Dorsey, Hurricanes Make Long-awaited Return Against Panthers
Sept. 25, 2001
From the Associated Press
Miami’s offensive standout sounds rested and ready to get back in action.Pittsburgh isn’t so sure about its top weapon on offense.
Following a near three-week layoff, Ken Dorsey and the top-ranked Hurricanesmight not have to worry about talented wideout Antonio Bryant when theyvisit the Panthers on Thursday night in a Big East matchup.
Miami (2-0, 1-0 Big East) is taking the field for the first time since a61-0 shellacking of Rutgers on Sept. 8. The team’s game the followingweekend against then-No. 13 Washington was postponed due to the terroristattacks, and the Hurricanes were off last week.
“It’s so rare during the season to get time to do stuff you like to do offthe field,” said Dorsey, who spent Saturday playing golf. “We’ve had time torelax and reflect on where we’ve been and where we want to go.”
The 6-foot-5 junior had been off to an outstanding start, joining BernieKosar (1984) as the only Miami quarterbacks to open a season withconsecutive 300-yard passing games. Dorsey has completed 34 of 52 passeswhile throwing for five touchdowns.
Bryant, last season’s Biletnikoff Award winner as college football’s topreceiver, is still hobbling with a sprained left ankle and remainsquestionable for this contest. He has been out since suffering the injuryduring a punt return in a season-opening 30-0 victory over Division I-AAEast Tennessee.
“No, he’s not 100 percent, not yet,” Pitt coach Walt Harris said of Bryant,who last season led Division I-A with 130.2 yards receiving per game. “Heran pretty well (Sunday) at the start of practice but by the end ofpractice, he was limping around pretty good.”
With or without the All-American junior, the Panthers (1-1, 0-0) should havea tough time slowing down the Hurricanes.
Miami’s winning streak is up to 11 games, currently the second-longest inthe nation behind Oklahoma’s 16-game run.
The Hurricanes, however, are wary of coming out flat following the extendedperiod away from game action.
“Are we concerned about being rusty with a 19-day layoff? There’s no doubtabout it,” said first-year coach Larry Coker said. “We were in a pretty goodrhythm, playing pretty well and we were healthy. With the layoff, we’ll see.We’re not going to let that be an excuse.”
Miami already has racked up 1,144 yards of offense, recording back-to-back500-yard games for the first time since 1998. The Hurricanes defense, whichforced nine turnovers in the first two games, has allowed seven points orfewer in five straight contests.
Last season, the Hurricanes held the Panthers to a season-low 266 yards in a35-7 victory. Miami holds an 18-9-1 lead in the series, including threestraight wins by a combined score of 106-20.
However, the Hurricanes’ only loss in five all-time Thursday games came toPittsburgh in 1997.
