'Canes Crush Gators At The Swamp, 41-16
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Sept. 7, 2002
Full recap to follow
From the Associated Press
But for every mistake Dorsey and the Hurricanes made, they came back with an even bigger play to make up for it.
Dorsey threw for four touchdowns, including two to running back Jason Geathers, and despite his up-and-down effort, the senior quarterback didn’t appear to lose ground to Grossman in the early race for the Heisman Trophy.
Under heavy pressure all night, Grossman went 19-for-45 for 191 yards and the interception. He was sacked just once, on a play that merely added insult to injury.
Trailing 41-16, Grossman went down and Miami’s Vince Wilfork celebrated with a big Gator Chomp. Wilfork drew an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty, but it barely mattered. Most of the record crowd of 85,777 was gone by then.
Grossman had a chance to give the Gators momentum in the second quarter, but after a blocked punt gave Florida the ball on the Miami 9, the Gators got called for delay of game. Three plays later, they settled for a field goal and a 10-6 lead.
The Hurricanes answered immediately with a touchdown. A few minutes after that, they showed the difference between champions and pretenders by forcing Florida to botch a punt deep in its own territory and getting a touchdown out of it for a 20-10 lead.
The victory should keep Miami in the top spot in the next Associated Press poll. The Hurricanes can claim the state championship on Oct. 12, when they play Florida State.
Zook, meanwhile, must concentrate on keeping his team together after such a humbling loss. After a get-well game next week against Ohio, the Gators travel to Tennessee on Sept. 21 for a key Southeastern Conference game against the Vols.
