virginia
Tech at No. 2 in the polls, while the Hurricanes hope to move up in the Bowl
Championship Series standings, where they were in fifth place. The Hokies were second
in the standings that will determine who plays in the BCS' title game.
"Whatever they're going to do in the BCS, they're
going to do," Miami defensive tackle Damione Lewis
said. "All we can do is keep winning. No. 2 vs. No. 5
and we won. That's our statement."
The Hurricanes have three games remaining -- home
to Pittsburgh, at Syracuse and home to Syracuse.
"I want to get there badly," Moss said of reaching
the title game. "This is my last year. We've just got
to keep on winning. ... We're on our way."
Dave Meyer, a fifth-year senior, started in place of
Vick but was unable to move the Hokies in the first
three series. Vick, wearing a custom-made brace,
walked onto the field with 2:43 left in the first quarter
and the Hokies already behind 14-0.
The 6-foot-1, 214-pound Heisman Trophy contender
was clearly hampered by the injury. Even when the
Hokies made a first down, Vick walked up the field
to the huddle.
Vick called 19 plays and accounted for 14 yards --
three carries for 5 yards; 2-of-5 passing for 9 yards.
He fumbled once -- setting up Miami's third
touchdown -- and threw an interception. His final
play was taking a knee to end the first half with the
Hurricanes leading 21-0.
Meyer, who was 13-of-25 for 225 yards and a
touchdown, played the second half.
"I thought our best chance at that point was to get a
healthy quarterback in there," Tech coach Frank
Beamer said. "He couldn't function at full speed. It's
not fair to him and not fair to us. Throwing he was
85-90 percent. Running he was about 10 percent."
Miami joins Oklahoma in beating the No. 1 and No.
2 teams this season: Miami beat then-No. 1 Florida
State 27-24 on Oct. 7; the Sooners beat then-No. 2
Kansas State 41-31 and then-No. 1 Nebraska 31-14.
Miami, which leads the nation in scoring at 45
points per game, scored five of its six touchdowns on plays of 42 yards or longer. The
Hurricanes led 28-0 before the Hokies finally scored on the first of two TD runs by Lee
Suggs -- a 1-yarder 2:37 into the fourth period. Suggs carried 23 times for 121 yards.
Dorsey, disappointed with himself after three interceptions in last week's win over
Louisiana Tech, completed 11 of 23 passes for 283 yards, including TD passes of 42
and 80 yards to Moss and 44 yards to tight end Jeremy Shockey. Moss had four
catches for 154 yards.
"I was out of character the last couple of weeks trying to force ball," Dorsey said. "I think
everyone saw the real me tonight."
Jackson had a 17-yard TD run, Najeh Davenport a 50-yard scoring run and Edward Reed
returned the second of his two interceptions 44 yards for a TD with 7:35 left in the game.
At that point, oranges were thrown on the field by some of the fans in the Orange Bowl
crowd of 77,410.
Miami coach Butch Davis, who entered his sixth season with an 0-10 combined record
against the Seminoles and Hokies, now has a win over each. But he could care less.
"We haven't accomplished anything we set out to accomplish," Davis said. "We're three
games away from that. This is just one step along the way."
Without Vick, the Hokies were not even close to competitive with the Hurricanes. Last
season, a healthy Vick led Virginia Tech to a 43-10 win over Miami; this year it was the
Hurricanes' turn to dominate a team averaging 42 points -- fifth in the nation.
Dorsey took Miami 63 yards in six plays on its first possession, finishing the drive with
his 42-yard TD pass to Moss 4:35 into the game.
Later in the period, Dorsey connected with Shockey for 41 yards to the Hokies' 36. At
the same time, Vick began warming up behind the Hokies' bench. Two plays later,
Jackson took a pitchout from Dorsey and looked to pass, but cut back to his left and ran
17 yards for a touchdown with 2:53 left in the period.
Vick entered the game but was clearly hurting. He failed to move the team on his first
two series, and then started making mistakes when he needed to come up with one of
his patented big plays. On third-and-9 from the Miami 29, Vick tried to run left but Lewis
stripped the all from behind and linebacker Chris Campbell recovered at the 27.
Miami cashed in quickly. Dorsey hit Moss for 18 yards, Jackson carried three times for
16 yards and then Dorsey hit Shockey with a 44-yard TD pass with 3:30 left in the half.
Vick tried again, but this time his pass was overthrown and Reed made the interception
at the Miami 19.
By then, the Hurricanes had the game well in hand, and the Hokies were left to wonder
what would have been if Vick was healthy.
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Ken Dorsey says Miami has proved itself as one of the top programs in the country.