Recap and More: Hurricanes Fall to Buckeyes

Sept. 11, 2010

Notes | Final Stats

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Terrelle Pryor ran for 113 yards and a touchdown and passed for another Saturday and No. 2 Ohio State intercepted Jacory Harris four times in a 36-24 victory over 12th-ranked Miami on Saturday.

The last time the teams had met was in the national championship game at the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, with the Buckeyes taking a dramatic and controversial 31-24 victory in double-overtime.

The Buckeyes (2-0) stayed perfect and spoiled the Hurricanes’ (1-1) bid for top national billing.

Trailing 26-17 at the half, Miami took the second-half kickoff and drove to a first down at the Ohio State 6. But on third-and-goal, Harris’ pass over the middle was wide of the mark and intercepted by burly Buckeyes defensive end Cameron Heyward, who rumbled 80 yards.

That set up Pryor’s touchdown run. He rolled right, looking to pass, then reversed field and scored untouched.

The Hurricanes, whose earlier scores both came on kick returns, scored on Harris’ 9-yard pass to Chase Ford on the first play of the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 36-24.

Miami got the ball just once more, marching down the field only to lose it on downs at the Ohio State 39 with 7½ minutes left. The Buckeyes, with Pryor picking up big yardage on runs, then played keep-a-way the rest of the game.

Devin Barclay tied an Ohio State record with five field goals.

The Buckeyes dominated, piling up 260 yards to just 104 with three turnovers for the Hurricanes. But Miami twice returned kicks for long scores. The first was Lamar Miller’s 88-yard kickoff return.

After Ohio State seemed to grab control at 20-10 on Dan Herron’s 4-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter, Travis Benjamin brought a punt back 79 yards for another score. The Buckeyes tried to pooch kick or even kick the ball out of bounds the rest of the day to keep it away from the ‘Canes.

Harris was intercepted three times in the first half, but none was poorly thrown. The first was tipped by Ohio State’s C.J. Barnett, into the hands of Nathan Williams, setting up Barclay’s field goal. The second pick was a result of receiver Benjamin not even looking for the ball, with Chimdi Chekwa grabbing the throw to set up Herron’s TD run. Then Harris hit Benjamin on a medium-length pass along the right sideline, but Benjamin bobbled the ball into Chekwa’s hands to set up yet another Barclay field goal.

Three times in the half, a Pryor pass was touched first by a Miami defender but none of them were intercepted.

TAKIN IT BACK: Redshirt freshman running back Lamar Miller – the reigning ACC Rookie of the Week – returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. It was Miller’s first career touchdown return. Junior wide receiver Travis Benjamin followed Miller’s return with a 79- yard punt return for a touchdown with 3:04 left in the first half.

The last time, a Miami player returned a kickoff for a touchdown was Devin Hester at NC State on Oct. 23, 2004. Hester’s return went for 100 yards.

Benjamin’s punt return of 79 yards tied for the 10th longest in school history. It also was his first career punt return for a touchdown and the first for Miami since Thearon Collier’s 60-yard punt return last season against Virginia.

WE’RE IN GOOD HANDS: With a 6-yard reception from Jacory Harris in the first series of the game, Leonard Hankerson has now caught a pass in 15-straight games.

Hankerson also finished with seven receptions for 90 yards. The seven catches was one shy of his career-high.

SPENCE GETS CAREER MARK: Linebacker Sean Spence recorded a career-high 11 tackles to lead the Hurricanes’ defense. His previous career-high of 10 happened twice, most recently against Oklahoma in 2009.

BERRY ALMOST GETS 100: Damien Berry had 109 yards of offense today, coming just six yards short of his second career 100-yard rushing game. Berry finished the game with 16 carries for 94 yards to go along with two catches for 15 yards.

OFFENSE PUTS UP NUMBERS: Despite the loss, Miami neared Ohio State in a number of offensive marks, including net yards (OSU – 414, Miami – 353), yards passing (Ohio State – 233, Miami – 232) and first downs (OSU – 23, Miami – 20).

QUICK HIT: Miami notched its fourth and fifth scoring drives of under two minutes versus Ohio State. Here’s a look at Miami’s quick strikes thus far this season: Plays-Yards TOP Result Opponent 7-63 1:40 Leonard Hankerson 19-yd TD catch FAMU 6-64 1:17 Hankerson 40-yd TD catch FAMU 6-55 1:51 Mike James 1-yd TD run FAMU 7-19 1:58 Matt Bosher 51-yard field goal OSU 7-60 1:37 Chase Ford 9-yd TD catch OSU University of Miami / Department of Athletics / Sports Media Relations 5821 San Amaro Drive / Coral Gables, Florida 33146 phone 305.284.3244 / fax 305.284.2807 / hurricanesports.com

THROUGH THE UPRIGHTS: All-ACC punter/kicker Matt Bosher extended his streak to 97 straight PAT’s made – the third best streak in a career in Miami history. He needs two more to move into a tie for second place.

Bosher broke the school record for consecutive fields goals made (13 by Dane Prewitt in 1994) as he connected on his 14th in a row with a 51-yarder with 13:05 to go in the second quarter, connecting on a 51-yard kick. He had made 14-straight field goals in a row dating back to the 2009 season. It was the fourth 50-yard plus field goal of Bosher’s career.

TODAY’S STARTERS: Miami’s offensive starters today were: Jacory Harris (QB), Damien Berry (HB), Travis Benjamin (WR), Leonard Hankerson (WR), Richard Gordon (TE), Harland Gunn (LG), Orlando Franklin (LT), Brandon Washington (RG), Tyler Horn (C), Ben Jones (RT) and Chase Ford (TE). Starting for Miami on defense was: Olivier Vernon (DE), Marcus Forston (DT), Josh Holmes (DT), Allen Bailey (DE), Colin McCarthy (LB), Sean Spence (LB), Kylan Robinson (LB), Brandon Harris (CB), Vaughn Telemaque (FS), Ray Ray Armstrong (SS) and DeMarcus Van Dyke (CB).

TODAY’S CAPTAINS: The 2010 captains for Miami are Jacory Harris, Matt Bosher, Colin McCarthy, Pat Hill, Leonard Hankerson and Allen Bailey. Representing the captains for the coin toss were Bosher, Bailey, Hill and Harris.