Post Game Notes

Oct. 4, 2008

Dolphin Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla.

AND SO WE MEET AGAIN… Today marks the second meeting between the Hurricanes and Seminoles in Dolphin Stadium. Miami was victorious in the previous meeting, 16-14, to win the 2003 Orange Bowl. Despite today’s loss, the Hurricanes continue to lead the all-time series 30-23 and fall to 1-1 versus the Seminoles in Dolphin Stadium. MAKING IT TO THE PROS… Miami leads all schools with 46 players currently in the NFL, followed by Florida State in second place with 37. OCTOBERFEST… Since 2000, the Hurricanes are 24-7 during the month of October, including a 7-2 mark during the first week of the month. UM has gone 7-5 in October ACC games since joining the league in 2004. Miami still owns the 9-8 edge over FSU in October games this century. SUNSHINE STATE OPPONENTS… The Hurricanes have won 16 of their last 20 games versus Sunshine State opponents since 2000, including a 10-2 mark at home. CLOSE CALLS… History has favored the Hurricanes in close games in the UM-FSU series. When a game is decided by four points or fewer, Miami is 10-3 versus FSU, with those three losses coming in 2008, 2006 and 2005. I’LL TAKE THAT… True freshman Sean Spence recorded his first career interception and returned it seven yards for his first career touchdown in the fourth quarter to bring Miami within a touchdown of Florida State with 11:23 remaining in the game. It was Miami’s second interception of the season. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS… True freshman Travis Benjamin recorded a career-high two touchdowns this afternoon – the first of his career on an 18-yard run in the third quarter and his second on a career-long 51 yard reception from running back Graig Cooper later in the same quarter.

Also forcing opponents to take notice on special teams, Benjamin had a career-long 57 yard kickoff return in the second quarter today and added a 42-yard return in the third quarter. For the game, he returned six kickoffs for 185 yards – the best performance by a Miami kick returner this season.

He finished today with 274 all-purpose yards.

MULTI-TALENTED… Graig Cooper’s 51-yard touchdown pass to Travis Benjamin in the third quarter marked the first of his career. The last time a non-quarterback threw for a Miami touchdown was a 26-yard TD pass from kicker Francesco Zampogna to DajLeon Farr on Oct. 20, 2007, in UM’s 37-29 win at Florida State.

Also out of the norm, Miami punter Matt Bosher ran for his first first down with a nine-yard run in the fourth quarter.

THAT’S A FIRST… Offensive lineman Jason Fox recorded the first touchdown of his career with a five-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. A RUSH TO VICTORY… Since 1988, the team that rushes for more yards in this series has won the game 17 of 22 times. At the half, FSU had 172 yards to Miami’s 14 and went on to victory with a total of 281 rushing yards on 54 carries to just 51 rushing yards on 14 carries by UM. DON’T BLINK… Twelve of UM’s 16 offensive touchdowns this season have come on drives of three minutes or shorter, with six of those TDs coming in under 36 seconds. Travis Benjamin’s first career touchdown today, an 18-yard run in the third quarter, was the quickest score of the season for the Hurricanes, with the one-play scoring drive taking just seven seconds. He added another quickie in the third quarter, with a 51-yard touchdown reception from running back Graig Cooper scoring in just 21 seconds.OpponentTDDriveTimeCSUJacory Harris 30-yard run7-672:37CSUJavarris James 7-yard run9-434:19CSULeonard Hankerson 7-yd pass from Harris5-602:15CSUGraig Cooper 14-yard run2-140:12CSUDerron Thomas 5-yard run6-602:55CSUShawnbrey McNeal 1-yard run7-493:44TAMUGraig Cooper 19-yard run4-591:44TAMUGraig Cooper 51-yard run2-620:35TAMUThearon Collier 26-yd pass from Marve3-410:27TAMUKayne Farquharson 15-yd pass from Marve1-150:08UNCKayne Farquharson 9-yd pass from Marve8-893:58UNCGraig Cooper 11-yd pass from Marve3-110:50UNCAldarius Johnson 4-yd pass from Marve8-374:00FSUTravis Benjamin 18-yd run1-180:07FSUTravis Benjamin 51-yd pass from Cooper1-510:21FSUJason Fox 5-yd run15-783:43 TAKE THAT… Adewale Ojomo recovered the first fumble of his career in the third quarter on a Christian Ponder fumble. WRAP ‘EM UP… Sean Spence recorded a career-high six tackles (five solo, one assisted) by the end of the first quarter and had 10 tackles for the game (seven solo, three assisted). The freshman’s previous high was five tackles at No. 5 Florida.

Darryl Sharpton and Anthony Reddick posted a season-high eight tackles (six solo, two assisted) apiece.

FIRST-ROUND PICK… Bruce Johnson made his first interception of the season and the second of his career, picking off a Christian Ponder pass in the endzone during Florida State’s first series today. It is the second interception this season by the Hurricanes. RUNNING WILD… FSU quarterback Christian Ponder ran for 107 first-half yards and finished with a game-high 144 rushing yards on 19 carries for the game. The last opposing QB to run for more than 100 yards versus Miami was Virginia Tech’s Bryan Randall on Dec. 7, 2002. In a 56-45 Miami win, Randall ran for 132 yards on 25 carries. The top-ranked Hurricanes’ win over the No. 14 Hokies helped Miami earn an invitation to the Fiesta Bowl.

The Seminoles were the first team to rush for more than 100 yards versus the Hurricanes this season, finishing with 281 yards. The last team to rush for over 200 yards against UM was Georgia Tech, with 264 yards on 50 carries in a 17-14 win over Miami on Oct. 13, 2007. The Hurricanes’ rushing defense entered the game ranked seventh in the nation after allowing just 65 yards on the ground per game this season.

CAREER BEST… True freshman Aldarius Johnson had a career-long reception of 27 yards in the fourth quarter, finishing with a career-high 55 yards on five receptions. IN THE ZONE… Including today’s 3-4 effort, the Hurricanes are a near-perfect 17-of-20 in the red zone on offense this season. TODAY’S CAPTAINS… Today’s captains for Miami are Jason Fox, Glenn Cook and Chavez Grant. START IT UP… Miami’s offensive starters today are: Aldarius Johnson (WR), Jason Fox (LT), AJ Trump (RG), Xavier Shannon (C), Orlando Franklin (LG), Chris Rutledge (RT), Sam Shields (WR), Chris Zellner (TE), Robert Marve (QB), Patrick Hill (FB) and Graig Cooper (HB).

Miami’s defensive starters are: Brandon Harris (LCB), Sean Spence (SLB), Lovon Ponder (S), Steven Wesley (LE), Dwayne Hendricks (LT), Joe Joseph (RT), Eric Moncur (RE), Darryl Sharpton (SLB), Glenn Cook (MLB), Bruce Johnson (RCB) and Anthony Reddick (S).