Ask Miami coach Larry Coker about his starting defensive line, and he asks, "Which one?"

Coker says he has two sets of starters, and wilting opposing offensive linemen don't disagree.

There may have been better defensive linemen in Miami's recent history, but no group has been as deep as the one the top-ranked Hurricanes will use Saturday in their annual showdown with Florida State.

The Burner's Red-Hot

Michael Turner has been nicknamed 'The Burner' by Northern Illinois' sports information staff. They could just as easily tagged him with 'The Churner.' Whether it's on long runs or short ones, Turner is piling up yardage at a dizzying pace this season for the Huskies. Turner is third among Division I-A rushers, averaging 145.3 yards a game. That's included some monster performances, like a 282-yard effort against Western Illinois and a 203-yard outing two weeks ago against Kent State. Turner's 872 rushing yards rank second nationally and he's No. 1 in all-purpose yards with a 196.0 per-game average. Not bad for a guy who seemed destined to spend his season mainly watching from the sideline. That was the case until a season-ending heart condition was detected in starting running back Thomas Hammock days after he ran for 172 yards in the opener against Wake Forest. Enter Turner. "A chance like this doesn't come very often," he said. Actually, Turner has been down this road before. As a freshman during the 2000 season, he took over for an injured Hammock in the final two games and ran for 511 yards against Central Michigan (281) and Eastern Michigan (230). Turner finished the year with 983 yards, tops among the nation's freshmen. Last season wasn't as memorable for the North Chicago native. Turner was hampered by shoulder and ankle trouble and was limited to 395 yards. This season, Turner, 5-foot-10, 223-pound junior, has been putting the hurt on opponents, both big and small. A week before pumping out 282 yards against Division I-AA foe Western Illinois, Turner picked up 160 yards in a loss to No. 22 Wisconsin. "He's really blossomed and improved since he's been here," said NIU coach Joe Novak. "He is so physical. He's one of those guys that thrives the more times he carries the ball." That's good because Turner, who has four 200-yard games in nine career starts, carries the ball often. He's averaging just under 30 rushes a game and had 40 against Kent State. "I'm real sore after a game, but by the time Tuesday comes around, you're not sore anymore," Turner said. Going into Saturday's important showdown with Miami, Turner needs 128 yards to become the 10th player in NIU history to rush for 1,000 yards. That may come as a surprise to some of the schools that ignored Turner out of high school. Turner wanted to go to a Big Ten school, but the feeling wasn't mutual. Novak understands why. "To be honest, on the high school film that we saw, we probably saw two runs that got your attention," Novak said. "Other than that, you didn't see an awful lot. We knew he was a big physical kid who was fast, but we weren't sure what kind of finished product Mike would be." The kind that produces in a big way. -- Jorge Milian

How much depth does Miami have?

Coker likes to relay the opinion of former NFL coach Bill Parcells, who said prior to this season that he would take Miami defensive tackle Vince Wilfork first if he had a choice of players from the Hurricanes' 2001 national championship team.

Wilfork, a 350-pound sophomore, doesn't even start for Miami.

"Not at Ohio State, not at Oklahoma, not at Oklahoma State," said Coker, when asked if he'd seen as many quality defensive linemen in any of his prior coaching stops. "We had some good front-line players, maybe somebody you could fit in off the bench, but not a Vince Wilfork, I haven't been around that type of defensive line depth at all."

The Hurricanes' defensive line came into the season hyped as the best in the country and its done nothing to diminish that view.

"I think we've upheld the hype," said Greg Mark, Miami's defensive line coach.

Through five games, Miami has registered a Big East-high 19 sacks and applied untold pressure on opposing quarterbacks, allowing the Hurricanes' vastly inexperienced secondary to mature slowly.

"There's been a lot of times when a guy is running free and the quarterback sees it, and he gets hit right there," said UM safety Maurice Sikes. "They're covering up for us."

Miami's defensive linemen may get their toughest test of the season on Saturday against the Seminoles, whose offensive line was regarded by some as the school's best-ever before the year began.

That same offensive line had little success last year during the Hurricanes' 49-27 victory over FSU in Tallahassee. Miami sacked Seminoles' quarterback Chris Rix seven times while snapping FSU's 54-game unbeaten streak in Doak Campbell Stadium.

The Seminoles' offensive line has had its problems protecting Rix this season as well, giving up 17 sacks through six games.

They'll be facing a Miami defensive line that FSU coach Bobby Bowden rates among the finest he's seen.

"They are, " Bowden responded when asked if Miami's defensive line was its best ever. "I would think, if you took some of the great defensive fronts that Florida has had, some of the great defensive fronts Florida State has had, you'd compare this one with any of them."

