Hurricane Warning Gets Downgraded

SYRACUSE, N.Y. —  Miami isn’t back, but Syracuse is.

The 21st-ranked Orangemen, whose three losses knocked them out of the national championship picture, got another stellar performance from quarterback Donovan McNabb and beat the No. 19 Hurricanes, 66-13, on Saturday.

McNabb rushed for three touchdowns and threw for two others to give Syracuse, 8-3 overall and 6-1 in the Big East, the conference title and a berth in a Bowl Championship Series game. The Orangemen will play in either the Orange Bowl or Sugar Bowl.

Miami (7-3, 5-2) was riding a four-game winning streak and intent on winning back the Big East championship that Syracuse took from the Hurricanes last year with a 33-13 victory in Miami. Now the Hurricanes will try to regroup against UCLA (10-0) in a rescheduled game at Miami on Saturday.

“People said that was a fluke last year because they were on probation,” said McNabb, who was 12 for 19 for 80 yards and rushed for 99 yards in eight carries.

“For them to look past us in this game really added a little bit more hunger to our mind-set. We came out with a lot of emotion. We just wanted to really set the tone early and let people know that we work hard just like they do.

“Just because they think they’re back doesn’t mean they’re going to come out here and kill us in our own home.”

Instead, Miami suffered the second-worst defeat in school history. Only a 70-14 loss to Texas A&M; in 1944 was worse.

Two years ago, Miami ruined Syracuse’s season with a 38-31 victory in the Carrier Dome. The loss cost the Orangemen sole possession of the conference title and a berth in a major bowl game.

This time, Syracuse struck early and often, scoring 24 points in the first quarter, and its much-maligned defense played a solid game. Miami, which entered the game averaging 190 yards rushing, was held to 149 rushing yards and 210 overall.

McNabb, whose 13-yard touchdown pass against Virginia Tech on the final play two weeks earlier gave Syracuse a dramatic victory, continued to make big plays while the Syracuse defense had two interceptions and blocked a punt as the Orangemen took a 45-7 halftime lead.

“It seemed like the harder we tried, the worse things got,” said Miami quarterback Scott Covington, who was only seven for 20 for 61 yards before being replaced by Kenny Kelly early in the fourth quarter. “It’s disappointing. We practiced hard all week and there was no reason we couldn’t come out and compete with these guys.”

Actually, there was: McNabb.

Syracuse took the opening kick and scored in six plays. Facing a third-and-seven play near midfield, McNabb searched for an open receiver, couldn’t find one and took off on a 30-yard run. Dee Brown had a 23-yard touchdown run on the next play.

After Nate Trout’s career-best 50-yard field goal, Vernon Banks blocked a punt by Miami’s Andy Crosland and McNabb followed with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Johnson for a 17-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

“It was just one of those games we hit on all eight cylinders,” Syracuse Coach Paul Pasqualoni said. “You can never go into a game like this and imagine it would turn out this way. We were prepared to win it on the last play if we had to.”

One key for Syracuse was stopping Miami running back Edgerrin James, who entered with four consecutive 100-yard rushing games. And that’s what the Orangemen did, holding him in check until the game was well out of reach. James finished with 115 yards in 18 carries.