Third-ranked Miami lived up to its reputation Saturday against No. 13 Colorado. That was good news and bad news for the Hurricanes.
Miami survived a furious rally to beat the Buffaloes 35-29 Saturday, but the victory was overshadowed by an ugly, bench-clearing brawl that resulted in the ejection of 12 players near the end of the first half.It was Miami's fifth major fight in the last five years and will hurt coach Dennis Erickson's efforts at improving the team's bad-boy image.
"It's a crime," Erickson said. "I'm not proud of it, and our team isn't proud of it, either. It's unfortunate it had to happen because it was such a great game."
Erickson said both teams were to blame.
"It takes two to tangle," he said. "Once something like that starts, it's hard to stop."
Colorado coach Bill McCartney agreed.
"It reflects on both teams," he said. "I hate to see it."
Frank Costa threw two TD passes and Donnell Bennett rushed for 123 yards and two scores as Miami (3-0) won its 30th consecutive regular-season game and handed Colorado (2-2) its second straight loss.
Miami took a 35-15 lead on a 26-yard TD run by James Stewart with 8:50 left in the game, but Colorado scored twice in a 90-second span, pulling to 35-29 on James Hill's 5-yard TD run with 5:04 remaining.
The Buffaloes had a chance to win after recovering a fumble by Stewart on the Colorado 36 with 2:07 left. But after driving to the Miami 11, Colorado was forced back to the 29 by a facemask penalty. Three plays later, facing a fourth down from the Miami 17, Kordell Stewart's pass was broken up with 12 seconds left and the Hurricanes ran out the clock.
"We learned an important lesson - you can't get too comfortable when you get up in a game like that," Costa said. "After our last touchdown, I figured, `That's it, it's over.' I looked up in the stands and fans were leaving."
It was the second consecutive heartbreaking defeat for Colorado, which lost to Stanford last week on a controversial last-second touchdown. The Buffaloes hadn't lost two straight in the same season since opening 1986 with four consecutive losses.
"What can I say? We tried desperately, but still came up short," said linebacker Ron Woolfork.
Prior to the comeback, the most memorable moments occurred during the brawl that led to the ejection of seven Miami players and five from Colorado.
The rumble started when Miami kicked off with 20 seconds left in the half after scoring on a 25-yard pass from Costa to Chris T. Jones that put Miami ahead 21-6.
At least a half-dozen separate fights broke out, and it took several minutes for officials to clear the field. At one point, Colorado cheerleaders ran up an embankment in the end zone to get away from the wild scene.
After the fighting stopped, several Miami players exchanged high-fives on the sideline and gestured to the booing crowd of 52,391 at Folsom Field.
"It was not called for, but I'm sure we'll take the bad end of it," said Costa, who said he watched the brawl from the bench. "We have that reputation, regardless. People think we're hoodlums. I'm sure when it all comes out in the paper tomorrow, it will be about Miami getting into another fight."
The Miami players thrown out were fullback Larry Jones, cornerback Dennis Scott, linebacker Kevin Brinkworth, offensive linemen Alan Symonette and Omar Andres, tight end Syii Tucker and defensive end Kenny Holmes.
Ejected from Colorado were Westbrook, cornerback Dennis Collier, nose tackle Jeff Brunner, and tight ends Desmond Dennis and Jeff Blackmon.
The fight apparently started when a pair of linebackers, Miami's Antonio Coley and Colorado's Allen Wilbon, got involved in a wrestling match on the kickoff coverage.
"Then some other players came along and started getting into it, and that brought the rest of them out," referee Buddy Ward said.
The tension between the teams was evident in pregame warmups, when players got into a pushing and shouting match. No punches were thrown at that time, however.
Miami was involved in pregame fights with Notre Dame in 1988 and Kansas in 1990. The Hurricanes also had two altercations with San Diego State, in 1990 and 1992.
The game was billed as a confrontation between Colorado's high-powered offense and Miami's dominating defense. The Hurricanes' defense won the battle for most of the game, holding the Buffaloes to three long field goals by Mitch Berger and a 7-yard TD run by Rashaan Salaam before Colorado's late comeback.
Miami, which struggled offensively in its first two games, took a 28-6 lead early in the third period on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Costa to A.C. Tellison. Colorado cut it to 28-15 on Salaam's TD run and Berger's 47-yard field goal later in the quarter before Miami extended its lead on Stewart's touchdown run.
After scoring on a 7-yard catch by Charles Johnson with 6:34 left, Colorado recovered an onside kick and quickly drove for another touchdown on Hill's run to make it 35-29.
Stewart, who was briefly knocked out of the game with a minor concussion late in the first half, completed 22 of 40 passes for 252 yards. Costa was 18-of-27 for 246 yards.
