Hurricane Force Winds Makes Way For Orlando

The No. 9 Miami Hurricanes face their most important game of the 2009 season this Saturday when they make their way to Orlando to face UCF.

Miami played the toughest schedule in college football by facing four top-18 teams in their first four games, but now every game they face is the next most important game and this week it is the UCF game.

Last season, the Hurricanes escaped with a sloppy 20-14 win at home in the first meeting against the Knights.

Miami (4-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) entered the UCF game with a 2-3 record, but the win catapulted them to a five game winning streak.

UCF (3-2, 1-2 Conference USA) kept the game close a year ago, however there are big differences for each team heading into Saturday's matchup. 

For one, quarterback Jacory Harris is the signal caller, not Robert Marve who transferred at the end of last season.

Last year, Harris went 4-of-6 for 16 yards in limited action.  The Miami offense amassed 216 total yards, only 88 of which came through the air.

With 05:21 remaining in the UCF game Graig Cooper scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to give Miami a 20-7 lead.  The Knights secured momentum on the ensuing kickoff when Joe Burnett returned it 91 yards to make it a 6-point game.  Miami was able to run out the clock to survive the scare.

Another is the addition of offensive coordinator Mark Whipple who replaced Patrick Nix.  In a game that Miami looked terrible offensively they were able to avoid one of the biggest upsets for a program that was struggling to regain its prominence. 

This season alone, Whipple and the Miami offense that has been praised for their aerial attack against No. 18 Florida State, No. 14 Georgia Tech and No. 8 Oklahoma.

"[UCF] Coach [George] O'Leary has done a great job to get that program where it needs to be at,” head coach Randy Shannon said Tuesday at the team press conference.  “They are a tough football team. They want to keep the game [close] in the fourth quarter so they have an opportunity to try and win the game.

“For us as a team, we have to get back to starting fast like we did against Florida A&M and finish the game strong. We have to go out there and try to win all four quarters of this football game."  

Miami looks to improve to 5-1 this season, the first time that would happen since 2005.  The Hurricanes face their third non-conference opponent of the season. 

Harris enters Saturday’s game ranked 17th nationally in passing efficiency but will have to be careful about his turnovers.  He has thrown seven interceptions including two in at least three games this year.  Aside from that he has been superb this year including the most passing yards for a Miami quarterback in game against Florida State when he threw for 386 yards.

He understands that the defenses are picking up on the Miami passing game and that he will have to adjust to the reads he gets before he takes a snap.

"The first couple of weeks the deep passes were open," Harris said in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "I have to get used to switching, because now teams are starting to play soft on us and giving up the short routes."

The receiving corps has been a staple for this offense. wide receivers Travis Benjamin, LaRon Byrd and Leonard Hankerson have each had at least one reception of 40 yards.  Harris has found 14 different targets this season through the air.

Last season, the Miami running game was held in tact by the UCF defense, totaling 128 yards, but Miami's ground game has expanded this year.  Javarris James had a career night against the Sooners rushing for 150 yards and Cooper has been a force to be reckoned with averaging 165-all purpose yards per game.

But don't forget Damien Berry, who had a break-out performace with 162 yards and a touchdown against Florida A&M last week.

The Miami injury list has been ravaged by its own storm.  Out for the season is defensive lineman Marcus Forston, an important piece to that front four, Adewale Ojomo and linebacker Jordan Futch. 

Also out for Saturday’s game include speedy wide receiver Aldarius Johnson, defensive back Randy Phillips and defensive lineman Eric Moncur, Cooper is a probable to play after missing last week.

Against the Knights, the Hurricane defense allowed 78 yards of total offense last year and completely shut down the UCF run game.  This year, UCF running back Brynn Harvey has carried the load for the Knights and is fresh off a career day against Memphis two weeks ago, rushing for 219 yards.

The Miami defense has played sound football for the most part.  They impressive against No. 14 Georgia Tech, allowing just 95 rushing yards in a 33-14 win, a rare feat considering GT has run the ball 81 percent of the time this season.

Miami linebacker Colin McCarthy leads the team with 38 tackles after missing much of the 2008 season with an injury.  Sean Spence has also improved this season after a slow start ranking second on the team with 27 tackles.

In the secondary defensive back Brandon Harris had five-pass breakups against Florida A&M and leads the ACC with 10 on the year. 

Vaughn Telemaque has made a name for himself in the defensive backfield. With 17 tackles Shannon said he notices him improvement this season.

“He is doing a great job for us,” Shannon said.  “If you notice the last two games, he has made some calls for us against Oklahoma. The more he plays, the better off he will be as a football player.”

UCF has lost to two ranked teams at Bright House Networks Stadium (opened in 2007) by a combined 10-points, 35-32 to No. 6 Texas in ‘07 and to No. 17 USF 31-24 in 2008. With 45,000 in attendance expect the on-campus stadium to be an advantage for UCF but Miami has played in more hostile environments, they opened up the season at Florida State in front of 81,077 at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Saturday is a potential trap game for Miami, but they know what happens when they do not get up for games.