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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
MIAMI (AP) -- All the Miami Hurricanes can do now is wait.
|  | | Miami's James Jackson atoned for an early fumble with this third-quarter score against BC. |
Ken Dorsey threw a career-high five touchdown passes and Santana
Moss broke Miami's career all-purpose yardage record, leading the
No. 2 Hurricanes to a 52-6 victory over Boston College on Saturday
and their first Big East title since 1996.
More importantly, Miami strengthened its chances of claiming a
fifth national championship.
"I don't see what else we could have done," Dorsey said.
"That's probably the most we could do."
The 'Canes -- third in the Bowl Championship Series rankings --
still might need help. Even after the strong outing against the
Eagles (6-5, 3-4), it may not be enough for them to jump Florida
State, which leads Miami by a little more than half a point in the
BCS rankings.
The top two teams in the BCS will play in the Orange Bowl on
Jan. 3.
Miami, which has won nine in a row, beat then-No. 1 Florida
State last month and also beat then-No. 2 Virginia Tech four weeks
later.
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Sat, November 25
Miami looked awesome today. There was no concerted effort to run up the score today, but it seemed to run up anyway. The Hurricanes have continued to improve all year. With Ken Dorsey playing quarterback the way he is, they could beat anyone. That's not to say they would or even deserve a shot -- that is someone else's decision. But they could play anyone right now and play very well.
The actual determinants of the BCS' computer rankings are a mystery to me. Miami was already ahead of Florida State in the two polls. Maybe there could be a way for the computers involved to better reflect some things about a team in a game, or a way to account for head-to-head victories. This is only the second year of this system and it will continue to get tweaked, but that will be too late for this Miami team that looks absolutely tremendous.
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"There's no doubt in my mind we should play for the national
championship," linebacker Dan Morgan said. "It's plain and
simple: we deserve it."
With No. 1 Oklahoma's 12-7 win over Oklahoma State, Miami's best
chance at making the championship game would be if the Sooners lose
next week to Kansas State in the Big 12 title game. If not, the
'Canes probably will have to hope for a split national
championship.
"Go Wildcats!" receiver Reggie Wayne shouted. "Hopefully,
they can pull it out for us. We'll be watching."
And waiting. In the meantime, the Hurricanes (10-1, 7-0) can
revel in their first conference title in four years and first
undefeated run through the Big East since 1994.
"This has been the goal since my freshman year, and each year
it's slipped away from us," Morgan said. "To finally get it, it's
sweet."
Dorsey was sharp, completing 17 of 26 passes for 252 yards. His
five TD passes also tied the school record held by Bernie Kosar
(1984) and Steve Walsh (1988). Dorsey also fumbled twice, though
both were recovered by Miami, and threw an interception.
Moss also set a school record. He had 235 all-purpose yards
against the Eagles (6-5, 3-4), breaking Ottis Anderson's career
record set in 1978. Moss has 4,402 total yards.
Dorsey and Moss hooked up twice for scores. The first one
covered 23 yards and gave Miami's its first lead of the game, 10-6
in the second quarter. They added a 13-yarder in the third on a
perfectly thrown pass to the corner of the end zone.
Moss wasn't finished, though. He took a punt return 85 yards
untouched for a score to give Miami a 44-6 lead in the third. Even
after a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, Todd Sievers
added a 50-yard extra point.
Boston College punted on the ensuing possession, and Daryl Jones
-- subbing for Moss -- used a spin move to escape two tacklers and
scampered 87 yards for another score.
"I haven't seen a team like this since I was in the (Atlantic
Coast Conference) and we played Florida State," said Boston
College coach Tom O'Brien, a longtime offensive coordinator at
Virginia. "They have such speed on both sides of the ball.
"When you play a team like this, you have no room for error.
You have to be perfect. They had something to play for, the BCS. We
had to stand up and stop them and we didn't do that."
Everything seemed to go right for Miami. Well, everything except
Oklahoma losing.
"Being a senior, I'd be disappointed if we didn't play for the
championship," said running back James Jackson, who had 66 yards
and became the fourth player in school history to run for 1,000
yards in a season. "I don't have another chance. I want to go out
with a bang."
Not even coach Butch Davis, who has refused to run up the score
all season, could do much to stop the onslaught. He did, however,
pull most of his starters after the final touchdown.
"We've got big-play guys, and when they make big plays the
score can get out of hand," Davis said. "I don't think I've been
around an offense that could strike from anywhere on the field."
Tim Hasselbeck, returning to the lineup after sitting out Boston
College's last game with a sprained right knee, drove the Eagles 80
yards to take a 6-0 lead on the opening possession. But his
interception three drives later turned the game in Miami's favor.
The Hurricanes scored 52 straight points.
"We were suffocating on defense, Ken Dorsey was sharp and
special teams just lit it up," Davis said.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Boston College Clubhouse
Miami (Fla.) Clubhouse
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