Among the eight players Miami rotates, the most noted are defensive end Jerome McDougle and defensive tackle William Joseph.

McDougle, a senior, missed the season opener with a torn pectoral, but has returned to the form that made him a third-team All-American last season in his first year of Division I-A football.

"He's a special player with a great first step off the edge," Coker said. "He has a great year left in him."

Joseph has been quieter than McDougle, but that was also the case before last year's Florida State game. The senior broke out against the Seminoles, registering a career-high three sacks while also forcing two fumbles.

The common denominator for Miami's defensive linemen is speed. Two linemen -- end Andrew Williams and tackle Matt Walters -- run the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds.

Last week against Connecticut, Williams picked up a fumble and outran the Huskies' skill players on the way to a 56-yard touchdown return.

The combination of size, speed and depth is virtually an unbeatable combination, especially when the Hurricanes are playing in the South Florida heat and humidity.

Just ask Boston College's offensive linemen.

"They were going down on one knee during timeouts," said Walters, a senior. "We knew we won the game right there. They're tired and we're still playing hard. There's nothing like being fresh. You can play with that kind of speed. We have it all game."

Around the Big East

Boston College
The Eagles, who play No. 4 Virginia Tech on Thursday night, haven't beaten a Top 10 team since Nov. 20, 1993 when they defeated No. 1 Notre Dame. An unranked Boston College team last beat a Top 10 team in 1976 when the Eagles upset No. 7 Pittsburgh. ... Boston College has won one of its last 23 games against ranked opponents. ... Virginia Tech has beaten BC six straight times since the Eagles won a Thursday night game against the Hokies in 1995. That marked BC's last win against a ranked team before it defeated Georgia in the Music City Bowl last December. "That's the next step for this program -- to beat one of these teams and get into the top tier of this conference, an we think we're on the verge of doing that," quarterback Brian St. Pierre said. ... The Eagles have won 17 of their last 20 games at Alumni Stadium. The losses have come to Virginia Tech and Miami twice.

Miami
Through five games, Miami on a pace to set a school record for single-season rushing yards. If the Hurricanes continue their average of 225.2 yards per game the rest of the season, they will finish with more than 2,700 yards. That will eclipse the current record of 2,558 yards set in 1954. "Yeah, I think we are," said Hurricanes coach Larry Coker, when asked if UM's running game was the best in his eight seasons at the school. "This offensive line is better at run blocking than any we've had since I've been here." Sophomore tailback Willis McGahee, whose 8.1 average per carry is second nationally, has his sights set on Edgerrin James' single-season school rushing record of 1,416 yards set in 1998. If McGahee continues to average his current 128 yards through Miami's 12 regular-season games, he'll finish with 1,536 yards. ... Quarterback Ken Dorsey has gotten into several confrontations with opponents this season. In Saturday's 48-14 victory against Connecticut, Dorsey was flagged for taunting a UConn defender. Coker said he got in the senior's "mug pretty good. We can't have a screaming maniac at quarterback. You have to be poised." ... Tight end Kellen Winslow and defensive backs Sean Taylor and Al Marshall, all starters, began the Connecticut game on the bench for team policy violations having to do with academics.

Pittsburgh
The Panthers defeated Syracuse for the first time in 12 games and won for the first time in the Carrier Dome since Dan Marino was quarterback in 1982. They did it in a resounding manner, taking a 48-3 lead before the Orangemen scored three garbage time touchdowns last in the game. Syracuse was the only Big East team coach Walt Harris had not beaten in his five prior seasons in Pittsburgh. "We exorcised a bunch of demons up here," Harris said. ... The Panthers are 2-0 in the conference for the first time since the Big East began round-robin play in 1993. ... Quarterback Rod Rutherford may have finally muted calls for backup Tyler Palko to play after completing 10-of-15 passes for 279 yards and touchdown passes of 27 and 82 yards. ... The 48 points were the most scored by the Panthers against Syracuse in a series that dates back to 1916. ... The Panthers' defense ranks ninth nationally, allowing 278.3 yards per game. ... Pittsburgh travels to meet undefeated Notre Dame on Saturday. The Panthers have won six straight road games and 11 of their last 12 games overall. A victory would almost certainly push Pittsburgh into the Top 25.

Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights have improved vastly this season in run defense, ranking 45th nationally (129.6 ypg) after finishing 109th (230.5) last season. After poor showings in its first two games against Buffalo and Villanova, Rutgers has rebounded to hold Army to 116 rushing yards, Pittsburgh to 110 yards and Tennessee to just 94 yards. "We're not doing anything different schematically," defensive coordinator Paul Ferraro told the Newark Star-Ledger. "We're tackling better and we've improved every game." No opponent has gained more than 173 yards this season after nine did last season. The Scarlet Knights' run defense faces it's biggest test of the season on Saturday against West Virginia and tailback Avon Cobourne, who is second nationally in rushing. Last season, the Mountaineers rushed for 446 yards and seven touchdowns in their 80-7 rout of Rutgers.

Syracuse
Starting quarterback R.J. Anderson sprained his right throwing shoulder in the 48-24 loss to Pittsburgh, but coach Paul Pasqualoni expects him to play Saturday against Temple. Anderson has struggled mightily this season, particularly lately. In the last 12 possessions Anderson has served as quarterback, the Orangemen have picked up 66 yards and three first downs, one via penalty. ... Syracuse's defense gave up 459 yards against the Panthers and now ranks 113th nationally in total defense (491.4 ypg). ... The Orangemen's 1-4 start is the school's worst since a similar 1-4 start in 1986. Syracuse finished that year with a 5-6 record, its last losing season. ... Receiver Johnnie Morant served the third game of a suspension for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Pasqualoni said that Morant would play against Temple. ... Despite their tough start, the Orangemen's upcoming schedule could get them well in a hurry. Syracuse faces Temple in Philadelphia on Saturday followed by games at West Virginia (Oct. 19), home against Rutgers (Oct. 26) and another road game at Central Florida (Nov. 2). Syracuse has won 16 straight games over Temple.

Temple
Senior tailback Tanardo Sharps needs only 88 rushing yards to move ahead of Anthony Anderson for second place in Temple's record book. Sharps, who has gained 2,523 career yards, is also on a pace for his second 1,000-yard season. Paul Palmer, Temple's career rushing leader with 4,895 yards, is the only runner in school history to reach 1,000 yards twice. The Owls are 8-4 when Sharps gets 100 yards, although they've lost two in a row when the senior goes over the century mark. ... Receiver Sean Dillard, who has been hampered by injury this season, needs 19 catches to become Temple's all-time leader. Dillard enters Saturday's game against Syracuse with 108 career receptions. ... History does not bode well for the Owls against Syracuse. Temple has lost 16 in a row to the Orangemen, including all 11 games in Big East play. The last Owls' victory was a 10-9 decision in 1983. ... Temple will play in Veterans Stadium on Saturday for the first time this season. The Owls' first four home games were played at Franklin Field. "I'm going to be glad to have a stadium that we can call our own every Saturday," said coach Bobby Wallace.

Virginia Tech
Kicker Carter Warley, bothered by lower back pain, will be sidelined indefinitely. Trainer Mike Goforth said Warley would undergo rehabilitation for the next four weeks. To replace Warley, the Hokies will use freshman Nic Schmitt, who was chosen over senior Jon Mollerup and fellow frosh Brandon Pace. "I like Nic," said coach Frank Beamer. "He really has a strong leg and can potentially be a fantastic kicker." ... Virginia Tech can virtually eliminate Boston College from the Big East race when the teams meet on Thursday night. The Hokies have won six straight in the series and are 4-1 at Alumni Stadium. Virginia Tech is 10-1 in Big East openers, but its only loss was a 20-14 decision to BC in 1995. ... Tech is looking to open the season 6-0 for the fourth straight season.

West Virginia
The Mountaineers couldn't capitalize on the momentum of their 3-1 start, getting blown out by Maryland, 48-17, at home. "We had gotten better and better, but this is a step back," said coach Rich Rodriguez. "Overall, it was a dismal performance." ... West Virginia came into the game first in the nation in rushing average (345.5 ypg), but was held to 186 yards on 57 carries by the Terrapins. ... Tailback Avon Cobourne set a new school and Big East record by rushing for more than 100 yards for the 22nd time in his career. Cobourne gained 123 yards on 30 carries, but was bottled up most of the day. ... Quarterback Rasheed Marshall had a forgettable day, passing for only 105 yards and throwing his first two interceptions of the season. ... Freshman nose guard Ernest Hunter, who started West Virginia's last two games, is out for the season after breaking his right fibula on Saturday. David Upchurch will move from end to nose guard to replace Hunter. ... Starting receiver A.J. Nastasi is expected to miss another week with an ankle sprain. ... Mark Fazzolari and Todd James are both being used to punt with little success. West Virginia ranks 109th nationally in net punting.

