Ohio State Dash Miami Hurricanes' Title Hopes in Nightmare at the Horshoe

Jacory Harris and the Miami Hurricanes may have lost by double-digits Saturday afternoon but it could have been much different. Miami made too many offensive mistakes and gave Buckeye's quarterback Terrelle Pryor too many opportunities to beat them.

And beat them he did.

Pryor was more effective running the football than passing the football against the Hurricane defense and finished with 113 yards rushing on 20 carries. The Miami defense failed to intercept several errant throws by Pryor on a day he wasn't at his best. 

But the defense was far from the problem.

Everyone in Miami has been waiting for Harris to turn the corner and come up with a big performance in a game with huge implications. It didn't happen against the Buckeyes even though it wasn't all of his fault. The majority of his four interceptions were on the receivers who failed to hang onto the football or ran the wrong route.

That doesn't mean the junior quarterback doesn't deserve his fair share of the blame. Harris threw a pick in the red zone, which was intercepted by defensive lineman Cameron Heyward who had dropped into coverage on the play. The pick was a huge momentum swing as Heyward almost took it to the house but ran out of gas at the end of the return.

The throw by Harris illustrates the point that the QB still hasn't taken a leap as a pocket passer. He not only missed the receiver but he didn't even see Heyward in coverage.

Miami was hoping to go into the Horseshoe and come out with national championship aspirations. Instead they will have to turn their focus to winning the ACC and trying to claim a BCS bowl berth.

A game of missed opportunities and what ifs will keep the Hurricane faithful on edge over the next couple of days as they try to forget the nightmare at the Horseshoe.