Payback Is Sweet
Nov. 27, 1999
By MARK LONG
Associated Press Writer
MIAMI (AP) – Ken Dorsey threw three touchdown passes and Santana Moss scoredtwice as Miami became bowl eligible with a 45-13 victory over Syracuse onSaturday.
Moss returned a punt for a score and caught a 16-yard touchdown pass fromDorsey, who completed 22 of 31 passes for 236 yards in his second start.
More importantly for the Hurricanes (7-4, 5-1 in the Big East), they areheaded to a bowl game for the second straight season. And in doing so, theyavenged last season’s 66-13 loss to the Orangemen (6-5, 3-4).
Miami fell behind 7-2 in the second quarter, but scored 43 straight pointsto hand Syracuse its fourth loss in five games. The Orangemen finished below.500 in conference play for the first time since 1993.
Moss sprinted 61 yards – untouched – to give Miami its first touchdown inthe second quarter. Dorsey then hit Reggie Wayne on a 17-yard fade pass toextend the lead to 17-7. Earlier, Dorsey misfired three times on the same play.
Troy Nunes, one of three quarterbacks used by Syracuse, threw aninterception on the ensuing drive, which Leonard Myers returned for a touchdownto give Miami a 24-7 lead at halftime. Nunes went 13-of-20 for 147 yards.
After adding 21 points in the third quarter, the only question that remainedwas whether the Hurricanes would match the 66 points Syracuse scored againstthem last season. It was Miami’s second-worst defeat in school history. Only a70-14 loss to Texas in 1944 was worse.
The Hurricanes did not score 66, but they tried, continuing to throw with a32-point lead in the fourth quarter. Miami’s Clinton Portis ran for 98 yards on15 carries, just shy of his fifth consecutive 100-yard game.
If Miami beats Temple next week, it would secure a berth in the Jan. 1 GatorBowl in Jacksonville against Georgia Tech. The Hurricanes needed sevenvictories to become bowl eligible because they played in the Kickoff Classic.
Despite the loss, the Orangemen likely will represent the Big East in theMusic City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn., because Pittsburgh lost Saturday.
