Hurricanes Intent on Staying No. 1

The top-ranked Miami Hurricanes had to dominate San Diego State in every way Saturday night, the poll watchers said.

And the way Hurricane players explained their 39-12 drubbing of the Aztecs, it was a mission accomplished.

For them, the matter of the best college football team in the country is a moot question.

“I feel we settled it,” said Miami quarterback Gino Torretta, whose 485 yards set a single-game yardage record for the Hurricanes.

“We have been up to the challenge and every opponent we have faced, we have won.

“We went to Tallahassee and beat the No. 1 team in the nation and beat this team convincingly, so I don’t see how in the world anyone can say we are not the No. 1 team in the country.”

The trend among pollsters, though, has been against Miami and toward the second-ranked Washington Huskies. Washington inched closer to the Hurricanes and No. 1 last week after Miami beat Boston College Nov. 23 by a less-than-convincing 19-14 score.

Both the Hurricanes and the Huskies finished the season 11-0 and head to New Year’s Day bowl games.

Miami will stay at home to play Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, while Washington will face Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

In a manner that belied their reputation for brashness--as well as statements made to the media earlier in the week--Hurricane players and coaches said they had nothing to special to prove against San Diego State.

But Miami Coach Dennis Erickson also had his team attempt a two-point conversion after a touchdown with 7:13 left in the game gave the Hurricanes a 37-12 lead.

Torretta also kept putting the ball in the air until the end.

Erickson said the call for the two-point conversion came from his offensive coordinator.

“It was time to go for two so we went,” he said.

And the passing onslaught that never let up? Blame the Aztec blitz, he said.

“Against that type of defense, you are going to get big plays,” he said.

The case for No. 1 comes largely from Miami’s penchant for making timely big plays.

The Hurricanes scored on passes of 66, 42, 69 and 30 yards against the Aztecs.

But Miami also gave the Nebraska scouts watching the game a hint of vulnerability, as freshman Aztec Marshall Faulk won the NCAA rushing crown after running for 154 yards on 26 attempts.

The Hurricane offense appeared stagnant at times in the first half, as the Hurricanes seemed almost content to stand around and wait for the big play. But to Miami players, that’s just nit-picking.

“We’ve played tough teams this year,” Hurricane defensive end Rusty Medearis said. “We don’t have anything to prove to anybody.

“We’re 11-0, and we’ve beaten some darn good teams. We’re going to go into the Orange Bowl and show people we’re No. 1.”

Erickson said he placed no emphasis on a rout of the Aztecs to impress voters in the polls.

More important, he said, was making a statement that the Hurricanes were better than the 30-28 victory Miami squeaked out against San Diego State last year.

“Last year, we did not do a very good job against them,” he said. “This year we did.”

Torretta complained about college football watchers who long have criticized Miami for running up scores, only to say now the Hurricanes have to to remain No. 1.

“They say to win a game convincingly you have to run up the score,” he said. “We won convincingly, and we did not run up the score.”

The debate over No. 1 now is out of the Hurricanes’ hands until Jan. 1, linebacker Jessie Armstead said.

“Everybody has an opinion,” he said. “Now, it’s up to the opinions of the writers.

“But I feel like I can stand up and say we’re No. 1.”