Miami To Host Wake Forest For Homecoming Saturday
Oct. 21, 2008
WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS AT MIAMI HURRICANES
Date: Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008
Location: Dolphin Stadium – Prescription AthleticTurf (Natural Grass), (74,916) in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Kickoff: Noon (ET)
TV: The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU, with Dave Armstrong (play by play) and Larry Coker (color analyst).
Tape Delay Telecast: On CSS, Tuesday Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., with announcers Jason Solodkin (play-by-play) and K.C. Jones (color).
Local Radio:The Hurricanes Radio Network (WQAM 560 AM) will carry the game live with Joe Zagacki (play by play), Don Bailey Jr. (analysis) and Brian London (sideline reporter). Fans can also listen online at www.wqam.com.
Radio En Espanol: The game will broadcast in Spanish on 1450 ESPN Deportes (1450 AM) with Joe Pujala (play by play) and Joe Martinez (analysis).
Websites: Miami (www.hurricanesports.com) and Wake Forest (www.wakeforestsports.com)
THE GAME
Miami plays it second-to-last home game when the Hurricanes welcome Wake Forest for Homecoming. Kickoff is scheduled for noon at Dolphin Stadium and the game will be televised on ESPNU.
The Hurricanes are coming off a 49-31 ACC Coastal Division road win at Duke, which snapped a six-game conference losing streak. Freshman quarterback Jacory Harris threw a career-high four touchdown passes and ran for another touchdown. He completed 18-of-28 passes for 185 yards and rushed 10 times for 53 yards. He was the first Miami quarterback since Kyle Wright against Wake Forest in 2005 to toss four TDs. He also was the first Hurricane since Wright to account for five touchdowns in a game.
Freshman receiver Aldarius Johnson caught a career-high eight receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown against the Blue Devils. He now leads the team with 20 catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, safety Anthony Reddick matched a career-high with 12 tackles while linebacker Darryl Sharpton added 10 tackles in the Duke game. Senior linebacker Glenn Cook leads the team with 45 total tackles which includes a team-best seven tackles for loss. Reddick and Sharpton both have 42 tackles on the season. The Hurricanes are 21st nationally in overall defense and 20th in rushing defense.
In three ACC games, UM has been tough to stop offensively. The Hurricanes lead the ACC in scoring offense with 37.3 points per game, which is 10 more points a game than Boston College, which averages 27.3 points in ACC play. The Hurricanes are 30th nationally in scoring offense (32.6 points per game).
THE OPPONENT
Wake Forest is coming off a 26-0 loss at Maryland and bring a 4-2 overall record and 2-1 record in the ACC Atlantic Division. The Demon Deacons are 22nd nationally in scoring defense, 30th in total defense, fourth in turnover margin and 28th in pass defense. The Deacs are allowing just 16.8 points per game.
Junior quarterback Riley Skinner leads the ACC in passing averaging 214.5 yards per game. He has completed 138-of-212 passes for 1,287 yards and seven touchdowns while completing 65.1 percent of his passes. Receiver DJ Boldin has 38 receptions for 383 yards and one touchdown.
Linebacker Aaron Curry leads the team with 50 tackles and five tackles for loss. Wake Forest has 10 interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries. Defensive backs Kevin Patterson and Alphonso Smith each have three interceptions.
THE COACHES
Randy Shannon is 9-10 overall and is in his second season at Miami. Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe is 50-41 in his eighth season with the Demon Deacons.
THE SERIES
This will be only the ninth game between the two schools, with Miami holding a 5-3 lead in the series. Wake Forest won the first meeting in 1928, 13-6, but UM has won the last four meetings, including both meetings since Miami joined the ACC. UM won 47-17 in Winston Salem, N.C. in 2005. The last time, the team’s met in Miami, the Hurricanes won 52-7, in 2004.
