Schiano, Rutgers Face Top-ranked Miami At Orange Bowl
Sept. 4, 2001
From the Associated Press
Greg Schiano left a good Miami team. He will find one Saturday that might beeven better.
Schiano returns to Miami when he leads Rutgers (1-0) into a Big East matchupwith the Hurricanes (1-0), the new No. 1 team in the country.
Schiano was Miami’s defensive coordinator the last two seasons, helping theHurricanes to a 20-5 record during that span. The Hurricanes went 11-1 lastyear and finished No. 2 in the nation.
Miami also started this season ranked second, but didn’t take long to moveup. The Hurricanes replaced preseason No. 1 Florida atop the poll after adominating performance in a 33-7 victory over Penn State on Saturday night.
The Hurricanes scored on six of their first seven possessions, and KenDorsey finished 20-of-27 for a career-high 344 yards.
“It’s hard to get used to that kind of speed,” Penn State coach Joe Paternosaid. “It would take a heckuva team to beat them.”
So impressive were the Hurricanes that they jumped over Florida, even thoughthe Gators also were easy winners.
“It’s very gratifying to be ranked No. 1 and it’s good to see the respect ofthe national media coming off the win over Penn State,” new Miami coachLarry Coker said. “Obviously it speaks well for the reputation of theprogram and for the job the players and coaches have done here.”
Coker replaced Butch Davis, who left to become coach of the ClevelandBrowns.
Schiano also was a winner in his head coaching debut Saturday, as theScarlet Knights beat Buffalo 31-15. Dennis Thomas ran for 177 yards on 30carries, both career highs, while Aaron Martin caught five passes for acareer-best 131 yards.
The Scarlet Knights will find much more difficult competition at the OrangeBowl on Saturday. Rutgers is 0-8 against Miami, and none of the last sixmatchups have been decided by fewer than four touchdowns.
The last two meetings have been complete mismatches, with Miami winning by acombined 113 points. The Hurricanes followed a 55-0 victory in 1999 with a64-6 romp last year.
A key to the game could be how Rutgers quarterback Ryan Cubit handles aMiami defense that completely shut down Penn State. Cubit, who will turn 19next month, is the first freshman to start a season at quarterback forRutgers in the modern era. He threw for two touchdowns but was just11-for-23 for 157 yards against Buffalo.
“He had exactly what I thought he had. He had a lot of guts. He’s acourageous kid,” Schiano said. “Ryan Cubit took a lot of hits. I’m pleasedwith his composure, I’m pleased with his toughness.”
The Scarlet Knights are 0-4 at Miami.
