No. 12 Miami Heads to UNC for Key ACC Coastal Match-Up

Nov. 10, 2009

Game Notes | Coach Shannon Press Conference Quotes | Jacory Harris Press Conference Quotes

TUESDAY PRESS CONFERENCE REPLAY

CORAL GABLES, Fla. –No. 12 Miami takes to the road for another key ACC Coastal Divisional matchup when the Hurricanes head to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The game will be televised by ABC with mirror broadcast on ESPN for those markets not receiving the game on ABC.

Miami cruised to a 52-17 win over Virginia last Saturday in a game which saw the Hurricanes rack up 515 yards on offense and hold Virginia to 149 yards defensively. Junior running back Graig Cooper ran wild for a career-high 152 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown. He moved into eighth place in career rushing yard at UM with 2,001. Senior left tackle Jason Fox earned Offensive Lineman of the Week honors Monday as he helped pave the way for a Miami offense that ran for a season-high 268 yards on the ground.

Sophomore quarterback Jacory Harris had another solid performance in his last outting against the Cavaliers, going 18-of-31 for 232 yards and two TD passes. On the year, Harris has passed for 2,336 yards with 18 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and is completing 61.6 percent of his passes. Heading into Saturday’s game at North Carolina, he ranks 14th nationally and leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in passing efficiency (149.67). With three games remaining, Harris needs 664 passing yards for 3,000 yards to become the first QB since Ken Dorsey in 2002 to top that mark.

Miami receiver Leonard Hankerson hauled in his fourth touchdown reception of the season against the Cavaliers. Hankerson currently leads the team with 27 receptions for 517 yards and four touchdowns. Travis Benjamin has 428 receiving yards on 23 receptions and four TD catches while LaRon Byrd has 24 receptions for 342 yards and a touchdown.

Junior defensive lineman Allen Bailey recorded one of the team’s six tackles for loss against UVa and now has 24 total tackles on the season with team-highs in tackles for loss (10.5) and sacks (7.0). 4Colin McCarthy leads the team with 65 tackles and has 8.0 tackles for loss while fellow linebacker Darryl Sharpton ranks second with 58 tackles.

Cornerback Brandon Harris continues to play at a high level, tying for the national lead in passes broken up (12) and tying for fifth in total passes defended (13). He also ranks third on the team with 45 tackles.

Kicker/Punter Matt Bosher leads the team with 67 points (10 field goals, 37 PAT’s). On the year, Bosher ranks second in the ACC in punting (42.3) and third in field goal percentage (83.3).

GAME 10 INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009
Location: Kenan Memorial Stadium (Natural Grass), (60,000) in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. (ET)

TELEVISION – ABC (Mirror Broadcast on ESPN)
Bob Wischusen (play-by-play)
Brian Griese (color)
Webcast – ESPN360.com

Tape Delay Telecast – CSS
Mon., Nov. 9 at 7 p.m.; Thurs. Nov. 12 at Noon

LOCAL RADIO – 560 WQAM, 1450 ESPN DEPORTES
560 WQAM
Joe Zagacki (play-by-play)
Don Bailey Jr. (color analyst)
Fans can also listen online at www.wqam.com

1450 ESPN Deportes En Español
Joe Pujala (play-by-play)
Joe Martinez (color analyst)

NATIONAL RADIO – TOUCHDOWN RADIO
Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play)
Gino Torretta (color analyst)

WEBSITES
Miami (www.hurricanesports.com)
North Carolina (www.tarheelblue.com)

THE MIAMI-NORTH CAROLINA SERIES
– The Tar Heels own a 7-5 advantage in the all-time series.
– UNC owns a 3-2 advantage since Miami joined the ACC in 2004.
– The last time the Hurricanes played in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels won a high-scoring battle, 33-27.

A `CANES WIN OVER THE TAR HEELS WOULD…
– Improve Miami’s ACC record to 5-2 this season.
– Improve Miami’s road record to 4-1 this season.
– Give the Hurricanes their first ever win in Chapel Hill.
– Give the `Canes eight wins for the first time since 2005. It would also guarantee head coach Randy Shannon his best record since taking over the helm of the UM football program in 2007.

THE COACHES
Randy Shannon is in his third season as Miami’s head coach and owns an overall record of 19-15. Butch Davis is also in his third season at UNC and has a mark of 18-16 at helm in Chapel Hill. In his nine seasons as a head coach at the college level (six at Miami, three at UNC), Davis has compiled a career mark of 69-36.

SCOUTING THE TAR HEELS
North Carolina enters Saturday’s game with an overall record of 6-3 and an ACC mark of 3-2. After opening the season 3-2, the Tar Heels have won three of their last four, including back-to-back wins at No. 14 Virginia Tech and home against Duke the last two weeks.

