No. 20 Miami Hosts Duke On Senior Day In Home Finale

Nov. 17, 2009

TUESDAY PRESS CONFERENCE REPLAY

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – No. 20 (BCS) Miami returns home to face ACC Coastal Divisional foe Duke in the regular season home finale Saturday at Land Shark Stadium. The game will kick-off at 12 p.m. and will be televised by ESPNU.

Miami fell at North Carolina last Saturday, 33-24, in Chapel Hill. The Hurricanes racked up 435 yards against the nation’s fifth ranked defense, outgaining UNC, 435-329, which was the sixth time this season Miami has gone over 400 yards in a game and third time in the last four games.

Sophomore quarterback Jacory Harris completed a career-high 28 passes, going 28-for-50 for 319 yards and a TD pass against the Tar Heels. On the year, Harris has passed for 2,655 yards with 19 touchdowns, 16 interceptions and is completing 60.7 percent of his passes. Heading into today’s game against Duke, he ranks 26th nationally in passing efficiency (141.67). With two games remaining, Harris needs 345 more passing yards to become the first Miami QB since Ken Dorsey in 2002 to top the 3,000-yard mark.

Miami receiver Leonard Hankerson caught seven passes for 92 yards against UNC. Hankerson continued his streak of being the only Hurricane to have a catch in all 10 games this season. He currently leads the team with 34 receptions for 609 yards and four touchdowns. Travis Benjamin has 447 receiving yards on 25 receptions and four TD catches while LaRon Byrd has 28 receptions for 403 yards and a touchdown.

Colin McCarthy racked up a career-high 13 tackles against the Tar Heels and leads the team with 78 tackles (42 solo, 36 assisted) and has 8.0 tackles for loss. It was his third double digit-tackle game in the last four games. Fellow linebacker Darryl Sharpton ranks second with 67 tackles after picking up nine tackles at UNC.

Junior defensive lineman Allen Bailey (27 total tackles) leads the defense with seven sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss.

Cornerback Brandon Harris ranks third nationally in passes broken up (12) while tying for fifth in total passes defended (13). He also ranks third on the team with 46 tackles.

Kicker/punter Matt Bosher leads the team with 73 points (11 field goals, 40 PAT’s). On the year, Bosher ranks second in the ACC in punting (42.7) and fifth in field goal percentage (84.6).

GAME 11 INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009
Location: Land Shark Stadium (Natural Grass), (74,916) in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Kickoff: Noon (ET)

Television – ESPNU
Clay Matvick (play-by-play)
David Diaz-Infante (color)

Webcast – ESPN360.com

Tape Delay Telecast – CSS
Mon., Nov. 23 at 7 p.m.; Thurs. Nov. 26 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)

Websites
Miami (www.hurricanesports.com)
Duke (www.goduke.com)

THE MIAMI-DUKE SERIES
– Miami owns a 5-1 record in the all-time series with Duke.
– After dropping the first meeting in 1976, the `Canes have won the last five meetings – including four since Miami joined the Atlantic Coast Conference.
– The last time Duke played in South Florida, Miami won 24-14 at the Orange Bowl in 2007. Last year, the `Canes picked up a 49-31 win at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham.
– Over the last four meetings dating back to 2005, Miami has averaged 36.25 points per game against the Blue Devils.

A `CANES WIN OVER THE BLUE DEVILS WOULD…
– Give the Hurricanes a 5-3 finish in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
– Give Miami a 5-1 home record for the 2009 season.
– Give Miami its first eight win season since 2005 when the `Canes finished 9-3.
– 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 19-16. David Cutcliffe is 53-42 in nine seasons as a collegiate head coach and 9-13 in two seasons at Duke.

ABOUT DUKE
Duke comes into Saturday’s game with an overall record of 5-5 and an Atlantic Coast Conference record of 3-3, with wins over NC State, Maryland and Virginia and losses to Virginia Tech, North Carolina and most recently, Georgia Tech. This past weekend in Durham, the Yellow Jackets defeated the Blue Devils, 49-10, at Wallace Wade Stadium.

The Blue Devils feature on the nation’s top passing games, coming in ranked ninth in the FBS in passing offense (297 ypg). Veteran quarterback Thaddeus Lewis ranks third in the ACC in both passing yards per game (264.0) and total offense (269.1). He comes in with 2,640 yards passing, with 16 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 134.22 passing efficiency. Lewis has three main targets in the passing game – wide receivers Austin Kelly (47 rec., 501 yards), Donovan Varner (46 rec., 708 yards) and Conner Vernon (44 rec., 601 yards). All three average at least 50 yards receiving per game while combining on 11 of the team’s 20 receiving touchdowns. The less frequently used running game has four backs over 100 yards this year but none that have hit the 200-yard mark yet. Desmond Scott has a team-high 197 yards on the ground while Re’quan Boyette (128 yards) leads the team with 62 carries.

