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Punchless Tech falls to 'Canes
Miami Georgia Tech Fo Heal
Miami quarterback Stephen Morris (17) and Miami tight end Richard Gordon (84) celebrate after a touchdown in the third quarter of Saturday's game in Atlanta. - photo by Associated Press

 

ATLANTA — Freshman Stephen Morris didn't have to carry Miami in his first road start, not with four backs running for touchdowns and Leonard Hankerson making big catches.

Morris only had to avoid mistakes to help Miami set a season high in total offense for the second straight week.

Morris passed for 230 yards and a touchdown to win the matchup of backup quarterbacks and Miami beat Georgia Tech 35-10 on Saturday to stay alive in the ACC's Coastal Division.

Morris, making his second start as Jacory Harris recovers from a concussion, completed 10 of 18 passes and did not have a turnover.

"Stephen did a tremendous job of just managing the game," said Miami coach Randy Shannon.

Lamar Miller, Damien Berry, Mike James and Graig Cooper ran for touchdowns and Hankerson had a 78-yard touchdown catch as Miami had a season-high 507 total yards, including 277 yards rushing. The big day topped Miami's 504 yards behind Morris in last week's 26-20 win over Maryland.

"If we continue to do this, we can be a very special football team," Shannon said.

Shannon said Morris showed impressive composure on the field and on the sideline, including in his comments to the coach as the lead grew in the second half.

"He was standing beside me and he looked over at me and said 'You can loosen up a little,'" Shannon said, adding "I said to him 'You can loosen up, too.'"

Added Shannon: "He doesn't get nervous."

Hankerson had three catches for 132 yards, including the long touchdown, his 11th of the season to tie Michael Irvin's school record set in 1986.

It marked the second straight week Hankerson caught a touchdown pass from Morris.

"He does what he has to do," Hankerson said of Morris. "He makes every drive count."

Miami (7-3, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) is chasing Virginia Tech in the Coastal Division and will play the Hokies next week.

"We're very excited," Shannon said. "That's the thing about ACC football, it always comes down to the last week. This is a very special time for all of us."

Georgia Tech (5-5, 3-4) has lost three straight for the first time since the end of 2006.

Georgia Tech sophomore quarterback Tevin Washington also played well in his first start. Washington ran for 122 yards and completed 7 of 16 passes for 101 yards. Georgia Tech's only touchdown came on Washington's first career scoring pass, a 22-yard completion to Kevin Cone to open the second half.

"I thought he played OK," said Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson of Washington. "He did some decent things, ran the offense OK. He can't make up for 10 other guys. He's got to have some help."

Georgia Tech lost two fumbles inside the Miami 10. Bobby Dodd Stadium's stands were almost empty when Washington lost the ball on a run from the Miami 5 with less than a minute remaining.

Washington is replacing Georgia Tech senior Joshua Nesbitt, who will miss the rest of the regular season after suffering a broken right forearm in last week's loss at Virginia Tech.

Morris led two 88-yard touchdown drives on Miami's first two possessions and Georgia Tech never recovered.

"We dug ourselves a hold that we could never get out of," Johnson said. "... We got beat in pretty much every facet of the game."

Miami led 21-10 in the third quarter when Georgia Tech, driving to possibly close the deficit to four points, committed a crucial turnover. Orwin Smith fumbled a pitch on a first-down play from the Miami 6. Ray-Ray Armstrong recovered for the Hurricanes to set up an 86-yard touchdown drive.

"It looked like maybe he took his eyes off of it and looked up," Johnson said of Smith. "You've got to just fall on the ball. You don't try to pick it up."

After the two 88-yard drives, Miami appeared to be on the verge of adding a third first-quarter touchdown when linebacker Colin McCarthy picked up a fumble by Roddy Jones and ran 41 yards for an apparent score.

A lengthy review by the officials showed Jones' knee was down before he fumbled. Georgia Tech retained possession to set up Scott Blair's 38-yard field goal for the Yellow Jackets' only points of the first half.

Washington's first career TD pass early in the third quarter gave Georgia Tech hope, but Miami had a quick answer.

On its first play following the kickoff, Morris connected with Hankerson on the 78-yard scoring pass. Hankerson caught the short pass on the 30 and then outran the Yellow Jackets' secondary for Miami's longest touchdown of the season.

Asked what he was thinking, Hankerson said "I might get caught."

Hankerson, a senior, has 20 touchdown catches for his career, tying Andre Johnson and Reggie Wayne for third place on the school records.

NOTES

 

 

: Former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Ross returned for the 20-year reunion of the 1990 team that was named national champion in the coaches poll. ... Georgia Tech wore blue jerseys in a home game for the first time since 1994. The Yellow Jackets last wore blue in the Chick-fil-A bowl against LSU following the 2008 season.