Around the MAC
Akron (0-6, 0-3) is off to its worst start since 1994, when the Zips went 1-10 under coach Gerry Faust. ... Akron coach Lee Owens seems ready to throw in the towel on his porous defense. Owens had six freshmen defensive players in the game at the same time during Saturday's 42-34 loss to Eastern Michigan. "If you're a senior and you're heart isn't in it, it's not fair to the rest of the team," Owens said. "We're at a point now where we're using young players and we may have to take some lumps, but they are going to play hard." The Zips' defense has allowed more than 40 points in eight of its last 10 games. ... Quarterback Charlie Frye threw for 344 yards, giving him 692 yards in Akron's last two games. ... The Zips' best chance at a victory comes Saturday when they face Liberty at home. ... Ball State quarterback Talmadge Hill had a day he'd like to forget in Ball State's 41-29 loss to Northern Illinois. Hill completed only 20-of-46 passes and threw a career-worst four interceptions. ... Mike Langford missed a 37-yard field goal, his first miss in 13 attempts. ... Tailback Marcus Merriweather gained 136 yards against NIU and now has 3,001 for his career. Merriweather is the fourth running back in Ball State history and the 22nd in MAC annals to reach the 3,000-yard mark. The 100-yard outing was the 15th in Merriweather's career, tying Bernie Parmalee's school record. Merriweather needs 483 yards to break Parmalee's school rushing record. ... Bowling Green's 72-21 win over Ohio marked the Falcons' most productive offensive showing since 1956, when they scored 73 points against Defiance. The Falcons (4-0, 1-0) piled up a school-record 37 first downs, 349 yards rushing, 343 yards passing and scored touchdowns on all but two possessions. ... Quarterback Josh Harris threw four touchdown passes, including three to Robert Redd, and ran for two other scores. ... It wasn't all good for the Falcons, who lost starting tailback Joe Alls and starting safety Michael Malone with separated shoulders. Coach Urban Meyer said Alls will miss Saturday's game against Central Michigan. There is a possibility that Malone could play. ... Bowling Green's 692 yards of total offense was 14 short of the school record set against Grand Valley State in 1978. ... Buffalo (1-5, 0-2) could be staring at a 1-9 record with consecutive games coming up against Marshall, Miami, Kent State and UCF. ... Coach Jim Hofher made a fourth quarter move in the 31-17 loss to Western Michigan that left some observers scratching their heads. On fourth-and-six from the Broncos' 35 and 8:35 remaining, Hofher elected to punt instead of going for the first down, leaving the game in the hands of a Bulls' defense that entered the game ranked 100th nationally (430.2 ypg). Buffalo never got the ball back. ... Buffalo's defense forced five turnovers and registered seven sacks against the Broncos. ... Central Michigan faces Bowling Green Saturday in a do-or-die showdown in the MAC's West Division. The game pits Falcons coach Urban Meyer and Chippewas mentor Mike DeBord, who worked with each other on the Colorado State staff in the 1990s. Told that Meyer considered CMU the team to beat in the division, DeBord cracked, "I'd like to know what he's been drinking. He must not be watching his team." ... The Chippewas' web site says that tailback Terrence Jackson (foot) will play Saturday against Bowling Green, but DeBord wasn't quite as optimistic. "He's getting better everyday, but he's still questionable," DeBord said. Jackson, a junior, rushed for 1,194 yards last season, third in the MAC. ... Eastern Michigan (3-3, 1-1) surpassed last year's victory total with a 42-34 win against Akron. ... Receiver Kevin Walter caught nine passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns. The 225 yards were 16 off the school record set by Ontario Pryor in a 1996 game against Central Michigan. With the outing, Walter became EMU's all-time leader in receiving yards with 2,181. ... Quarterback Troy Edwards threw for a career-high 390 yards and four touchdowns. "Every snap he gets, he seems to be getting better," said EMU coach Jeff Woodruff. ... C.R, Roberson, the Eagles' leading rusher last season who was moved to receiver this year, caught 10 passes for 101 yards. ... Kent State quarterback Joshua Cribbs piled up 344 yards of total offense, including a 199 rushing yards in his high-powered showdown with Marshall's Byron Leftwich. Cribbs, who is second nationally with a 149.67 yards per game rushing average, scored on runs of 16, 29 and 67 yards in the 42-21 defeat. He had 212 rushing yards before taking a 13-yard sack on the game's final play. "His future is so bright, he needs sunglasses," said Marshall coach Bob Pruett of Cribbs. "He'll keep Kent in every game." Cribbs became the fourth player in Kent State history to gain 4,000 total yards. The sophomore has reached the mark in only 17 career games. ... Marshall (3-1, 2-0) piled up a season-high 645 yards -- 268 on the ground and 377 from Byron Leftwich's right arm -- in a 42-21 win against Kent State. Leftwich has thrown for at least 340 yards in each game this season. ... The Thundering Herd have won six straight from the Golden Flashes. ... Leftwich's 33-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Jones in the third quarter was the 70th in his career, placing him second in the school record book behind leader Chad Pennington. ... In two career meetings against Buffalo, Saturday's opponent, Leftwich has completed 62-of-85 passes (72.9 percent) for 833 yards and five touchdowns. ... Miami hasn't missed a beat without injured starting tailback Cal Murray thanks to Luke Clemens, who put together his third straight 100-yard effort in the 31-26 victory against Cincinnati that claimed the Victory Bell for the RedHawks. ... The game's defensive star was senior safety Milt Bowen, who made two key interceptions against Cincinnati's Gino Guidugli. Bowen's interceptions came on two of the Bearcats' final three drives. ... It was Miami's first back-to-back wins against Cincinnati since 1991-92. ... The RedHawks (4-2, 2-0) begin a string of six consecutive weeks against MAC teams by hosting Northern Illinois on Saturday. Miami has won five straight from the Huskies, dating back to 1983. ... Northern Illinois's Dan Sheldon returned a punt for a touchdown for the second consecutive week. Against Ball State, Sheldon brought back a punt 64 yards with 3:35 left to play to clinch the Huskies' win against Ball State. Sheldon's school-record 90-yard punt return was the only touchdown scored last week in NIU's 13-6 victory against Kent State. "Dan is a great weapon," said NIU coach Joe Novak. ... Novak hopes to get safety Lionel Hickenbottom back on the field at some point this season. Hickenbottom injured his right knee in the season opener and hasn't played since. ... NIU (3-2, 2-0) has started the conference season 2-0 only three times since 1983. ... The Huskies hadn't thrown a touchdown pass in 13 quarters before Josh Haldi threw four during a 13:59 span of the second quarter against Ball State. ... NIU has lost five straight to Miami. ... Kicker Steve Azar needs two more field goals to tie John Ivanic's school record of 46 set from 1987-90. ... The 72 points Bowling Green scored on Saturday tied the most ever given up by an Ohio team. Syracuse beat the Bobcats 72-0 during the 1916 season. "We couldn't stop them," said Ohio coach Brian Knorr. "We've played Florida and Pittsburgh and that was the best team we played this year.". ... The Bobcats (1-5, 0-2) have won three of their last four games against Eastern Michigan, although the teams have not met since 1999. ... Ohio ranks last nationally in passing offense with an average of 63 yards a game. ... After a week off, Toledo (3-2, 1-0) goes back to work on defending its MAC championship against Ball State in the Glass Bowl. The Rockets lost to the Cardinals last season, 24-20, in a game that knocked Toledo out of the Top 25 and nearly spoiled its championship run. Ball State hasn't won in the Glass Bowl since 1991. "We don't talk much about grudges or anything like that," said Toledo coach Tom Amstutz. ... The Rockets will be vying for their school record-tying 17th straight home win. Toledo won 17 consecutive games at home from 1969-71. ... UCF Central Florida could be down to their third tailback for Saturday's game against Western Michigan. Starting tailback Alex Haynes continues to be bothered by a severely sprained ankle sustained against Liberty. Back-up tailback Keith Williams is also slowed by a sprained ankle. Coach Mike Krucek has labeled the availability of Haynes and Williams as "game-time decisions." Dee Brown and Andreal Curry, both fullbacks, have been working at tailback. ... The Knights lead the MAC in fumbles with 15, losing nine of them. ... Wide receiver Kendrick Mosley enjoyed a career day in Western Michigan's 31-17 victory against Buffalo, accounting for 224 all-purpose yards. Mosley caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from Chad Munson after the Bulls had closed to within 24-17 late in the third quarter. Mosley, filling in for the injured Greg Jennings, also had 138 yards on punt returns, including a 64-yard return for a touchdown. Another 50-yard punt return by Mosley led to a field goal. ... Broncos coach Gary Darnell said earlier in the year that he hoped to decide on a starting quarterback by the time his team began its conference schedule. But, Darnell says he will continue to alternate Munson and Jon Drach. ... WMU (2-3, 1-0) has allowed 31 sacks through five games after allowing 36 sacks all of last season. Nineteen of those 31 sacks have come in the Broncos' last three games. "We've said all along that our offensive line was a work in progress," Darnell said.

Jorge Milian covers college football for the Palm Beach Post.