South Roundup : Miami Struggles for 24-3 Win Over Colorado State

Vinny Testaverde hit two crucial third-down passes that set up short touchdown runs Saturday night at Miami as the fourth-ranked, Sugar Bowl-bound Miami Hurricanes claimed an uninspired 24-3 victory over Colorado State.

The final score was deceiving. Colorado State trailed, 10-3, early in the fourth quarter before Miami (9-1) took control.

The Hurricanes got second-half touchdown runs of 3 yards by Alonzo Highsmith, 1 yard by Melvin Bratton and 5 yards by Darryl Oliver. Greg Cox gave the Hurricanes a 3-0 halftime lead with a 25-yard field goal in the second period.

Colorado State’s only score was a 44-yard field goal by Steve Deline, who also missed kicks of 18, 37 and 52 yards. Colorado State finished its season at 5-7.

The Hurricanes accepted a Sugar Bowl invitation just before the game and then played like a team that already had completed its work for the night. They lost three fumbles, and Testaverde threw one interception in his worst effort since early this season.

But the junior quarterback, who entered the game as the nation’s fifth-ranked passer, made up for his spotty performance with some clutch passes on two second-half scoring drives. He finished with 21 completions in 39 attempts for 245 yards.

Clemson 24, S. Carolina 17--Tailback Kenny Flowers rushed 26 times for 136 yards and 2 touchdowns as Clemson battled back from an 11-point, first-half deficit at Columbia, S.C.

With the victory, Clemson (6-5) earned an invitation to the Independence Bowl, Dec. 21 at Shreveport, La., against Minnesota. The Gamecocks, who had been nationally ranked as high as 15th early this season, are 5-6.

Quarterback Mike Hold had 178 yards passing to lead the South Carolina offense, which came close to its season average and had 207 rushing yards.

Duke 23, N. Carolina 21--Steve Slayden threw three touchdown passes to Doug Green, the last a five-yard play with 1:10 left, as Duke rallied from a 21-3 deficit at Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Blue Devils, 5-6 overall and 3-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, went 55 yards in five plays for the winning score.

Freshman Jonathan Hall passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third in the season finale for North Carolina (5-6 and 3-4). Hall threw a 30-yard scoring pass to Earl Winfield in the first quarter to help Winfield tie the Tar Heel record for career receptions with 106. Winfield set the record in the second quarter and finished with 107 catches.

S. Mississippi 24, Tulane 6--At Hattiesburg, Miss., cornerback James Cooper ran an interception back 70 yards for a touchdown as Southern Mississippi (7-4) ended a two-game losing streak, while Tulane fell to 1-9 with a game next Saturday against LSU remaining.