Miami Looks Flat, but Still Flattens Temple

Miami lacked motivation, couldn’t stay focused, played sloppy and still won by 23 points.

Willis McGahee tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns and Ken Dorsey threw two touchdown passes as the top-ranked Hurricanes beat overmatched Temple, 44-21, Saturday in the Big East Conference opener for both teams at Philadelphia.

The defending national champions, coming off an impressive 41-16 victory at then-No. 6 Florida last week, improved to 3-0 and extended the nation’s longest Division I-A winning streak to 25 games.

But the Hurricanes aren’t satisfied.

“When we had an opportunity to put the hammer down, we didn’t,” Dorsey said. “You want to put a team away when you can.”

Tanardo Sharps had two rushing touchdowns for Temple (1-2). The Owls have lost their last two games by a combined 55 points.

McGahee, a sophomore tailback who replaced Clinton Portis, ran for 134 yards a week after a 204-yard performance at Florida. His four touchdowns tied the mark set by Melvin Bratton and Alonzo Highsmith in 1984.

Dorsey finished 20 of 35 for 314 yards and no interceptions.

“We didn’t have a letdown, but we lost a little of a mental edge,” Miami Coach Larry Coker said.

*

Walter Reyes ran for three touchdowns and R.J. Anderson found his passing touch as Syracuse (1-2) rolled to a 63-17 victory over Division I-AA Rhode Island (1-2) at Syracuse, N.Y.... Rod Rutherford threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Roosevelt Bynes with 5:18 left as Pittsburgh (2-1) held on for a 26-20 victory at Alabama Birmingham (1-2).... Ted Trump threw three touchdown passes and freshman Markis Facyson ran for 129 yards and a touchdown for Rutgers (1-2) in a 44-0 victory over Army (0-2) at Piscataway, N.J.

*

ATLANTIC COAST

Philip Rivers threw for 223 yards and T.A. McLendon returned from a shoulder injury to score two touchdowns as No. 19 North Carolina State (4-0, 1-0) scored a 32-13 victory over Wake Forest (1-2, 0-1) at Raleigh, N.C.... Derrick Hamilton ran for 97 yards and a touchdown and set up another with a 79-yard punt return as Clemson (2-1, 1-0) held on for a 24-19 victory over Georgia Tech (2-1, 0-1) in a conference opener at Clemson, S.C.

*

CONFERENCE USA

Avon Cobourne ran for 193 yards and two touchdowns, and West Virginia (2-1) barely held on for a 35-32 victory at Cincinnati (1-1). Jonathan Ruffin’s 49-yard field-goal attempt hit the left upright as time expired.... Derrick Nix ran for 196 yards, including 175 in the first half, and two touchdowns in 21 carries as Southern Mississippi (3-0, 1-0) rolled to a 33-14 victory over Memphis (1-2, 0-1) at Hattiesburg, Miss.... Marvin Townes and Art Brown had a combined 226 yards rushing to lead East Carolina (1-2, 1-0) to a 24-20 victory over Tulane (2-1, 0-1) at Greenville, N.C.... Barrick Nealy threw two touchdown passes and ran for another, and Joffrey Reynolds rushed for 114 yards as Houston (2-1) ended a nine-game home losing streak with a 36-17 victory over Louisiana Lafayette (0-3).

*

MID-AMERICAN

Troy Edwards threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Walter with 55 seconds left to lead Eastern Michigan (1-2) to a 35-32 victory over Southeast Missouri State (2-1) at Ypsilanti, Mich. Southeast Missouri’s Derek Kutz missed a 48-yard field-goal attempt as time expired.... Kenan Lawhorne ran for two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 9:22 left, as Central Michigan (3-0) held on for a 24-17 victory over Akron (0-3) at Akron, Ohio.... Dan Orlovsky threw for one touchdown and ran for another, and tailback Terry Caulley ran for 136 yards as Connecticut (1-2) dominated Buffalo (1-2) in a 24-3 victory at Amherst, N.Y.

*

MOUNTAIN WEST

Zack Threadgill passed for 410 yards and four first-half touchdowns and Nevada’s defense withstood a late Brigham Young rally as the Wolf Pack (1-1) scored a 31-28 upset of the Cougars (2-1) at Reno, Nev. Nate Burleson caught 12 passes for 213 yards, including a 95-yard scoring play early, to help Nevada win despite the loss of star running back Chance Kretschmer, who suffered a knee injury and could be out for the season. Freshman Matt Milton, rushed 21 times for 94 yards for Nevada.... Brock Forsey rushed for 155 yards and a touchdown as Boise State (2-1) handed Wyoming (0-3) its 11th consecutive loss, 35-13, at Laramie, Wyo.

*

WESTERN ATHLETIC

Cecil Sapp ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 24 Colorado State (3-1) withstood a late scare from Louisville (1-2) to win, 36-33, at Fort Collins, Colo.... Joe Smith rushed for 178 yards and two touchdowns and Luke McCown threw for three scores as Louisiana Tech (2-1, 1-0) rolled to a 53-9 victory over Tulsa (0-3, 0-1) at Ruston, La....Sean Stilley completed 17 of 28 passes for 265 yards and threw second-half touchdown passes as Texas Christian (2-1) scratched out a 17-6 victory over Southern Methodist (0-3) at Fort Worth, Texas.

*

BIG WEST

Quarterback Jose Fuentes passed for 330 yards and Utah State (1-2) racked up 491 total yards in a 38-33 victory over Idaho State (1-1) at Logan, Utah.

*

SOUTHLAND

Joshua Cribbs threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Bush with 49 seconds left to lead Kent State (2-1) to a 37-34 victory over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (0-3) at Kent, Ohio.... Tyler Cruz rushed for 127 yards in 22 carries, but Cal Lutheran (0-1) gave up 20 fourth-quarter points in a 40-32 loss to Muhlenberg College (2-0) at Allentown, Pa.... Running back Ben Buys, who rushed for 185 yards, scored on a two-point conversion in the third overtime as Azusa Pacific (2-0) held on for a 44-42 victory over Pacific Lutheran (0-1) at Tacoma, Wash.... Eric Rasmussen passed for 299 yards and four touchdowns to lead San Diego (1-1) to a 39-8 victory over visiting La Verne (1-1).... John Sanders rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns in 11 carries as Chapman (1-0) scored a 27-7 victory at Whittier (0-1).