Miami And Temple To Square Off
Dec. 3, 1999
MIAMI (AP) – The Temple Owls will face a slightly different Miami Hurricanesteam this time.
But the ‘Canes are equally as hungry for a win as they were seven weeks ago,when their game against Temple was postponed due to Hurricane Irene.
Miami lost three consecutive games before the weather washed out the game inOctober. Now, the 23rd-ranked Hurricanes are again in need of a victory as theyplay host to Temple on Saturday.
Miami (7-4, 5-1 in the Big East) is one win short of clinching a trip to theGator Bowl on Jan. 1 in Jacksonville, where it would face Georgia Tech.
“We want to finish the conference with one loss,” Miami coach Butch Davissaid. “I think the kids know where they want to go. I think from a prestigestandpoint, they know what they’d like to accomplish.”
The Hurricanes will be without quarterback Kenny Kelly for the thirdstraight game, leaving freshman Ken Dorsey to start.
Dorsey and running back Clinton Portis, another freshman, have led Miami to100 points in their last two games, a school record for back-to-back conferencecontests.
Dorsey has completed 41 of 57 passes for 430 yards with five touchdowns inthe last two weeks, and Portis has rushed for 231 yards on 32 carries andscored twice.
Temple (2-8, 2-4) also will have personnel changes, but for differentreasons.
Four Owls – tailback Elmarko Jackson, linebacker Taylor Suman and offensivelinemen Terrence Mathews and Derek Henson – were declared academicallyineligible for the season finale.
Of the four, Suman likely will be missed the most. He leads the Owls intackles with 129.
The loss of Mathews and Henson leaves Temple with an even more depletedoffensive line. Starters Tim Leach and Theo Ross already are sidelined forSaturday’s game with injuries.
Nonetheless, Temple coach Bobby Wallace said his players have not concededthe season.
“They’re not dragging, just waiting to get it over with,” Wallace said.”There’s a zip, a look in their eyes. That tells me they like what’s going onhere.
“I’m sure some kids are disappointed that we didn’t do more. But I thinkthe seniors have been an outstanding class, as far as character. So I thinkthey’re looking forward to one more chance. In all the years I’ve been around,we’ve probably had worse luck than anyone. But they’ve never lost faith. Ofcourse, this is the hardest time not to lose it.”
Even with Temple’s woes, the Hurricanes are not looking past the Owls and ata potential New Year’s Day bowl game, which would be their first since 1996.
“It’s kind of easy to overlook them with their record and everything,”Miami receiver Reggie Wayne said. “But if you overlook them, they’ll come outand surprise us. They beat Boston College, and we struggled with Boston Collegefor three quarters.
“This year, Temple is trying to damage our hopes for a big bowl game likewe were trying to damage UCLA’s hopes for a big bowl game last year. That’sjust more focus we have to have. We don’t want it to come back and haunt us.”
