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Revenge takes a back seat for Miami

The Associated Press

No. 16 Miami and Virginia will be desperate teams for different reasons this weekend.

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By TIM REYNOLDS

The Associated Press

Published: November 7, 2009

Updated: 11/07/2009 12:19 am

MIAMI - The last time Virginia coach Al Groh was on the sideline in South Florida, his Cavaliers ended Miami's era at the Orange Bowl with a stunning 48-0 romp over the Hurricanes.

If his team doesn't win in Miami again today, another era - his own - could be closing.

Indeed, No. 16 Miami and Virginia will be desperate teams for different reasons this weekend.

The Hurricanes (6-2, 3-2 ACC) need a win to remain viable in the league title race, plus keep slim hopes of reaching the Bowl Championship Series going. Virginia (3-5, 2-2) is still part of the league chase as well, but the bigger issue for the Cavaliers revolves around Groh's uncertain future.

So today's winner gets a clear and obvious boost. And the loser might feel lingering after-effects for a long, long time.

"Big game for both teams," Miami coach Randy Shannon said.

Subplots abound, for certain.

For starters, there's this little matter of 48-0. To Miami, it still matters.

"Still lingers," Shannon acknowledged.

Of the 22 starters the Hurricanes had on the field that November night in 2007 when they played on the Orange Bowl turf for the final time, only five remain on the Miami roster. The stadium itself is now gone - by 2012, the Florida Marlins expect to open a ballpark on that site - but the memories of that loss certainly linger around the Hurricanes, even for those who weren't playing back then.

Miami quarterback Jacory Harris was a high school senior that night. The overflow crowd kept him from getting into the stadium until the second quarter, when it was already 24-0. Inside, he seethed at the on-field display, everything Virginia did right almost reaffirming his decision to be part of Miami's rebuilding project.

"Yeah, 48-zip," Harris said.

"That was crazy."

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