Hurricanes Flatten Troy State, 38-7
Oct. 6, 2001
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By MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer
MIAMI (AP) — The top-ranked Miami Hurricanes weren’t concerned about yards, points or votes against Troy State on Saturday.
They wanted to stay healthy, play plenty of backups and get a final tuneup before facing No. 16 Florida State next Saturday in Tallahassee, where the Seminoles haven’t lost since 1991.
Mission accomplished.
Ken Dorsey threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns and the Hurricanes overcame a slow start defensively to beat Troy State 38-7.
“When you play a team like we’re going to play next week, you don’t have to worry about not coming in ready to play,” Dorsey said. “You have to bring your A-game or otherwise you’re going to get it handed to you.”
Miami (4-0) came out flat against Division I-A newcomer Troy State (1-3), especially on defense.
The Hurricanes gave up 175 yards, 12 first downs and seven points in the first half. Had Trojans place-kicker Drew Boteler not missed two field goals – one hit the right post and the other bounced off the crossbar – it would have been a four-point game at halftime.
Miami’s defensive line got little pressure on quarterback Brock Nutter early and didn’t force Troy State to punt until there was 2:04 remaining in the second quarter.
“We came out lazy, and that’s something we know we can’t do against the tough opponents we have coming up,” defensive end Andrew Williams said.
Miami was somewhat better on offense – even though Dorsey was 18-of-30 passing, missed open receivers and found himself under steady pressure for the first time this season.
The Trojans stacked the line of scrimmage, taking away the running game and forcing Dorsey and his young receivers to beat them deep.
They did. Dorsey completed 10 passes of 15 yards or longer, making up for the struggling running game.
Clinton Portis ran for just 18 yards on seven carries, and Miami finished with 101 yards rushing – the first time the ‘Canes had been held under 200 yards rushing this season.
VIDEO FROM  |
| Ken Dorsey connects with Andre Johnson for the touchdown. 56k | 100k | 300k Troy State’s Brock Nutter rolls out and finds LeBarron Black for six. Ken Dorsey throws 22 yards, finding Kevin Beard all alone in the end zone. Edward Reed returns the INT 27 yards for the score. |
“We have excellent talent and we can be really good,” Miami coach Larry Coker said. “I don’t think we’re there yet, but we’ll find out a lot more next week. Have we been tested? I don’t know.”
The Seminoles (3-1) were idle this weekend. They have beaten Duke, Alabama-Birmingham and Wake Forest and were embarrassed 41-9 at North Carolina last month.
Miami’s early schedule has been equally unimpressive – beating Penn State, Rutgers, Pittsburgh and Troy State and outscoring them 175-35.
“Florida State is the first team that will line up and bring their game right at us,” defensive tackle Matt Walters said. “Florida State is confident enough to think they can do that and beat us. We really haven’t been tested, but Florida State will test us.”
The Hurricanes were tested early against Troy State.
The game was tied at 7 after the first quarter. Dorsey threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Andre Johnson, but the Trojans evened the score with an 11-play, 80-yard drive.
Dorsey found Kevin Beard alone in the corner of the end zone just before the half to give Miami a 17-7 lead. Then the Hurricanes opened the game up with a 21-point third quarter.
Safety Ed Reed returned an interception 27 yards on Troy State’s second play of the second half, and Miami scored on its first two possessions.
The ‘Canes drove 56 yards in six plays and 43 yards in four plays. Running backs Jarrett Payton and Willis McGahee, two of many backups who played in the second half, capped the drives with short touchdown runs.
The Hurricanes’ defense also played much better in the second half, putting constant pressure on Nutter and finishing with five sacks.
Nutter was 14-of-25 for 152 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Demontray Carter ran for 78 yards, and DeWhitt Betterson added 96 yards on nine carries for the Trojans.
“Team speed kills, and they have a ton of it on defense,” Nutter said.
So does Florida State, which will be the first significant test for the Hurricanes this season.
“We’re not going up there to take a back seat or to just play well,” Portis said. “We’re going up there to win.”
