Dinwiddie Suspended as Boise State Starter

Boise State quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie was suspended for today’s regular-season finale against Central Michigan.

Dinwiddie, a sophomore from Elk Grove, Calif., was suspended for a violation of team rules, Coach Dan Hawkins said Friday. He did not elaborate. The Broncos are 7-4.

Dinwiddie has passed for 3,043 yards and 29 touchdowns, and is ranked fourth in the nation in passing efficiency. Junior B.J. Rhode will start today at Boise, Idaho.

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Top-ranked Miami (9-0) has a chance to dull the painful feelings that linger from last season in a rematch against No. 12 Washington (8-2) tonight at the Orange Bowl.

A Hurricane victory would move them one victory away from the Rose Bowl. A loss would give Washington a third upset over Miami in as many meetings, including last year’s 34-29 victory, and probably would cost the Hurricanes a shot at a fifth national title.

“It was an eye-opener for us,” Miami tackle Joaquin Gonzalez said of last season’s loss. “If we had two more minutes in that game we probably could have won it. But we don’t need our eyes opened any more.”

The Hurricanes haven’t lost since, winning 19 consecutive games, and they say losing to Washington actually made them a better team in the long run.

“We grew up quick and we kept maturing as the year went on,” center Brett Romberg said. “That was the main game that turned us around.”

It also was Washington’s second stunning victory over Miami in two meetings. The first came on Sept. 24, 1994, when the Huskies beat the Hurricanes, 38-20, at the Orange Bowl and ended Miami’s NCAA-record, 58-game home winning streak.

“This is why we all come to Washington, to play big games,” Husky quarterback Cody Pickett said. “It gets no bigger than playing in the Orange Bowl against the No. 1 team in the nation.”