CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Ken Dorsey is the big man on campus, and that will be the place to find him. South Beach sightings are unlikely. Same for Coconut Grove. The spotlight shines, and it won't travel far to locate him.

The University of Miami quarterback chuckles when he considers his plight, a 20-year-old from Northern California, toiling in South Florida, considered among the best at his position in the country.

	Miami QB Ken Dorsey has thrown 19 TD passes this season.

"My best trait is I want to win. I'm going to do anything it takes to win," he said. "My worst trait is I want to win so bad, it pretty much makes me a loser in my social life. I don't go out. If I do, it's a big issue. My close friends are guys on the team. Some people see that as bad, but that's how I am."

UM fans certainly don't mind, as the 'Canes are poised for a return to glory. After finishing second in the polls to national championship Oklahoma last season, the Hurricanes have rattled off nine straight victories and have a 19-game winning streak while sitting atop both major polls.

Two more victories, and they are all but assured a spot in the Rose Bowl, where they will play for the national championship for the first time in nearly a decade.

But first, No. 12 Washington awaits Saturday at the Orange Bowl.

And the Hurricanes remember Washington. So does Dorsey. It is the last team to record a victory over UM.

"It means a lot, not only because of what happened last year, but because they're standing in the way of us hopefully being in the national championship," Dorsey said. "The games means a lot not only from last year but for this year."

At last year's game in Seattle, Dorsey was sacked three times by the Huskies, who hounded him for much of the afternoon. He completed just 15 of 34 passes for 215 yards with one touchdown in a 34-29 loss. He threw no interceptions, but missed open receivers and appeared frazzled.

"The noise definitely got to us in the beginning, in that initial push," Dorsey said. "We were prepared for the noise, but got a little frenzied."

Dorsey settled down, leading the Hurricanes to victories over No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Virginia Tech and No. 7 Florida. Only the BCS computers kept the Hurricanes from playing Oklahoma for the national championship.

	“	It's a whole different world for me right now. I'm the experienced guy now. It's fun for me, not having that doubt, not having that question in my mind: can I do the job? Having the confidence of being able to go out and perform the way I can perform. ”
		— Miami QB Ken Dorsey

With three victories as a freshman, Dorsey is 23-1 as a starter. Now he's considered a seasoned veteran, a Heisman Trophy candidate, a leader. In fact, since the Washington game, he's played nearly the equivalent of two college seasons. (The game was originally scheduled for Sept. 15 but was postponed due to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks).

And that's quite a change from a year ago, when he was the unproven starter.

"It's a whole different world for me right now," Dorsey said. "I'm the experienced guy now. It's fun for me, not having that doubt, not having that question in my mind: can I do the job? Having the confidence of being able to go out and perform the way I can perform.

"Now, I have to be more of a leader on this team. I have to be a lot more vocal. I have to be the guy on the team who has to play the role of chewing somebody out or getting on somebody. If that's what it takes to win football games, I'm all for it."

Dorsey has led the Hurricanes to victory this year without a big reason for his success a year ago: experienced receivers. Santana Moss and Reggie Wayne were big targets, as was top reserve Andre King. They had the ability to make a few errant throws appear to be perfect passes.

Now Dorsey is meshing with new players. Only senior Daryl Jones returned, and he was joined by sophomore Andre Johnson.

"Ken makes our job a lot easier," said Johnson, who leads the Hurricanes with 615 receiving yards 19.2 yards per reception and nine touchdowns. "You're not going to beat a DB (defensive back) every time, but sometimes Ken can put the ball in spots where a DB can't get it."

No doubt. Last year, Dorsey threw just six interceptions. This season, he has eight.

"For any quarterback, I don't care how much talent you have, how fast you are, the velocity on the ball, it all boils down to decision making," said UM coach Larry Coker said. "That is a strong suit Ken has. He doesn't have to make the great plays all the time, but he has to make consistent plays. Because we do have talented players. If we throw completions, we'll have a chance to win."

Dorsey had been machine-like since last year's Washington game, throwing behind a line that has given up just a single sack this season. But he did show his human side in a narrow victory over Boston College two weeks ago, when he threw four interceptions (matching his total for the year) while the Hurricanes escaped with an 18-7 victory.

But Dorsey bounced back with a 13-for-20, 224-yard, four-touchdown effort in a 59-0 rout of Syracuse on Saturday. For the season, he's completed 149 of 253 passes (58.9 percent) for 2,228 yards and 19 touchdowns and has already pushed several great UM quarterbacks down the list in the record book.

Dorsey leaves very little to chance. In addition to spending nearly all of his waking moments away from the field in school or studying football film, he has made sure to keep up with UM's past.

A legendary line of quarterbacks has prospered at Miami, and Dorsey sought out the stars.

In particular, Dorsey has conversed and met with former UM quarterbacks Steve Walsh, Gino Torretta and Bernie Kosar. "Those three have really helped in my development and are guys I hope I can be close to for a long time," Dorsey said.

"I'm a stickler for tradition," he said. "I'm a firm believer with the tradition we have here, you can't help but draw strength from that. If I keep that mentality, I feel I can really be successful."

Dorsey, who is 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, has proved that repeatedly.

But now it's time for Washington, different place, different time.

"I want that game a lot," he said. "We'll be ready. I can't wait."

Bob Harig covers college football for the St. Petersburg Times. He can be reached at harig@sptimes.com.