Hurricanes Begin Work For Temple Game
Oct. 11, 2005
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Following a 52-7 win against ACC foe Duke and a two-spot jump in the polls, the sixth-ranked University of Miami football team began preparations for a non-conference game against Temple (0-6).
Once again the focus for the Hurricanes (4-1) is on themselves as they seek to build on the momentum that appears to be building after the big win against Duke, which marks the latest triumph on their four-game winning streak.
While Hurricane practices are tough enough on a regular basis, some uncharacteristically warm weather for this time of year contributed to the difficulty level. “Today was a regular summer day,” coach Larry Coker said. “We had a good fundamental day. We kind of went back as we did last week and this week and tried to get better as a football team, get better fundamentally.”
The internal focus the last few weeks seems to have the Hurricanes churning full speed ahead as the season approaches its midway point. Miami had a season-high 557 total yards of offense (255 rushing, 302 passing), while its defense limited Duke to just 128 total yards.
“And we’ll see Saturday what we have, but I think it’s really helped us,” Coker said. “Again we have to continue to work and get better at what we do.”
While the recent attention to detail and fundamentals has helped the Hurricanes post dominant performances on the scoreboard, it has also given some younger players invaluable playing experience. As a result, Coker said he will look closely when selecting which 70 players make the trip to Philadelphia to play Temple at Lincoln Financial Field this Saturday at 1 p.m.
Notes: Freshman cornerback Randy Phillips returned to practice today and Coker expects him to play soon. “First time he’s been back this week and we’ll try and work him back slowly. He’s not ready to play yet, but he’s making progress,” Coker said. “Potentially (he can play against Georgia Tech). We’re hoping, and that’s why I want to bring him back this week and hope to play him a week from Saturday.”…. Wide receiver Darnell Jenkins returned to practice on a limited basis Tuesday and Coker anticipates “him being ready, we’ll see how it goes the rest of the week.”….Offensive lineman Cyrim Wimbs practiced some as well….Defensive tackle Bryan Pata did not have an MRI and will be reevaluated later in the week.
