No. 1 Miami Does a Number on Aztecs : Hurricanes: Torretta passes for a school-record 485 yards in 39-12 victory.

Big plays gave the Miami Hurricanes the big score they sought to remain No. 1.

Gino Torretta threw for a school-record 485 yards and touchdowns covering 66, 42, 69 and 30 yards Saturday night in a 39-12 victory over San Diego State.

Darryl Williams returned an interception 27 yards for another score.

“We wanted to win the game convincingly,” Miami Coach Dennis Erickson said. “We threw the ball because they blitzed us every down.”

To place an exclamation mark on the victory, the Hurricanes went for two points after their final score with 6:46 left and made it when Torretta passed to Lamar Thomas in the end zone.

The victory made it almost certain the Hurricanes (11-0) will retain the No. 1 ranking going into their Orange Bowl clash against Nebraska on New Year’s night.

“I don’t see how anyone can say we’re not the No. 1 team in the country,” Torretta said.

“We’re 11-0. Pollsters, do what you want,” Thomas added.

While the late two-point conversion invited accusations of running up the score, Erickson said the Hurricanes were simply going by the book.

“We have a chart upstairs, and the chart said go for two” with a 25-point lead, Erickson said. “I wasn’t thinking of time. If I offended anybody, I apologize, but what’s the difference between 38-12 and 39-12?”

San Diego State Coach Al Luginbill said Miami’s decision to go for two did not bother him.

The Hurricanes completed their third perfect regular season since 1986. Freedom Bowl-bound San Diego State fell to 8-3-1.

The Aztecs’ Marshall Faulk became the first freshman to win the NCAA rushing title. He gained 154 yards in 27 carries to finish with 1,429 yards in nine games.

“I proved I could do it against anybody,” Faulk said. “I’m proud of myself (for winning the title) my first year. . . . I would have been happier with a victory against Miami.”

Faulk also won the scoring title with 23 touchdowns but failed to reach the end zone against Miami, which allowed 100 points this year, fewest in the nation.

Torretta, who went the distance, completed 23 of 44 passes and broke his school record of 468 yards set against San Jose State in 1989. He had touchdown passes of 66 and 30 yards to Horace Copeland and 42 yards to Kevin Williams.

Torretta also hit Martin Patton with a short pass that the running back took the rest of the way to complete a 69-yard play.

“I just laid it up and let those guys go after it,” Torretta said. “It seemed like I had 200 yards in four completions because guys were making big plays.”

The Hurricanes’ victory was their 51st in a row over an unranked opponent and their 44th in a row at the Orange Bowl.