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Saturday, Oct. 21 12:00pm ET
Moss' two TDs spark 'Canes

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Santana Moss wanted some of the spotlight, and he got it.

Moss had 241 all-purpose yards, including a 71-yard punt return for touchdown and 67-yard TD reception, as Miami (No. 5 ESPN/USA Today, No. 4 AP) beat Temple 45-17 on Saturday.

Santana Moss
Santana Moss, right, had 241 all-purpose yards for Miami.

"Our special teams really stepped up," Moss said. "I knew this might be our chance to come into the limelight. I said, 'We got to make a play."'

The Hurricanes, coming off a bye after beating then-No. 1 Florida State 27-24 on Oct. 7, have won four straight. Miami (5-1, 3-0 Big East) could play for the national championship in the Orange Bowl if it wins its remaining five games.

The only negative for the Hurricanes came when Ken Dorsey threw his first interception of the season in the third quarter. Dorsey threw a school-record 193 passes without an interception since the Gator Bowl last January.

Temple (4-4, 1-3) is vastly improved over the team that was outscored 97-7 by Miami the last two years. But, it was the same-old Owls against Miami.

Temple has lost nine straight to the Hurricanes by an average margin of 34.6 points.

"(Temple coach) Bobby Wallace has done an outstanding job preparing this team," Miami coach Butch Davis said. "You have to beat them. They don't beat themselves anymore."

After a slow start, Miami took a 7-3 lead on Moss' 71-yard punt return with 1:20 left in the first quarter.

Moss caught the ball at Miami's 29, bounced outside, and sprinted untouched down the right sideline for his second TD on a punt return this season, and fourth of his career.

"That punt return got our motor revved," Davis said. "He's been doing that his whole career. Not only does he score points, but he affects field position. He's electrifying. He can do so many things."

The Hurricanes made it 14-3 on a 17-yard pass from Dorsey to D.J. Williams just 59 seconds into the second quarter.

Dorsey was 11-of-22 for 193 yards, two TDs and one interception. Moss had four receptions for 96 yards, one rush for 24 yards and 121 yards on punt returns.

Miami held Tanardo Sharps, the Big East's leading rusher to 37 yards on 14 carries.

"Teams try to slow down our speed and we adjusted," linebacker Dan Morgan said. "We knew they had a good running game, and we wanted to shut it down."

After Temple cut it to 14-10 on Raheem Brock's fumble recovery in the end zone, Miami came right back on the next offensive play.

Moss leaped to catch Dorsey's pass at Temple's 30, spun away from a tackler at the 25, and ran in for a 21-10 lead with 9:42 left in the first half.

"I ran my best route, and he got it to me the best way he could," Moss said about his first TD reception of the season.

"He's one of the biggest sparks on our team," Dorsey said. "He came up big in two clutch situations. He basically told me if I got the ball to him, he'd make something happen."

Najeh Davenport's 1-yard TD run gave Miami a 28-10 lead with 5:10 left in the second.

James Jackson added a 4-yard TD run, and Edward Reed had a 27-yard interception return for touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Temple, seeking its first winning season since 1990, has already won as many games as it had in its previous two seasons combined.

The Owls, who haven't played in a bowl since 1979, took a 3-0 lead on a 42-yard field goal by Cap Poklemba with 5:44 left in the first.

"I'm more positive now than ever before about our possibilities of going to a bowl game," Wallace said. "We're not down at the bottom of the Big East anymore."

Temple had an opportunity to score early, but linebacker LeVar Talley dropped an interception at midfield on Miami's first possession.






ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard

Miami (Fla.) Clubhouse

Temple Clubhouse


AUDIO/VIDEO
video
 Santana Moss hauls in the Ken Dorsey bomb for a 67-yard TD.
avi: 1045 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

 Santana Moss races 71 yards on a punt return for a touchdown.
avi: 1521 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

 Ken Dorsey lofts the ball to D.J. Williams in the end zone.
avi: 718 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

 Raheem Brock covers the ball in the end zone after the Temple D breaks up the Miami option.
avi: 814 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1



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