A Record-Setting Day for Miami’s Torretta

Gino Torretta emerged from a slump by throwing for 350 yards and three touchdowns and broke two school career records while leading the No. 2-ranked Miami Hurricanes past Texas Christian, 45-10, Saturday.

The senior completed 20 of 35 passes, including touchdowns of 68, 46 and 16 yards, and broke records set by Vinny Testaverde for career passing yardage and Craig Erickson for total offense.

In victories over Florida State and Penn State the previous two weeks, Torretta completed only 31 of 79 passes, prompting Coach Dennis Erickson to dismiss the significance of statistics.

But Erickson wasn’t dismissing Torretta’s records.

“To me, it’s very meaningful,” Erickson said. “He has taken some heat the last couple of weeks because people don’t understand what happens sometimes. He had some protection today and showed he’s the best quarterback in college football.”

Said Torretta: “The names on our quarterback lists are amazing. It’s a great feeling just to be in the record books with those guys.”

Miami (6-0) was a 38-point favorite over TCU (1-4-1) and needed a lopsided victory to keep pace in the national championship race, and the Hurricanes got it.

Torretta, 20-1 as a starter, departed in the third quarter with 6,204 passing yards and 6,267 yards in total offense. The old records were 6,058 passing for Testaverde (1982-86) and 6,021 total offense for Erickson (1987-90).

The Hurricanes extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 24 games and posted their 49th consecutive victory at the Orange Bowl.