Miami Rules Florida State, 31-22 : Hurricanes: Team back in national championship picture after rushing for 334 yards and defeating second-ranked Seminoles.

University of Miami center Darren Handy awoke to a gentle knock on his hotel room door Saturday morning. Sequestered in a local resort the night before a home game, Handy found a Miami Herald on the doorstep. He turned to the sports section and there, in black and white, was a position-by-position analysis of Miami and Saturday’s foe, No. 2-ranked Florida State.

Under offensive line . . . advantage FSU.

“We took that personally,” said Handy, who still can’t believe what he read. “I mean, they gave it to Florida State .”

The mistake won’t be made again. Not after Miami’s 31-22 victory over FSU in a Sunshine State grudge match that wasn’t nearly as close as the score might suggest.

The Hurricanes (3-1), ranked ninth, ran early and often. They ran left. They ran right. But mostly they ran over a surprised Seminole defensive line. So large were the openings, that Miami quarterback Craig Erickson, all 196 pounds of him, even considered a rushing career.

“Some of the holes that were opening up, I wanted to fake and run it through,” he said.

He didn’t. Instead, he stuck the ball in the capable hands of fullbacks Stephen McGuire and Leonard Conley, tag team extraordinaire. McGuire, who gained 176 yards and scored once, and Conley, who rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns, recorded career highs for rushing yardage.

“Our offensive line was knocking their defensive line two yards off the ball,” said McGuire, who was punched in the mouth by FSU cornerback Terrell Buckley on his first carry. “That made it kind of easy for me to go through the holes.”

All told, Miami gained 334 yards on the ground, enough to control the clock and make an FSU comeback nearly impossible. And unlike previous Miami games, Erickson wasn’t required to win the game by himself. He attempted only 23 passes, completed 13, none to a Hurricane wide receiver.

This was a day when college football heaved and shuddered with the upset of No. 1 Notre Dame, as well as several other near misses. Before an Orange Bowl audience of 80,396, Miami did its part to confuse the pollsters.

By halftime, the Hurricanes led, 24-6. They scored on four consecutive possessions. About the only mistake Miami made during those first two quarters was kicker Carlos Huerta’s bungled decision after the coin toss. FSU (4-1) won the call, but deferred. Huerta, against specific orders of Miami coaches, said the Hurricanes would kick the ball.

Oddly enough, the goof worked in Miami’s favor. The Hurricanes did most of their scoring with a stiff ocean breeze at their back.

“I guess it was a pretty smart move by Carlos,” Miami Coach Dennis Erickson said.

By defeating FSU, Miami denied the Seminoles a clear view atop the rankings. FSU has never been No. 1 during the regular season.

The Hurricanes also avenged last year’s loss in Tallahassee, to say nothing of preventing FSU Coach Bobby Bowden from earning the 200th victory of his career. Miami has won five of the last six and eight of the last 11 games against its up-state rival.

Of course, if Dennis Erickson was savoring the moment, he didn’t show it.

“Losses last forever, wins last until Monday,” he said. “That loss (to FSU a year ago) will probably last until I’m dead, which might not be too long.”

There’s one other benefit of the Hurricanes’ victory: Miami squirms back into the national championship picture. A loss would have been devastating. No team has won a national title with two losses.

“This one is sweet,” said Miami offensive tackle Mike Sullivan. “If I had off tomorrow, I’d go to Disney World.”

At one point during Saturday’s game, Handy recalled watching the FSU defensive linemen smile after McGuire or Conley would break free for one of their many sizeable gains.

“I thought it was strange,” Handy said. “I thought there would be a lot of talking, but they were real quiet. They’d smile, so we started saying, ‘Yeah, we’re coming back at you. We’ll be back.’ ”

Even with the warning, FSU couldn’t stop Miami’s ground attack, especially in the first and second quarters.

“We lost this game in the first half,” Bowden said. “I can’t believe the lack of poise we showed early. We played so much better in the second half.”

FSU did manage to trim the deficit to 24-16 with 11:30 remaining. Running back Amp Lee scored on a two-yarder to end a drive made possible by Lawrence Dawsey’s many receptions. For the afternoon, Dawsey had 13 catches for 160 yards and one touchdown.

Miami responded, as it had most of the game, with a long scoring drive of its own, this one 14 plays. McGuire did the honors with a two-yard touchdown.

How things change. Only a month ago, the Hurricanes, then ranked No. 1, were upset by Brigham Young. Now this. Notre Dame loses to Stanford. Auburn struggles. Oklahoma has to work to beat Oklahoma State.

Miami lives.

“We go to BYU and lose and everybody thinks it’s the end of the world,” Dennis Erickson said. “But that’s college football. Who knows what’s going to happen? All I know is that we’ve got a good football team.”

For proof, ask Florida State.