Miami Throws Case to Voters

Done in by decimal points, confounded by computers, the Miami Hurricanes took their case for college football’s national championship as far as humanly possible Tuesday night, defeating Florida, 37-20, in the Sugar Bowl because the Orange Bowl wasn’t available.

The bowl championship series bouncers kept the Hurricanes sequestered in New Orleans, instead of Miami, where the real action is tonight: the BCS title game between undefeated Oklahoma and once-beaten Florida State.

Beaten once by Miami.

But because the Hurricanes lost an early September game to Washington, the BCS computers spat out two names for its Orange Bowl heavyweight bout and neither of them were Miami.

The Hurricanes were resigned to leftovers inside Louisiana’s biggest piece of Tupperware, rolling up 37 points and 454 yards against No. 7 Florida before an announced crowd of 64,407 at the Superdome.

And for that, the Hurricanes were left with a meager handful of parting gifts:

* An 11-1 final record.

* The so-called “Florida state championship.” That and $3 will get you a cup of coffee and a plate of beignets at Cafe Du Monde.

* A ready-to-wear slogan as they settle in front of the TV to watch the Orange Bowl: “We Went 11-1, We Were The Only Team To Beat Florida State During The Regular Season And All We Got Is This Lousy T-Shirt.”

Oh, they still have a chance for a share of the national title should Florida State beat No. 1 Oklahoma and the Associated Press voters keep Miami in its current condition--one notch ahead of Florida State. Miami Coach Butch Davis, an avid Seminole fan for the first and only time in his life, is pulling for an Oklahoma defeat, and the continued lucidity of the AP pollster, because, as he said, “I think our team deserves the opportunity to be considered.

“We won 11 games this year. We beat the No. 1 team in the nation [Florida State, 27-24, in October]. We beat the No. 2 team in the nation [Virginia Tech, 41-21, in November].

“We beat the No. 7 team in the nation tonight. I believe our kids deserve the opportunity to be called ‘national champion.’ ”

Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey, voted most outstanding player of the Sugar Bowl after completing 22 of 40 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns, echoed that sentiment.

“If Florida State wins, I think we have a great chance to be co-national champions,” Dorsey said. “But if Oklahoma wins, they deserve it. They’d get my vote for going through the year they did.”

How about an unbiased opinion, excavated from some Superdome nook or cranny?

How about Florida Coach Steve Spurrier, who hates Miami and Florida State?

“They need to go out and play each other on a neutral court,” said Spurrier, who was so steamed about his team’s performance that he momentarily forgot what sport they were supposed to be playing.

Correcting himself, Spurrier tried it again.

“They need to go out and play each other on a neutral field and decide it,” he said. “You all can argue that. I’ve always said we need a playoff.”

In lieu of one, Spurrier was asked to compare the Seminoles and the Hurricanes, since his team has lost to both--30-7 to Florida State on Nov. 18.

“I don’t know,” Spurrier said, looking and sounding disgusted. “We played horribly against both of them. We got beat by two better teams, but we didn’t play the way we did in most of our SEC games.”

Spurrier’s postgame interview session was actually more interesting than the football preceding it, ranking No. 2 on the evening’s entertainment list behind the Miami mascot getting hit with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty after jumping into the end zone to kiss a Hurricane who had just scored.

Although his team amassed 452 yards--only two fewer than Miami--and led as late as the third quarter, Spurrier stewed and fumed and turned various shades of Gator orange as he discussed Florida’s unsatisfactory play.

“I’m sort of embarrassed by our performance,” Spurrier said. “I thought we were ready to play. I thought we were well-prepared. But we were not. Earnest Graham [who rushed for 140 yards in 15 carries] was the one exception. We should have given it to him every play.

“I’m really embarrassed by the way we played tonight . . . It’s going to be a tough off-season for us.”

Miami overcame a 17-13 third-quarter deficit with touchdown passes of 19 and two yards from Dorsey to D.J. Williams and Najeh Davenport, respectively, then clinched the victory in the fourth quarter with a 29-yard field goal by Todd Sievers and a three-yard scoring run by Davenport.

Davenport was on his knees in the end zone, climbing to his feet with 4:21 remaining, when he looked up and saw Sebastian the Ibis, the Hurricanes’ hyperactive pseudo-seagull mascot, barreling in for a celebratory bird-hug. Sebastian got his man, then got the yellow flag, earning Miami a 15-yard penalty on the point-after attempt.

Sievers delivered the kick, but the Hurricanes were penalized again, this time for too many men on the field. Fifteen more yards and Sievers was standing on the Florida 40, kicking the longest extra-point attempt in Sugar Bowl history, 50 yards in all.

Miami delivered the victory with limited contributions from two of its marquee players, wide receiver Santana Moss and running back James Jackson. Moss sustained a lower back strain early the game and played sporadically, catching six passes for 89 yards and returning three punts for 38.

Jackson, who rushed for 62 yards in 12 first-half carries, did not play a down in the second half because of a left ankle sprain.

Davis praised Dorsey for keeping the offense cohesive despite that kind of attrition.

“We wouldn’t be sitting here tonight if not for Ken Dorsey,” Davis said.

“His development and composure. I don’t think I’ve been around a quarterback who matured so much in a 12-game season as Kenny Dorsey. He is the glue that makes this work.”

Tonight, however, Dorsey will be doing his best to stay unglued from the television. For superstition purposes, he says he won’t be watching the Orange Bowl.

“I think I’m kind of jinxing this team,” Dorsey said, “because every time I watch a game, the team I root for loses. That happened in the Oklahoma-Kansas State game--I rooted for K-State and they lost.

“Hopefully, I’ll be able to stay away from this one.”