Shaun Draughn and Ryan Houston have led the North Carolina rushing attack, with the duo combining for over 1,000 yards through nine games. Draughn leads the team with 567 yards but will miss the remainder of the season with an injury. Houston, who has 451 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns on the ground, will likely see the majority of the carries on Saturday. Quarterback T.J. Yates directs the Tar Heel passing attack. He enters Saturday’s game with 1,278 yards with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His top target through the air is running back turned wide receiver Greg Little, who has team-highs in catches (40) and receiving yards (374). Freshman Erik Highsmith is the other threat in the passing game having recorded 25 catches for 325 yards thus far.

The Tar Heels boast one of the country’s top defenses, coming in ranked in the Top 10 nationally in both rush defense (8th) and pass defense (5th). Sophomore defensive end and ACC Defensive Player of the Year candidate Robert Quinn is having an impressive 2009 campaign, entering Saturday’s game with 41 tackles, 15.5 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, 11 quarterback hurries and four forced fumbles. Behind Quinn, linebacker Quan Sturdivant leads the Tar Heels with 59 total tackles and ranks second to Quinn with 9.5 tackles for a loss. Corner Charles Brown ranks second on the team with 47 tackles and is tied with fellow defensive back Deunta Williams for a team-best three interceptions.

Kicker Casey Barth has converted 13 of 16 field goal attempts – with a long kick of 41 – and Grant Schallock averages 41.5 yards per punt. Da’Norris Searcy is one of the top punt returners in the nation, averaging 15.0 yards per return. Johnny White and Greg Little share the kick return duties, with each averaging around 20 yards per return.

SHARPTON ACCEPTS INVITATION TO EAST-WEST SHRINE GAME
Junior linebacker Darryl Sharpton has accepted an invitation to play in the 85th East-West Shrine Game. The Game will be held Jan. 23, 2010, in Orlando, Fla., kicking off at 3 p.m. EST. Sharpton joins an elite list of football greats, such as John Elway, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, and 62 NFL Hall of Famers, who have played in the East-West Shrine Game, America’s longest-running college all-star football game. While the teams are divided by East and West, the players come together for the beneficiary of the event, Shriners Hospitals for Children, an international pediatric specialty health care system. Shriners Hospitals for Children is a system of 22 hospitals dedicated to providing pediatric specialty care, innovative research and outstanding teaching programs. Children up to age 18 with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care and receive all services in a family-centered environment, without financial obligation to patients or their families. For more information about the East-West Shrine Game, please visit www.shrinegame.com.

MIAMI OWNS RARE DISTINCTION
This year’s University of Miami team might be one of the deepest team’s in the country at the running back and wide receiver positions. As of Nov. 10, Miami is the only team from a BCS conference and one of just two teams at the FBS level that have three 300-yard rushers (Javarris James, Graig Cooper and Damien Berry) and five 200-yard receivers (Leonard Hankerson, Travis Benjamin, LaRon Byrd, Aldarius Johnson and Thearon Collier). Idaho is the only other team nationally that can match the `Canes depth statistically at the offensive skill positions.

Rushing Leaders
Graig Cooper – 478
Javarris James – 421
Damien Berry – 356

Receiving Leaders
Leonard Hankerson – 517
Travis Benjamin – 428
LaRon Byrd – 342
Aldarius Johnson – 214
Thearon Collier – 201

Note: Dedrick Epps needs just 10 more yards to become the sixth `Cane to reach 200 yards receiving this year.

PIPHO EARNS ACADEMIC HONOR
Miami right tackle Matt Pipho was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team (University Division) for football in District III. Pipho, who received his degree in Biology last spring, owns a 3.39 cumulative grade point average. He has started all nine games for the Hurricanes at right tackle this season helping the Hurricanes rack up 3,618 yards of total offense. Miami ranks in the top 50 nationally in total offense and is 21st in scoring offense and 28th in passing offense. Three Academic All-District teams are chosen in each district, with those student-athletes on the All-District first teams placed on the national ballot for Academic All-America® consideration.

MIAMI VERSUS THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
The University of Miami is 34-18-1 all-time versus teams from the state of North Carolina. Since UM joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004, the Hurricanes are 10-4 against teams from the Tar Heel State. 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.

COOPER HAS CAREER DAY RUSHING
Junior running back Graig Cooper had his best day as a Hurricane rushing the football against Virginia last weekend. Cooper finished the afternoon with 152 yards on 18 carries (8.4 ypc) in addition to scoring his third touchdown of the season. He also had UM’s longest play from scrimmage this season with a 70-yard run against the Cavaliers. Heading into Saturday’s game in Chapel Hill, Cooper leads the team in rushing (478) and all-purpose (1,022) yards.