Hurricanes Blow Through Florida A&M, 57-3
Sept. 4, 1999
By JEFF SHAIN
AP Sports Writer
MIAMI (AP) – It took all of about 10 minutes for No. 8 Miami to forget aboutits Kickoff Classic triumph.
And with the formality of beating Florida A&M out of the way, it’s OK tothink about No. 2 Penn State.
James Jackson ran for two touchdowns and Kenny Kelly passed for two in a31-point burst over 11:04 of the first half, propelling the Hurricanes past theDivision I-AA Rattlers 57-3 Saturday night.
The Hurricanes, who beat No. 13 Ohio State 23-12 in the Kickoff Classic,trailed 3-0 midway through the first quarter until getting their offenseuntracked. Miami (2-0) then scored on five straight possessions and got itsfirst team off the field.
“We learned from this game that you’ve got to stay focused,” said Jackson,who finished with 103 yards on 19 carries. “The first couple of times wedidn’t score, then we got focused. We just said to ourselves, `We’ve got topick it up.”‘
Jackson scored on runs of 43 and 7 yards before leaving with 9 1/2 minutes leftbefore halftime. Kelly was 9-of-15 for 119 yards, including TD tosses of 9yards to Santana Moss and 3 yards to tight end Bubba Franks.
Freshman Clinton Portis scored his first two college TDs on runs of 1 and 2yards, redshirt freshman Ethenic Sands caught a 13-yard TD pass from freshmanKen Dorsey, Andy Crosland kicked field goals of 22 and 32 yards and Aaron Moserblocked a punt out of the end zone for a safety.
“You can’t feel bad for a game like this,” Florida A&M receiver JacquayNunnally said. “Miami is ranked in the top 10 of Division I-A. It’s like wewere playing the Green Bay Packers.”
Nonetheless, the Hurricanes left knowing they must perform better next timeout. Following an open date next week, Penn State visits the Orange Bowl.
“We’re real excited about that game,” linebacker Dan Morgan said. “For usto pull out a victory, we need two good weeks of practice. We’ve got to correctour mistakes.”
Florida A&M, which averaged 521 yards and 45 points last year in reachingthe quarterfinals of the Division I-AA playoffs, got its only points on JeremyEdwards’ 25-yard field goal on its first possession.
The Rattlers lost any offensive rhythm when quarterback Quinn Gray was hurtlate in the first quarter. Gray had the wind knocked out of him on a hit byMiami’s Edward Reed, was diagnosed with a bruised sternum and did not return.
Florida A&M, which had 75 yards and three first downs before Gray left, gotminus-7 yards behind backups Jorade Jackson and Roland Dykstra and three firstdowns – one on a roughing-the-passer penalty.
“Early in the game, I thought we had an opportunity,” Florida A&M coachBilly Joe said. “But when Quinn went down, it was all downhill from there.”
The Rattlers also hurt themselves by losing four fumbles on kick returns,setting up three Miami TDs. The Hurricanes started nine possessions in FloridaA&M territory.
“If they were in our conference and we got got beat like this, we’d besad,” Nunnally said. “But we know they’re the University of Miami.”
It took the Hurricanes a few plays to get used to Florida A&M’s standardfour- and five-receiver sets, as the Rattlers marched 72 yards on their firstseries to Edwards’ 25-yard field goal. A 38-yard pass from Gray to Cainon Lambtook the ball to the Miami 8 before the drive stalled.
Kelly’s pass was intercepted deep in Florida A&M territory on Miami’s secondseries, but the Hurricanes then broke loose.
Kelly found Moss alone for a 9-yard TD, putting Miami ahead 7-3 with 5:33left in the first quarter. Gray was hurt on Florida A&M’s next series, and theHurricanes sprung Jackson around right end for a 43-yard TD five plays later,making the score 14-3 with 3:11 left in the quarter.
Demetris Bendross fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and James Scott recovered forMiami at the Florida A&M 22. Jackson cashed it in two plays into the secondquarter with a 7-yard run.
Crosland kicked a 22-yard field goal with 12:20 left before halftime, andKelly capped the burst on Miami’s next possession by hooking up with Franks fora 3-yard score, making it 31-3 with 9:29 showing.