On defense, linebacker Vincent Rey leads the team with 82 tackles and ranks fourth in the league with a 8.2 tackle per game average. Safety Catron Gainey is nearly as productive, ranking in a tie for eighth in the league with 7.3 tackles per contest. Cornerback Leon Wright has proven to be one of the ACC’s top pass defender, coming in with five interceptions that he has returned for 146 yards this year. Defensive end Ayanga Okpokowuruk leads Duke in both tackles for a loss (7.0) and sacks (5.0).

Kicker Will Snyderwine is 12-of-14 on field goals this year – including 8-of-9 from 30-plus yards – while punter Kevin Jones averages 39.2 yards per punt.

In the return game, Johnny Williams averages 8.3 yards per punt return and 20.6 yards per kick return. Williams is joined by Vernon (24.6 ypr) on kickoff returns.

COOPER CLOSING IN
Junior running back Graig Cooper needs just four more rushing yards to pass Willis McGahee for seventh all-time on the University of Miami’s all-time rushing yardage list. Cooper, who currently leads the team with 541 rushing yards this year, also trails teammate Javarris James (currently sixth with 2,091 career yards) by 27 yards on the ground.

McCARTHY HAVING CAREER YEAR
Junior linebacker Colin McCarthy is having the best season of his career, coming into Saturday’s game with a team-leading 78 total tackles this season. He currently ranks seventh in the league in tackles per game (7.8) and is on pace to become the second Miami defender to reach hit the 100-tackle mark over the last four seasons (Tavares Gooden recorded 119 tackles in 2007). McCarthy has reached double-digit tackles in three of Miami’s last four games, including a team-leading 13 last week at North Carolina.

GOING BOWLING
With Miami’s road win at Wake Forest on Oct. 31, the `Canes became bowl eligible with their sixth win of the season. Miami has appeared in a bowl game 23 times in the last 26 seasons and owns an all-time record of 19-15 in 34 bowl appearances overall. Last season, Miami lost a close battle with Cal in the Emerald Bowl at AT&T Park in San Francisco on Dec. 27, 2008. This year’s bowl destination will likely be determined after the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship game is played on Saturday, Dec. 5.

O’BRIEN AWARD VISITS LAND SHARK
The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award® (The O’Brien) is making its final two stops of the On-the-Road Campaign this weekend as it visits Miami’s Jacory Harris and Texas’ Colt McCoy. This will conclude the 2009 On-the-Road Campaign in which The O’Brien will have visited each of the 15 semifinalists’ stadiums to promote each quarterback’s campaign for the 2009 O’Brien Award.College football enthusiasts and fans alike are encouraged to stop by The O’Brien display and vote for their favorite Semifinalist. Fans who vote at The O’Brien display will automatically be entered into the “Defend Your Pride. Vote O’Brien Sweepstakes,” for a chance to win a trip for two to the 2010 O’Brien Awards Dinner at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas. The O’Brien displays will be open pre-game through kickoff.

GAME TIME SET FOR REGULAR SEASON FINALE
Miami’s game at USF has been tabbed for a 3:30 p.m. (ET) kick-off on Sat. Nov. 28 as announced by the Atlantic Coast Conference this week. The regular season finale from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa will be televised on ABC, making it the sixth time that Miami has appeared on the network this season.The Hurricanes and the Bulls have met only once before when Miami defeated USF, 27-7, during the 2005 season in Miami.

`CANES AT LAND SHARK
Miami is 11-3 all-time in Land Shark Stadium, going 3-0 in bowl games, 4-2 last year and 4-1 this season. The `Canes won the 1996 Carquest Bowl over Virginia, the 1998 Micron PC Bowl over NC State and the 2003 Orange Bowl over FSU before beating Charleston Southern, UCF, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech in the team’s inaugural season at its new stadium in 2008. UM opened Land Shark Stadium in 2009 with a 33-17 win over then-No. 14 Georgia Tech on Sept. 17 followed by victories over No. 8 Oklahoma (21-20 on Oct.3) and FAMU (48-16 on Oct. 10), an overtime loss to Clemson (37-40 on Oct. 24) and most recently a blowout win over Virginia (52-17 on Nov. 7) this two weeks back.