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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- Miami coach Butch Davis said he wouldn't
run up the score against Syracuse. He never said anything about the
other side of the ball.
The Miami defense met the Orangemen at every turn Saturday
night, limiting them to 83 yards rushing, 83 passing and just nine
first downs in a 26-0 victory. James Jackson rushed for 101 yards
and scored twice as the Hurricanes remained in the hunt for the
national championship.
|  | | Miami's Clinton Portis rushed for 50 yards on 13 carries Saturday. |
Miami (9-1, 6-0 Big East), which has one game left, against
Boston College, entered the game ranked second in the BCS
standings, which will decide the national championship game.
There was concern by Miami before the game that the winner of
the Florida-Florida State game, also played Saturday night, might
vault past the Hurricanes, so a strong performance against Syracuse
was a must.
"They say we had to win by 20, and we did that tonight," said
Davis, who was whooping it up in the locker room afterward,
praising his defense. "I would be disappointed if we didn't stay
second, especially with the tough stretch we've had. Every team
we've played has had a winning record.
Including Syracuse (5-5, 3-3). But the Orangemen also had a
redshirt quarterback starting his first game at home, and that made
Miami's task easier.
"We knew they were going to try to run some option, try to
confuse us," said linebacker Dan Morgan, who aggravated a toe
injury in the second quarter but still managed three tackles behind
the line of scrimmage. "One little mess-up and they are going to
bust a play on you."
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Sat, November 18
The Orangemen might not be as tough as they've been in recent years but this was an impressive win for Miami. They had to go into a hostile environment and put up some points -- and they did it.
Ken Dorsey looked like a very confident, mature quarterback. The problems he had dealing with the crowd in their loss to Washington were completely absent today. He was perfect.
The defense did the job. Nobody figured Syracuse would be able to score very much on the Hurricanes and the defense threw up the shutout. This is the kind of game that can keep them ahead of Florida State in the BCS standings -- an overwhelming effort on the road against a quality team.
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There were none on this night. In its eight possessions of the
first half, Syracuse did not gain a first down on seven of them as
quarterback R.J. Anderson failed to generate anything offensively.
The Orangemen, who entered the game ranked 17th in the nation in
rushing with a 206-yard average, gained 42 yards on 29 plays in the
half and had only two first downs.
"I was a little anxious," said Anderson, who finished
11-for-25 and suffered a costly interception.
Meanwhile, Miami won the field-position game handily, took a
23-0 halftime lead and took the capacity Carrier Dome crowd of
49,327 out of the game. The stands were more empty than full after
Todd Sievers kicked a 33-yard field goal early in the fourth
quarter.
"We felt very comfortable and were able to operate, even with
the noisy conditions," said quarterback Ken Dorsey, who was 16 of
28 for 263 yards and one touchdown. "The offensive line did a
great job of pass protecting and the receivers were running great
routes. They made my job easy."
Of their eight possessions in the opening half, the Hurricanes
started either near midfield or in Syracuse territory six times,
and that was costly for Syracuse.
"We were counting on getting at least some field position, but
those things did not happen early on," Syracuse coach Paul
Pasqualoni said. "And that, in my mind, was the game."
Leading 3-0 on a 23-yard field goal early in the first quarter
by Sievers, Miami scored three touchdowns in the first five minutes
of the second quarter to put the game away.
Dorsey got the Hurricanes going with completions of 32 yards to
Jeremy Shockey and 23 yards to Daryl Jones. A key 11-yarder to
Santana Moss on a third-and-10 play set up Jackson's 5-yard scoring
run on the first play of the second quarter.
Syracuse entered the game with the seventh-rated pass defense in
the country, allowing 163.8 yards per game. Dorsey completed 9 of
19 passes for 183 yards in the first half alone. One was a 32-yard
touchdown strike to Reggie Wayne on a crossing play over the middle
that put Miami ahead 16-0 with 11:51 remaining in the half.
Strong safety Edward Reed nabbed Miami's 21st interception of
the season to stop Syracuse's next possession and Jackson scored on
a 33-yard run two plays later to make it 23-0.
"We weren't thinking about the BCS," Reed said. "Any time you
can get a shutout, you try your hardest. We could have run up the
score, but that's not the kind of team we are."
Syracuse had relied all season on its defense, which was
expected to keep the Orangemen in this one despite the absence of
defensive end Dwight Freeney, who sat out his third straight game
with an undisclosed viral infection. Freeney still led the nation
with 13 sacks.
But the pressure that harried Virginia Tech quarterback Michael
Vick, sacking him an amazing nine times in a 22-14 loss to the
Hokies a month ago, never materialized.
Syracuse, which suffered its first shutout at home since a 43-0
loss to West Virginia in 1993, mounted only two sustained drives in
the game.
The best chance to score came in the first quarter as Anderson
moved the Orangemen from their own 36 to the Miami 17 in nine
plays. But Mike Shafer's 40-yard field-goal attempt was wide left,
his 11th miss in 25 attempts this year.
"Momentum is a big thing in football," said Dorsey, who was
rarely hurried. "I really felt like we got the momentum back after
they missed the field goal. I think that really helped us through
the entire first half."
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Miami (Fla.) Clubhouse
Syracuse Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Santana Moss' block springs a shoe-less James Jackson for his second touchdown.
avi: 1480 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Ken Dorsey connects with Reggie Wayne for a 32-yard Miami touchdown.
avi: 1210 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Miami's James Jackson slips by a tackle and scores on a 6-yard run.
avi: 1140 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
'Cuse tries to spark their offense with a fake field goal, but the 'Canes refuse to bite.
avi: 901 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Quarterback Ken Dorsey talks with ESPN's Adrian Karsten after the victory.
wav: 256 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Coach Butch Davis was extremely proud of Miami's stingy defense.
wav: 358 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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