After Miami’s defense displayed its might in beating Virginia Tech last week, the offense got a chance to impress on Saturday as the No. 3 Hurricanes routed Wake Forest 47-17 at Groves Stadium in Winston Salem, N.C.
Trailing 17-14 with less than five minutes left in the second quarter, the Hurricanes (8-1, 5-1) exploded for 33 unanswered points to ruin Senior Night for the Demon Deacons (4-7, 3-5).
Miami quarterback Kyle Wright tied a school record by throwing five touchdown passes, going 17-for-27 for 319 yards. Sinorice Moss, Darnell Jenkins, Lance Leggett, Greg Olsen and Ryan Moore all caught touchdowns, and running back Charlie Jones gained 90 yards and had two rushing scores.
“Kyle Wright really had a great day,” UM Head Coach Larry Coker told the Associated Press. “Guys really stepped up for him. But there are a lot of things we have to get better at.”
Wake Forest got on the board first when Sam Swank nailed a 52-yard field goal before Miami’s offense took the field. The ‘Canes responded with an eight-play, 80-yard drive culminating in a one-yard Jones touchdown run for a 7-3 UM lead.
The Hurricanes forced a punt and mounted another long drive, this time covering 80 yards in 11 plays. Jones eluded several tacklers on a highlight-reel 32-yard touchdown run to make the score 14-3.
With the Deacons desperately needing a score, the coaching staff gambled with a flea-flicker pass from Nate Morton to Chris Davis for a 72-yard touchdown. Wake Forest reclaimed the lead four minutes later on a seven-yard Chris Barclay score.
Losing the lead seemed to invigorate the Hurricanes, as Wright launched a 64-yard touchdown pass to Moss 51 seconds after the Barclay touchdown. A Kelly Jennings interception set up a quick Jenkins 10-yard touchdown to put Miami on top 27-17. Barclay fumbled on the next Deacons play, leading to Wright’s third touchdown of the half, this time a 15-yarder to Moore, who led UM receivers with 88 yards.
Wright added two more touchdowns in the second half before relinquishing the signal-calling duties to Kirby Freeman: a 76-yard bomb to Leggett and a 10-yard strike to Olsen. He told the AP that he was hoping to break the five-way tie and throw a sixth touchdown pass before leaving the game.
“Selfishly, I wanted to go back in and get another one,” Wright said.
With Alabama losing in overtime to Louisiana State, Miami is likely to move up to third in the Bowl Championship Series, leaving the Hurricanes on the outskirts of the national championship chase.
“A lot of things have to go our way, but I think we’re still in the hunt for the whole thing,” Coker told the AP.
Wright told the AP that the Hurricanes are solely focused on a potential rematch with Florida State in the ACC Championship.
“We’re right where we want to be record-wise, so we’ve just got to keep winning,” Wright said. “We can’t control what everyone else does.”
Eric Kalis can be contacted at e.kalis@umiami.edu.Wright ties school pass record with five TDs in win over Wake Forest
By Eric Kalis
Sports Editor
After Miami’s defense displayed its might in beating Virginia Tech last week, the offense got a chance to impress on Saturday as the No. 3 Hurricanes routed Wake Forest 47-17 at Groves Stadium in Winston Salem, N.C.
Trailing 17-14 with less than five minutes left in the second quarter, the Hurricanes (8-1, 5-1) exploded for 33 unanswered points to ruin Senior Night for the Demon Deacons (4-7, 3-5).
Miami quarterback Kyle Wright tied a school record by throwing five touchdown passes, going 17-for-27 for 319 yards. Sinorice Moss, Darnell Jenkins, Lance Leggett, Greg Olsen and Ryan Moore all caught touchdowns, and running back Charlie Jones gained 90 yards and had two rushing scores.
“Kyle Wright really had a great day,” UM Head Coach Larry Coker told the Associated Press. “Guys really stepped up for him. But there are a lot of things we have to get better at.”
Wake Forest got on the board first when Sam Swank nailed a 52-yard field goal before Miami’s offense took the field. The ‘Canes responded with an eight-play, 80-yard drive culminating in a one-yard Jones touchdown run for a 7-3 UM lead.
The Hurricanes forced a punt and mounted another long drive, this time covering 80 yards in 11 plays. Jones eluded several tacklers on a highlight-reel 32-yard touchdown run to make the score 14-3.
With the Deacons desperately needing a score, the coaching staff gambled with a flea-flicker pass from Nate Morton to Chris Davis for a 72-yard touchdown. Wake Forest reclaimed the lead four minutes later on a seven-yard Chris Barclay score.
Losing the lead seemed to invigorate the Hurricanes, as Wright launched a 64-yard touchdown pass to Moss 51 seconds after the Barclay touchdown. A Kelly Jennings interception set up a quick Jenkins 10-yard touchdown to put Miami on top 27-17. Barclay fumbled on the next Deacons play, leading to Wright’s third touchdown of the half, this time a 15-yarder to Moore, who led UM receivers with 88 yards.
Wright added two more touchdowns in the second half before relinquishing the signal-calling duties to Kirby Freeman: a 76-yard bomb to Leggett and a 10-yard strike to Olsen. He told the AP that he was hoping to break the five-way tie and throw a sixth touchdown pass before leaving the game.
“Selfishly, I wanted to go back in and get another one,” Wright said.
With Alabama losing in overtime to Louisiana State, Miami is likely to move up to third in the Bowl Championship Series, leaving the Hurricanes on the outskirts of the national championship chase.
“A lot of things have to go our way, but I think we’re still in the hunt for the whole thing,” Coker told the AP.
Wright told the AP that the Hurricanes are solely focused on a potential rematch with Florida State in the ACC Championship.
“We’re right where we want to be record-wise, so we’ve just got to keep winning,” Wright said. “We can’t control what everyone else does.”
Eric Kalis can be contacted at e.kalis@umiami.edu.