SWEET 16
Sixteen Hurricanes – including seven true freshmen – have already reached the end zone through Miami’s first seven games. Graig Cooper (6), Travis Benjamin 4), Jacory Harris (2), Aldarius Johnson (2), Kayne Farquharson (2), Shawnbrey McNeal (2), Laron Byrd (1), Javarris James (1), Jason Fox (1), Davon Johnson (1), Chris Zellner (1), Derron Thomas (1), Thearon Collier (1), Leonard Hankerson (1), Sean Spence (1) and Glenn Cook (1) have all reached paydirt at least once this season.
A number of players who see regular action will be looking for their first touchdown of the season on Saturday, including freshman quarterback Robert Marve, junior tight end Dedrick Epps, junior wide receiver Sam Shields and senior wide receiver Khalil Jones, among others.
Miami is second to only Utah in different players that have scored a touchdown this season, with 18 Utes – two ahead of UM – having scored this season.
Last year, UM had 11 players with a touchdown through the first seven games, while in 2006 only 10 players had scored at this point in the year. In both seasons, only 14 players had scored a touchdown by the end of the year. In 2005, only 12 players scored touchdowns (nine at the seven-game mark), while in 2004, 12 players had a TD at the seven-game mark with 16 eventually scoring by the end of the season.
FINDING FIFTY
Junior linebacker Darryl Sharpton has been UM’s most consistent tackler as of late, collecting 25 tackles the last three games (8.3 per game). Three weeks ago against Florida State, Sharpton had eight tackles (six solo, two assists), the next week against UCF he had seven tackles (four solo, three assists) and this past week against Duke he collected a season-high 10 tackles (five solo, five assists). In each of the last three games, he has one tackle for a loss, including an eight-yard sack against UCF.
FRESHMEN FRENZY
Seven University of Miami freshmen have scored a touchdown this season, easily the highest total in the country. No two programs in the country can combine to equal UM’s freshmen total, with seven schools ranking in a tie for second nationally with three freshmen who have scored. Travis Benjamin, who is second on the team with four touchdowns this season, leads a pack of freshmen that includes Jacory Harris and Aldarius Johnson (2 touchdowns apiece) and four more that have reached paydirt once in Laron Byrd, Davon Johnson, Thearon Collier and Sean Spence.
YOUTH IS SERVED
Miami’s top five performers in terms of all-purpose yards gained this season are either in their first or second year in the UM program. Freshman Travis Benjamin leads the team with 739 all-purpose yards, while sophomore Graig Cooper sits in second with 623 yards. Freshman Aldarius Johnson, who had a team-high 84 yards receiving against Duke, ranks third with 195 yards while senior Kayne Farquharson, a junior college transfer last year, ranks fourth with 163 yards. Finally, freshman Thearon Collier is fifth with 161 yards despite missing the Florida State game three weeks ago.
Here are some other notes on the young players at UM:
– True freshman have accounted for 1,405 of UM’s 2,994 all-purpose yards this season (47%).
– Players in their first two years at UM have accounted for 2,412 of UM’s 2,994 all-purpose yards this season (81%).
– 21 of UM’s 29 touchdowns this season have been scored by either a sophomore or freshman.
MIAMI VS. THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
The University of Miami is 33-18-1 all-time versus teams from the state of North Carolina. Since UM joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004, the Hurricanes are 9-4 against teams from the Tar Heel State. Prior to two late season losses to N.C. teams last season, the Hurricanes had seven straight wins against the state from late 2004 to early last year.
Before Miami joined the ACC, the `Canes rarely faced teams from North Carolina, playing just four games against N.C. teams from the time Dennis Erickson took over the program in 1989 to the team’s last year in the BIG EAST in 2003. Over that 15-year span, UM faced East Carolina three times and NC State once.
OCTOBER SUCCESS
Since the turn of the century, Miami is 26-7 in the month of October. UM has faced 13 ACC opponents in the month of September since joining the league back in 2004, holding a record of 8-5 advantage over that time.
