Miami Dominates UCF In Orlando

Orlando—No. 9 Miami handed UCF its worst loss at three-year-old Bright House Networks Stadium with a 27-7 win.

Miami left Orlando 5-1 in front of a record Bright House crowd of 48,453 and a cold front Saturday night.  This is Miami’s best start since the 2005 season and best start under third-year head coach Randy Shannon.

Miami faced a good challenge from UCF (3-3), who sacked quarterback Jacory Harris six times.  Still Harris was able to complete 20 of 26 for 293 yards and a touchdown.  This was his second-highest passing total behind the 386 he threw for against Florida State earlier this season. 

"We got a positive out of something that could have been negative," Shannon said. "Tough situation for the defense, but they held in there and got the turnover. Those sort of changes are really big for us right now."

Miami led 10-0 at the half on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Harris to wide receiver Leonard Hankerson with 01:46 left in the first quarter.  The booth reviewed the play and the rule was confirmed, Hankerson had a foot inbounds to give Miami a 7-0 lead. 

Kicker Matt Bosher added a 31-yard field goal in the second quarter to lift Miami by 10.

The Hurricanes opened the second half by stopping the Knights after four plays on their opening possession.  Three plays, 51-yards and 43-seconds later Miami took a 17-0 lead on running back Javarris James’ 5-yard touchdown run with 13:18 to go.

James gained 65 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown run.  Following James’ first two carries of the night he moved into seventh place on the all-time career-rushing list, past Frank Gore. 

James amassed the 2,000-yard milestone this Saturday, joining the likes of Willis McGahee, Danyell Ferguson, Clinton Portis, James Jackson, his cousin Edgerrin James and Ottis Anderson.   James has rushed for 2,032 total yards at Miami.  Anderson sits at the top with 3,331 yards and Edgerrin rushed for 2,960 yards while at Miami.

James said he was honored with the accomplishment but more satisfied his team won the game.

"It's a good accomplishment," James said. "But I'm happy we won. I'm more excited with the win."

On the ensuing drive the Knights marched 80-yards down the field to narrow the Hurricanes lead to 17-7, on an 8-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brett Hodges to wide receiver Rocky Ross with 09:15 remaining in the third quarter.

UCF had a golden opportunity to do some damage following a Miami lapse.  On fourth-and-16 the snap sailed over Bosher’s head before he booted the ball out of the back of end zone giving UCF the ball at the Miami 2-yard line.

On first-and-10 Hodges rolled out to the right with the option pitching to running back Brynn Harvey, who was tackled at the 6-yard line.  Hodges then threw an incomplete pass on second down and on third cornerback Jared Campbell blind sighted Hodges with the blitz forcing an interception by Colin McCarthy at the Miami 10-yard line.  Hodges was down following the hit and missed a few plays in the game.

The Knights had two red zone possessions where they failed to convert points.  On the team’s first drive of the game kicker Nick Cattoi missed a 32-yard field goal wide left.

The Miami defense kept UCF at bay for much of the game.  Linebacker Darryl Sharpton led the team with 11 tackles, eight of those coming in the first half.  Sharpton had eight tackles against Georgia Tech earlier this season, then a season-high.

Cornerback Brandon Harris and linebacker Sean Spence each totaled seven.  Spence added two sacks to his body of work.  He recorded two sacks in his first season at Miami.

UCF running back Brynn Harvey was kept in check with only 25 yards on 12 carries.  A week ago he rushed for 219 yards on 42 carries against Memphis.

For the Hurricanes they had several good drives end on the pressure forced by the Knights defensive line and linebackers.  The sacks put Miami in third-and-long situations.

When it counted Harris got things done.  Nine different receivers caught a pass including LaRon Byrd who caught a career-high five passes for 85 yards, also a career-high. Hankerson had four receptions for 64 yards including a 23-yard touchdown pass.

Bosher extended the lead to 20-7 late in the third quarter with a 46-yard field goal, the second of his two on the night and making him 5 of 7 on the season.

Miami put the game away early in the fourth quarter on 3-yard touchdown run by running back Damien Berry to make it 27-7.

Berry carried the ball 14 times for 60 yards and a touchdown.  Berry rushed for 162 yards last week against Florida A&M, in his first game at the running back position with Miami.

The Miami win on the road is only the sixth loss UCF has suffered at their on-campus stadium, this one being the largest margin of defeat.  A year ago UCF dropped 15-0 decision to UAB on November 29th.

Miami received good news before their game ended, in the form of a No. 19 Georgia Tech win over No. 4 Virginia Tech.  The loss has all three-teams tied atop the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) coastal division.

"Kind of made me smile a little bit," James said, acknowledging that he checked the scoreboard in the fourth quarter.”

The Hurricanes return home to take on the Clemson Tigers next Saturday at Land Shark Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.