COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Hurricanes Blow Away Michigan at Finish : Top-Ranked Miami Gets 15 Points in Final Minutes to Steal 31-30 Win

They were celebrating in Michigan a bit too soon.

While Michigan was congratulating itself for a victory over top-ranked Miami, the Hurricanes scored 15 points in the final 5 1/2 minutes and beat the No. 15 Wolverines, 31-30, Saturday on Carlos Huerta’s 29-yard field goal with 43 seconds left.

“While they were thinking, we were acting.” said Miami fullback Cleveland Gary.

The victory gave defending national champion Miami (2-0) 14 straight victories, 34 consecutive regular-season victories and 20 straight wins on the road since losing, 22-14, in Ann Arbor 4 years ago.

Quarterback Steve Walsh said he told his teammates before the comeback, “We’ve been in this situation before. We can come back and do it.

“We knew we could go out and score a touchdown. One thing just led to another.”

Walsh completed 24 of 45 passes for 335 yards and 2 interceptions, both deflected by Miami receivers.

Michigan (0-2) lead, 30-14, before Walsh threw the ball on 18 straight downs in the final 7 1/2 minutes, completing 11 for 159 yards.

He was 7 of 11 on the first drive, passing seven yards to tight end Rob Chudzinski with 5:23 left and then to Dale Dawkins for a 2-point conversion pass that brought the Hurricanes to within 30-22.

With 2:58 left, Gary caught a short pass from Walsh at the Michigan 35 and, thanks to a key block by Dawkins on Michigan cornerback David Arnold, turned it into a 48-yard touchdown as he down the right sideline. This time, Walsh’s conversion pass was intercepted by Arnold.

Miami sent in Huerta for an onside kick, replacing Edgar Benes, the regular kickoff man. Huerta squibbed a kick that was tipped high into the air and recovered by Michigan’s Bobby Harden at the Michigan 47.

Walsh’s hit Andre Brown for 14 yards and Gary for 18. That moved the ball to the 15 and set up Huerta’s game-winning field goal.

“We ran our two-minute offense and it was amazing how fast we moved up and down the field,” said Gary, who carried 11 times for 44 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown, and caught 9 passes for 162.

“A loss is a loss,” Michigan Coach Bo Schembechler said after Michigan lost its first two games for the first time since 1959. “It was an ungodly set of circumstances.”

Miami’s comeback overcame a brilliant performance by Michigan quarterback Michael Taylor, who was shaken up twice but returned to throw three touchdown passes.

Taylor’s 16-yarder to Chris Calloway made it 30-14 with 10:32 left.

“I’m not satisfied with my performance until we win. That’s all that counts,” said Taylor, who was 16 of 24 for 214 yards.

“It’s nice to know this team plays well on the road,” Miami Coach Jimmy Johnson said. “With 105,000 people screaming at you . . . it’s difficult to come back like we did.”