PHILADELPHIA - If Miami displayed any bit of a
letdown on Saturday, it did not involve Willis McGahee.
Willis McGahee ran for 134 yards and four touchdowns as top-ranked
Miami overcame a sluggish first half and extended its winning
streak to 25 games with a 44-21 victory over Temple in the Big
East Conference opener for both schools.
The Hurricanes (3-0, 1-0 Big East) posted an emotional 41-16 win
at Florida last week and had to guard against overconfidence
against Temple, the traditional Big East doormat.
Miami built an early 21-0 lead, but back-to-back miscues allowed
the Owls (1-2, 0-1) to stay within 10 points at intermission.
But Temple's Tanardo Sharps fumbled on its first possession of
the second half and Willis McGahee later scored on a one-yard run to
make it a 31-14 game.
"I have played better. A couple of times I was in a one-on-one
and didn't make a play," Willis McGahee said. "That's something I have
to work on - open-field tackles. I knew I had two or three
touchdowns. I didn't know I had four."
Miami soon was coasting to its 13th straight road win and its
19th consecutive Big East victory.
"It was about what we expected, from the standpoint that we knew
it was going to be a tough football game," Miami coach Larry
Coker said. "Temple has good tough football players and they're
well-coached."
Willis McGahee, who ran for 204 yards in the win over Florida, also
scored on runs of one and six yards in the first half and from
four yards late in the third quarter.
Miami played without star receiver Andre Johnson due to a
shoulder injury, but still defeated the Owls for an 11th
straight time.
"I've been coaching football for 26 years and I haven't seen
teams as good as Miami in my 26 years," Temple coach Bobby
Wallace said. "They're just NFL guys behind NFL guys at every
position. It's just amazing."
Ken Dorsey of Miami completed 20-of-35 for 314 yards and two
scores and Miami finished with 477 total yards.
"In the first half we had the opportunity to put the hammer down
and we didn't do it," Ken Dorsey said. "We were able to pull away
in the second half."
Kevin Beard caught six passes for 67 yards for Miami, which
improved to 15-0 under Coker.
The Hurricanes opened the scoring on a one-yard touchdown run by
Willis McGahee, who carried 21 times. Lawrence Wade of Temple fumbled
the ensuing kickoff and Miami recovered at the Owls 10, setting
up a nine-yard TD pass from Ken Dorsey to Kevin Beard.
Miami increased its lead to 21-0 early in the second quarter on
the six-yard TD run by Willis McGahee, finishing a 10-play, 80-yard
drive.
But the Hurricanes were sloppy in the second quarter, allowing
the Owls to get back into the game. A botched punt gave Temple
the ball at the Miami 21 and Tanardo Sharps later scored on a one-yard
run.
Temple got back the ball a few plays later when Miami's Jason
Geathers fumbled at his own 16, and Tanardo Sharps raced in for a
touchdown on the next play to cut the lead to 21-14.
Todd Sievers kicked a 31-yard field goal on the final play of
the quarter to give the Hurricanes a 24-14 halftime lead.
Ken Dorsey added a three-yard TD pass to Kellen Winslow in the
fourth quarter.
Temple's final score came on a 22-yard TD pass from Mike Frost
to Sean Szarka in the fourth quarter.
Tanardo Sharps carried 20 times for 68 yards. Mike McGann of the Owls
completed 10-of-15 passes for 36 yards.
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