Every Second Counts

By Christy Cabrera Chirinos
HurricaneSports.com
 
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Shaquille Quarterman still remembers standing on the sideline, watching, waiting and praying. There was, he remembered, a lot of praying.
 
At that point, there wasn’t much more Quarterman and his defensive teammates could do. Florida State had just taken the lead with 1:24 left and looked poised – again – to break Miami’s heart, just as it had for the previous seven years.
 
Not that far away, running back DeeJay Dallas – then a freshman – had his eyes on Hurricanes quarterback Malik Rosier, who was, inexplicably, asking the rabid 78,169 fans jammed in to Doak Campbell Stadium to make more noise, even as the Miami offense tried to work.
 
But after a pair of incompletions, Rosier connected with Braxton Berrios on a 17-yard cross that kept the Hurricanes moving. Then Travis Homer picked up 24 yards on back-to-back carries. Two more incompletions forced the Hurricanes into another long third down. Rosier and Berrios delivered again, this time hooking up on an 11-yard pass play that kept Miami’s drive alive and moved the Hurricanes deeper into Florida State territory. Miami, down three points, was in field goal range. 
 
Then, with just seconds left in the game, Rosier heaved the ball downfield and an unexpected hero emerged in the Miami-Florida State series.
 
Receiver Darrell Langham, who hadn’t caught a single pass all day, snagged Rosier’s throw, stretched his arms out and scored on a 23-yard touchdown that put Miami back on top and gave the Hurricanes a 24-20 win.
 

On Saturday, the Hurricanes will return to Doak Campbell for the first time since that early October afternoon in 2017, an afternoon they say changed the course of their season.
 
There’s hope a win like that that can do the same this year, with Miami hoping to improve on its 4-4 record and extend its streak to three straight wins over the rival Seminoles.
 
“For that 2017 team, for the whole program, it meant the start of a new era. Before that, Miami had lost to Florida State seven times,” Dallas said. “From that day, the guys that were in that locker room, that were a part of the program then, we just want to make sure the new guys understand we don’t lose to Florida State. That’s not what we do. That’s not Miami.”
 
Added linebacker Michael Pinckney, “That win turned us over. It really turned us over. 2017 reshaped our program, especially that game. It had been seven years. We ended that streak, something that was long overdue. … That game was a turning point. We had great guys on our team. Darrell Langham. Braxton Berrios. And those guys wanted it. I feel like the game fell in our favor because we put in that work and after that, you saw we went far that year.”
 
After leaving Tallahassee, the Hurricanes would go on to win six straight, clinch their first Coastal Division crown and earn a berth in the Orange Bowl.
   
For some of the players involved on that fateful drive, the memories endure.
 
Rosier wrapped up his Miami career a season later and is now a volunteer in the Hurricanes’ recruiting department with hopes of breaking into coaching.
 
He’d go on to play in several memorable games after the 2017 win in Tallahassee – like Miami’s 41-8 win over Notre Dame weeks later – but still, fans ask him about his connection with Langham and about the drive that changed Miami’s fortunes.
 
And for Rosier, knowing that play will long be remembered is something special.
 
“I’ll see fans and they still say, ‘Thank you for breaking the streak, thank you for this, thank you for that’ and it’s nice to feel that appreciation,” Rosier said. “Some people know I was born and raised a Miami fan. I was there when Jacory Harris beat them at Florida State. I was in that end zone, with the Miami fans and my dad. It means everything to me to know that my name is there with some of the great guys that were able to beat Florida State. It’s not an easy task. There have been some great quarterbacks here that never beat Florida State at all. To have that accomplishment, to have my throw go down as one of the moments in the FSU-Miami history means everything to me.”
 
Last year, Brevin Jordan and quarterback N’Kosi Perry added their names to Miami-FSU lore, the tight end catching the eventual game-winning touchdown in the Hurricanes’ 28-27 victory and the quarterback engineering an epic comeback that had Miami rallying all the way back from a 20-point deficit.
 
Only time will who the next set of heroes will be in the Miami-Florida State series, but one thing is certain: whoever it may be will long be remembered, no matter what may happen beyond Saturday afternoon.
 
“For a guy like Darrell Langham to have that moment, it’s a great example of the times where the guys that make the plays in those game-winning situations, they’re not always the star of the team,” head coach Manny Diaz said. “I don’t even think he played a lot, but that’s sort of how fate had it. You can’t ever predict who’s going to make that play that goes into the history of the rivalry.”