No. 2 Alabama 56, Louisiana Tech 3
Sherman Williams ran for three touchdowns and David Palmer caught two. The Crimson Tide (4-0) extended the nation's longest winning streak to 27 games, while Tech (0-3) again failed to score its first touchdown of the season. The visiting Bulldogs have been outscored 140-6.
No. 4 Notre Dame 17, Purdue 0
At West Lafayette, Ind., defensive end Brian Hamilton returned a fumble 28 yards for a TD in the third quarter, and the Irish (4-0) scored 10 points in the final four minutes. Purdue (1-2) hasn't beaten Notre Dame since 1985.
No. 8 Michigan 42, Houston 21
Spurred by Tyrone Wheatley's 171 yards and three touchdowns, the Wolverines beat the visiting Cougars in a non-conference game. Michigan (2-1) led 28-0 early in the second quarter, but Houston (0-3) closed to 35-21 by the fourth.
No. 9 Penn State 31, Rutgers 7
At State College, Pa., Kerry Collins, who replaced an upset John Sacca as Penn State's starting quarterback last week, was 18-for-25 for 222 yards and four TDs as the Nittany Lions (4-0) dominated the Scarlet Knights (2-1).
No. 10 Oklahoma 41, Tulsa 20
At Norman, Okla., Cale Gundy threw three touchdown passes and the Sooners (3-0) used a blocked punt and a fumble recovery late in the game to pull away from a 20-20 tie. Tulsa (1-3) outgained Oklahoma through three quarters but was undone by mistakes.
No. 11 Tennessee 42, LSU 20
At Knoxville, Tenn., Heath Shuler threw three touchdown passes and his brother Benji caught one as Tennessee (3-1, 2-1 SEC) had an easy time against the Tigers (1-3, 1-2), who scored two late touchdowns.
No. 12 Syracuse 24, Cincinnati 21
At Syracuse, the Orangemen (3-0-1) looked bad for a second straight week. This time, however, they rallied with two touchdowns, a field goal and three defensive stands in the final 9:46 against the Bearcats (2-2).
No. 15 Arizona 33, Oregon St. 0
At Corvallis, Ore., the Wildcats' (4-0) defense never let Oregon State (1-3, 0-2 Pac-10) past the Arizona 35, and held the Beavers to 62 yards rushing. For Arizona, Ontiwaun Carter rushed for 165 yards and Dan White threw two TDs.
No. 16 Wash. 35, E. Carolina 0
At Seattle, Napoleon Kaufman ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns and the Huskies' (2-1) defense forced five turnovers. East Carolina (1-2) was blanked for the first time in 56 games and managed only 103 yards of offense.
No. 18 North Carolina 35,
No. 19 N.C. State 14
The Tar Heels (4-1, 2-1 ACC) came back from a lopsided loss to Florida State and beat the Wolfpack (2-1, 1-1). The first half ended with a fight between the players, and two assistant coaches got into a scuffle on the field after the game. N.C.'s Curtis Johnson rushed for 153 yards.
No. 20 Cal 46, San Jose St. 13
At Berkeley, Calif., Lindsey Chapman scored twice and Dave Barr was 23-for-28 for 242 yards. Cal (4-0) controlled the ball for 36 minutes, 16 seconds to the Spartans' 23:44. The Spartans (0-4), who continued their worst start since 1965, were outgained 528 yards to 248.
No. 22 Virginia 35, Duke 0
At Charlottesville, Va., the Cavaliers (4-0, 3-0 ACC) got their 500th victory in their 1,000th game and beat Duke (1-3, 0-2) for the fifth straight time. The game was marred by 19 penalties and a fourth-period brawl.
No. 23 Wisconsin 27, Indiana 15
At Bloomington, Ind., Brent Moss rushed for 198 yards and Terrell Fletcher had 99 as for the Badgers (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten). Indiana (3-1, 1-1) rallied in the third period, trimming a 20-2 halftime lead to 20-15.
No. 24 Louisville 41, Texas 10
At Louisville, Ralph Dawkins rushed for 117 yards and caught three passes for 95 yards and a TD for the Cardinals (4-0), who are off to their best start in 21 years. Texas (0-2-1) never was close.
No. 25 Auburn 35, S. Miss. 24
Southern Miss (1-2), a 15-point underdog, stunned the Auburn crowd by scoring three times in the first nine minutes of the third quarter to go ahead 24-21, but Auburn (4-0) eventually rallied for the victory.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Heisman Watch
Marshall Faulk, RB, San Diego State: Rushed 22 times for 81 yards, 1 TD in win over Minnesota.
Charlie Ward, QB, Florida State: Did not play Saturday.
Trent Dilfer, QB, Fresno State: Completed 14 of 23 passes for 295 yards, 3 TDs.
Marvin Graves, QB, Syracuse: Completed 29 of 44 passes for 361 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs in win over Cincinnati.
Tyrone Wheatley, RB, Michigan: Rushed 26 times for 171 yards, 3 TDs in win over Houston.